kapers Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 I have a friend who is in nursing, as am I, who is also interested in going to medical school. She is considering studying on her own for the MCAT- getting some textbooks, taking a MCAT prep course, and then just going for it (as soon as the summer after 1st year) without taking any university level prereqs. I think it's MCAT suicide and I'd be way to scared to do it this way. I mean, people who major in chem, bio, whatever take the MCAT and still don't do too well. That's why I'm really hoping that I'll be able to finish my nursing, and then do a year of prereqs, before applying. What do you, who have taken the MCAT, think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwells Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 It is definitely doable however you need to be sure you don't fall into the information overload trap. I have never taken a Bio or Oganic course and I self studied for the MCAT. I started by using text books as I did not feel I had enough background to follow the material listed in MCAT prep books. Before long I fell into the trap of trying to understand all of the material in the text books as if I needed to know all the details. The more I studied the more I started counting the days left before my MCAT. I started feeling like I did not have enough time to do practice exams because I still needed to learn new material. In the end I spent all my time in the text books and did not spend any time doing practice exams. BIG mistake! The next time I studied I had most of the material I studied forgotten (information overload!). This time I spent much more time focusing on the MCAT prep book tips and used text books to supplement material as needed. Many of the tips teach you have to answer the MCAT questions, not how to understand the material in detail. This made a big difference and helped to save a lot of time. Also the prep books kept me focused on key subjects and kept me from wasting time studying information not likely to be on the MCAT. The same was true for the practice exams. After writing a handful of practice exams it became clear which questions were likely going to be asked. This made a HUGE difference. Personally I stayed away from the MCAT prep courses for two reasons: 1. they are expensive 2. I assumed not having the background in some of the topics meant I was likely going to be lost when they started reviewing those topics. I am not sure how these courses are ran but I assume the classes are more of a review style rather than a teaching style. This makes a big difference. Basically, you can self study. Make sure you study the necessary material only, and be sure to write as many practice exams as possible. Believe it or not learning how to answer MCAT style questions could be classified as a subject in itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest begaster Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 If you invest the time (and you'll need quite a bit), it's doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapers Posted January 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 Jwells- just to clarify- you mean you studied university course texts? Also, what kind of MCAT prep books did you end up using for your second time round? I do admit, I am surprised it can be done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapers Posted January 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 Another thought . . . although this topic probably has been picked to pieces many times before. So say I self-studied and bombed the test- will anyone look at that score? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest begaster Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Uh, yeah, why wouldn't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapers Posted January 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 I don't know- I ask because my friend seems to think previous bad scores won't be that much of a stain on an app if you did well subsequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyleh Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 In a way he/she is correct. Many schools look at your best MCAT score here in Canada. This is not always the case in the States since some schools take an average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tan008 Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 In the States a lot of schools will look at all the MCAT scores you have. Most do place much more weight on the latest adiministration, some take the average, and some take the best individual score/section from each MCAT. But if you're only applying to Canada then only your latest MCAT score matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastriss Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 In the States a lot of schools will look at all the MCAT scores you have. Most do place much more weight on the latest adiministration, some take the average, and some take the best individual score/section from each MCAT. But if you're only applying to Canada then only your latest MCAT score matters. US is very subjective. an applicant with a 33 who wrote once is better off than an applicant who had a 32 and rewrote to get a 33, because ther was no improvement. Similarly an ad comm memmber might see the 33 first timer as more desirable than someone who wrote a 33 first time and rewrote to get a 34. The idea - its quite subjective! For canada, not all schools look at ur most recent. Queen's will take ur best, so will calgary and I think Manitoba as well. UWO takes ur most recent. You should check with each school first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tan008 Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Thanks for the Canada info. I was totally not aware of that eeeeekkkkk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwells Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Jwells- just to clarify- you mean you studied university course texts? Also, what kind of MCAT prep books did you end up using for your second time round? I do admit, I am surprised it can be done! Kapers, the text books I used were books from the university library. They were the same books used in the university courses but were usually a few revisions behind. Core sciences don't tend to change much so it wasn't a problem. For MCAT prep books I used EK and Kaplan. I found each had their advantages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapers Posted January 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Forgive my ignorance . .. what's EK? And where did you find the prep books? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webshy Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Forgive my ignorance . .. what's EK? And where did you find the prep books? EK stands for Examkrackers - a very popular set of MCAT prep books. I bought my EK books online from Chapters and Amazon. (Some were cheaper from Chapters, while others were cheaper from Amazon.) Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
register Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 It is possible to take your mcat without the prerequisites, I did it, but beware that you may have to start studying earlier than others to learn all the stuff. Make sure your friend is able to get his/her hands on prep books (doesn't necessarily have to be taking a course) because they will provide lots of tips and strategies for taking the test. Also be sure to get old practice tests as they will be the best indicator of performance. The verbal section and writing should be no problem. Biology is a lot of memorization. The tricky parts will be physics, gen chem and organic chem because taking a course does help a lot. However, I got away without taking an orgo course, by brute memorization, but I know I would have done better in that section if I did take a course. Is there a particular reason why he/she wants to take it after 1st year? The only reason I can think of is to apply to Alberta schools. If not, take your time with studying for the test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapers Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 I think it's because she isn't really expecting to ace it, and wants to get in as many tries at it as possible. (As I mentioned before, she's going on the premise that bad past scores don't matter if you eventually do well). Hmm, now you have all got me wondering if I should suck it up and try self studying as well . . . I've been leaning more towards finishing my degree (nursing) and then doing a year of prereqs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanthalas Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Kapers, Myself as well, I am going a non-traditional route of completing my RN degree and then try to pursue a career in medicine. The journey will be interesting (I don't have any of the pre-reqs). Personally, the chances of me getting into med school are slim - I do have a nice fat F in one of my courses. If I didn't even attempt to get in, however, it'd be more discouraging than getting rejected. I don't want to live a life not knowing what could've happened. GOod luck on finishing your nursing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapers Posted February 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Hey thanks tanthalas! Good luck to you too! . . . I feel the same way sometimes: taking whatever chance I have to apply and get in, even if it is slim, would be better than not trying at all. So do you plan to self study or to take the prereqs at some point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanthalas Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 I think I'd probably take my pre-reqs. I've never taken a physics course and chemistry and I don't get along very well. Besides, I'm from BC, and I'd ilke to attend UBC. And they want Orgo, Gen Chem, and biochem. I just need physics for the MCAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapers Posted February 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying nursing . . . but an observation you might be able to relate to. Alot of people not doing science degrees can fit the prereqs in with their program, in the summer, etc. With nursing the course sequence is often so structured that it's nigh impossible to "fit in" prereqs. At least it is in my program . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.