I want to know some ways I can prepare for the MCAT during my sophomore year besides just the pre-reqs. Also, is taking physics (I&II) junior year too late since I need to ideally take my MCAT by April of junior year? Thanks guys!
What can I do as a Sophomore to prepare for the MCAT?
- Thread starter MeSoPro
- Start date
D
deleted577188
Get A's.
- Joined
- May 5, 2015
- Messages
- 5,266
- Reaction score
- 3,923
Usually the answer to these questions is nothing you are just wasting your time. But there are a couple things I can say for this case.
1) Get a gauge for your verbal reasoning abilities. Take some practice tests, see where you stand and if you can identify any clear weaknesses. That's by far the best thing you can do.
2) If you really want to take things one step further the new MCAT is heavily based on analyzing and understanding scientific experiments. Read papers, the topic isn't that important although biochemistry and physiology based areas are solid places to start( vague as hell I know). Really critically analyzing these articles and their methodology behind the analysis is the key. This is a skill that can be developed over time to a large extent. Read a paper a day, begin to get a feel for how research is conducted. If you are in a lab, take as active a role as you can and ask questions about the thought process and rationale behind how a study is designed your lab is doing(or other key prominent papers in fields close to what your lab studies) and the reason for it. Doing all this will increase your fluency in this area and increase your comprehension speed and over time as you gain experience you'll be able to get more from an article in a shorter amount of time. Beyond all this, and how it relates to your MCAT performance, being able to understand papers and the logic behind their design, methodology and analysis is vital to any MD or PhD's career.
The key to all this is if you are going to do it to make it as an active a reading process as possible and when necessary ask for the help of others in really understanding what you are reading.
1) Get a gauge for your verbal reasoning abilities. Take some practice tests, see where you stand and if you can identify any clear weaknesses. That's by far the best thing you can do.
2) If you really want to take things one step further the new MCAT is heavily based on analyzing and understanding scientific experiments. Read papers, the topic isn't that important although biochemistry and physiology based areas are solid places to start( vague as hell I know). Really critically analyzing these articles and their methodology behind the analysis is the key. This is a skill that can be developed over time to a large extent. Read a paper a day, begin to get a feel for how research is conducted. If you are in a lab, take as active a role as you can and ask questions about the thought process and rationale behind how a study is designed your lab is doing(or other key prominent papers in fields close to what your lab studies) and the reason for it. Doing all this will increase your fluency in this area and increase your comprehension speed and over time as you gain experience you'll be able to get more from an article in a shorter amount of time. Beyond all this, and how it relates to your MCAT performance, being able to understand papers and the logic behind their design, methodology and analysis is vital to any MD or PhD's career.
The key to all this is if you are going to do it to make it as an active a reading process as possible and when necessary ask for the help of others in really understanding what you are reading.
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2015
- Messages
- 11
- Reaction score
- 12
You are probably fine with taking physics that late as physics on the MCAT is not too tough. The best thing you could probably do is as above read scientific papers, but also you will be reading topics about sociology and the humanities so you should get familiar with these topics. What I did to improve my verbal was read an article a day from the aldaily website, it's a great resource for practicing your ability to understand arguments as there are many well-written essays discussing whatever is new in humanities/arts these days.
You should also focus on not only getting A's in class, but also retaining that information. You could achieve this by using anki (a SRS flashcard system), and I regret not having done so throughout my first 2 years in undergrad as I pretty much emptied my brain after every exam.
Also if you take April, keep in mind most schools average your MCAT's so it is best to take it when you are ready. I took mine in mid-June and still got into a handful of schools just this last cycle.
You should also focus on not only getting A's in class, but also retaining that information. You could achieve this by using anki (a SRS flashcard system), and I regret not having done so throughout my first 2 years in undergrad as I pretty much emptied my brain after every exam.
Also if you take April, keep in mind most schools average your MCAT's so it is best to take it when you are ready. I took mine in mid-June and still got into a handful of schools just this last cycle.
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2013
- Messages
- 118
- Reaction score
- 94
Rock your classes and actually learn the info, read some NYT articles when possible, and have fun
- Joined
- May 19, 2012
- Messages
- 541
- Reaction score
- 736
http://www.mcatquestion.com
Do the question of the day everyday. Also, when you're not studying for any other exams, brush up on a chapter or two from bio, physics, chem, or orgo.
Do the question of the day everyday. Also, when you're not studying for any other exams, brush up on a chapter or two from bio, physics, chem, or orgo.
Not a damn thing. That's way to early to start. Use that time to volunteer, be social, work on a cool research project. Really, one summer (if you take the MCAT in September) is more than enough time to prep for the MCAT.
