Taking MCAT without taking Orgo II, Biology II, and Physics II.

[shasan]

Hello everybody,

I am a post-bacc premed student taking the classes at a community college. I still have to take Orgo II, Bio II, and Physics II, but I am thinking about taking the next semester (Jan-May) off and studying for the MCAT in that period on my own. I want to do this so I can take the MCAT in April. That way, if I have to retake it, as many students end up doing, I will still have time for joining the same admissions cycle and will save a year. And if I do not have to retake it, then I can apply earlier on in the cycle and maximize my chances of getting accepted at a med school. And if that goes to plan, I will take the rest of the prereqs in the wait year.

I would love to get some insights from all of you, especially if you have done this successfully.

By the way, I am aware that this is against standard advice. But I also know people do successfully pull this off, just that there are not a lot of them.

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[Gurby]

Almost certainly a very bad idea.

It's true that many students do end up re-taking the MCAT. Consider also that many (a majority, in fact) of applicants end up not getting into medical school.

IMO a better plan would be:
Start working on your AMCAS primary application right now, and try to have a relatively polished draft of it by the end of the year.
Take Bio II and Physics II this spring, forget about OChem 2 for now.
--Start content reviewing and doing some light practice question sessions during the spring semester.
Finish classes in May.
Spend a full 1-month of dedicated MCAT study time grinding out practice passages/full lengths.
Take the MCAT early June.
Submit primary application to 1 school for verification in June if you felt like the MCAT went okay... if you feel like you didn't do so hot, wait until you get the score to submit.
Start pre-writing secondaries.
Get MCAT score back in July, apply to schools.
Interview, get accepted, take OChem 2 at this point if it's required for matriculation.
Profit.

 

[Isoval]

Biology II is going to be a big problem, especially if you’re unfamiliar with any of the system.

Physics II is a toss up. You could be just fine, it could hurt. The same can be said of ochem II.

 

[Spectar]

Being completely realistic, you could learn everything that is on the mcat from orgo II/phys II/bio II from the mcat books in a very short amount of time if you are extremely diligent, but I really would only recommend this for extreme circumstances. You really just need bioII. Orgo II and Phys II are really not tested too in depth.

I second Gurby's advice tbh.

 

[Suture_Self]

Hello everybody,

I am a post-bacc premed student taking the classes at a community college. I still have to take Orgo II, Bio II, and Physics II, but I am thinking about taking the next semester (Jan-May) off and studying for the MCAT in that period on my own. I want to do this so I can take the MCAT in April. That way, if I have to retake it, as many students end up doing, I will still have time for joining the same admissions cycle and will save a year. And if I do not have to retake it, then I can apply earlier on in the cycle and maximize my chances of getting accepted at a med school. And if that goes to plan, I will take the rest of the prereqs in the wait year.

I would love to get some insights from all of you, especially if you have done this successfully.

By the way, I am aware that this is against standard advice. But I also know people do successfully pull this off, just that there are not a lot of them.

I mean, you did sum it up. Yes, some people pull it off, but there arent many that do it well. I strongly recommend that you take biochem and bio before you take the MCAT, as those two can make up significant parts of even the chem/phys and psych section, depending on the test, not to mention a full section on their own. I scored a 525 for what its worth, and a big reason why is that I took biochem the semester before I took the MCAT, which made my studying a lot easier.

 

[mellie0]

Please don’t do that. It seems to me that you’re trying to rush through this and that can lead to disaster. I agree with what Gurby said. Study intensely post Spring semester (and have no other obligations during that time), and take the MCAT afterwards. I think you should maybe prepare mentally to apply in 2019 as well just in case. I had to sit out one cycle (even though I really wanted to apply then) and it has worked wonders for me.

 

[mistafab]

You need to get out of the "taking it early will give me time to retake it in case I need to" mentality.

That is a losing mentality. The MCAT needs to be something you take once. People are fighting an uphill battle if they ever have to retake. You don't want to take the MCAT twice or get married twice. People succeed in both buckets but you can see how it could have been avoided.

My recommendation is to put away these foolhardy thoughts of taking the MCAT before these core classes are completed. It is rare to succeed when you put yourself at such a large disadvantage.

 

[raiderette]

You didn't even mention biochemistry. Don't take the MCAT without a good grasp of biochemistry.

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[workaholic181]

Hello everybody,

I am a post-bacc premed student taking the classes at a community college. I still have to take Orgo II, Bio II, and Physics II, but I am thinking about taking the next semester (Jan-May) off and studying for the MCAT in that period on my own. I want to do this so I can take the MCAT in April. That way, if I have to retake it, as many students end up doing, I will still have time for joining the same admissions cycle and will save a year. And if I do not have to retake it, then I can apply earlier on in the cycle and maximize my chances of getting accepted at a med school. And if that goes to plan, I will take the rest of the prereqs in the wait year.

I would love to get some insights from all of you, especially if you have done this successfully.

