Taking MCAT freshman year and applying early?

[confusedliberal]

Hi, I am planning on taking the MCAT at the end of this coming summer (2009). I am currently in the spring semester of my freshman year. My goal is to apply to medical school after sophomore year.

Current situation:

I am majoring in biochemistry, doing research in a biochemistry lab and hospital volunteering on the weekends.

I consider myself to be a hard worker (GPA 4.0 so far) so I feel I can study hard and do well.
However, I will not have had time to take a physics course (electricity/magnetism) before the test. Is the physics on the exam easy enough to self study? I have never taken physics in high school, so it has all been new material.

Summer 2008
bunch of required courses/gen eds

Fall semester 2008:
Molecular/Cell bio
Organic Chemistry I
Physics I - Mechanics
Immunology (upper level)
Biochemistry I (upper level)

Spring semester 2009:
Physiology
Organic Chemistry II
Physics III - Quantum/waves
Biochemistry II (upper level)
Clinical Microbiology (upper level)

Advice on applying early/taking mcat early? Thanks in advance.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[bluesmd]

wow ... i mean if you have taken all the intro science courses and think you can do well ... which seems possible wtih all yor upper levl science stuff, i think you might as well take it. but

on the physics, i didn't get all As in physics but i got 14 on my MCATs for the physical science section

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

why?

 

[AdmiralChz]

At the vast majority of the schools I even considered, they REQUIRE an undergraduate degree to matriculate. There are a select few that don't, but these I think require at least 90 credits of college work... and even then they might take ONE person meeting this every few years. The chances are slim - why would you want to pass up 4 great years of college and rush into medical school? Sit down, calm down, relax, and have a beer. It's college!

And have fun teaching yourself E&M - I had some real trouble with that part of Physics AND I had it in high school as well as college...

EDIT: Might be troll post... but I'll give my benefit of the doubt for now

 

[confusedliberal]

At the vast majority of the schools I even considered, they REQUIRE an undergraduate degree to matriculate. There are a select few that don't, but these I think require at least 90 credits of college work... and even then they might take ONE person meeting this every few years. The chances are slim - why would you want to pass up 4 great years of college and rush into medical school? Sit down, calm down, relax, and have a beer. It's college!

And have fun teaching yourself E&M - I had some real trouble with that part of Physics AND I had it in high school as well as college...

EDIT: Might be troll post... but I'll give my benefit of the doubt for now

My plan is to complete an undergrad degree in 3 years -- plenty of time to finish it (I came in from HS with enough AP credit to knock out the foreign lang requirement and enough gen eds that i finished the requirement over the summer)

Anyway thanks for your thoughts on MCAT physics, anybody have other input?

Also, will med schools look unfavorably on applying a year earlier than 'trad' applicants?

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

what about leadership and life experience? those are critical parts of your application. slow down and enjoy college. undergrad only happens once and you'll hate it if you blow by it. once med school starts its 4 years of intense school, residency, etc... its a never ending road of responsibilities. make some mistakes have fun and enjoy growing up.

 

[AdmiralChz]

My plan is to complete an undergrad degree in 3 years -- plenty of time to finish it (I came in from HS with enough AP credit to knock out the foreign lang requirement and enough gen eds that i finished the requirement over the summer)

Anyway thanks for your thoughts on MCAT physics, anybody have other input?

Also, will med schools look unfavorably on applying a year earlier than 'trad' applicants?

Fair enough. It's been asked alot, and the general consensus is "no" they won't look unfavorably as long as your GPA, MCAT, and ECs are good like everyone else.

On another anecdotal note, 4 of my friends came into school with this same plan - graduate in 3 years and go straight to medical school. They came in with 30+ AP credits and the whole nine yards... long story short, 1 is applying this cycle, 2 are applying next cycle, and 1 burned out after a year. All decided to take the full 4 years of college - I would suggest the same. Spread out your required coursework and take some non-science classes eek: The Horror!!!) that are fun! I always throw in 1 or 2 non-scis (not including my non-science major) to keep me sane and I don't regret it at all. Whatever you decide - good luck!

 

[NotAndrew]

If you already have your foreign language requirements done and you general education requirements done and a semester at college done, you are not a freshman. Adding all of these classes up I am guessing you have about 40 credits? This would make you a sophomore. Being a sophomore now and applying after your next year(junior year) will not mean you are applying early. You may be younger than most applicants but applying after junior year is extremely common. The only thing I am wondering about is if you are taking all of these classes do you have any time for ECs?

