Fellow non-trads, help a brother out.
This 28 yr old return student/philadelphian is planning on the impossible? You tell me.
If I want to NOT waste a year twiddling my thumbs, I have to take the MCAT’s before my heavy-hitter prereqs in the fall and spring.
Exam Krackers will be my best friend for the next few months. Anyone else have a story? I’d LIKE to hear from those who’ve done something similar and did it RIGHT. I know it’s inconceivable for a 19 yr old to reverse engineer like this, but us “old heads” may have a better shot at it.
The only way I would even think of doing this is if you have already taken these classes before and are retaking them. If you have not already taken them, I think you are shooting yourself in the foot by taking the MCAT before taking most of them. It is possible to take the MCAT without the second semester of organic or physics (most of the material seems to be covered in most first semester courses), but to take the MCAT without having taken ANY of the pre-reqs does not seem like a good idea.
The MCAT is not a test to take lightly. I understand your frustrations about sitting around for a year. However, it’s pretty much unavoidable. And, there are actually a lot of things that you could do with the lag year . . . one of the better things being to take classes that are not pre-reqs, but are classes that would help you out in medical school - biochemistry, immunology, anatomy, physiology, etc.
Although Examkrackers and the like are excellent REVIEW material, they are designed for people who have taken the courses. Although there are some questions on the test that are rote memorization, it is, by and large, a ‘thinking’ test, requiring you to apply knowledge from the basic sciences. I don’t think you can get the depth of learning you need from simply review material.
You DON’T want to have to take the MCAT a second time. Better to wait and be well prepared. I can’t think of any stories I have seen of anyone doing well without most of the pre-reqs. If anything, most of the stories from people who have done so are that they didn’t do well on the MCAT and now they have to do damage control.
Just my 2 cents . . .
Twelve credits? I’m not sure what you are asking? I mean each of your science prereqs are at least 4 credits including the lab component.
Biology - 8 credits
General Chem - 8 credits
Organic Chem - 8 to 10 credits (depending)
Physics - 8 credits
That’s a minimum of 32 credits, possibly more depending on the school you attend.
As Emergency stated, the Examkrackers is meant for review, not for teaching.
If the reason you’re talking about not “wasting a year twiddling your thumbs” is that you mean to apply to start med school in 2008, and you haven’t taken most of the prereqs yet, I’m afraid this is impossible. Med schools want you to have completed the bulk of the prereqs so they can see your grades before you apply. I’m currently taking the organic chemistry lab during the application cycle and no schools have had a problem with that, but I can’t imagine you’ll get very far if all or most of the prereqs are listed as “future coursework” on your AMCAS.
By the time I APPLY, I’ll have all of my prereqs complete except 3 classes. As it stands, by the time I take the MCAT’s, I’ll have completed all of Chem and a physiology class. I’m pretty confident I can pull it off, I guess if you think you can do something, you have a much better chance at achieving it than if you don’t.
PCOM has agreed to accept my application before the pre-req’s are complete, so your information “may” be the norm, but not from my experience; conditional acceptance early if you’re going straight from undergrad.
03-12-07 03:54 PM - Post#43865
In response to Krisss17
If the reason you’re talking about not “wasting a year twiddling your thumbs” is that you mean to apply to start med school in 2008, and you haven’t taken most of the prereqs yet, I’m afraid this is impossible. Med schools want you to have completed the bulk of the prereqs so they can see your grades before you apply. I’m currently taking the organic chemistry lab during the application cycle and no schools have had a problem with that, but I can’t imagine you’ll get very far if all or most of the prereqs are listed as “future coursework” on your AMCAS.
Hey the comments so far suck.
Why on earth do you think it’s so impossible learning
the “MCAT” version of the conceptual stuff from each subject with some tutor help if you haven’t taken the coursework yet? Unbelievably narrowminded. I’m pretty sure if “impossible” is the first thing that pops out of your mouth, med school’s gonna be a really hard experience for you.
