Questions about timing

[patrickmbyrne]

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Ok, I have a BSEE degree and I am going back to school to take the pre-reqs for med-school. I am instate in Louisiana. My gpa is 3.6 cum / 3.7 science (Univiersity of New Orleans). I have not taken the MCAT. I have ZERO EC's and I am wondering if it would be better to take the MCAT sometime in 2014 (spring ? summer) to apply for the 2015 year. I have finished all my chem core courses but I haven't taken any upper level biology classes. I also have three labs that I not taken. I am wondering should I take another year and apply for 2016 and try to do it more slowly and be better prepare or should I try to get everything together for 2015. I am going to be starting volunteering in a hospital this summer.

I was hoping 1, that I posted this in the right place and 2, that I someone might be able to offer some advice!

Thanks,

 

[battousai]

So you have all your prerequisites done except for upper level Biology classes? Take the MCAT early next year (Jan- April) and apply in June. You have plenty of time between now and then to get ECs done.

Good luck!

 

[jp6285]

it all depends on the prereqs of the schools you are looking at. I had 8 classes to take and worked full time so i set it up where i took one class per semesters (to include both summer sessions ) at night for 2 years. Because I knew i wanted to apply to start this year I had to take the MCAT last spring (i had iffy undergrad grades and needed to apply early). So i ended up taking the mcat before i took chem II or ochem. Kaplan was a big help as far as the MCAT goes.
If I could have fit it all in in less time i would have, but this way worked pretty well for me and allowed me time with the family and to get in some ECs.

 

[patrickmbyrne]

So you have all your prerequisites done except for upper level Biology classes? Correct along with the three labs that I mentioned (OCHEM GEN II and BIO).

I don't have many of
OTHER RECOMMENDED COURSES.

I also don't feel like I would want to take that many courses in fall semester because i would want to study for the MCAT. Then I have those labs too do I need to finish those before applying? Do I need these other recommended courses? How many of these other Bio classes do I need/ what should I take? School ends around DEC so JAN FEB MARCH is 3 months to study for the MCAT is that enough or do I need to take spring classes too?

Is June early enough to apply? I am looking at state schools LSU ( NO and SHREVEPORT) and lower tier OOS friendly schools.

 

[jp6285]

I am certainly not an expert, but this is how i did it and it worked out for me

Then I have those labs too do I need to finish those before applying?

i applied (and interviewed) still needing gen chem II, stat, and both ochems. I was accepted before grades for either ochem where in.

How many of these other Bio classes do I need/ what should I take?

I only took enough bio classes to satisfy the prereqs. I wish i had taken biochem, thus i am self studying now before classes start next month

School ends around DEC so JAN FEB MARCH is 3 months to study for the MCAT is that enough or do I need to take spring classes too?

I took the kaplan course that ran from aug-jan and maybe studied a few hours every other day. Starting in Jan i studied 3-5 hours a day m-f until my test in march. During this time i took a&p in the fall and micro in the spring while working during the day. I luckily have a job that allows me to work from home, so i ended up studying the day a lot. I got a 32

As far as when to apply the standard answer is earlier is better. I had everything submitted by late may. That said, i knew that i wasnt the most competitive candidate because of my gpa (3.4) so i needed every advantage i could. I got 1 interview and 1 early acceptance.

 

[battousai]

So you have all your prerequisites done except for upper level Biology classes? Correct along with the three labs that I mentioned (OCHEM GEN II and BIO).

I don't have many of
OTHER RECOMMENDED COURSES.

I also don't feel like I would want to take that many courses in fall semester because i would want to study for the MCAT. Then I have those labs too do I need to finish those before applying? Do I need these other recommended courses? How many of these other Bio classes do I need/ what should I take? School ends around DEC so JAN FEB MARCH is 3 months to study for the MCAT is that enough or do I need to take spring classes too?

Is June early enough to apply? I am looking at state schools LSU ( NO and SHREVEPORT) and lower tier OOS friendly schools.

June is the earliest you can apply. Also, You can apply without finishing your coursework; just make sure it's done before you matriculate.

