Questions! Your opinion matters =)!

[mrp0pularrr]

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Hi!

I'm a third year undergrad and I realize I'm not that far from graduation and from possibly starting a new chapter in my life. I want to find out certain things and I've received opinions from my advisor and some from personal friends regarding this situation. But I want to hear from others in order to formulate a decision on what I should do next.

I am currently taking:

1. Organic Chemistry I (A average)
2. Physics I (A)
3. Piano I (A)
4. Sociology (Starts in October 21, 2013 - 8 week course)

I am a Biology major with a minor in Music. My school currently added a new program within the biology department - Behavioral Neuroscience, which I might be considering. But as of right now, I am basing my classes on the major I am designated in. My advisor suggested for me to take the MCAT during Summer 2014 and wants me to take the following courses in order to be prepared for what's to come:

1. Organic Chemistry II
2. Physics II
3. Music Minor Elective
4. Biology elective

I feel very comfortable taking on more courses since I'm doing extraordinarily well with my current course load - why not show I can handle more, right? I have taken all the minimum prerequisites needed in order to be good for the exam. All that is left is Organic II and Physics II. I've read through some MCAT test prep exams and I've seen some material, especially in biology, that I've never been instructed on - mostly anatomy and physiology. My question to everyone is - what upper division undergraduate course helped them best with the Biology portion of the exam?

I was thinking about taking Anatomy and Physiology I in the Winter semester that is approaching soon, but I do not know if it will help any.


Also, I know my advisor said it would be best to take my exam during the summer, but would it be best to take it later on? I am trying to register for the Fall 2015 medical school application cycle and I hear the early you apply the better it is. So is it advisable to continue my self-prepping for the exam until the summer the way I have it? I am using Barron's MCAT 12th edition - anyone care to give any pointers on which test-prep material and books helped them in preparations for their exam?

Your opinions matter to me! Feel free to make any comments. Keep it respectful and professional! =)

 

[deleted407021]

You are wanting to enter med school in the Fall of 2016, right? I have not taken the MCAT yet, but I plan to in August of '14 after the break. It has been recommended to me to take Cell Biology and Biochemistry if possible. They cover a lot of information that's on the exam, apparently.

 

[mrp0pularrr]

You are wanting to enter med school in the Fall of 2016, right? I have not taken the MCAT yet, but I plan to in August of '14 after the break. It has been recommended to me to take Cell Biology and Biochemistry if possible. They cover a lot of information that's on the exam, apparently.

No. I plan on entering med school for Fall 2015 - two years from now. The exam is going to change for people who plan to take it in 2015. It is going to add sociology, psychology, and biochemistry. So far from what I've been told there's going to be more biology and verbal on the exam than everything else. The physics and general chemistry portion seem to be equally the same amount and they say there is very few organic chemistry material.

All this information was given to me by a Kaplan representative when they came to my pre-med society club meeting.

 

[deleted407021]

Yes, the test is expanding. The scoring is changing too (60 max I think). Try and take biochem and cell biology (maybe physiology) before the exam. That should give you more than enough background to do well in the biological section.

 

[mrp0pularrr]

I took two semesters each of bio, physics, gen chem, and orgo then spent a month studying with Exam Krackers for the MCAT (got a 33). There was definitely nothing from cell or biochem on my exam that isn't covered at an appropriate level in other classes. There's an outline on the AAMC website that documents what you are expected to know for the exam, I'd suggest looking over it to see which topics are unfamiliar to you. But hey, more classes can't hurt.

mrp0pularrr - For what it's worth, I really loved Exam Krackers for basic overviews of the information I needed for the MCAT. Take as many practice exams as you can, from a variety of sources, but especially the official ones. I felt that nothing I studied compared to the difficulty of the real things PS, though. It looks like you'll have taken the right classes to do well on the MCAT if you spend enough time studying. Good luck!

Thanks for the input! =)

 

[NeuroNYC]

Biochem and Cell bio really help, I feel that genetics is also a good course to take. Based on my experience, the kaplan representative was right, OChem is low yield for the MCAT, but definitely important to know because it does show up a little bit. Take every practice test you can, but make sure you take them in realistic conditions. If you take a practice test with your notes sitting right next to you, the test will not only fail to demonstrate where you need improvement, but you will also have one test less to take in the future. Anatomy would be super low yield in my opinion. Physiology I found to be helpful, but it's all variable. The e-mcat official practice tests are great, because you can get solutions (not just answers) to questions you get wrong.

Something that you may not have heard but which I personally feel is important: know how to read a research paper and interpret data from figures. If you have a research background then great, this is less important for you. Sometimes the MCAT passages will present data as it would be presented in a research paper, and then ask you to draw conclusions.

