Spring 2013 4.0 Competition

[NontradCA]

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I wanted to repeat this thread from last semester as it had interesting outcomes. I also tend to think that going in aiming for perfection yields great results. List the schedule you intend to partake in next semester.

School:
Molec Cell + lab: 4 units
Ochem 2 + lab: 5 units
Gen Chem 2 +lab: 5 units
Soc theory: 4 units
Law of evidence: 3units
Corrections: 3 units

DO shadowing
10 hours work/week
Volunteer 3 hours/week

 

[darklabel]

Great thread and looks good. I was wondering what you thought about my current list:

Physiology + Lab (4)
Food Microbiology (3)
Genetics (3)
Biochem Lab (2)
Biochem 2 (4)

Total: 16 + 1 teaching credit.

Too much or just right? I'm definitely going for the 4.0 Gold before I graduate.

 

[ToKingdomCome]

My Final semester

Independent Anthropology Research - 1.0 Unit
Classics Rome and Barbarians - 1.0 Unit
Biochemistry (lecture and lab) - 1.0 unit
Intro to physical anthropology - 1.0 unit
Independent Chemistry Research - 0.5 unit

I've been doing chem research the past 2-2.5 years. Decided to take it easier this semester. Nearing publication.

The only thing I want next semester is a good MCAT score. I'm a retake so I'm pushing through and trying to do well for a Jan 26 date.

 

[NontradCA]

Great thread and looks good. I was wondering what you thought about my current list:

Physiology + Lab (4)
Food Microbiology (3)
Genetics (3)
Biochem Lab (2)
Biochem 2 (4)

Total: 16 + 1 teaching credit.

Too much or just right? I'm definitely going for the 4.0 Gold before I graduate.

It all depends on you. It doesn't seem like too heavy of a load, as upper division courses tend to be less tedious. N=1: I took 21 credits last semester and crammed throughout the entire semester. I became burnt out midway, but still ended up with a 3.75. I now know what kind of time management and pacing a heavy load takes; hence me taking 24 this semester. Just don't give up and don't try to cram for finals is my best advice ha. I am personally going to spend allot time for studying everyday and not procrastinate.

 

[NontradCA]

My Final semester

Independent Anthropology Research - 1.0 Unit
Classics Rome and Barbarians - 1.0 Unit
Biochemistry (lecture and lab) - 1.0 unit
Intro to physical anthropology - 1.0 unit
Independent Chemistry Research - 0.5 unit

I've been doing chem research the past 2-2.5 years. Decided to take it easier this semester. Nearing publication.

The only thing I want next semester is a good MCAT score. I'm a retake so I'm pushing through and trying to do well for a Jan 26 date.

Did you have typos on those units?

 

[NontradCA]

I'll be doing Starting Strength during this semester. Another way to mitigate burnout and staying focused. In my opinion anyone interested in lifting weights should read Mark's book or take a read of the wiki.

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Biopsych Seminar (3)
Embryology/ Developmental Biology (3)
Clinical Psychology (3)
Neuroethology (3)
Research ( 10h)
+ Finishing up Mcat studying
+ Doing Hospital volunteering.

 

[evrybodylies]

Pathogenic Micro: 4 units
Biotechnology: 4 units
Bio-ethics: 3 units
Literary Experience: 3 units
Biochem Lab: 1 unit

Total: 15

My last semester as an undergrad then the real fun begins!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Did you have typos on those units?

Some schools have .5 to 2 unit classes. It's not too uncommon.

 

[NontradCA]

Pathogenic Micro: 4 units
Biotechnology: 4 units
Bio-ethics: 3 units
Literary Experience: 3 units
Biochem Lab: 1 unit

Total: 15

My last semester as an undergrad then the real fun begins!

Nice, did you apply this cycle?

 

[NontradCA]

Some schools have .5 to 2 unit classes. It's not too uncommon.

Good to know, thank you full metal alchemist 🙂

 

[Buckeye1992]

Human Anatomy w/ lab (and cadavers 🙂 )(5 cr)
Biochemistry (4cr)
Epidemiology (3cr)
ASL 2 (4cr)

Volunteering ~10 hrs / week

 

[ToKingdomCome]

Yea I go to a liberal arts school. Everything basically counts as 1 unit, whether if its gen chem with lab or intro to sociology.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Yea I go to a liberal arts school. Everything basically counts as 1 unit, whether if its gen chem with lab or intro to sociology.