Hey I respect your insight, but you’re assuming I’m going to be memorizing stuff. Best way to remember science and math concepts is to understand it and make it intuitive. If you wanna make a gentleman’s bet right here and now that I score a respectable # in September, let’s do it 
You sound pretty defensive there, and I’m not quite sure why.
As I understand, most folks consider it best to be 100% thoroughly prepared for the MCAT on the first go-round. Most people consider that to include having studied all of the requisite material in a formal classroom setting. I’m sure there are those who have done well simply self-teaching and/or using the review materials, and if you feel comfortable with that route, by all means go forward with it, and let us know how it works out.
We can all appreciate the desire to not feel like we’re wasting that glide year that we non-trads have, but as is often said around here: it’s a marathon, not a race.
If you have your mind set on this shortcut, we wish you the best of luck with it! If you’re sincerely asking for feedback, though, it may pay to be less defensive about the responses.
Why did you reference me, when I didn’t write that…my comment included the listing of credits as part of the prereqs.
Quote:
Hey I respect your insight, but you're assuming I'm going to be memorizing stuff. Best way to remember science and math concepts is to understand it and make it intuitive. If you wanna make a gentleman's bet right here and now that I score a respectable # in September, let's do it
I made that assumption based on your original post where you talked about spending quality time with Examkrackers. You made no mention there of a tutor or etc.
It is entirely possible to teach yourself the concepts - I taught myself calculus by going through the problems and solutions step by step and figuring out how they solved them. If you are determined to try the MCAT without the courses, the best route is to get course textbooks and teach yourself the material (with or without a tutor). Maybe make a quick browse of Examkrackers, but don't hit it hard and heavy until you've spent some time with the texts.
Quote:
By the time I APPLY, I'll have all of my prereqs complete except 3 classes. As it stands, by the time I take the MCAT's, I'll have completed all of Chem and a physiology class.
Also - most schools will ACCEPT your application without having completed the pre-reqs. How much consideration it will receive is another story. But, I don't understand why you need to take the MCAT so early if you will have most of the pre-reqs completed by the time you apply? Why not wait until closer to your application date to take the MCAT? Now that it is computerized, there are many more times to take it and score reporting is (allegedly) faster. With the information you've provided, I really don't understand your proposed schedule. Can you fill us in a little more?
It's certainly not impossible to do what you have proposed. But, I still wouldn't recommend anyone take that path. The risk of doing poorly and having that score on your application permanently is great.
If you are determined to try it, in addition to teaching yourself the concepts from the texts, I would recommend that you purchase all of the old MCAT tests that are available. Save one or two of them until a couple of weeks before your intended date and see what kind of score you get. This will give you the most accurate assessment of your preparation for the test. If your practice score is not where it needs to be, then delay taking the test.
As for betting . . . I won't bet that you can't do it, but I would bet that for the majority of people, this is NOT a good plan. However, I sincerely wish you the best of luck and hope it works out for you.
Defensive, yeah, I think he is too…and usually when you are defensive, there is a measure of uncertainty.
Regarding PCOM allowing the application to be entered with some prereqs still to be done…that’s one school out of how many?
I mean, I understand, your desire to become a doctor sooner than later, but don’t cheat yourself by looking into the future and not enjoying today. Have you gotten your bachelor’s degree already? I don’t recall you stating whether you did or not.
Believe me, I do understand…originally I figured that if I really hustled and took classes consistently, I would be able to get my bachelor’s degree in 2009 and apply for the Fall 2009…but I still have Ochem and Physics to undertake and even though I’ve done well with my science prereqs, I don’t want to bury myself with poor grades. So I wait until 2010 and I’m going to be 45 (yes, that is right, 45, when I would enter)…
You will hear this a lot on this website, and SDN…this is a marathon, not a sprint…
I would say, hit the books and do your MCAT prep. Then take a few practice exams and see how you’re scoring. If you’re consistently getting a competitive score–30 or above, let’s say–then maybe it’s worth taking the real exam. Worst case, you just postpone taking the exam and use all that MCAT prep work to give you a power boost in your courses.
I wish I’d taken the Kaplan classes prior to my bio and orgo prereqs; it might have boosted my grades a bit. That’s money well spent.
