take MCAT without 2 semester of physics?

[smc927]

<br>
I'm facing two options. Once is to cram in organic chem this summer and take the August MCAT. The biggest obstacle I see here (besides the challenge of cramming both semesters of org chem into one summer) is PHYSICS .......<br>
I will have taken one physics course, but not the other. Is it possible to take the MCAT and do well, having spent several months using Kaplan (and others) with all med school requirements completed <i>except</i> the seconds physics? <br>
I've read of people who never took the pre-reqs but took the MCAT (for whatever reason, not to get into med school though) and did very well.<br>
Option two is to wait all of next year for the April 05 MCAT. This is when I graduate and would leave me another year before I could actually start med school.<br>
I really don't want to wait another year. I like the idea of graduating med school at age 30, not 31. In the big scheme age doesn't matter, I know. I am willing to do what is best, and not just be impatient at the cost of my MCAT scores, but I would like to get it done!<br>

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[doc05]

Good question.

You should move the post to the pre-med forum.

 

[trauma_junky]

Originally posted by doc05
Good question.

You should move the post to the pre-med forum.

Why not the MCAT forum.

 

[Megalofyia]

It is actually already posted in several forums.

 

[bnichols0330]

I will just let you in on my experience. First, I have a sports medicine degree from a small liberal arts univ. For my degree I needed none of the pre-reqs for med-school. When I was nearing completion of my degree I decided to try to pursue med school. I figured that the MCAT was just like any other test I had taken so I took it with some pre-med friends with not having any of the 8 pre-req courses. I didn't do well enough to even apply. So I began taking pre-reqs and took the MCAT the second time with the Kaplan course and all pre-reqs except Organic (I or II). I did better, but I still did not feel comfortable applying with my score. So I took both parts of organic, studied (without Kaplan), and did pretty well on my 3rd try. I applied and got in.

All that to say that though people will tell you that you should only need to take it once and to wait until you have all the courses, you don't have to. My advice would be go ahead and take organic in the summer, take the August MCAT and apply, and worst case scenerio you retake the MCAT in April and apply again. Granted there are costs involved, but you could only apply to the few schools that you actually want to go to the first time and see what happens.

Good luck.

 

[lowbudget]

My opinion: Suicide (sorry). Yeah, I'm sure it's possible to do well without taking the prereqs, but I couldn't imagine understanding the material well enough to apply it to a standardized exam under time constraints. Remember, the KEY to MCATs is confidently knowing/figuring out the right answer in the least amount of time. Plus, you might have a topic area that you haven't covered in class that you simply have a mental block, despite the fact that it's an easy topic. You might start saying to yourself, "****, I should have..., I don't know this..." It can really ruin your test-taking rhythm.

MCAT is a god awful experience. I had to get drunk the NEXT night, cuz I was SOOO tired afterwards. Why take it 100 times if you don't have to? It's not a test that you just show up for. You need to block off time and study for it. A really high score can really equalize things, open new doors, and give you confidence going into interviews.

My advice would be to delay the MCAT, finish your prereq, chill/party, and s.p.r.e.a.d out your MCAT studying over that longer period of time by setting goals to have certain materials covered by a certain time, and repeat it over and over and over, and do as many practice questions as you can.

No use cramming all in a small time period. In the grand scheme of things, there is no difference between 30 and 31.

(unless your fortune teller told you something bad will happen at 30)

 

[Starflyr]

I took the MCAT with only 1 semester of physics - Physics 1 was taught in the spring at my school, and we had 3 semesters to complete total.. I got a 30 on the MCAT. (11-8 (phys/chem)-11) It's do-able, but you have to be strong in everything else. Take a review class that goes over all that stuff that you havent looked at since high school.

Oh, and that was my 1 and only time to take it. If you flub the August MCAT, you can always take the April one. And I got in to med school the first time around.

Good luck,
Star

 

[mongoose]

I took the MCAT without second semester physics, but I had taken the Princeton Review course so I had some level of exposure to the material. Anyway, I got a 30 (10,10,10) on my only attempt at the MCAT and got in to multiple schools. Second semester physics is not stresssed too much on the MCAT. I can't say the same for Organic or Biology courses.

 

[tej77]

I also took the mcat without all the prereqs. I hadn't had any Organic Chemistry, one semester of general bio and some sketchy physiology. I took princeton review to fill in the gaps. I would advise you to make a decision for yourself and them completely commit to it. I agree with a previous poster that you can always retake it in April. If you can get positive and stay positive about it you'll be fine. I was in your same position of wanting to save a wasted year between applying and actually starting. If I had waited I wouldn't be an MS1 at Baylor right now...I'd still be filling out applications. Main thing....if you do take it, don't second guess yourself and stay positive.

 

[Penguin Poptart]

I agree with everybody above except lowbudget (sorry, but it's not suicide.) Totally doable I did it without most of orgo and saved myself a year (which I think is riskier than without physics 2 ). You're not expected to score perfectly on the test anyway and you can get the big concepts that you're missing from the review books. Your comfort level may be lower, but if you don't let insecurity compromise either your performance or your preparation, you should be fine.

 

[Samoa]

It's really the luck of the draw whether you get a lot of second semester physics problems. The risk is definitely there. But with a good review course, you can probably get away with not having one or two prerequisite classes. And now that organic has been de-emphasized, that might be the better one to do without. I don't really know. But I do think you should have at least one semester of each under your belt. --Only because it's really hard to learn a totally new subject on your own.

 

[xaelia]

I took the MCAT with only one semester of physics, one semester of organic, and one biology elective - and I had taken those courses five years ago; don't ask why I thought it would be a good idea. I did study off the Kaplan materials for a couple months before the exam, and I can guarantee you'll need some familiarity with sections of the exam your courses haven't covered - but it's doable (12V, 13P, S, 10B)...if you wonder how well-prepared you are, there are a lot of practice MCAT tests available in the test-prep section to see how well you might fare.