 

[ParthVader]

You're better off doing a 7 year med. I don't think most med schools seriously would consider a freshman applicant. Not only do they look for grades and ECs, maturity is a factor for them as well. Thats why older applicants with slightly lower stats tend to get in. Some may feel that you're simply not mature enough yet. [not saying that you arn't, but the med schools might feel that way]

 

[mmmcdowe]

Why not take the MCAT next Spring? That way you will have done your physics. That way, if you decide to take another year or two, your MCAT won't expire.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

If you already have your foreign language requirements done and you general education requirements done and a semester at college done, you are not a freshman. Adding all of these classes up I am guessing you have about 40 credits? This would make you a sophomore. Being a sophomore now and applying after your next year(junior year) will not mean you are applying early. You may be younger than most applicants but applying after junior year is extremely common.

and thus, your dreams of being the next famed, young, medical student/child prodigy were shattered.

 

[justdoit31]

I took the MCAT in the fall (Aug. applying this cycle) without having my 2nd physics course and it didn't go so well (got a 7 in the PS) what I found that happened to me was I was so stressed trying to teach myself the physics that I neglected the biology section a LOT... basically all I studied was PS and I never could get advanced circuits or optics...

I ended up have a lot of passages on Physics 2 material- sadly I had 2 passages on solenoids which were not mentioned in my review books for the MCAT at all (I understand them now that I had Physics 2 though). I also had a lot of electrochem (oxidation states and stuff) which because we were behind in my Chem 2 class was done the last day of lecture so I didn't feel confident with it either...

moral of the story- do what you feel right but if you aren't planning on applying til after Sophomore year I would recommend waiting til April of that year to take the test. I feel very blessed to have gotten several interview offers since my score was lower and I was late getting complete and having an acceptance at my top choice was a total miracle!

 

[2Fic]

I'm not going to lie, your credentials sound a lot like mine (even same major...this is weird).
I am taking a practice MCAT on the 28th of February to see how I fair.
It is my intention to matriculate after sophomore year. If not, I have no problem whatsoever spending another year in college.
What school do you goto?

 

[RK.md]

This is a great topic! I finished high school and undergrad in three years a piece, but after considering whether or not I wanted to apply earlier than my peers, I opted out of it. The basic rule is that you want to get your name out there when you're at your absolute best (even if that means that your age is your worst number when compared to your GPA/MCAT ) If you don't happen to get in anywhere, reapplicants tend to have a little less weight, and I don't know if you're willing to take that chance.

I decided to take a year off to relax, earn money, and soak in life before beginning this long journey they call "med school." Do I have any regrets about my decision? Not at all. In the end, it's your decision, but it's great to see someone as motivated as you nevertheless!

 

[135892]

If I understant correctly, you'll be applying to med schools after your second year (ie you'll be interviewing during your third year), so why are you taking the MCAT after you first year? If you have all your courses completed, and just want to get it out of the way while the material is still fresh, I understand. But you won't even had had the pre-reqs completed. And its definitely possible to graduate in three years... I could have done it, quite easily actually, but I was in no hurry.

 

[Bacchus]

Whatever happened to enjoying life?

 

[RySerr21]

Whatever happened to enjoying life?

Seriously. Dude..........enjoy college. That class schedule sounds awful. Take some cool classes. Meet cool people. Do cool things. Get laid. I dunno, whatever it is, just enjoy your college time cuz when you near the end youll be wishin you had more of it!

 

[BlueElmo]

If the OP feels like he's ready, I don't see why he shouldn't apply early. I mean it's nice to enjoy college and everything, but if he can cut out a meaningless 4th year of college, he should. You can enjoy life for the rest of your life once you are a doctor.
I 'm graduating in 3.5 years, and I wish I could finish in 3 years.

I think your stats are great, OP, and if everything else is great as well, I say go for it.

 

[madamebovary]

E/M is kinda hard to self study and i can guarantee it is more difficult than kinematics and optics.
Maybe you can take Physics II during the summer while studying MCATs.

 

[efitzpat]

I took the MCAT without the 2nd semester of physics and got a 12 on the section (odd since I got Bs in physics and chem...ugh). I did, however, have a w onderful friend who happened to tutor for physics, and, in exchange for a lot of help on his personal statement and secondaries, he did tutor me a bit on the physics. But I don't see why you have to take the whole class in order to do well.

