Orgo 2OA3 or Phy 1B03? at mcmaster

[pat68]

I am a first year Health Sciences student at McMaster University. For people who have written the MCAT, would you suggest taking certain university courses prior? I am planning on writing the MCAT next summer, and have the option of taking either Physics 1B03 or Orgo 2OA3 this summer. Assuming that I will only take one of the two courses in the summer, which will be of better use to take? In other words, what course will prepare me better for the MCAT? From what I've heard Orgo is the tougher part on the MCAT. However, the material covered in the university Orgo course, 2OA3, is somewhat irrelevant to the Orgo tested on the MCAT. For anyone who's taken this course and then done the MCAT, what is your opinion on this?

 

Physics, I've heard is a bigger component of the MCAT. So logically it makes more sense to take. However, assuming that I'm taking an MCAT prep course before the MCAT, I've heard that most people are able to perform well on the Physics section with this prep course. The part people usually have more trouble with is the Orgo passages on the MCAT. Is there anyone who's written the MCAT and taken both Physics and Orgo and can suggest what was more useful to take?

[Cyradis]

I've done the MCAT and taken Physics 1B0/BB3 as well as Chem 2OA/B3 and IMO, take physics.

 

2OA3 IS relevant to the MCAT, but the physics course probably overlaps more heavily with what you need to know than orgo does. Ofc, I'm assuming that physics/orgo are equal to you in terms of how good you are at them.... if you're particularly strong with orgo (i.e. you found Chem 1AA3 orgo really easy), then definitely take physics. On the other hand, if physics comes really naturally to you and orgo was brutal, take 2OA3.

[Poindextrose]

I've done the MCAT and taken Physics 1B0/BB3 as well as Chem 2OA/B3 and IMO, take physics.

 

2OA3 IS relevant to the MCAT, but the physics course probably overlaps more heavily with what you need to know than orgo does. Ofc, I'm assuming that physics/orgo are equal to you in terms of how good you are at them.... if you're particularly strong with orgo (i.e. you found Chem 1AA3 orgo really easy), then definitely take physics. On the other hand, if physics comes really naturally to you and orgo was brutal, take 2OA3.

 

I've also taken Orgo 2OA3 and 2OB3, as well as the physics class, and I agree with this.

 

But I will say that while I'm not exactly great at orgo, I relied much more on things I learned in high school/first year chem than those in 20A3. Physics on the other hand - so glad I took 1B03. I found the physics on the MCAT to be much more challenging than the Orgo. Plus, physics questions make up a larger portion of the physical sciences section than orgo does of the biological sciences section (from what I remember, ha).

 

[live101]

Take them both. If you're taking them in the summer, why not? They would both help.

[pat68]

Thanks for all the great advice!

 

I don't want to do both Physics and Orgo over the summer. I want to definetely choose one just because I want to really focus on it and I would prefer just doing one so I have time for voluntary work as well.

 

Does anyone know if you need Physics with a lab to get into in Ontario med schools? I've heard so many rumours that for big med schools like UFT, you need this. Another big reason I wanted to do Physics now is because I thought it was a requirement into some Ontario Med schools. However, I did some research and found that most med schools in Ontario don't require this and instead just require one or two full year Science courses (i.e. anatomy, chem, etc.).

[pat68]

Also another issue I've thought about with Orgo is that if I do 2OA3 now I have other plans for the rest of my summer. And I know eventually to apply to Ottawa, I will need Orgo 2OB3. So if I do Orgo 2OA3 this summer, I will have to take 2OB3 in third year where I have lots of elective space. Taking both 2OA3 and 2OB3 with such a large time gap doesn't seem to make sense. My chem professor once mentioned this is probably a bad idea, and it is always better to take the two courses together, one after the other. What do people who've taken both 2OA3 and 2OB3 think about this issue?

[jordan19]

Hi.

I would recommend taking Physics 1B03 during the school year, so take it during your school year with the 3 electives that you have (unless your planning to do specialization). It's definitely do-able. I recommend doing Orgo 20A3 during the summer because it's just a lot of work to keep up, and during the school year, many people don't find this time due to all the other courses that they are taking.

I personally took Orgo 20A3 during the summer, and during the following year, I finished 20B3, and I have to say, although there is some overlap, it is very minimal at best. I mean, all the reaction mechanisms that we had to learn first term were NOT at all tested on, merely you just had to know the products, which was very simple. Additionally, the MCATs has semester 1 of Orgo, and a bit of semester 2, so your a bit of a pickle. If you can do both physics, and orgo at the same time during the summer, I would recommend it, my friend has done it, and it was very manageable.