Guest determined Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 Hello all - I am planning to write the April 2004 MCAT - without benefit of too many (really, any except intro Biology) science courses from university. An herculean task, I know. I've got the Gold Standard/Silver Bullet, and I'm planning to order the AAMC practice tests, but I think that given my lack of background, I might want to supplement these materials with an intro-level textbook in a couple of courses - I'm thinking maybe general & organic chem? So, my question is twofold: 1) Which subjects do you think it's important to have textbooks in vs. just studying off the Gold Standard material? and 2) Are there any good intro org. chem texts (for instance) that you'd recommend? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aamcisthedevil Posted October 21, 2003 Report Share Posted October 21, 2003 the gold standard is a great review book (emphasis on review). it can be a difficult read if you've never seen some of the material before. the molecular bio and organic chem can be tough. so depending on your science background, i would recommend having a first year chem, organic chem and maybe even a molecular bio/introductory biochem textbook available. you could probably find a copy of each at your local library. if you want something a little newer, check out the bookstore at your local university. though review is important to doing well on the mcat, practise is what its all about. you can have a great background in the sciences, but if you don't pace yourself, or become accostomed to 'mcat style' questions, it will make a difference on your score. well, that's my experience anyway :\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LaGriega Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 If you really have not taken physics, organic, or chem, why on earth would you do this, since you are going to have to take those courses as prerequisites for med school anyway? The review books are really intended for someone who has already seen the material. You need some deeper-level understanding and intuition to do well; unless you are brilliant, you are setting yourself up for a disappointing score and a rewrite, which gets expensive. You want to take the MCAT only once, and do it right the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest determined Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Really, I'm more in a `why not' kind of place right now. I won't necessarily need all those courses as prereqs, depending on where I apply - for instance, I've applied to Mac for this year, and am taking one additional biological sciences course which will make me eligible to U of T next cycle if Mac doesn't work out. The plan is to take a good hard look at where I'm at after 6 months of hardcore studying and self-teaching. If I'm nowhere near being in good shape for the exam, I'll know, and I'll be able to make a decision then. However, maybe I'll take to physics, orgo & chem like a duck to water - and in that case, I don't want to miss my chance to apply to more than one school during the next application cycle. I never claimed to be sane - just determined. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steve U of T Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 I took a Princeton Review prep course, and they gave us books covering everything we needed to know for the test. I'm not sure if you can get any books from them without taking a course, but you may want to look into it. If that's not possible, I did find that everything taught in the prep course was covered in the chemistry courses I took at U of T, and the textbooks for those courses were decent. "Organic Chemistry" by McMurry is pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 I agree- McMurry is a sweet book- very easy to follow! Best of luck! Timmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest determined Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 Thanks, guys - org chem was one I was really worried about - I think if I got the wrong book, it would be almost as bad (worse?) than not getting one at all. So the name of the book is just `Organic Chemistry'? C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted October 31, 2003 Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 Yep, 'Organic Chemistry' by McMurry. I had the 5th Edition when I was going through for Organic Chem, which was a few years ago, so you'll probably want to pick up the 6th (or 7th?) edition if it is available. Best of luck! Timmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DrSahsi Posted October 31, 2003 Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 "I'm not sure if you can get any books from them without taking a course, but you may want to look into it. " When I was prepping for the MCAT, I bought the Kaplan review books from a colleague who wrote the year before and got in at U of T. Used the books without the course, and it was all I needed (of course, I was three years into a pharmacology/human biology degree at the time). Best part is that I was able to unload the very same books to someone the following year... broke even! - Rupinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest studentz Posted November 23, 2003 Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 When I was prepping for the MCAT, I bought the Kaplan review books from a colleague who wrote the year before and got in at U of T. Used the books without the course, and it was all I needed . Kaplan orgo is amazing, it teaches the principles you need without useless detail. Most orgo texts will go into way too much detail and cover way too many reactions so you'll end up wasting valuable time, especially if you're taking classes while prepping. MCAT orgo throws off a lot of ppl because most questions involve molecules you've never seen before so everything depends on your understanding of basic principles & functional groups. That's what kaplan's books focus on. I took the course this past summer and I was very impressed with their orgo section as you can tell. Trust me on one thing: download the content list from the AAMC website and use that to study for orgo. It'll keep you on track. A course in human physiology is probably the most beneficial for the exam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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