 

[229141]

Why are you so rushed...no offense but do you not like your social life or something? Just take 4 years and ENJOY your life...if you're so on top of it then you can still pull over a 3.9 and 35+ mcat while having a great college experience.

Why would you want to piss away college? BALANCE!

 

[229141]

E/M is kinda hard to self study and i can guarantee it is more difficult than kinematics and optics.
Maybe you can take Physics II during the summer while studying MCATs.

Meh..for the mcat you the E/M on there isn't hard to self teach IMO! For a calc based class thats calculation heavy I could see that though

 

[BlueElmo]

Why are you so rushed...no offense but do you not like your social life or something? Just take 4 years and ENJOY your life...if you're so on top of it then you can still pull over a 3.9 and 35+ mcat while having a great college experience.

Why would you want to piss away college? BALANCE!

Not everyone has fun in college, however much you want to. I just want to get away from here and go on with my life already.

 

[202781]

You can do whatever you want but here is the deal.

Even legit caribbean med schools require 90 credit hours

And 95% of US medical schools require a degree (or they give you a conditional acceptance if you get a degree if you apply after Junior year).

If you apply to one of the 5% of programs after you get your 90 hrs you will still be at a huge disadvantage because most of the applicants will have a degree when they apply, and also you won't look like a "real" person who has had life experience. You will look like a robot programmed to get into medical school (even if this is not the case).

My advice to you would be to take it easy and apply after Junior year. If you want to finish all you classes early...I would advise you to go on an international medical mission or something for a year and when you come back you will:
A) Have life experience
B) Have Clinical experience
C) Have shadowing experience
D) Be older

If I were in your shoes, I would take a trip down to TJ (Or anywhere in Mexico) with my friends and gain a whole mess of life and college experience. I think that would make you appreciate the time you spend in college....During my Junior and Senior years in college I discovered who I was and what I wanted out of life, I met my best friends, fell in love, had my heart broken (I would not trade that for the world). I would not trade the days I studied on the grass outside of the Student Union or the days I would go and grab a beer with my friends when we had down time during a lab and then come back when the experiment was finished and did the rest of the lab while buzzed. Those are all life experiences you need to have.


Anyway if you want to do it your way then I suggest loading up on credits each term and taking as many summer courses as you can and applying after your 2nd year (and you should have a degree by the time you matriculate after you finish your 3rd year)...but I do not suggest this at all

 

[BigRedBeta]

The plain fact of the matter is that graduating in only three years places you at a disadvantage in terms of having a track record on par with the other applicants...having only 2 years instead of 3 means they have a 50% longer track record you do. While grades are part of it, you'll be at slight disadvantage but will really stand out is the less time spent developing your campus and community involvement.

If you feel you must graduate in three years, you would be wise to take a gap year and apply after you've graduated. Then at least your campus record is the same as most of your competition - and you can use the extra year to further enhance your application.

I do have to echo the question above about what the hell is the hurry? When you're 70 and about to retire are you really going to look back and think "wow, my life would have been awful if I had only been a physician for 44 years instead of getting my MD at 25 and being one for 45 years!" Seriously, take time to enjoy college - it's the last chance you have to really do things because you want to do them. It's your last time to be completely curious academically. It's your last time to take a crazy road trip on a whim just because some one asks. It's your last time to stay out til 4 in the morning and not care if you make it class the next day (okay, you can do that one during the first two years of med school). I just fail to see what the point is of racing through your college years. I can honestly see absolutely no upside.

 

[AdmiralChz]

Not everyone has fun in college, however much you want to. I just want to get away from here and go on with my life already.

Sad .

The plain fact of the matter is that graduating in only three years places you at a disadvantage in terms of having a track record on par with the other applicants...having only 2 years instead of 3 means they have a 50% longer track record you do. While grades are part of it, you'll be at slight disadvantage but will really stand out is the less time spent developing your campus and community involvement.

If you feel you must graduate in three years, you would be wise to take a gap year and apply after you've graduated. Then at least your campus record is the same as most of your competition - and you can use the extra year to further enhance your application.

I do have to echo the question above about what the hell is the hurry? When you're 70 and about to retire are you really going to look back and think "wow, my life would have been awful if I had only been a physician for 44 years instead of getting my MD at 25 and being one for 45 years!" Seriously, take time to enjoy college - it's the last chance you have to really do things because you want to do them. It's your last time to be completely curious academically. It's your last time to take a crazy road trip on a whim just because some one asks. It's your last time to stay out til 4 in the morning and not care if you make it class the next day (okay, you can do that one during the first two years of med school). I just fail to see what the point is of racing through your college years. I can honestly see absolutely no upside.