By the way, I am aware that this is against standard advice. But I also know people do successfully pull this off, just that there are not a lot of them.

I took it without physics 2. But frankly I had to devote a ton of time to teaching myself that material that probably could have served me to review everything instead. I agree with all of the above, BIO 2 is really, really important. My orgo 2 course also was super helpful. I really cant recommend you do this; take a gap year. I did and its the best decision I could have made. Do NOT push an MCAT. This is your career we're talking about here.

 

[FinPreMed2020]

Hello everyone,
I have a similar question! First of all, I can't take physics until my senior year due to math pre-reqs. Suicide? I personally believe I can relearn all the material (have studied most of it in my foreign high school) but of course anything can happen (I'm not trying to seem arrogant/overly self-confident!).
Secondly, I can only take either 1) Introduction to biochemistry OR 2) Intro to Biochemistry + Biochemistry I with lab prior to taking the MCAT. I can't possibly fit the second semester of Biochemistry before taking the MCAT. Again, is this going to harm me? Or is one semester of biochemistry good foundation enough to learn the second half of the required biochemistry myself?
Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[FinPreMed2020]

What do you mean you cant take the biochem 2 or physics 2 prior to MCAT? Is someone holding a gun to your head that you must take MCAT senior year? Are you really going to risk perhaps the most important exam of your life because of your own self imposed schedule?

Hah your responses ! And I'm not allowed to take the physics sequence before I have taken calculus I and II. This will happen during my junior year and thus I'll take physics in my senior year.
If I could take all the pre-reqs before taking MCAT, trust me I would! But at the same time I don't think that not having taken physics and biochemistry II is a good reason enough for me to have a gap year because that would happen if I were to take physics before MCAT.

 

[Goro]

Hello everybody,

I am a post-bacc premed student taking the classes at a community college. I still have to take Orgo II, Bio II, and Physics II, but I am thinking about taking the next semester (Jan-May) off and studying for the MCAT in that period on my own. I want to do this so I can take the MCAT in April. That way, if I have to retake it, as many students end up doing, I will still have time for joining the same admissions cycle and will save a year. And if I do not have to retake it, then I can apply earlier on in the cycle and maximize my chances of getting accepted at a med school. And if that goes to plan, I will take the rest of the prereqs in the wait year.

I would love to get some insights from all of you, especially if you have done this successfully.

By the way, I am aware that this is against standard advice. But I also know people do successfully pull this off, just that there are not a lot of them.

I'm trying to say this in the nicest possible way, but my thought after reading your post was "this kid really doesn't want to be a doctor".

Look, the MCAT is a career-deciding, high stakes exam. Why would you even think about taking it when not fully prepared????

Good choice-making is something Adcoms look for.

 

[Goro]

Hah your responses ! And I'm not allowed to take the physics sequence before I have taken calculus I and II. This will happen during my junior year and thus I'll take physics in my senior year.
If I could take all the pre-reqs before taking MCAT, trust me I would! But at the same time I don't think that not having taken physics and biochemistry II is a good reason enough for me to have a gap year because that would happen if I were to take physics before MCAT.

there's no law that say you have to go to med school at age 22.

Med schools aren't going anywhere, and by the time you apply (when you're 100% ready) more will have opened thier doors or even expanded their class sizes.

 

[FinPreMed2020]

there's no law that say you have to go to med school at age 22.

Med schools aren't going anywhere, and by the time you apply (when you're 100% ready) more will have opened thier doors or even expanded their class sizes.

You don't know my age though But yes you're right. And honestly, after rereading this thread and couple of others regarding the same matter I realized that I should do everything to maximize my MCAT score and acceptance. I will take summer classes to get more pre-reqs done. And it isn't impossible to get a good score without finishing all pre-reqs. My will power to succeed is greater than anything else!

 

[FinPreMed2020]

So potentially not being prepared for the MCAT isnt a good reason to take a gap year? And do you realize you dont need calc-based physics for MCAT? If you need it for your major, then why didnt you take freshman calc during freshman year?

Yes I do realize that. I just replied to Goro's message and said that I realized how foolish my thinking was! And I wish I would've started my math courses during my freshman year but I didn't get any course/major orientation before I started my studies and thus didn't know about the pre-reqs..

 

[FinPreMed2020]

Do you need calc for your major?
Does your school offer algebra based physics?

Yes I need calculus I and II for my major. The physics sequence I have to take (physics with calculus) is also required for my major. Thus I don't have a lot of flexibility when it comes to my math and physics classes!

 

[workaholic181]

Yes I do realize that. I just replied to Goro's message and said that I realized how foolish my thinking was! And I wish I would've started my math courses during my freshman year but I'm an international student and I didn't get any course/major orientation before I started my studies and thus didn't know about the pre-reqs..

Definitely take algebra based physics if possible.

 

[FinPreMed2020]

Definitely take algebra based physics if possible.

I wish I could but I can't because calculus based physics is a requirement for my major and I wouldn't be took excited to take physics twice!