AKY Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Hi everyone, I just had a few questions because I am wondering how far out to lunch I am since I have received a bit of feedback from people who have done the MCAT before. I have had a very busy summer so far with work/ getting married in early June and then going on my honeymoon/ moving in. I was hoping to apply for medical school this fall so I signed up for the MCAT on September 2nd. I just started studying this week, and I am making my way through ExamKracker, but there is a lot to cover :/ Here is my dilemma. I am strong in Biology and I feel as if I can do decently on verbal.. However, I have not taken any organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, physics, or math at the university level. Last time I took physics/math was in high school, grade 11. I am a quick learner and I am determined to take the exam as I have already paid $240 for it, but is it even possible to cover all of this sufficiently in 60 days? I did know what I was getting into, but I always thought that those who took the entire summer off to take the MCAT were just worrying a bit too much. The rest of my application is fairly strong with a 3.9+CGPA and decent EC's, going into my 3rd year. I am hoping to apply apply to Western, Queens, and McMaster this fall. I am not eligible for UOttawa as I don't have enough chemistry credits. Thanks for feedback, I am just trying to gauge how possible it is for me to do reasonably well (I realize this is very subjective from person to person), or if I am a lot more hopeless then I thought going in. I didn't think much of it until my friends seemed incredulous at the idea of teaching myself Orgo. I am currently making my way through the Bio section, so not so bad so far =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04291991 Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Like you said, it's different for everyone...but I take it that you're a bio major? As for the sciences, it is a lot of stuff to cover but I sure don't think it's impossible to cover it all in 2 months if you put in an efficient 6-8 hours a day....as for verbal they say it's all practice but if you feel confident about then I think you'll be ok in 2 months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkentm Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 i dont have much advice to give except maybe try studying the hard stuff first instead of starting off with bio. id say look over organic chem and physics and if ur still feeling confident then go for it. i know i was overconfident in the beginning because i started off with a subject i was already very familiar with. i dont want to discourage you or anything but in my opinion i think it would be very difficult to master the mcat in only 2 months if you lack the background knowledge in orgo and physics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkentm Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 just wanted to add that if i were in ur situation, i would take orgo and a first year physics course in ur upcoming school year and book a somewhat early mcat date for next summer (june-july). that way u'll have learned about half the mcat content already and if u mess up the mcat the first time u can still give it a 2nd try later on in the summer. i believe alot of people write the mcat after 3rd year. plus, u just got married. enjoy ur summer and get down to work in the fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKY Posted July 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Thanks for the advice. I am taking orgo this year, and I have a physics textbook to use, so I don't really want to take this in class.. I will be studying pretty hard from here on in, although I still have to work a couple of times a week to make some money. I guess I can always try again next summer and at least use this one as experience if I do end up bombing it :/ It isn't hurtful to do horrible on the MCAT if you are taking it again, is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 It doesn't hurt to take the mcat multiple times in Canada. It sounds like you won't bother with US schools so you'll be alright. Taking a university level physics course isn't a necessity for the mcat, but taking an orgo class helps alot. The bio section is 20% organic, but i've heard that its tending more towards genetics/molecular bio and away from organic....I think EK will work best for you, and from there do as many practise tests as possible. If you can do well on the AAMC's then chances are your ready for the real thing. After your done the mcat, your courses for the fall will be a breeze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey_whiz Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 thanks for the advice, captaincrunch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKY Posted July 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Thanks again everyone for your advice. Hopefully it goes well. I know that my lack of a good base level of knowledge in chemistry/physics is due to slacking off in academics since like grade 11 (last minute studying= not very good understanding). Paying the price now, but it is about time to face up to it so I don't mind too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkentm Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 definitely do not use EK for orgo or physics if u have no background knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey_whiz Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 definitely do not use EK for orgo or physics if u have no background knowledge. i'm using EK for orgo and im finding its not that bad if i supplement with khanacademy. i have no background knowledge of orgo either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey_whiz Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 with that being said, i'm only 1/4 of the way into the orgo book, should i stop and use something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbear Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 It doesn't hurt to take the mcat multiple times in Canada. It sounds like you won't bother with US schools so you'll be alright. Taking a university level physics course isn't a necessity for the mcat, but taking an orgo class helps alot. The bio section is 20% organic, but i've heard that its tending more towards genetics/molecular bio and away from organic....I think EK will work best for you, and from there do as many practise tests as possible. If you can do well on the AAMC's then chances are your ready for the real thing. After your done the mcat, your courses for the fall will be a breeze Does writing the MCAT multiple times destroy you for applying in the states? I always thought every school looked at your most recent score and didn't care how many times you wrote it/did badly. Maybe I'm thinking of just Canada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Does writing the MCAT multiple times destroy you for applying in the states? I always thought every school looked at your most recent score and didn't care how many times you wrote it/did badly. Maybe I'm thinking of just Canada?Each school in the US has different policies regarding the MCAT. They tend to want to see an upward trend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lost__in__space Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 with that being said, i'm only 1/4 of the way into the orgo book, should i stop and use something else? I really didn't like EK orgo....I studied from my friend's homemade notes after I finished chapter 3. She made her notes from Princeton Review books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 I really didn't like EK orgo....I studied from my friend's homemade notes after I finished chapter 3. She made her notes from Princeton Review books. EK Orgo is good to get the basics down. Remember that when they wrote the book, it didn't reflect the new MCAT which lowers the orgo content and increases the genetics component. EK covers a bit more than necessary at times, but it's not a completely bad read. However, I will say that if you're doing orgo for the first time, PR's orgo is not for the faint of mind. That book is written REALLY badly in certain chapters like trying to explain ring conjugation, or even Michael's rxn. Use it only for casual reading. That's my take on the PR orgo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanillabear Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 EK Orgo is good to get the basics down. Remember that when they wrote the book, it didn't reflect the new MCAT which lowers the orgo content and increases the genetics component. EK covers a bit more than necessary at times, but it's not a completely bad read. However, I will say that if you're doing orgo for the first time, PR's orgo is not for the faint of mind. That book is written REALLY badly in certain chapters like trying to explain ring conjugation, or even Michael's rxn. Use it only for casual reading. That's my take on the PR orgo. I completely agree. Especially the Michael's rxn/Conjugate addition stuff... pretty badly written. I self-taught that stuff using my orgo textbook from my course and the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey_whiz Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 k i am absolutely discouraged with ochem right now, i have been using EK thus far and i'm just not getting it, i have 2 other books for ochem, berkeley and princeton... berkeley is so damn long and i havent heard good things about princeton.. great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkentm Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 k i am absolutely discouraged with ochem right now, i have been using EK thus far and i'm just not getting it, i have 2 other books for ochem, berkeley and princeton... berkeley is so damn long and i havent heard good things about princeton.. great. wowww USE BERKELEY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkentm Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 the only reason EK is so short compared to other prep books is cause they leave out a lot of assumed knowledge which you wouldnt have if u havent taken orgo before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanillabear Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 k i am absolutely discouraged with ochem right now, i have been using EK thus far and i'm just not getting it, i have 2 other books for ochem, berkeley and princeton... berkeley is so damn long and i havent heard good things about princeton.. great. Use BR or even the internet. This site is pretty decent too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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