MedMaybe3563 Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 And when I say true beginner I mean someone who is in a non science major and does not even have the last year of high school chemistry/biology/physics. I think the highest level I have is chem and pre calculus 11. I would like to study for the MCAT without having to major in a science or take any pre requisites. I might see about just sitting in for some courses but overall I need a detailed prep guide that really lays out the foundations. I am also willing to hire an independent tutor/take a prep course I just need to be able to meet the criteria to apply to a handful of schools in Canada. Any suggestions/advice greatly appreciated. I'm in my second year but going into third Spring 2017. Ideally I would like to be able to write the MCAT by July or August and apply next cycle once I have 90 credits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh fry Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 The MCAT is basically 1st year bio + physics + chem + ochem + biochem + english. You are essentially asking for a book that covers all of those topics in enough detail to prepare a novice for what is basically a confirmatory test. MCAT prep books that I have read (granted this was 7 years ago) pretty much summarize what you need to know and have a quick review, I haven't come across one that would be up to the task of taking someone with a grade 12 level science education and leaping them into second year of university. There are prep courses but be warned these are usually quick reviews of what is assumed to material that has been covered before. Some cities will have MCAT tutoring and year long prep courses which essentially cover all the material in the MCAt but I haven't heard of this outside Vancouver and Toronto. Plus they are expensive and very time intensive. It seems like anymore I am just the bearer of bad news but I am afraid you may be looking for an easy solution to something that there just isn't one for. Sure you can study all the material on your own outside of university courses. you can use youtube videos and hire tutors but unless you are very dedicated and have a lot of time on your hands this may not be the best option. I have heard of people teaching themselves one or two sections to cover knowledge gaps, I had to learn about 50% of the physics portion on my own, but doing the whole thing seems like a rather large task to me. Granted I am not the best person to answer this question seeing how far removed I am from the process so maybe someone will come in with better news. GL http://prep101.com/mcat/ http://www.oxfordseminars.ca/MCAT/mcat_about.php https://www.kaptest.com/mcat http://www.princetonreview.com/medical/mcat-canada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainAmoeba Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 I used Kaplan's 2015 book set. I'm a nurse, so I'll qualify my endorsement by saying I found that my anatomy and physiology helped give me a foundation for studying. My strategy - started with my strengths so I did the biology section first to get used to learning again (5 years post grad for me) and then went to chem, followed by organic chem, and then biochem. I recommend this strategy. Downfall. The books assume you have been taught this formally, and I found that they spend as much time on easy concepts as they do hard stuff, and some stuff they don't explain at all - they just say this is it! Know it! I also don't know what time you have to study, but I spent 8 months prepping, and ramped up the last 2. I was working full time, so I fit in about 4-5 hours a week initially, then about 10 the last two months, and about 8 hours a day the last week. I supplemented with khans academy for all the science. It was very difficult to learn organic chem, I used a lot of web based material. I used apps to memorize the amino acids (this is nessessary for the test) During the last month I purchased all of the available material from AAMC, and completed several full length practice tests (required in my opinion). I did not take any "courses" from mcat prep companies. At over 2000 bucks they are too much money, and a waste in my opinion. I scored 26, 31, 28 , 28 so a 513 overall. I would have done better but I panicked during the physical sciences section (I think I could have done a 128, but I lost track of time and left questions unanswered, UGH) if I was to do it again I would have purchased exam crackers as well for the science material) I also would have studied physics more, the amount of calculations for the physics sent me into a oh shit response haha. This will be very very hard for you, but it is possible. Also with no calculators allowed, and no formula sheet provided I wish I spent more time memorizing formulas and practicing calculations. Consider taking a semester of science courses, or do a chem or phyiscs class in the summer/spring this would make the MCAT immeasurably easier. Alternatively, you could pay to do high school chem and physics distance courses, or course through Athabasca University over the summer, when the GPA doesn't count, it would definitely make your life a lot easier. What ever you choose, good luck, it's an uphill battle for people like us without the classes, but it's possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainAmoeba Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 It seems like anymore I am just the bearer of bad news but I am afraid you may be looking for an easy solution to something that there just isn't one for. Sure you can study all the material on your own outside of university courses. you can use youtube videos and hire tutors but unless you are very dedicated and have a lot of time on your hands this may not be the best option. I have heard of people teaching themselves one or two sections to cover knowledge gaps, I had to learn about 50% of the physics portion on my own, but doing the whole thing seems like a rather large task to me. http://prep101.com/mcat/ http://www.oxfordseminars.ca/MCAT/mcat_about.php