Please help, as I'm not sure what to do.
I'm a 5th year senior about to get a B.S. in Neuroscience.
My issue is that I have yet to take a year of physics and I want to get done with the med school admissions procedure asap for acceptance/rejection.
1) I will finish my degree this year in December.
2) I have yet to take a year of physics.
3) At best, I've found that I could take that year of physics at DePaul (private university) within a semester's time. Otherwise, I will have to take it at a community college at my hometown, and their physics courses don't start until fall
5) I have yet to study for the MCAT
6) I've read that I should take the MCAT in April and submit all of my materials to adcoms at medical schools in April for a higher chance of admission than found in later months.
7) If I go to DePaul, I won't be able to start Physics II until March 28th.
8) I don't think there will be too much of a problem of me studying, because I'll have my degree wrapped up, all I will be taking would be the physics courses, and I more than likely could study physics and for the MCAT all day long each day.
9) I have yet to rack up some volunteer experience and shadow experience.
10) I'll be 25-years-old soon, and I really don't like the idea of waiting until 28 to get into medical school. The idea of being half-way to a Ph. D completion by then makes me more desiring of a graduate program than a medical school.
What should I do? How can I go about doing well on the MCAT as soon as possible?
I'm going to be taking 9 credits in the fall, which is calculus, organic lab, and some 300-level psych class for my bacc. I should have available time during the fall to study for the MCAT.
- I got As in both semesters of what is now called "General chem."
- I did ok with Org I by getting a B (when I finally understood it was about memorizing mechanisms).
- I didn't do well in Org I, because retrosynth killed me: got a C
I'm a bit of a bio whiz.
- Bs in first-year biology (because I was junior transfer w/o a clue on how to study for this school's exams)
- A in cell bio
- A in microbio lab at the uni level
- B in genetics; A in genetics lab
I think I did poorly (didn't get As, expect in organic), because I didn't notice that most exam material was really lecture based, which was a large change from how I learned to study at my previous college. Furthermore, I was taking all my major required courses at once, because I transferred in.
I think if I did well in some classes, maybe I won't have to study as much. Perhaps I'll have to devote more time to organic and physics?
I'm not sure what kind of vocabulary is expected of me on the MCAT. I'm a native English speaker, and I am fond of language and rhetoric but may not have an expansive lexicon. My study skills, listening skills, and reading skills have vastly improved. I go to symposiums, seminars, and churn through neurobiology research papers in quick time. I've become better at killing exams, staying up longer hours, and constantly reviewing.
If I don't take physics at DePaul, I suspect I could still study physics in my own time. I would more than likely go back to my community college and hit up the physics professor for guidance and advice (or perhaps sit-in on a physics II class during 2012 spring if I study physics I during winter break). It seems like if I don't go to DePaul, then self-study for the April 2012 MCAT is my only option to take it in April. I'm not sure what medical school adcoms will think of that. Maybe they'll see self-initiative in me. I don't know.
The main thing shying me away from DePaul is the cost. But I know if I don't do it, I might not be prepared for the MCAT in April of 2012.
I don't have many options, and I'm not sure what to do.
Here's how I see it:
DePaul option:
0) Study physics ahead of time to get an edge
1) Enter Physics I in Jan. 2012
2) Enter Physics II on March 28th 2012
3) Take MCAT in April
4) Hope to be accepted to medical school in August of 2013.
Community college option:
0) Study physics ahead of time
1) Take April 2012 MCAT
2) Take Physics I in August of 2012
3) Study more physics and MCAT stuff
3) Re-test MCAT if I did poorly
4) Take Physics II in Jan. of 2013
5) Hopefully be accepted to a medical school in August of 2013
The community college option seems more iffy.
Back in my hometown, I'm friends with professional mathematicians, engineers, chemists, and physicists. So, I have a decent resource pool to tap if I need immediate help with studying physics.
I'm a 5th year senior about to get a B.S. in Neuroscience.
My issue is that I have yet to take a year of physics and I want to get done with the med school admissions procedure asap for acceptance/rejection.
1) I will finish my degree this year in December.
2) I have yet to take a year of physics.
3) At best, I've found that I could take that year of physics at DePaul (private university) within a semester's time. Otherwise, I will have to take it at a community college at my hometown, and their physics courses don't start until fall
5) I have yet to study for the MCAT
6) I've read that I should take the MCAT in April and submit all of my materials to adcoms at medical schools in April for a higher chance of admission than found in later months.
7) If I go to DePaul, I won't be able to start Physics II until March 28th.
8) I don't think there will be too much of a problem of me studying, because I'll have my degree wrapped up, all I will be taking would be the physics courses, and I more than likely could study physics and for the MCAT all day long each day.
9) I have yet to rack up some volunteer experience and shadow experience.
10) I'll be 25-years-old soon, and I really don't like the idea of waiting until 28 to get into medical school. The idea of being half-way to a Ph. D completion by then makes me more desiring of a graduate program than a medical school.
What should I do? How can I go about doing well on the MCAT as soon as possible?
I'm going to be taking 9 credits in the fall, which is calculus, organic lab, and some 300-level psych class for my bacc. I should have available time during the fall to study for the MCAT.
- I got As in both semesters of what is now called "General chem."
- I did ok with Org I by getting a B (when I finally understood it was about memorizing mechanisms).
- I didn't do well in Org I, because retrosynth killed me: got a C
I'm a bit of a bio whiz.
- Bs in first-year biology (because I was junior transfer w/o a clue on how to study for this school's exams)
- A in cell bio
- A in microbio lab at the uni level
- B in genetics; A in genetics lab
I think I did poorly (didn't get As, expect in organic), because I didn't notice that most exam material was really lecture based, which was a large change from how I learned to study at my previous college. Furthermore, I was taking all my major required courses at once, because I transferred in.
I think if I did well in some classes, maybe I won't have to study as much. Perhaps I'll have to devote more time to organic and physics?
I'm not sure what kind of vocabulary is expected of me on the MCAT. I'm a native English speaker, and I am fond of language and rhetoric but may not have an expansive lexicon. My study skills, listening skills, and reading skills have vastly improved. I go to symposiums, seminars, and churn through neurobiology research papers in quick time. I've become better at killing exams, staying up longer hours, and constantly reviewing.
If I don't take physics at DePaul, I suspect I could still study physics in my own time. I would more than likely go back to my community college and hit up the physics professor for guidance and advice (or perhaps sit-in on a physics II class during 2012 spring if I study physics I during winter break). It seems like if I don't go to DePaul, then self-study for the April 2012 MCAT is my only option to take it in April. I'm not sure what medical school adcoms will think of that. Maybe they'll see self-initiative in me. I don't know.
The main thing shying me away from DePaul is the cost. But I know if I don't do it, I might not be prepared for the MCAT in April of 2012.
I don't have many options, and I'm not sure what to do.
Here's how I see it:
DePaul option:
0) Study physics ahead of time to get an edge
1) Enter Physics I in Jan. 2012
2) Enter Physics II on March 28th 2012
3) Take MCAT in April
4) Hope to be accepted to medical school in August of 2013.
Community college option:
0) Study physics ahead of time
1) Take April 2012 MCAT
2) Take Physics I in August of 2012
3) Study more physics and MCAT stuff
3) Re-test MCAT if I did poorly
4) Take Physics II in Jan. of 2013
5) Hopefully be accepted to a medical school in August of 2013
The community college option seems more iffy.
Back in my hometown, I'm friends with professional mathematicians, engineers, chemists, and physicists. So, I have a decent resource pool to tap if I need immediate help with studying physics.
Last edited:
