Iam looking to apply to medical school next year, and was wondering what the best course of action to take would be. During my undergrad-graduated in 1999-I took all of my pre-med requirements, but my main problem has been the MCAT. I have already taken it twice-one in my jr year of college and second when I came back from volunteering for a year. After taking it the second time I decided to take some post bacc courses-chem/orgo- to refresh some forgotten material and increase my science GPA. I was thinking about taking bio/physics in the fall, but was wondering if it would be better to take the Princeton or Kaplan reviews and work on my MCAT score…
Tim…
I have not taken the MCAT, however it seems like such a large part of what makes a person succesful on the MCAT are test taking skills. So unless you just didn't understand the material in your pre-reqs, you would be better off tking a prep course to learn test taking strategies and get the practice and endurance that comes from their practice tests given under real test like conditions. Thats about all I have to say about that. Good Luck!
Thanks for the Info! Also does anyone know how long your pre-med reqirments are good for, for application to medical school?
| QUOTE (vealt @ Aug 22 2003, 07:45 PM) |
| Thanks for the Info! Also does anyone know how long your pre-med reqirments are good for, for application to medical school? |
Hi there,
The answer to this question is highly "school dependent". Call the schools of interest and ask. Be sure to get the name and rank of the person who is giving you the information. Also look at the internet for this info. Some schools will not accept pre-med courses older than five years; others don't care as long as you "nailed" the courses and have some recent coursework that shows your brain has not atrophied.
Good luck!
Natalie
Thanks Natalie, I will definetly checkout the various medical schools I apply to and see if some of my pre-med courses are too old. If I have to take some over no sweat! But if the one's I took prior count that would be great! Also is it looked down upon if you re-take some pre-med courses i.e. physics, orgo etc that you did mediocre in undergrad? When I took physics the first time I recieved a C+(part I) and a C(partII). Before I left college I retook physis II and got a B+, but that C+ makes me a little bit nervous. Any advice???
I would bet that everything on your transcripts is fair game for adcoms. The fact that you did well on the classes the second time has to help. Ultimately, it's the total picture of you that will determine your success. Since the past can't be redone just try and focus on the future.
Hi,
I took a Princeton Review course to the tune of about $1300. It was mostly a waste of time as far as the material went. It's too quick a review, especially if it's been a long time or you haven't had the classes yet. What was more useful to myself was that I was taking Ochem and Bio concurrently. But what it really boils down to is your test taking ability, of which those prep courses may or may not be helpful.
What IS helpful is taking practice tests! You can either administer them to yourself, have a friend do it, or often your local university will offer such a practice MCAT. Check with the premed advising office, if available. You can also get practice tests and MCAT curriculumm, much cheaper, at Border's or any such bookstore, which usually contains exercises and full tests on CD.
Train like you fight…
-Spaceman.
Hello! If a school says your class is too old, do you just take it again? And how do they calculate your gpa?
Thank you.
lily 
Pretty much… 
Some of the original premed courses I had taken are about 5 years old-give or take a few years <!–emo&<_
. So at the advice of my advisor I have retaken most of them in a post bacc program. But from looking at other message boards some people did not retake their premeds and were able to get into med school with older premed courses. Ask around and see what other peoples experiences are, also I heard through the old premeds grape vine that if you want to know whether or not a med school will take your older courses, you should check with the school itself. Some schools may allow older premed courses while other schools may want some updated ones…
Best of luck
Tim…
Also your GPA is calculated via your AMCAS application in the form of a BCMP grade, which stands for Biology,Chemistry,Mathmatics, and Physics… 
Tim…