You can make your friends feel awkward by telling them you take 4 to 5 credits a semester.

 

[Mehd School]

In.

Started this thread last semester, but ended up with a 3.8....lol

Spring I'm taking:

evolution - 4
Spanish - 3
Research - 4
Bio History - 3
Phys lab - 1
-----------------------
15 hours. Evolution will be the only time requiring class, so I fully expect a cruising 4.0.

Also taking my mcat in April, and taking a Kaplan class starting in two weeks. Expecting mid 30's.

Going to be busy, but nothing like my 17 hour upper level science semester I finished last month.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

In.

Started this thread last semester, but ended up with a 3.8....lol

Spring I'm taking:

evolution - 4
Spanish - 3
Research - 4
Bio History - 3
Phys lab - 1
-----------------------
15 hours. Evolution will be the only time requiring class, so I fully expect a cruising 4.0.

Also taking my mcat in April, and taking a Kaplan class starting in two weeks. Expecting mid 30's.

Going to be busy, but nothing like my 17 hour upper level science semester I finished last month.

Nice, though I think you'd be better off learning science from a hobo than Kaplan. They do possess an enormous question bank and what not, but they won't teach you how to do any of the problems.

 

[CapCrunch]

In. Shooting for that 4.0 in my final semester senior year.

Anatomy and Physiology II- 4cr.
Ecology- 4cr.
Genetics- 3cr.
Senior Year Experience (LOL)- 1cr.

I will have to do a post-bacc due to some poor grades junior year after transferring, but look forward to the 4.0 challenge. Not stopping until I get it.

 

[darklabel]

I take it most of us here ar applying for Class of 2018?

Definitely see some great applicants in the future 😎

 

[WildEMDoc]

Final semester of grad school before medical school!

Symbiosis (3)
Microbial Physiology (3)
Business Entrepreneurship (3)
Molecular Biology Lab Methods (3)
Ecology of Fragmented Landscapes (1)

 

[Skeeks]

I am totally up for this!

Medical Microbiology (5)
Virology (4)
Networking Telecommunications and Multimedia (3)
Physics II Lab (1)
Research completion
Service (30hrs)
DO shadowing (30hrs)

 

[Mehd School]

Nice, though I think you'd be better off learning science from a hobo than Kaplan. They do possess an enormous question bank and what not, but they won't teach you how to do any of the problems.

I've read multiple posts of yours regarding the downfall of Kaplan. Now, I'm not exactly sure what happened in your case, but I know many, many people that attribute their test success to them. The course is what you make of it.

 

[NontradCA]

I've read multiple posts of yours regarding the downfall of Kaplan. Now, I'm not exactly sure what happened in your case, but I know many, many people that attribute their test success to them. The course is what you make of it.

On that same note I have a friend who offered me the complete MCAT set, what would be your take on just using that and not buying the TBR?

 

[Mehd School]

On that same note I have a friend who offered me the complete MCAT set, what would be your take on just using that and not buying the TBR?

Kaplan's book set? Skip it. I'm using EK books instead of Kaplan for the course. I'd go with tbr, even though I personally didn't care for it that much.

If you're quite fresh with the material, look into exam krackers. If not, look into tbr or Princeton. Kaplans books are pretty sub par.

 

[NontradCA]

Kaplan's book set? Skip it. I'm using EK books instead of Kaplan for the course. I'd go with tbr, even though I personally didn't care for it that much.

If you're quite fresh with the material, look into exam krackers. If not, look into tbr or Princeton. Kaplans books are pretty sub par.

Well I'll be taking it in June after Ochem 2, molec cell, and chem 2.. so it should be fresh. Maybe I will use the Kaplan during the semester and TBR in April when I really start to cram. What do you think?

 

[Mehd School]

Well I'll be taking it in June after Ochem 2, molec cell, and chem 2.. so it should be fresh. Maybe I will use the Kaplan during the semester and TBR in April when I really start to cram. What do you think?

Tbr is the anti cram. They're pretty lengthy, and textbook like. I found them to be mostly helpful, but quite dry and long winded.

I'm cramming the entire exam krackers series in 2.5 weeks before my class starts, and its going well. Chapters are roughly 20 concise pages compared to tbr 40-50 fluff pages.

This is all my opinion though. Most people here seem to worship tbr and will call me crazy.

