Questions, questions. . .so many questions!

[JulianCrane]

OK, so after doing nothing virtually for a whole month (and loving it), I've decided to go to the bookstore and purchase an MCAT prep manual. I take it next April. Is this too early?? I have taken physics yet either, so should I even be studying for the MCAT yet? Secondly, I got my grades back, and I got an A- in Orgo 2 -- way up from the B I got in Orgo 1. How will that look to the AdComs? And finally, does the undergraduate school you go to really make a difference in the admissions process? Whew, sorry for the questions, but as they say, "Inquiring minds wanna know."

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[efex101]

Okay first of all starting to study now for the MCAT seems a little drastic. What you could do is start reading the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and other convoluted essays you can get your hands on. You can start doing VR passages that should be fine. The Physical Sciences require you to have Physics so studying for that may be somewhat counterproductive (sp?). I will also be taking the April MCAT and will start studying three months prior (good rule of thumb) but will start with VR somewhat earlier.
About your grades in Orgo, they seem fine so do not worry about that. The school that you go to matters in that if the adcom's *think* that your gpa was inflated or the school is not very rigorous they will expect the mcat to correlate with the gpa. I have a 4.0 from a small liberal arts school and my mcat will have to be pretty good. Another thing is that ivy league schools usually accept more ivy league pre-meds, but this could be because not enough non-ivy pre-meds apply to those schools. Who knows. Just do as well as you can, apply to a wide range of schools, kick ass on the mcat and you will be fine.

 

[hellokitty]

It's never too early to start studying if you have the time and motivation to do it. You can work on bio and orgo (as well as verbal) passages so that the material will fresh in your mind. It will be hard to relearn everything next year, assuming that you will have a full courseload.

 

[Doc AdamK in 2006]

JulianCrane:

I agree with efex101. I would start reading everything from Novels to Daily Newspaper. Remember the MCAT verbal has 9 passages with very different styles of writing. If you master everything from Dante to Vonnegut you will do well.

However practice makes perfect. That simple Prep manual might not do the trick. I completed over 400-500 passages to prepare myself. After you finish that manual you might be wanting more passages.

AK

 

[relatively prime]

I second what efex101 said. It is possible to start studying too early... but never to early to start practicing your reading comprehension. You don't want to burn out.

good luck

 

[Cydney Foote]

Great suggestions about increasing your reading comprehension by reading everything you can get your hands on. I'd also encourage you to get in the habit of writing a little every day in preparation for the personal statement (e.g., keeping a journal). If you sit down a year from now to write your life story, it'll be a huge task. On the other hand, if you've written dribs and drabs along the way, you're going to feel more comfortable when you face writing the actual essay. Good luck!