 

[iatros13]

June is the earliest you can apply. Also, You can apply without finishing your coursework; just make sure it's done before you matriculate.

Is this also true if you have not completed your undergrad degree? If I get all the pre-reqs done and take the MCAT, but I am still finishing up some other classes needed to graduate, would it still be a good idea to apply?

I will have taken all of the required courses and 3 or 4 recommended courses.

Also, if you take the MCAT more than once, is only your highest score submitted, or will the schools see multiple attempts?

Thanks!

 

[battousai]

Is this also true if you have not completed your undergrad degree? If I get all the pre-reqs done and take the MCAT, but I am still finishing up some other classes needed to graduate, would it still be a good idea to apply?

I will have taken all of the required courses and 3 or 4 recommended courses.

Also, if you take the MCAT more than once, is only your highest score submitted, or will the schools see multiple attempts?

Thanks!

You can apply as long as you'll have your prerequisites done by the time you matriculate.

As for the MCAT, each school is different; some will just take your most recent one, some will take your highest and some will take your highest subscores. Either way, they will see all of your attempts.

 

[Amygdarya]

Also, if you take the MCAT more than once, is only your highest score submitted, or will the schools see multiple attempts?

This depends on individual school policies: some schools consider all scores, some the last one, some the best one, some take a combinations of your best scores in each section. This information can be found on web sites of some schools, not all though.

 

[LiveLoveLearn]

So you have all your prerequisites done except for upper level Biology classes? Correct along with the three labs that I mentioned (OCHEM GEN II and BIO).

I don't have many of
OTHER RECOMMENDED COURSES.

I also don't feel like I would want to take that many courses in fall semester because i would want to study for the MCAT. Then I have those labs too do I need to finish those before applying? Do I need these other recommended courses? How many of these other Bio classes do I need/ what should I take? School ends around DEC so JAN FEB MARCH is 3 months to study for the MCAT is that enough or do I need to take spring classes too?

Is June early enough to apply? I am looking at state schools LSU ( NO and SHREVEPORT) and lower tier OOS friendly schools.

Sorry, but I'm confused. Can you list exactly what prerequisites you still need to take? When you say that you just have upper-level bio classes left to take, I assume that may mean Biochemistry and Cell Bio (both of which are not required at most schools, but are for some (Biochm more than Cell Bio) and are recommended, in general). Maybe you are also including Genetics (required at a couple schools, I think)?

As for recommendations, I would defiitely take Biochem. Cell Bio isn't necessary, unless a specific school that you want to attend requires it, and it is a ton of work. Genetics is helpful for the MCAT, but if you take a prep course, I don't think it is necessary (again, as long as you don't want to apply somewhere that requires it). I would also look into requirements at schools that you want to attend for Calculus and Statistics courses.

If you just have to take a few classes, I definitely think that it is doable to take the MCAT in the Spring and apply next round. You will also need to get some volunteering and shadowing in, especially if you don't have prior work experience in the medical field.

 

[patrickmbyrne]

The only required ones that I need to take are the labs I mentioned. I don't really need any required courses. I only need to take recommended courses and EC's. I guess I'd like to know which courses would help me the most on the MCAT / schools like to see? I have no work experience in the medical field and I haven't taken a stats course, but I have taken 4 semesters of calculus (my best courses) and a probabilities course.

 

[battousai]

The only required ones that I need to take are the labs I mentioned. I don't really need any required courses. I only need to take recommended courses and EC's. I guess I'd like to know which courses would help me the most on the MCAT / schools like to see? I have no work experience in the medical field and I haven't taken a stats course, but I have taken 4 semesters of calculus (my best courses) and a probabilities course.

The courses schools recommend you take also vary from school to school. I know some require biochem and calc, while others don't.

Classes that would be useful for the MCAT would include biochem, genetics, and anatomy/physiology. Everything else on it is pretty much covered in your prerequisites. I've found that writing/reading intensive classes (could be science, could be english/history/philosophy) helps a lot with the verbal part of the MCAT.