cerveau101 Posted April 30, 2019 Report Share Posted April 30, 2019 Hi! I'm debating whether if I should take the MCAT this summer (I just finished my first year of undergrad). My reasons are: 1) I'm mostly free during this summer and I'm not planning on taking any summer courses (since I have credits from AP). 2) I have a research position at a lab and currently part of a project (spending at least 30+ hours a week) and I don't think this will take most of my time during the summer. 3) I'm planning on using the MCAT for preparation for my second year courses. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The reasons why I'm not going ahead with this at the moment is because I heard: a) It's way too early for me to take the MCAT + it'll be an absolute waste of my time to spend the summer studying for it because by next year I'll with a more concrete understanding of ochem, biochem, etc to study for it. b) It will lower my gpa?? (saw multiple comments alluding to this but I really don't see how studying for the MCAT earlier over the summer will impede me from doing better in second year courses). c) I can be doing paid work (paid work as in like an internship or a job where your work is impactful to the community). ---- I can see how this is a better use of my time, but I am 100% sure I don't have any chance in getting into an internship because I'm pretty sure the deadline for most was in January. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN SUMMARY, I want to study for the MCAT to prepare for my second year courses since I'm not doing anything special this summer and I don't know if this is a smart idea. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridian Posted May 1, 2019 Report Share Posted May 1, 2019 Studying for MCAT will not be to prep you for 2nd year. It is to do well on the MCAT. You are missing some organic chem at this point, but everything else will be fresh from first year. You could try to self-study the Orgo needed for MCAT. Why not go ahead and start studying and do some practice tests to see where you benchmark. If you can consistently achieve the marks you want in practice , then go ahead and write in late summer. If not, defer to next year. You do need to book a test time slot if you want to write this summer --- they book up. --- Did you take full course-load in first year ? (I noted the AP comments). cerveau101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerveau101 Posted May 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2019 Hi @Meridian, thanks for the feedback! And yeah I had a full course-load for first year. So I took bio (cell biology, genetics), chem (basic organic chem + thermochemistry), and physics (waves + circuits) with a few electives. To address your comment "Studying for MCAT will not be to prep you for 2nd year. It is to do well on the MCAT" -- I'm definitely taking the MCAT as if it is my last and I'm aiming for a 515+ (ambitious I know). So assuming I do well on the MCAT, I'm hoping the material I covered from studying will help me in my second year biochem/org courses. Do you know if the material on the MCAT is representative of a typical second year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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