As far as when to take the test, applying early in the cycle is really important. Your application will not be complete if the schools are waiting on results from the MCAT. If you plan to take the test Summer of 2014, to enter in 2015, I think you probably want to take the MCAT in June. Hopefully you will be satisfied with the results and wont have to take the test again in July, because if thats the case you may run into some troubles and you'll have to tell the schools to wait for an additional MCAT score, which might hold things up. Personally, I took the MCAT in August of 2012 and am applying for entrance in 2014. Having the entire summer to study with minimal distractions is great, but if you put in the time and really prepare for that June test, you wont have problems.

Goodluck!

 

[kyamh]

As far as when to take the test, applying early in the cycle is really important. Your application will not be complete if the schools are waiting on results from the MCAT. If you plan to take the test Summer of 2014, to enter in 2015, I think you probably want to take the MCAT in June. Hopefully you will be satisfied with the results and wont have to take the test again in July, because if thats the case you may run into some troubles and you'll have to tell the schools to wait for an additional MCAT score, which might hold things up. Personally, I took the MCAT in August of 2012 and am applying for entrance in 2014. Having the entire summer to study with minimal distractions is great, but if you put in the time and really prepare for that June test, you wont have problems.

Goodluck!

I agree with NeuroNYC...August MCAT is pretty late. Consider this argument too: if you are studying for the MCAT the summer you are applying, that means you aren't writing essays. Secondary preparation takes forever! There is a recent thread around here all about secondary burnout and most of us haven't been trying to fit MCAT studying around all that writing like you are planning to 🙄

If you choose to take an August MCAT during your application cycle you will either sacrifice study time to write essays, or you won't get started on essays until after your MCAT......and what happens if you aren't happy with your score? Take in again in September and not complete until October 😕

 

[mrp0pularrr]

Biochem and Cell bio really help, I feel that genetics is also a good course to take. Based on my experience, the kaplan representative was right, OChem is low yield for the MCAT, but definitely important to know because it does show up a little bit. Take every practice test you can, but make sure you take them in realistic conditions. If you take a practice test with your notes sitting right next to you, the test will not only fail to demonstrate where you need improvement, but you will also have one test less to take in the future. Anatomy would be super low yield in my opinion. Physiology I found to be helpful, but it's all variable. The e-mcat official practice tests are great, because you can get solutions (not just answers) to questions you get wrong.

Something that you may not have heard but which I personally feel is important: know how to read a research paper and interpret data from figures. If you have a research background then great, this is less important for you. Sometimes the MCAT passages will present data as it would be presented in a research paper, and then ask you to draw conclusions.

As far as when to take the test, applying early in the cycle is really important. Your application will not be complete if the schools are waiting on results from the MCAT. If you plan to take the test Summer of 2014, to enter in 2015, I think you probably want to take the MCAT in June. Hopefully you will be satisfied with the results and wont have to take the test again in July, because if thats the case you may run into some troubles and you'll have to tell the schools to wait for an additional MCAT score, which might hold things up. Personally, I took the MCAT in August of 2012 and am applying for entrance in 2014. Having the entire summer to study with minimal distractions is great, but if you put in the time and really prepare for that June test, you wont have problems.

Goodluck!

Thank you for the advice! So far I'm getting a better sense of how to go about these next 7 months. I do plan on taking the MCAT early - possibly around May or June. I am preparing anything I can ahead of time that way nothing seems so overwhelming all at once.

As of right now, I wouldn't be able to take Biochemistry yet since I do not fulfill the prerequisites. I saw some advance genetic theories on my pamphlet given to me by the Kaplan representative and I also saw a lot of anatomy and physiology topics such as the different systems (endocrine, respiratory, etc.). I'm not sure if the topic is touched in cell biology or genetics (highly doubt it), but out of everything I feel that's one area I would need to work on.

But I will take everything into account what you have said about reading research papers and interpreting data. Thank you for the heads up!

 

[mrp0pularrr]

I agree with NeuroNYC...August MCAT is pretty late. Consider this argument too: if you are studying for the MCAT the summer you are applying, that means you aren't writing essays. Secondary preparation takes forever! There is a recent thread around here all about secondary burnout and most of us haven't been trying to fit MCAT studying around all that writing like you are planning to 🙄

If you choose to take an August MCAT during your application cycle you will either sacrifice study time to write essays, or you won't get started on essays until after your MCAT......and what happens if you aren't happy with your score? Take in again in September and not complete until October 😕

I understand. I guess it's a good thing I started asking these questions and prepping with anticipation.