NewDirection Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Hello fellow med hopefuls, I am a non-traditional applicant from Ontario hoping to attend medical school within the next four years. Like many non-trad applicants, I didn't do so well in the early part of my undergrad studies (Economics, 2.0, 2.7, 3.8, 3.8) and am now hoping to do a second degree and go on to attend medical school. I intend to start the second degree in September 2013 and study at the undergrad level for two years. As I embark on this journey, I will post more details about myself in the non-trad forum. My question here is about an MCAT strategy that I would like to run by you guys. Since I have a couple of years before I start school I thought it may be possible to write the MCAT before I start my second degree. Also, I need to take Grade 12 biology and physics before I start. My question is, do I have a shot at a solid MCAT score if I take only the three high school 12U sciences and then self-study from various guides like Princeton, Examkrackers, etc. in the hopes of writing the MCAT just before I start undergrad? I have very little science background but a fair understanding of math (calculus and statistics, not so much algebra). Thank you for your answers, I'm sure many long time lurkers like myself have benefited immensely from the knowledge shared on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Yes, it should be fine...we can't really diagnose your ability. Try taking a free MCAT from Kaplan, TPR, or aamc (AAMC 3, for instance) but I think if you study long/hard enough, you will be proficient. The MCAT science is BASIC (Grade 12/U 1) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanabedoc12 Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 To be honest, a LOT of people write the MCAT without having a science background, of course they take the said courses as a refresher (and also as a compulsory requirement set by med schools) but without a doubt, the above mentioned shouldn't be indicative with your ability to do well on the MCAT. It test's critical thinking and your ability to extrapolate information and use it efficiently, as long as you are an individual with perseverance and can study the material on your own, I'm sure you'll do fine. Hope this helps. Cheers, Wanabedoc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 To be honest, a LOT of people write the MCAT without having a science background, of course they take the said courses as a refresher (and also as a compulsory requirement set by med schools) but without a doubt, the above mentioned shouldn't be indicative with your ability to do well on the MCAT. It test's critical thinking and your ability to extrapolate information and use it efficiently, as long as you are an individual with perseverance and can study the material on your own, I'm sure you'll do fine. Hope this helps. Cheers, Wanabedoc. thats a good post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehumanmacbook Posted September 20, 2011 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 To be honest, a LOT of people write the MCAT without having a science background, of course they take the said courses as a refresher (and also as a compulsory requirement set by med schools) but without a doubt, the above mentioned shouldn't be indicative with your ability to do well on the MCAT. It test's critical thinking and your ability to extrapolate information and use it efficiently, as long as you are an individual with perseverance and can study the material on your own, I'm sure you'll do fine. Hope this helps. Cheers, Wanabedoc. +1 though...I have to warn OP about orgo. Basic chem isn't really enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemedschools Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 To be honest, a LOT of people write the MCAT without having a science background, of course they take the said courses as a refresher (and also as a compulsory requirement set by med schools) but without a doubt, the above mentioned shouldn't be indicative with your ability to do well on the MCAT. It test's critical thinking and your ability to extrapolate information and use it efficiently, as long as you are an individual with perseverance and can study the material on your own, I'm sure you'll do fine. Hope this helps. Cheers, Wanabedoc. I am just sharing solely my own opinion here. I could be totally wrong. I see many people claim MCAT is a critical thinking test. I am not sure what they mean by "critical thinking". IMHO, MCAT is a knowledge based drilling-type* test. We used to think there are two types of questions as follow: 1) Drilling problems: ex: find the derivative of the given equation. ex: twisted calculus words problems. 2) Creative problems(AKA critical thinking question to me): ex: prove any real number divided by zero is undefined. ex: prove root over 2 is an irrational number. Chances are very high that if you do well in so called premed courses, you will do well in MCAT provided your English reading skill is excellent and you have practiced enough MCAT exam papers. Agree or disagree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewDirection Posted September 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 Thank you all for your advice. I have a few tries at the MCAT before I can apply to meds anyway. I will try with just high school + prep materials and then again after first year undergrad sciences. Let's see what happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanabedoc12 Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 I am just sharing solely my own opinion here. I could be totally wrong. I see many people claim MCAT is a critical thinking test. I am not sure what they mean by "critical thinking". IMHO, MCAT is a knowledge based drilling-type* test. We used to think there are two types of questions as follow: 1) Drilling problems: ex: find the derivative of the given equation. ex: twisted calculus words problems. 2) Creative problems(AKA critical thinking question to me): ex: prove any real number divided by zero is undefined. ex: prove root over 2 is an irrational number. Chances are very high that if you do well in so called premed courses, you will do well in MCAT provided your English reading skill is excellent and you have practiced enough MCAT exam papers. Agree or disagree? Completely disagree, without a doubt. "Drilling problems" are in my opinion, analogous to practice questions, something used to allow one to grasp the concept in question much better. Strengthening the basics will always allow you to strip the pseudo-complex-visage a question sometimes bears. Your former example in "Drilling problems" is exactly what I had just explained, the latter however, is a critical thinking type question (this is coming from a Nuclear engineering student). The MCAT is _Critical Thinking_ test. The material on it doesn't age past first year university, all the concepts are facile, and if it hadn't been for that intricate style-wording the MCAT uses (which of course requires CRITICAL THINKING to peel past), I'm sure anyone would be able to score rather high. Of course, with the rebuttal that if you practice enough, you will get better at it sometimes seems as if it's merely a "drilling problem", your mind merely get's used to the kind of questions, giving you a hint as to how your trance of thought should be adjusted. OF COURSE, this is merely my opinion, but I'm sure a lot of people would agree with this. For now, Best of luck to the poster who asked, work hard and strive to infinity! -Cheers, Anas Abdel Rihem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc752 Posted September 24, 2011 Report Share Posted September 24, 2011 ^ Completely agree! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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