cleverusername Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Hey everyone, Has anyone here written the self studied for the MCAT without having completed Organic Chemistry, Cell Molec, and Physics? How did you end up scoring? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP76 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 I wrote the MCAT without ever taking physics, orgo, or cell bio. I had about 1.5 months to study for the exam, and studied 3-4 hours per day maybe 4 or 5 days a week (I was working part-time and volunteering among other things). I scored a decent 10 in physical, and 11 in bio. None of the concepts are difficult to understand really, just read the books and do a few practice exams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleverusername Posted February 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 I wrote the MCAT without ever taking physics, orgo, or cell bio. I had about 1.5 months to study for the exam, and studied 3-4 hours per day maybe 4 or 5 days a week (I was working part-time and volunteering among other things). I scored a decent 10 in physical, and 11 in bio. None of the concepts are difficult to understand really, just read the books and do a few practice exams. Thanks for the reply. How many practice tests did you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleverusername Posted February 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 Hey guys, Anyone here self study for the MCAT without an Organic Chemistry, Cell Molec, or Physics course already completed? If so, how did you score? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleverusername Posted February 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 I believe you posted this questions already. It's all about motivation and how badly you want it. The post was inadvertently posted in the wrong forum. I've posted in this forum because it's relevant to this section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP76 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 I actually didn't have time to read any of the princeton VR or Writing book... so didn't really practice or prepare for either VR or written at all. I did 4 full-length practice tests (minus the written section). Scored 11 on bio, 10 on physical, 10 on verbal, R on written on the actual test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleverusername Posted February 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 I actually didn't have time to read any of the princeton VR or Writing book... so didn't really practice or prepare for either VR or written at all. I did 4 full-length practice tests (minus the written section). Scored 11 on bio, 10 on physical, 10 on verbal, R on written on the actual test. Thanks for the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrenchToast Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 I self-studied for 1.5 hours/day without most of the Physics and without any Physiology. I got 39 and considering that I'm "weak", someone like you who isn't a "lesser light" has no excuse not to score at least 43. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralk Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 I went in with the Physics, but no Chemistry (Orgo or otherwise) and lacking some biology (no microbio, but had the big stuff like physiology). Basically, I took the time to study the areas I had no knowledge of well in advance of studying for the actual MCAT. Basic Chem I did the summer before writing the MCAT, Orgo I did on-and-off through the year in advance. Essentially, I decided to force myself through a self-study course in each subject when I had the time. When I started the actual MCAT studying (i.e. going through prep books, writing practice tests), I found I still had some gaps in my knowledge, but this was true of every area, including Physics, simply because the MCAT had a different emphasis on some material that I was never overly familiar. Writing practice tests was, by far, the most beneficial aspect. If I got a question wrong because I lacked background information of the topic, it was easy to identify, easy to correct, and lasted longer in my memory because I then had a relevant, meaningful example to draw upon. I ended up doing quite well on the MCAT, particularly the science sections. There is no reason you cannot do well on the MCAT without a formal education in the material covered - but you will need to put in the time to understand the facts and concept which are being evaluated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleverusername Posted February 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 I went in with the Physics, but no Chemistry (Orgo or otherwise) and lacking some biology (no microbio, but had the big stuff like physiology). Basically, I took the time to study the areas I had no knowledge of well in advance of studying for the actual MCAT. Basic Chem I did the summer before writing the MCAT, Orgo I did on-and-off through the year in advance. Essentially, I decided to force myself through a self-study course in each subject when I had the time. When I started the actual MCAT studying (i.e. going through prep books, writing practice tests), I found I still had some gaps in my knowledge, but this was true of every area, including Physics, simply because the MCAT had a different emphasis on some material that I was never overly familiar. Writing practice tests was, by far, the most beneficial aspect. If I got a question wrong because I lacked background information of the topic, it was easy to identify, easy to correct, and lasted longer in my memory because I then had a relevant, meaningful example to draw upon. I ended up doing quite well on the MCAT, particularly the science sections. There is no reason you cannot do well on the MCAT without a formal education in the material covered - but you will need to put in the time to understand the facts and concept which are being evaluated. How long did you study and for how many hours per day? Also were there any specific strategies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralk Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 How long did you study and for how many hours per day? Also were there any specific strategies? For the test itself? Three weeks or so, maybe 6-8 hours a day. Basically did sections of practice tests, reviewed my answers, filled gaps in my knowledge as I went, eventually working up to full tests. I used a lot of older tests, mostly since they were easier to access and/or free (local libraries have a lot of older prep books). It was really an iterative process - try a section, figure out what went wrong, fix it, try again, build up to do more sections at once, repeat. For all the stuff ahead of time, such as learning Orgo, it was really whenever I had the time/motivation. Maybe 10 hours a week max, and that was always during the summer when I had spare time between work and other commitments. During the school year I only spent maybe an hour a week on average. I also spent a lot of that time looking over what the MCAT was about, what I would need to learn as well, so that definitely made things more efficient when I got right down to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralk Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 Where do you get practice tests/passages from other than the AAMC website if you aren't taking a prep course like OP? Most of the practice tests I used came from prep books. I found one book at the library with 4 practice tests, really leaned on that one. Now, these were the older, longer versions of the test which had more questions and took much longer, but I still found them quite helpful (content was mostly the same). As you say, the AAMC also offers some online practice tests, and for my final prep I wrote their free sample. It was definitely the most useful of the practice tests, and I would certainly have bought another one if I wasn't satisfied with my performance on the free test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrenchToast Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 Hahaha what were the details of your score? Please call me Mr.45T from now on because my knowledge will bite your face off. (joke) 14/11/14 R. Sorry if my post seemed obnoxious. The obnoxiousness/pretentiousness were ENTIRELY directed at the OP, as I am not a fan of him. But yes Gunner, I'm sure you'll do quite well . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 14/11/14 R. Sorry if my post seemed obnoxious. The obnoxiousness/pretentiousness were ENTIRELY directed at the OP, as I am not a fan of him. But yes Gunner, I'm sure you'll do quite well . It was enjoyably appreciated on this end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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