This sums it up pretty well. With that maddening class schedule do you even have time for community/campus involvement? Just volunteering in the hospital over weekends won't cut it IMO.... how about leadership and other ECs?

 

[koffein]

Hi, I am planning on taking the MCAT at the end of this coming summer (2009). I am currently in the spring semester of my freshman year. My goal is to apply to medical school after sophomore year.

Current situation:

I am majoring in biochemistry, doing research in a biochemistry lab and hospital volunteering on the weekends.

I consider myself to be a hard worker (GPA 4.0 so far) so I feel I can study hard and do well.
However, I will not have had time to take a physics course (electricity/magnetism) before the test. Is the physics on the exam easy enough to self study? I have never taken physics in high school, so it has all been new material.

Summer 2008
bunch of required courses/gen eds

Fall semester 2008:
Molecular/Cell bio
Organic Chemistry I
Physics I - Mechanics
Immunology (upper level)
Biochemistry I (upper level)

Spring semester 2009:
Physiology
Organic Chemistry II
Physics III - Quantum/waves
Biochemistry II (upper level)
Clinical Microbiology (upper level)

Advice on applying early/taking mcat early? Thanks in advance.

I don't know dude.. I would apply to a few non-US medical colleges as well. Seriously though - one of the first replies you got was the best "Why?"

I did it all too fast and regret not having just taken my sweet time and enjoyed more of life.

 

[MrBlonde]

You can do whatever you want but here is the deal.

Even legit caribbean med schools require 90 credit hours

And 95% of US medical schools require a degree (or they give you a conditional acceptance if you get a degree if you apply after Junior year).

If you apply to one of the 5% of programs after you get your 90 hrs you will still be at a huge disadvantage because most of the applicants will have a degree when they apply, and also you won't look like a "real" person who has had life experience. You will look like a robot programmed to get into medical school (even if this is not the case).

My advice to you would be to take it easy and apply after Junior year. If you want to finish all you classes early...I would advise you to go on an international medical mission or something for a year and when you come back you will:
A) Have life experience
B) Have Clinical experience
C) Have shadowing experience
D) Be older

If I were in your shoes, I would take a trip down to TJ (Or anywhere in Mexico) with my friends and gain a whole mess of life and college experience. I think that would make you appreciate the time you spend in college....During my Junior and Senior years in college I discovered who I was and what I wanted out of life, I met my best friends, fell in love, had my heart broken (I would not trade that for the world). I would not trade the days I studied on the grass outside of the Student Union or the days I would go and grab a beer with my friends when we had down time during a lab and then come back when the experiment was finished and did the rest of the lab while buzzed. Those are all life experiences you need to have.


Anyway if you want to do it your way then I suggest loading up on credits each term and taking as many summer courses as you can and applying after your 2nd year (and you should have a degree by the time you matriculate after you finish your 3rd year)...but I do not suggest this at all

LMAO, Me and my lab-mates sooo did this for our Saturday morning immunology lab. Ahh... there's nothing like the dank of desperation when you and your lab-mates try to find a bar or liquor store open at 10 in the morning while your gel runs

 

[browneyedgirl87]

Advice on applying early/taking mcat early? Thanks in advance.

You definitely deserve a lot of credit. One of my friends was in the same situation as you. She took enough APs to have be a whole year ahead. In college she had a 4.0 all the way through. She did a ridiculous amount of research, shadowing, and volunteering for having a 4.0 too.

She took her MCATs early and applied early. She's now a first year med student (after graduating with a 4.0 in three years). I just wish I had the grades and work ethic and whatever to do what she did.

So, even though people are saying what little life experiences you'll have, I say go for it. You'll be a year ahead of everyone else and even if you don't get in, you'll be able to apply again and still not be a year behind. It's definitely possible, just don't get your hopes up because it is difficult.

 

[student1799]

I did it all too fast and regret not having just taken my sweet time and enjoyed more of life.

Words of wisdom.

