I ain't no nerd but if I want to go into something like derma, would it be too soon to study for the USMLE before starting medical school?
Too early to study?
- Thread starter YupGypsy
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way too soon.....study well when youre in school, not before youre in it.
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There are many people on this forum who have scored 260+ without studying before med school. Jus study hard when you are IN med school. Buy review books ahead of time, read those along w/ your classes (the relevant ones to that class), annotate FA, and again, WORK HARD....you should be fine!
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Would you recommend that a high school senior start preparing for the MCAT now?
What if he wanted 40+?
What if he wanted 40+?
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thats actually do-able...most ppl take the bio/physics/chem AP tests by then..and therefore have the basic knowledge on those 3 tests.i would just review everything in bio/physics/chem that way u are preparing for the mcats and also preparing to do well in undergrad science courses
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It's also doable for a college senior to buy a textbook in a medical subject of choice and start reading it. Most college students have the basic knowledge needed to appreciate a basic medical science text and prepare to do well in medical school courses and the USMLE.
Is it advisable? Hardly.
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there's no guaranteed way to score a 260+. Most people don't have the potential, to be quite honest. It takes special brain-power AND really hard work. In no way should you read my post and be discouraged...the point is get into med school, study your ass off then, and hope you have the brains.
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i think preparing mcat as a highschooler..is totally different then step 1 to an undergrad...
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Geez, studying for the MCAT's in HIGH SCHOOL?
I admire your tenacity, but you kids are insane.
Unless you've already taken AP Organic (up to 50% of the biological sciences section these days), Biology, Physics AND Gen Chem (and probably genetics and cell biology as well), MCAT preparation at this point isn't going to help much. Reason being, is that the majority of MCAT preparation (for myself anyhow) involves taking lots of simulated exams/timed passages. Doing so at this point will only serve to get you unnecessarily anxious and depressed.
If you're a pre-pre-med in high school, the BEST thing you could do (to start making a legitimate contribution to that way-way-in-the-future med school application) is volunteer at your local hospital/fire department/emergency room/hospice center/homeless shelter (you name it) and/or a basic sciences internship of some sort (research experience early-on will open a LOT of doors for solid research opportunities down the road... especially if you can churn out a publication, even as small as an abstract).
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majority of it is stuf you learn your second year in med school....stuff that wont make much sense without a background.....just my opinion
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I am NOT recommending that you do this, but if you were to start reading something you'd be much better off with a real textbook than a review book targeted at students who have already learned the material.
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Start by memorizing all the different types of collagen. Then move on to cluster of differentiation molecules.
where can I get these info?
I've never taken Physio & Ana, but I have some of those textbooks. Should I start reading them? What about Biochem and cell biology - should I start reading those too?
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He was mocking you. It is counterproductive to start studying this early. To be very honest, as said previously 260+ is significantly a brain thing. Furthermore, starting now you are robbing yourself of the time you can spend living life. Spending that time studying is not going to increase your score.
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I still think that the extracurriculars are what would best help you at this point.
But if you absolutely HAVE to start studying something... for anatomy: Moore & Dalley's Clinical Anatomy is king, for physiology: Guyton, microbiology is probably a bit too much at this point (though I HIGHLY recommend everyone take a solid micro-course during undergrad) unless you have a solid grasp of cell biology (you can find introductory college level books on both subjects).
The problem with trying to study biochemistry is that you're usually supposed to have taken college biology and college organic chemistry first (most schools have those classes as pre-requisites). I think most people can handle biochemistry without orgo, but without college biology (and especially general chemistry) it'll be too much. This is the biochem text of choice though.
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It's funny, because when I first arrived in med school, not only did I not know how USMLE was scored, I didn't know when you took it, or that there were 3 steps.