There are many more than just PCOM that you can apply to without having completed all your prereqs. However as mentioned applying and having your application looked at are not the same thing.
It’s not the norm to take the MCAT without having taken the courses. It can be done, how well is the question. If you believe you’ll do well then have at it. It’s your application. If things work out then things work out. If things fall apart then things fall apart. In the end it’s your decision.
You did ask whether or not we think you’re planning the impossible. It seems as though unless we agree with you then the advice sucks. Not sure what you’re looking for here then? Praise? Pat on the back? Confidence? Moral support? Money?
If you believe that you can achieve an impressive score on the MCAT before having taken the prereqs then go for it. I would actually give the better odds to the traditional student to be able to pull this off vs a nontrad. However there’s nothing wrong with risking it all for your dream. I will say that you better count the cost of that risk if it doesn’t turn up roses for you.
It’s already been said in this thread, but I think it bears repeating especially for the non-trad: the initial review of an application looks at way more than just your MCAT score. The more you have for them to evaluate, the better off you’ll be. If you’ve got virtually no old science credits AND not many new science credits, I frankly don’t think even a 30+ is going to get you a look at a lot of places. They need to know that you can hack it in the classroom. There are always test-taking savants, so awesome MCAT scores only give one dimension of an application.
Schools say they will consider applications where some of the prereqs aren’t yet complete, because there are always some folks who decided late, or who had to go back to do the ochem lab they couldn’t fit in two semesters ago, etc. But those folks generally have a pretty well-established BCPM GPA that they can point to, even if all the prereqs aren’t yet included.
I was on an AdCom, and I have to tell you that I don’t remember ever evaluating an application where so many of the prereqs were incomplete. Since AdCom members only read the files that were being considered for admission, I would conclude that someone with that big a hole in their application didn’t make the first cut.
My conclusion: sure, you can do it, but I think you’ll be wasting your money. It’s your money so do whatever you want.
- lovepark Said:
Fellow non-trads, help a brother out.
This 28 yr old return student/philadelphian is planning on the impossible? You tell me.
If I want to NOT waste a year twiddling my thumbs, I have to take the MCAT's before my heavy-hitter prereqs in the fall and spring.
Exam Krackers will be my best friend for the next few months. Anyone else have a story? I'd LIKE to hear from those who've done something similar and did it RIGHT. I know it's inconceivable for a 19 yr old to reverse engineer like this, but us "old heads" may have a better shot at it.
This 28 yr old return student/philadelphian is planning on the impossible? You tell me.
If I want to NOT waste a year twiddling my thumbs, I have to take the MCAT's before my heavy-hitter prereqs in the fall and spring.
Exam Krackers will be my best friend for the next few months. Anyone else have a story? I'd LIKE to hear from those who've done something similar and did it RIGHT. I know it's inconceivable for a 19 yr old to reverse engineer like this, but us "old heads" may have a better shot at it.
dude you must be a fukcin retard
Ahem. Although this is an anonymous internet forum, we like to keep things civil. Thoughtful responses only, please.
- lovepark Said:
Hey the comments so far suck.
Why on earth do you think it's so impossible learning
the "MCAT" version of the conceptual stuff from each subject with some tutor help if you haven't taken the coursework yet? Unbelievably narrowminded. I'm pretty sure if "impossible" is the first thing that pops out of your mouth, med school's gonna be a really hard experience for you.
Why on earth do you think it's so impossible learning
the "MCAT" version of the conceptual stuff from each subject with some tutor help if you haven't taken the coursework yet? Unbelievably narrowminded. I'm pretty sure if "impossible" is the first thing that pops out of your mouth, med school's gonna be a really hard experience for you.
Well this is a good example of people that do not want to here from those experienced, they want one thing and that is to be told they are right and that this is a good plan, it is not, no one should rush this, this person said they were 19 years old? I think? Age does not really matter what matters is that the MCAT is a really hard test and to go thinking the review course will get you to pass alone without completing the course work, well is very unwise, it is review not teach.
People do what they will and make mistakes and taking the MCAT when not ready is a big mistake but many do it.