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MCAT Preparation as a non-traditional student


Curveball

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Hello everyone.

I hope the summer has been going well for you all, and that those of us starting up again in September feel well-rested and prepared to take on the challenges of a new semester. I'm starting the 4th year of a nursing degree, and unfortunately my program did not include the foundational courses in physics, chemistry, or biochemistry, (although I did take courses in English, anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, and psychology). My most recent experience with physics and chemistry was when I completed the high-school-level courses in 2016. What would be the best way to go about studying for these topics? If I took a preparatory course like the ones offered by Kaplan, how much prior knowledge do they assume?  Has anyone here been in a similar situation, where they needed to study these topics more or less from the ground up? If so, how did you go about studying for them, and how long did it take? I realize it'll take more than the 3-6 months most people on here seem to spend preparing, but I'm nervous that it'll end up taking me years to get to the level I need to get a competitive MCAT score. 

Any help is appreciated, and I wish all of you all the best. 

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7 hours ago, Curveball said:

Hello everyone.

I hope the summer has been going well for you all, and that those of us starting up again in September feel well-rested and prepared to take on the challenges of a new semester. I'm starting the 4th year of a nursing degree, and unfortunately my program did not include the foundational courses in physics, chemistry, or biochemistry, (although I did take courses in English, anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, and psychology). My most recent experience with physics and chemistry was when I completed the high-school-level courses in 2016. What would be the best way to go about studying for these topics? If I took a preparatory course like the ones offered by Kaplan, how much prior knowledge do they assume?  Has anyone here been in a similar situation, where they needed to study these topics more or less from the ground up? If so, how did you go about studying for them, and how long did it take? I realize it'll take more than the 3-6 months most people on here seem to spend preparing, but I'm nervous that it'll end up taking me years to get to the level I need to get a competitive MCAT score. 

Any help is appreciated, and I wish all of you all the best. 

Most people do not spend 3-6months preparing, if they are, then something is a-miss OR they are in your situation and are self-teaching a significant amount from basics.  Yes, if you dont have foundational knowledge, you'll take longer and need to self-prepare more. But if you get the prep books, follow some khan academy youtube videos and supplement for areas you find difficult, you definitely can self teach most of material.

I would disagree that you should take a biochem course. Would be useful to take a general chemistry course though, but if you're able to self teach, you can get most of it sorted with enough foundational teaching and +++ practice questions. 

You know yourself best if you can self teach yourself and set schedules and consume knowledge well enough without taking extra in person courses.

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4 hours ago, JohnGrisham said:

Most people do not spend 3-6months preparing, if they are, then something is a-miss OR they are in your situation and are self-teaching a significant amount from basics.  Yes, if you dont have foundational knowledge, you'll take longer and need to self-prepare more. But if you get the prep books, follow some khan academy youtube videos and supplement for areas you find difficult, you definitely can self teach most of material.

I would disagree that you should take a biochem course. Would be useful to take a general chemistry course though, but if you're able to self teach, you can get most of it sorted with enough foundational teaching and +++ practice questions. 

You know yourself best if you can self teach yourself and set schedules and consume knowledge well enough without taking extra in person courses.

3 months is pretty standard 

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19 hours ago, ilikebirds said:

3 months is pretty standard 

Really depends on how much your studying and style of study. If you've done the pre reqs and did reasonably well, a month can be more than enough time to do test-specific prep if that is your main focus and not working/volunteering. Just because many people spend 3 months studying doesn't mean its necessary. Also many people study very in effectively and do too much low yield content review that unlikely yields much score change advantage.

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As stated above, 3 months is the norm for studying for MCAT but if you are not at all familiar with the scientific concepts I would suggest maybe sitting in on organic chemistry and general chemistry lectures (even if you do not enroll in the course itself). The biochemistry and biology sections are not as in depth as the Biochemistry courses taught in university so most likely studying the concepts through prep books and videos will be sufficient. 

Also, I'm a Kaplan Student Brand Ambassador and right now there's a Prep Pass campaign which is a 30-day free trial that Kaplan is offering for students studying for the MCAT, GRE, etc. There's a downloadable study guide, Q bank, practice test, channel recordings (with professional teachers explaining concepts) and 1 on 1 teacher consultation so you can ask them any Qs you may have. You don't need a credit card to sign up. All it takes is your email and you can access all these resources.

Link to sign up:  https://www.kaptest.com/prep-pass/javeria

 

I hope this helps. Good luck on your MCAT!

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