Take it from an old lady who's lived a bunch of life already: I'm 45, married with kids, and I've been working for over 20 years. Life as a grown-up is all about work, paying the rent and so forth. There's very little time for leisure or reflection, and before you know it you'll have a family to look out for--and even less time to yourself. There's nothing wrong with all this if you've had time to live life and learn more about yourself first, but if you rush into it you could just end up feeling trapped. And med school is like adult life on steroids: more work, more pressure, barely enough time to sleep. Who needs to rush into that?


If you insist on getting through college in 3 years, at least take a year off to work and volunteer while you apply. It will be good for you AND your med school application.

 

[smcin001]

Take your time with school. Even if the last year is a "wasted" year that is only is an academic sense. You could take just enough easy lower division classes to stay a full time student and spend that free time doing something fun and completely unrelated to medical school. This may be the only time you can take a school vacation and the intellectual rest may assist you later in med school, preventing the possibility of burning out.

 

[confusedliberal]

Thanks for the input. I suppose I will consider applying after junior year instead, as it seems most are advocating that...but I really don't see the point, college does not seem worth 4 years if I can do it in 3. Maybe I'll have a change of opinion later?

My courseload definitely requires me to study a lot but I would not say it is too overwhelming. Everything, at least so far, is manageable. To me orgo is just memorization and logic, physics is just equation pushing. Physiology, microbiology, biochemistry are all memorization. But for the MCAT, what I am most worried about is elect/magnet in physics, it seems a lot more conceptual..or 'different' than any other subject I have encountered. I also would prefer taking it this summer rather than studying for it during a busy school year.

And I always do something 'fun' with friends every friday and saturday night with no exception. It's not like i'm a robot...

 

[BlueElmo]

Thanks for the input. I suppose I will consider applying after junior year instead, as it seems most are advocating that...but I really don't see the point, college does not seem worth 4 years if I can do it in 3. Maybe I'll have a change of opinion later?

My courseload definitely requires me to study a lot but I would not say it is too overwhelming. Everything, at least so far, is manageable. To me orgo is just memorization and logic, physics is just equation pushing. Physiology, microbiology, biochemistry are all memorization. But for the MCAT, what I am most worried about is elect/magnet in physics, it seems a lot more conceptual..or 'different' than any other subject I have encountered. I also would prefer taking it this summer rather than studying for it during a busy school year.

And I always do something 'fun' with friends every friday and saturday night with no exception. It's not like i'm a robot...

Remember we are just faceless pre-meds in this forum.
Try talking these kinds of issues with your family. Good luck!

 

[madamebovary]

Meh..for the mcat you the E/M on there isn't hard to self teach IMO! For a calc based class thats calculation heavy I could see that though

I guess my professor at school is making it harder than what is needed for MCAT

 

[Myuu]

I guess my professor at school is making it harder than what is needed for MCAT

Absolutely. Any regular undergrad physics class (unless it's physics for non-majors or physics for the life sciences) will be far more than is needed for the MCAT.

 

[Stixman28]

I took the MCAT without having ever taken a formal physics class. I first read through an mcat study book, and did all of the problems over one summer. Maybe only 50 hours over the entire summer.

then, in the following spring, after not looking at the material for a semester I took a kaplan prep course...they just kind of brought up the topics again, no real training there either. But i did work through all of the material for a second time, and using a different book, so different techniques were emphasized.

Then I took a month off of school and work and really studied hard, a lot in physics, but as someone said earlier, i made sure not to neglect the other sections.

I got into multiple schools with my score and have declared myself a self taught physics success story. Under a full load of courses though, it may not be the best idea...

 

[searun]

It all sounds so dreary and depressing to me. I had 4 great years in college, just had a blast. Now I am 26, second year med student, I took 2 years off after college and had some more fun. Best decision that I ever made. To each his own, I guess, but, yeah, sounds pretty dreary to me. Nose to the grind stone trying to cross the finish line first. I am enjoying the journey.

 

[whimsical]

I will say that one reason why someone might graduate early is for financial reasons--at least that's why I would. It's easy to say take more loans, but why, if it's not necessary? That's not to say that is why the OP is doing it, but it's something to consider.

 

[lrkoehle]

I don't know if this has been addressed, but don't some med schools not accept AP credit, especially for like gen chem? Maybe I just made that up, but if its true that could be an issue.

As others have said, enjoy college and have some good experiences, and I don't just mean getting drunk during lab (I could never do that). Keep in mind that your med school application is more than just GPA and MCAT, and it may be hard with the course load required to graduate in two years to get any significant clinical, research, and community service experiences.