 

[darklabel]

Tbr is the anti cram. They're pretty lengthy, and textbook like. I found them to be mostly helpful, but quite dry and long winded.

I'm cramming the entire exam krackers series in 2.5 weeks before my class starts, and its going well. Chapters are roughly 20 concise pages compared to tbr 40-50 fluff pages.

This is all my opinion though. Most people here seem to worship tbr and will call me crazy.

I'd suggest Princeton Review over TBR but thats just me. EK is king if you have some idea and the practice questions throughout the book and the passages in the back are a solid help for me.

TPR is sort of "middle of the road" between TBR and EK. When I saw the TBR pages I just said "forget that". As Mehd School points out, ain't nobody got time for 40 - 50 pages of fluff.

 

[Skeeks]

FWIW I used EK books too and loved them. I also used course saver dot com (for some reason the forum is editing it when I put it as one word?!) aka Chad's Videos to compliment the EK books and found them to be VERY helpful! I just did self study using these resources and did alright on the MCAT. Good luck! The best advice I can give you is make sure you are chill through the whole thing. Not freaking out on test day is the best way to score well on the MCAT IMO.

 

[NontradCA]

Tbr is the anti cram. They're pretty lengthy, and textbook like. I found them to be mostly helpful, but quite dry and long winded.

I'm cramming the entire exam krackers series in 2.5 weeks before my class starts, and its going well. Chapters are roughly 20 concise pages compared to tbr 40-50 fluff pages.

This is all my opinion though. Most people here seem to worship tbr and will call me crazy.

Interesting, yea I've only read positive things positive things about TBR. I will look into EK though. What's your plan of attack for prep during a semester course load?

 

[NontradCA]

FWIW I used EK books too and loved them. I also used course saver dot com (for some reason the forum is editing it when I put it as one word?!) aka Chad's Videos to compliment the EK books and found them to be VERY helpful! I just did self study using these resources and did alright on the MCAT. Good luck! The best advice I can give you is make sure you are chill through the whole thing. Not freaking out on test day is the best way to score well on the MCAT IMO.

Ty. How far ahead did you start prepping?

 

[Skeeks]

I studied over the summer to test on September 1st. My wife and I are having a baby this semester so I didnt want to try studying for the beast on top of everything else this semester. I also used the EK audio osmosis and found that helpful too. It goes right along with the books and it's easy to listen to in the car so you make use of the most time you can.

 

[Mehd School]

Interesting, yea I've only read positive things positive things about TBR. I will look into EK though. What's your plan of attack for prep during a semester course load?

I have a very light class load. I have Mondays and Wednesdays dedicated solely to prep, as well as the weekends.

Ty. How far ahead did you start prepping?

I prepped all summer for the 8/4 test, and crashed and burned the last two weeks. I got a 31 on a test followed by two 19's. Ended up voiding to be safe.

 

[Skeeks]

I prepped all summer for the 8/4 test, and crashed and burned the last two weeks. I got a 31 on a test followed by two 19's. Ended up voiding to be safe.

Wow, thats brutal man. Are you taking it in spring then?

 

[Mehd School]

Wow, thats brutal man. Are you taking it in spring then?

Planning for the late April test. Prepping last summer was priceless. Everything is review now.

 

[NontradCA]

I was planning on two months of prep, but you are making me nervous with your experiences. Advice- taking 24 credits this semester, so prepping after semester mainly. Would it be worth it to apply late (August) or just go ahead in June? I'm going to apply this cycle.

 

[Mehd School]

I was planning on two months of prep, but you are making me nervous with your experiences. Advice- taking 24 credits this semester, so prepping after semester mainly. Would it be worth it to apply late (August) or just go ahead in June? I'm going to apply this cycle.

I'll let someone else field that one. I'm not entirely sure.

 

[Skeeks]

I was planning on two months of prep, but you are making me nervous with your experiences. Advice- taking 24 credits this semester, so prepping after semester mainly. Would it be worth it to apply late (August) or just go ahead in June? I'm going to apply this cycle.

Two months is fairly decent IMO. I think most people spend about three, but if you were to make MCAT prep your fulltime job (literally about 30-40hrs a weeks of study) then I think you can pull it off.

I had the summer (3 months) but we took a week off here and there for vacations (we took one trip to Canada two weeks before my test! I was freaking out and didnt really want to go at first because I was so nervous) so I would say I probably got two months of full time studying at the most and it turned out alright.

