what should i do?

[LauraMac]

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I am a junior wanting to matriculate in 2005. Here are my options:

1) Take the MCAT in April when I am just finishing up Orgo I, but without having had Orgo II. All other pre-reqs are already taken care of. Then apply on time.

2) Take the MCAT in August after having had all the prereqs. Apply a little late.

3) Take the MCAT in August after having had all the prereqs. Wait another year and apply to matriculate in 2006. In the extra year, I would get my master's (we have a 5 year plan at my school).

I have no desire to get my master's and waste an extra year. However, I want to be fully prepared when I take the MCAT, and I also don't want to be at a disadvantage applying late.

What should I do?

 

[bullhorn]

IMHO, I am not so sure Orgo II is a necessity to do well on the MCAT and I would take the April MCAT. For the most part the organic chem topics on the mcat are covered in a first semester course. Now should you feel you can't prepare properly with class..that's another story. I would take the August MCAT...however, I would still have my AMCAS done by June. And secondaries as soon as you get them (two week turn around). Alot of places don't screen for secondaries and actually have them available as soon as your amcas transmits. So (like my case) you can be complete with everything but your mcat score. As soon as my score came in October, all my schools indicated I was complete and less than a month later (and in some cases even shorter) I started receiving invitations for interviews. Some of my friends (aug mcaters) faired even better. I say as long as you are on top of everything you won't really be too much in a disadvantage.

 

[steve007]

i wholeheartedly disagree. i think not having orgo 2 would be a real hinderence. if memory serves we really didn't do too much w/ synthesis problems or complicated molecules in orgo 1. even if mcat doesn't test you on many specifics from orgo 2, you'll definitely want to be familiar w/ that kind of thing. of course if you study the hell out of an EK book maybe that would suffice. you could judge your own progress at that point, but my main advice is don't sit for the mcat unless you're comfortable with ALL the material it tests.

 

[bullhorn]

Basically everyone's course and topics covered is somewhat different. I would agree with Steve in that you shouldn't take it unless you are comfortable with all the topics. And really only you will know that after you finish Orgo I.....check out a mcat prep course or the mcat website...each should outline topics covered.

goodluck

 

[spumoni620]

Hmm...I took the mcat w/o having finished orgo II/orgo I. it's doable but you really have to be self-motivated and read ahead. i had all the prep course materials + a good textbook to help me, but it was tough. if you take this route, i really would recommend a prep course of some sort b/c the orgo II material is definitely tested on the mcat. that said, the mcat is slowly de-emphasizing ochem, so as long as you read up on mcat-specific material, you should be ok. the class itself goes into waaay more detail than what's needed for the mcat.

you should also know that applying in aug isn't as big of a disadvantage as many make it out to be. if you can be confident of a relatively high score in aug, it shouldn't hurt you to take the mcat in aug (and apply that same year). you do need to score well, though, as an aug applicant. perhaps a few points higher than you would have to in april.

 

[MeowMix]

Originally posted by spumoni620
the mcat is slowly de-emphasizing ochem

If that is true, the people who wrote my test form for Aug 2003 were unfortunately not aware of it. There was a huge pile of o-chem. Way more than on the form I got in April. I think it depends a lot on the form you get.

Note also that Examkrackers has added more o-chem content to their 5th edition to track these changes.

 

[eve]

I definetely think Orgo II is a necessity for the MCAT. Look at it this way though, by the time the April MCAT is administered, you're almost completely done with the semester! You'll have covered everything but a few weeks of Orgo II and that you can cover on your own. A lot of Orgo II (in my class at least) is the same mechanism just different reactants.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

😀

 

[Mrs.S]

i agree with some of the above posters. i took the mcat without many of the "prereq's". for example, not physics II, very little in the way of bio, only genetics, and that was 2 years prior, and no college english. i did fine. just take a prep class, like princeton review or kaplan. they'll review all of the important details for the mcat. and also, most of the information needed for the mcat is contained within the test itself, you just have to parse it out.

 

[jlee9531]

option 1. and just study up on orgo using EK.

 

[rackd8ball]

if you read posts on these forums, you'll realize how much of a disadvantage it is to take the august mcats. there are students that are complete at their schools by august, and ready to interview by september.

you definitely want to take the test in april, despite the extra studying you'll have to do, and be ready to apply by june1.

 

[medstylee]

i'd say the mcat would be doable without orgo II, as long as you maybe read ahead a little in your text or read a prep course book's orgo section real well. if you're uncomfortable with that, there's nothing wrong with taking the august test. if you get your AMCAS and transcripts in real early then you'll probably start hearing from most schools shortly after your august results are available to them. i took the august test and i'll have been to 3 interviews before christmas. so, if you work things out the right way, the august test really shouldn't hinder the process.

 

[spumoni620]

Originally posted by MeowMix
If that is true, the people who wrote my test form for Aug 2003 were unfortunately not aware of it. There was a huge pile of o-chem. Way more than on the form I got in April. I think it depends a lot on the form you get.

Note also that Examkrackers has added more o-chem content to their 5th edition to track these changes.

well according to the aamc, the mcat is actually reorganizing its biological sciences questions to include more questions in biology and fewer in ochem. benzene/phenols/ethers/alkenes aren't tested as separate topics anymore, while in biology 3 new topics have been added.

it's all here

 

[spumoni620]

Originally posted by rackd8ball
if you read posts on these forums, you'll realize how much of a disadvantage it is to take the august mcats. there are students that are complete at their schools by august, and ready to interview by september.

you definitely want to take the test in april, despite the extra studying you'll have to do, and be ready to apply by june1.

you can't judge whether the aug mcat places one at a disadvantage based on posts in this forum. on sdn, posters are going to broadly represent the top, most-on-top-of-things type of applicant. several people get in taking the aug mcat. the so-called "disadvantage" can turn out to help you in the end if you score quite well on the mcat. true, you won't be the first to know about your acceptance, but the process is a long one anyway (even for those who take the april mcat).
take the april mcat if you're confident and a good self-studier...but there is no sense in rushing things or taking the mcat before you're absolutely ready b/c of any purpoted "disadvantage".

 

[roja]

I taught for five years at TPR. One of the biggest mistakes and the biggest myths is the idea that you have to take the MCAT in april. The absolute worse thing my students did was try and take the april MCAT when they had not had the prereqs.

Take the August MCAT. There is very little validity to it delaying or getting in the way of acceptance. Even in states like texas that start earlier. You can get your application in prior to your MCAT scores. (this is what I did. and I interviewed at all 5 schools I applied to).

There are many reasons to not try and take the april MCAT. (other than the obvious reason that you won't have the appropriate classes). One is that you still have req classes that the school will be looking at (your 'science' gpa). You also need to do well on the MCAT. It is extremely difficult to focus on both.

Also, the MCAT orgo went up to 50/50 orgo/bio and is now going down. However, it is still about 40/60. This can make a huge impact on your BS score on teh MCAT if you waste the orgo section. And while this is not one of the more important sections of the MCAT for admissions, if you don't do well, it will look bad.


and the last thing you want to spend your personal essay and interview time on is why your april mcat sucked and you ended up having to take it again in August.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[LauraMac]

thanks for all of your advice! like always, half the people say april, and half the people say august. so, i'm still not sure what i'm going to do. i guess i'll just start studying soon, take a couple more practice tests, and then go from there.