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Difficulty of MCAT compared to UofT St George courses


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Hey guys,

 

For those of you who are/were U of T undergrads and have taken the MCAT, how would you compare the two in terms of difficulty? I will be taking the MCAT next summer and am trying to plan how much time should I allot for studying vs. working and whatever else.

 

For example, if someone is getting mid 80s to 90s in first year Life Sciences courses at St. George without studying too hard, can said person presume that he/she can score well on the MCAT without studying for extensive amounts of time?

 

I understand that the MCAT involves more than just knowledge, and that certain test-taking skills are big factors in getting higher marks, but I'm just looking for a rough indicator, and any insight or past experience would be greatly appreciated!

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Roughly speaking, the Physics and Bio sections of the MCAT are on par, if not easier, than UofT undergrad courses. This is a huge generalization since we are really comparing apples to oranges. The MCAT isn't about 80s and 90s, it is about 80th and 90th percentiles. But basically, for ON purposes, 11 in each section is good enough (except for Mac, where get as high on VR as possible).

 

In terms of studying time, I think it depends on whether you are self-studying or taking a course. Taking a course will mean you just need to keep up, monitor your progress, and adjust accordingly. If you are self-studying, I would say start 2.5-3 months in advance. Work steadily but with a good plan. There are some great blogs and advice about how to self-study (e.g. http://www.medaholic.com/).

 

The key is to do 10+ in BS and PS, but put all the work you need into striving for an 11 in VR. That section is a hit or miss. Again, others can give you better advice. I hit 11 quite likely by a mix of luck and confidence than strategy.

 

GL and feel free to pose more questions here or via PM.

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I go to UTM. I'd say the bio courses prepped me pretty well. Even the 2nd year organic courses. MCAT studying was a breeze for BS section; PS was a bit tough because last time I took physics was in high school, but i got through it with Kaplan. If you allot yourself 3 months, you should have more than enough time I think. Good luck

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Wow! Thanks for the reply guys, it was very informative, and quite reassuring :) Actually, WS is one of my bigger fears, because I don't really know what to expect from it... But I guess there is some strategy in it.

 

Thanks again :D

Plenty of strategy to the WS section. Get your hands on the best scoring essays you can find and learn the patterns. Worked like a charm for me. I didn't even practice WS because I literally had a formulaic approach to every prompt.

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Thanks for the advice! WHere did you find these essays?

 

Plenty of strategy to the WS section. Get your hands on the best scoring essays you can find and learn the patterns. Worked like a charm for me. I didn't even practice WS because I literally had a formulaic approach to every prompt.
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