How important are the recommended courses for MCAT?

[JaeTaro]

MCAT

I have taken half of the recommended courses for the MCAT and will take the other half next year and I was planning to take the MCAT after taking the rest and utilizing one of the MCAT prep courses like Kaplan or Princeton (I haven't looked into which yet.)

However, I have some spare time this summer, and if I take the MCAT by the end of August I could apply to med school in the 2020/2021 cycle to get in for September 2021. I would have about 13 weeks to study for the MCAT. The courses I would be missing are the second year bio and chem, so organic chem, biochem, cell bio, genetics 

Is it feasible to do well on the MCAT without taking these? 

[DrOtter]

18 hours ago, JaeTaro said:

MCAT

I have taken half of the recommended courses for the MCAT and will take the other half next year and I was planning to take the MCAT after taking the rest and utilizing one of the MCAT prep courses like Kaplan or Princeton (I haven't looked into which yet.)

However, I have some spare time this summer, and if I take the MCAT by the end of August I could apply to med school in the 2020/2021 cycle to get in for September 2021. I would have about 13 weeks to study for the MCAT. The courses I would be missing are the second year bio and chem, so organic chem, biochem, cell bio, genetics 

Is it feasible to do well on the MCAT without taking these? 

Second year bio and chem , and genetics might not be necessary. But Orgo, Bio chem and possibly Cell Bio are all very high-yield content on the MCAT. Also 13 weeks is not a long time to "review" for the MCAT, let alone study brand new content for it.

You could give it a go by buying and reading through a set of Prep books (I recommend Kaplan cuz I studied off that and got a 520+, also you don't need the latest version). If the content makes sense to you and you can absorb it just fine, then you can try writing the MCAT. But if it all looks like a foreign language for you, especially with Orgo and Biochem with all the reactions and metabolism, then I'd say to hold off on it until you've take those classes.

[sweaterweather]

19 hours ago, JaeTaro said:

MCAT

I have taken half of the recommended courses for the MCAT and will take the other half next year and I was planning to take the MCAT after taking the rest and utilizing one of the MCAT prep courses like Kaplan or Princeton (I haven't looked into which yet.)

However, I have some spare time this summer, and if I take the MCAT by the end of August I could apply to med school in the 2020/2021 cycle to get in for September 2021. I would have about 13 weeks to study for the MCAT. The courses I would be missing are the second year bio and chem, so organic chem, biochem, cell bio, genetics 

Is it feasible to do well on the MCAT without taking these? 

Hey, 

I really think it depends on your comfort level with the basic sciences and how quickly you can recall/apply information.  Some medical schools do not assess MCAT very competitively, while others value certain marks in each section. Obviously it would be in your favor to do very well. You don't really need a science background to do the MCAT, although it may help, many people have done well without having one.

Like the post above, I would try to see how you find the material first and ensure that the right resources are available for you.

[JaeTaro]

22 hours ago, sweaterweather said:

Hey, 

I really think it depends on your comfort level with the basic sciences and how quickly you can recall/apply information.  Some medical schools do not assess MCAT very competitively, while others value certain marks in each section. Obviously it would be in your favor to do very well. You don't really need a science background to do the MCAT, although it may help, many people have done well without having one.

Like the post above, I would try to see how you find the material first and ensure that the right resources are available for you.

Thanks. I will leave it until next year then and focus my summer on ECs