https://www.kaptest.com/mcat http://www.princetonreview.com/medical/mcat-canada I'll second the notion that it is a ton of work to self study this, and there is definitely no "easy button" the material is equivalent to 2 years of university level education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh fry Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 Thank you MountainAmoeba for contributing, great posts there. Having re-read this I probably should clarify that the prep course that are 40-120 hours are not sufficient to prepare you for the test based on your background. They are reviews, and they go over material they assume you are comfortable with or have seen in the past. I am not here to shoot down your dream, rather I am trying to help you realistically approach it. I can't fathom a way for someone with a grade 11 science background to adequately prepare for an MCAT in a few months time, might be possible if you quit your job or studies and did nothing but study 16 hours a day but otherwise I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment. When I started my medschool push I had a grade 10 science background. I had to take all high school level science course by distance learning, these took about 60-80 hours a piece with studying and going through course material. I then basically set up my first year of university as an mcat prep taking physics, bio, english, chem, ochem, biochem. I had to start in the summer the year before and I was taking course the summer that i wrote the MCAT and I was still behind a physics requirement which i had to study on my own. Pouring max effort into these course, taking a 40 hour prep course and every practice exam I could I still only eked out what was considered a middle of the road (33R) test score. If you are applying to schools that require the full MCAT I just don't know how one could realistically prep in such a short time given they have never seen the material before when any one single section of the MCAT has been known to break people. I agree with mountain, I think taking some courses at a baseline would be a bear minimum. that being said I don't know you, I don't know how quickly you learn and I don't know what your baseline science level is. Please take it easy on yourself when approaching this. It is a marathon not a sprint and I wouldn't want to see someone get turned off their goal because they took on too much all at once. GL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainAmoeba Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 I also looked at what I told you for the amount of hours per week, and should say those were the minimum. It was actually considerably more, I would say between 5-20 hours a week. I work a lot of night shifts and spent many of them studying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedMaybe3563 Posted October 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Thank you to everyone who answered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedMaybe3563 Posted October 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Oh one thing I am kind of curious about. Since McMaster only views the CARS section could I just write that and apply next year? After reviewing the thread I don't think I can write all section of the MCAT by the time I mentioned but I am naturally just really good at critical analysis types of things and the courses I have done really well in are usually philosophy/political/literature where analyzing/logic are key. I've done all the practice questions for CARS on Khan Academy and have done pretty well. So if I have a GPA of (3.8) and a high CARS lets just say 128+ theoretically do you think it would be worth it to apply to just McMaster if I am OOP? And if by some miracle I was accepted which I doubt because it's almost unrealistic how would someone like me manage during the preclinical year there? I have heard that a lot of the things on the MCAT like physics or organic chem are not really used much in med school. Is this true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolynH Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 You can get many different opinions about this topic but I feel that the most popular few such as Kaplan, Princeton, and ExamKracker all have their merits. You can search up online reviews about them. One site I found listed Kaplan being on the top. A younger friend of mine just finished self-studying MCAT over the summer using Kaplan 7-book set without taking any science courses in undergrad but had very strong Grade 12 Sciences. She wrote the exam and got a score in the high 90's percentile! So I think the Kaplan book set was very useful to her. Mind you. Self-studying (or even taking MCAT courses) requires a big deal of discipline and persistence. You may at times feel like the world has abandoned you and everyone's having fun except you. It's tough work but it's very satisfying at the end when you have accomplished this task! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurekaneurosciences Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 Hey Fresh fry I need that book As a conversation piece DM me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiredofitall Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 Because you have such a minimal background in the sciences I would encourage you to consider taking some beginners courses and upgrading. Once you have that done start getting exposure to university level first year biology, chemistry, and physics courses. You don't necessarily have to register to take them, like you said before you could probably ghost them. But the thing is with all the MCAT prep books, they assume you have completed these courses already so you can't exactly jump in. I would put aside a minimum of 1 year before you decide to write the MCAT. That being said, I found the Kaplan books to be some of the better ones and Khan Academy is an incredibly useful resource especially for beginners. Best of luck. It can definitely be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.