will i be ok on the mcat?

[shan1997]

If by the time i am ready to take the mcat, I have not taken the organic I and II labs, will i still be ok on the mcat???

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[Lpgovard]

As long as you take a prep course like Kaplan, you should be fine without having taken labs for Orgo.

 

[surge]

You don't need the labs and you MOST CERTAINLY don't need a Kaplan course.

What you need to do is sit down and prepare well.

 

[Lpgovard]

I know there's always a debate as to whether to take a Kaplan course or not...but I would reccomend it!!! If you don't have the mulah then at least buy the books!!! Unless you're super motivated to review your class notes....take the class and do the practice tests!! Plus its great to interact with other students who are in the same position as you are!! I think the Kaplan books prepare you really well for the Biological Sciences part of the MCAT. Just my opinion.
Good Luck!

 

[UCLAMAN]

Don't worry about not taking the labs.

The classes of a prep course aren't really necessary. However, the materials you would have available to you(ie practice tests, review books, etc.) are very valuable. They will help focus and streamline what you will be studying. (Rather than flipping through old books that go into much more detail than is necessary for the mcat) If you don't purchase the Kaplan materials, make sure you purchase another company's review materials or examkracker books or something. They will help you immensely because they focus only on the topics that will be on the test and only go into the level of detail necessary for the test.

The classes however, are worthless. Your time is better spent reviewing the materials on your own. Usually the time you put into studying and practicing on your own will determine how well you do on the test.

 

[tBw]

no, you probably don't need to have taken the labs, especially now that the MCAT contains even less organic (it didn't honestly contain *that* much before in my opinion...) but I personally learnt more from Orgo lab than I did orgo lectures - the same as I remember in more vivid detail the structures I found during dissection than I did reading a bio book. It depends on your learning style whether it would give you a significant boost, but it's certainly not necessary.

 

[indo]

If there are any techniques on the mcat that you would have learned in Ochem lab there will be a passage with it. They aren't going to ask you "Which of these will elute first: Diethyl Ether or Pet Ether" without first giving at least a little background on the chemistry involved.

As for taking a kaplan course, if you have a gut feeling that you won't study as well as you think you need to between now and the mcat then pay the 1500 bucks and take the clas. If you don't have that gut felling then I wouldn't spend the money.

 

[loomis]

i agree with the above....taking a prep class...i took princeton review...should give you a bare bones understanding of the orgo to do ok on the exam.
however, i did find that for people who hadn't taken orgo before the exam...did struggle over the trickier passages with orgo.. as for lab stuff though....i think you can get by and do fine on the exam

 

[JM.]

I don't think it is necessary to take the review course. Self-study is fine if you are focused.

 

[UCLAstudent]

You'll be fine without the labs.

 

[uniqueseraph]

I agree, you'll be fine without the labs