hey guys ..... if I take my MCAT a year earlier, as in this summer after my 2nd year at UFT, any comments on experience? I have taken all the courses that are in the MCAT, but haven't taken physiology yet, so would that really bring me down?
Taking MCAT a year early
- Thread starter amara0101
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Most students who do well on the MCAT, even after excelling in all the prerequisite courses, need 2-3 months of solid studying (25+ hours/week) before they take it. Get some prep books (see SN2d's sticky), review all the concepts tested, take an official AAMC practice test or two. If you are scoring where you'd like to be, go ahead and take it. It would make next year so much less stressful for you. If you aren't close to your target score then don't waste your money.. spend it on more prep material or even a class if you need one instead.
That's exactly when I took it (summer between sophomore and junior year) and I did extremely well on it. I actually highly recommend taking it over the summer when you're not trying to focus on 4-5 other classes if you have the opportunity. If it doesn't go well, then you have plenty of time to retake it, but if you put in in the time over the summer and do well, then it makes junior year a lot less stressful. IMO, the idea that you should take the MCAT spring of junior year is an outdated one that pre-med advisors should stop perpetuating.
Physiology might be somewhat helpful, but not enough to outweigh the benefits of summer vs. semester.
Physiology might be somewhat helpful, but not enough to outweigh the benefits of summer vs. semester.
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Not being cynical, but define "extremely well"
It's fine...41Q.
I posted in the 30+ thread so I'm not trying to hide it. Nevertheless, I try not to be one of those SDNers who takes every opportunity to brag about their MCAT score unless asked specifically about it.
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Since you've completed your pre-reqs, as long as you have a free summer, I don't see why not. Physiology would help, but it's not a deal breaker and you may have covered some of the physiology that's on the test in your bio pre-reqs.
Sorry, this is SDN. Only 50s count as extremely well 😉
Sorry, this is SDN. Only 50s count as extremely well 😉
I agree with this. I took the MCAT between sophomore and junior years too, and wound up applying to med school this cycle. It was definitely worth taking it in the summer just to be able to focus on it without the stress from classes. I hadn't taken Physiology at the time either, or Biochem for that matter, but it still worked out fine. Just use a test prep book. Good luck!
