Physics II for MCAT?

[sportsMD23]

Hi all,

I am a second year undergraduate student and I am planning to write the MCAT during 3rd year summer. I was just wondering if I should take Physics II to prepare for the MCAT? I have taken Physics I and did well but I really do not like physics... I have an elective next term and I am not sure if I should take Physics II or a bird course instead. I am just worried that Physics II will be challenging and might affect my GPA. 

I would appreciate any input!

Thanks in advance

[MedP111]

What is your Physics II course about? My Physics II was calculus-based E&M, which I found pretty hard, and was pretty useless for the MCAT, because the MCAT doesn't require any calculus and only tests the absolute basics of E&M, which I think most people would rather learn themselves rather than going through the pain of an actual physics course that goes in a lot, lot more depth.

A friend of mine in another school took a more superficial Physics II course that was not calculus-based, and covered more topics due to not digging in as much depth. His prof specifically tailored the course to help premed students for the MCAT, and as such went over topics in E&M, optics and fluid mechanics. He found it worthwhile.

So definitely look into what your Physics II covers, and check if there's enough material overlap with the MCAT to be worth it. My personal opinion of MCAT physics is that it's very superficial and self-learnable (assuming you're okay with physics in general, which I think you are if you did well in Physics I), so I would probably opt for an easier elective instead of Physics II if I didn't have to take it!

[sportsMD23]

42 minutes ago, MedP111 said:

What is your Physics II course about? My Physics II was calculus-based E&M, which I found pretty hard, and was pretty useless for the MCAT, because the MCAT doesn't require any calculus and only tests the absolute basics of E&M, which I think most people would rather learn themselves rather than going through the pain of an actual physics course that goes in a lot, lot more depth.

A friend of mine in another school took a more superficial Physics II course that was not calculus-based, and covered more topics due to not digging in as much depth. His prof specifically tailored the course to help premed students for the MCAT, and as such went over topics in E&M, optics and fluid mechanics. He found it worthwhile.

So definitely look into what your Physics II covers, and check if there's enough material overlap with the MCAT to be worth it. My personal opinion of MCAT physics is that it's very superficial and self-learnable (assuming you're okay with physics in general, which I think you are if you did well in Physics I), so I would probably opt for an easier elective instead of Physics II if I didn't have to take it!

My Physics II is about oscillations, waves, sound, electricity, magnetism, and optics. I believe my school offers two versions, one is calculus-based and one is algebra-based which is the one I was planning to take. Obviously, I have not taken the MCAT yet but is the material tested on the MCAT a lot more basic/simple than the lecture materials of university courses?

[MedP111]

5 minutes ago, sportsMD23 said:

My Physics II is about oscillations, waves, sound, electricity, magnetism, and optics. I believe my school offers two versions, one is calculus-based and one is algebra-based which is the one I was planning to take. Obviously, I have not taken the MCAT yet but is the material tested on the MCAT a lot more basic/simple than the lecture materials of university courses?

These topics constitute around half of the physics stuff on the MCAT, which is good. It will certainly help you if you take it, but if you have doubts about your ability to perform well in the class, I think it would be wiser to prioritize your GPA. Make sure Physics II isn't a prereq for the schools you'll be applying to, though.

I found MCAT physics to be very superficial, much more so than the other science topics covered on the exam. E&M on the MCAT is a joke compared to university courses, and I didn't have too much trouble re-learning oscillations/waves/sound and optics (which I studied over 5 years ago) and self-learning some topics I've never seen before.

There are many great resources you can use to self-learn these topics for the MCAT. Khan Academy has a fantastic free series just for the MCAT. I used Kaplan for physics and it covered everything I needed to know. I would suggest picking up a MCAT prep book and taking a look at the physics stuff to see if you'd be comfortable learning it on your own. Good luck!