I have just finished the first unit and I am about to begin unit 2. The problem is that the subjects covered in the physical science sections from here on out are topics I havent covered yet. I am taking physII and chemII now.
I know that by April, I will have learned most of what I need to know in these classes, but in the mean time, what good are the Kaplan previews, lectures, and reviews? The quizzes and topical tests are not worth taking if you dont know the material very well, they just make me feel less confident 
I have been doing well in bio/orgo/and verbal, and I have clearly identified the physical sciences as my weakness. I am taking the online course and was planning to take the April MCAT, but now Im thinking August.
If I dont know the topics being covered, Im not getting a whole lot, so should I just wait until I cover stuff before I do a section in the Kaplan course? This would likely mean working out of sequence, working with what I know first, then going back to the other stuff as I learn it, do you think this is a good or bad idea?
Im kind of lost right now so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Formerartist,
Soryy that this is not any advice but I thought I would let you know that you are not alone. I have completed most of my prereqs except the physics series and ochem II. My arrogant thought was that I would have to review all material in detail but could teach myself the necessary material to do ok on the physics section. This is not the first time arrogance has led me down a path of destruction. The physics concepts are pretty easy to grasp but the problems take more practice than I expected. Although conceptually it is fairly simple and intuitive, I find myself spending way more time doing calculations which should be used rememorizing the Krebs cycle. My Kaplan Crisis Prevention thinking has me still planning on the April MCAT but that could change as I see the results from practice tests closer to April. Good luck studying.
We are of the same thought, I take my first full length in early Feb, so that will give me a better idea of how much work I really need, and help me decide if April is still a good idea.
formerartist, I was in the second semester of OChem and physics when I was preparing for the MCAT. I was often out of sync with the Kaplan materials but just kept plugging away and tried not to stress about the stuff I didn’t know yet. The key thing that I realized early in the semester was I HAD to put my main effort into doing well in my classes – because while I could always defer or retake the MCAT, I only had one shot at the A’s that were my goal for coursework. I improved from 6’s in PS and BS at the beginning of the course to 10’s on the real thing.
Rolando, I’ve heard of some people who’ve taken the MCAT while missing one semester of one prereq, but missing half of one prereq and ALL of another seems ill-advised to say the least.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you only want to take this thing once. It’s a bear of a test and you owe it to yourself to maximize your chances of doing well the first time around.
Mary
Don’t know if this will help, but I have deferred the MCAT until August. I have taken the Princeton Review online course and Have studied through the FLowers & Silver course but being in Physics and Chem right now requires my full attention. I was a little discouraged by this, but this week my Physics prof said he is going to have many prior MCAT questions on some of our exams and he has shown us his track record of students doing well on the MCAT after completing his course. Most of my anxiety stemmed from the perceived stigma of waiting until August - but the wonderful folks on this forum have handily dispelled that rumour.
Blessings!
jeffc
I agree with everyone, the classes are number 1 priority now, so if I wait until August, so be it, I need those A’s. Thanks for the advice.
I’m taking Kaplan Class right now. And I’m taking April MCAT. I’m still taking Phys II right now. I’m done with all other classes. Physical Sciences is my weakest section. And for sure I’ll do my best to improve my score by reviewing what I’ve already learned, but I’m not going to ‘run ahead’ and try to learn ‘the new stuff’ on my own. I’d rather polish on Biology and Orgo, where I already have knowledge and just need some extra practive, and hope to improve my score here significantly, instead of putting lots of time in Physical Sciences and maybe get only 1 point better or so…
…and as Formerartist said - by the time of MCAT I’ll cover most of the stuff in physics…
So I’m trying not to stress out too much about that
If you are enrolled in physics II now, you should be fine by April. You may need to study some of the modern physics topics at the end if your university holds classes through May, but it’s perfectly reasonable to study for the MCAT while being enrolled in organic II or physics II. 