Just make sure you are REASONABLY comfortable with the material. You will never feel ready for the MCAT, just know that now and dont expect that you will, so just study till you think you are done with what you can cramm in your brain.

 

[darklabel]

I was planning on two months of prep, but you are making me nervous with your experiences. Advice- taking 24 credits this semester, so prepping after semester mainly. Would it be worth it to apply late (August) or just go ahead in June? I'm going to apply this cycle.

24 credits (which is more than my college even allows) will leave you NO room for MCAT prep so I'll venture to say summer is a good time to study.

But why not take fewer credits, study MCAT now and take it April/May?

 

[NontradCA]

24 credits (which is more than my college even allows) will leave you NO room for MCAT prep so I'll venture to say summer is a good time to study.

But why not take fewer credits, study MCAT now and take it April/May?

For retake purposes, two classes are retake from 10 years ago..and they're both online so should be cake.

 

[NontradCA]

Two months is fairly decent IMO. I think most people spend about three, but if you were to make MCAT prep your fulltime job (literally about 30-40hrs a weeks of study) then I think you can pull it off.

I had the summer (3 months) but we took a week off here and there for vacations (we took one trip to Canada two weeks before my test! I was freaking out and didnt really want to go at first because I was so nervous) so I would say I probably got two months of full time studying at the most and it turned out alright.

Just make sure you are REASONABLY comfortable with the material. You will never feel ready for the MCAT, just know that now and dont expect that you will, so just study till you think you are done with what you can cramm in your brain.

Ok thanks for that. 😍

 

[TheGoodLife570]

going into my second semester of pre-reqs. Somehow pulled a 4.0 in Chem 1 last semester, even though I haven't taken a science class since senior year high school (4 years).

Taking a mixture of science and business
Chem 2 w/lab
Bio 2 w/ lab
MGT352 Productions & operations management
ENT252 Entrepreneurial leader
BA364-spring break trip to europe

debating adding 1 more class but I'm not sure because it'll my first semester with multiple science classes. Any thoughts?

 

[Life Sucks]

Well, I'm a different track compared to everyone, since I haven't taken any science so far freshman year, and I'm doing all my electives early.
But I don't have anything that'll be a challange. I'm just taking...

Critical thinking
College Algebra
Psychology
Composition
Spanish

Yeah it's starting out easy, but the pacient route, is the successfull route.

 

[alittlesenough]

let's do this! i'm taking:

anatomy and physiology (w/ lab) - 4
nutrition (online) - 3

i'm also working 45+ hours per week, and intend to start a new volunteering position on saturdays. i'm also hoping to shadow a little more! 4.0 here we go!

 

[touchpause13]

disease bio (3)
evolution (3)
evolution R (1)
feminist theory (3)
young adult lit (3)
comp (3)
american lit 2 (3)
yoga (1)

last semester! 🙂

 

[advair250]

tldr

 

[kgpremed11]

evolution (3)
evolution R (1)
feminist theory (3)
young adult lit (3)
comp (3)
american lit 2 (3)
yoga (1)

last semester! 🙂

ewww.

 

[kgpremed11]

Is it fair for part-time students who are studying ~6 hours a day for the MCAT to get in on this? Im only taking

Biochemistry=4hrs
Organic Chemistry 2 lab = 2hrs

 

[runlearnplay]

I'll join in on this

A and P w/lab 4
College Algebra 5
Art History 4
Health 3

Volunteering 4 hrs/week

 

[touchpause13]

ewww.

Real mature love. I don't diss your class schedule or major, don't diss mine.

 

[gc91]

I definitely think a 4.0 is realistic for me this semester as long as I don't get slack off. Plus if I crack a 4.0 it will make my final cGPA a 3.7.

Evolution (4)
Arthurian Legend (3)
Catholic Theology (3)
Paleobiology (3)
Research (3)
--------------------
16 credit hours and I'm not sure what my work schedule will be yet, probably 6 to 8 hours a week.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Real mature love. I don't diss your class schedule or major, don't diss mine.

You have admit though, most women studies classes are really depressing. But anyway, I tend to find feminist theory to be a bit annoying because it tends to approach biology and evolutionary psychology with disdain. But then again I might be generalizing Rebecca Watson and my Women's Psych professor to all feminist theorists.