I will be retaking chemistry and physics next academic year (2005-2006) and the MCATs either in August 2006 or April 2007. I have a few questions:
1) How difficult is it to get A’s in both chemistry and physics while taking them at the same time (with labs)?
2) Would you recommend that I study for my MCATs throughout the 2005-2006 academic year while I am taking chemistry and physics over? How likely am I to excel in both if I do? If I start studying for my MCATs after the 2005-2006 academic year is over, it will probably be impossible to take the MCAT in Auguist won’t it, with just two months or so to study?
3) How many hours per week of intense, concetrated studying (and for how long) is necessary to get at least a 30 on the MCAT? Sure, it depends on the person, but give me a idea…
Please share some of your personal experiences. Thanks.
Hi there.
I’ve just started my second semester of pre-med preparation. I’ll probably take MCAT in April 2006. I don’t even try to study for it. I just want to make sure that I get my sciences right. If I learn it now really well, before the MCAT I’ll just have to review it.
And if chemistry and physics are the only classes you are going take it’s not really hard to get As in both of them, providing that you’re working hard (at least for me chemistry means few hours/ few pages/ few problems a day).
Good luck.
Mad Kasia
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1) How difficult is it to get A’s in both chemistry and physics while taking them at the same time (with labs)?
I would say not very, if you are a good student and do and understand the problems. I took physics, chemistry, calculus and biology at the same time and did well in all. However, every person has their own situation. If you are working full time and/or have family commitments, it may be difficult for you to devote enough time to the subjects. Also - your math ability may be key to your success as well.
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2) Would you recommend that I study for my MCATs throughout the 2005-2006 academic year while I am taking chemistry and physics over? How likely am I to excel in both if I do? If I start studying for my MCATs after the 2005-2006 academic year is over, it will probably be impossible to take the MCAT in August won’t it, with just two months or so to study?
I don’t think that waiting until the academic year is over to start studying for the August MCAT is necessarily too late. It all depends on how much time you are going to be able to devote to study in those two months. You can study some for the MCAT as you cover those concepts during the year.
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3) How many hours per week of intense, concetrated studying (and for how long) is necessary to get at least a 30 on the MCAT? Sure, it depends on the person, but give me a idea…
I’m not really the best person to answer that. I got a 31 on the MCAT (10 PS, 10 BS, 11 VR) with minimal studying. I did not take a prep course. However, I had taken biology, gen chem, physics, and ochem all within the year preceding my test date so everything was fresh. I finished organic on a Monday, spent the week with the Kaplan book, did one practice test, and took the MCAT that Saturday.
I feel very fortunate to have scored as well as I did with the limited prep I had.
My advice to you would be to enroll in a prep course during the summer and/or take one of the free practice MCAT’s available on their website toward the end of your physics/chemistry class. Taking the free practice test will give you a feel for what range you are in. The prep courses also will give you free diagnostics, usually.
Each person is different. There are people who study and take prep courses who can’t score a 30 to save their lives and their are others who don’t study at all and do well. I think Examkrackers gives a prep schedule that some here have used.
Good luck.
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I will be retaking chemistry and physics next academic year (2005-2006) and the MCATs either in August 2006 or April 2007. I have a few questions:
1) How difficult is it to get A’s in both chemistry and physics while taking them at the same time (with labs)?
I would say that depends a lot on the class. It can vary from school to school and from one prof to another. Since you are retaking them, I would ask, what did you think of those classes the first time you took them? There is a lot of overlap between gen chem and physics and if you like that stuff, and don’t have too much else going on (say a full time job) I think it would definitely be feasible to do well in both of them.
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2) Would you recommend that I study for my MCATs throughout the 2005-2006 academic year while I am taking chemistry and physics over? How likely am I to excel in both if I do? If I start studying for my MCATs after the 2005-2006 academic year is over, it will probably be impossible to take the MCAT in Auguist won’t it, with just two months or so to study?
3) How many hours per week of intense, concetrated studying (and for how long) is necessary to get at least a 30 on the MCAT? Sure, it depends on the person, but give me a idea…
Please share some of your personal experiences. Thanks.
I did not wait til 2 months before the MCAT to start studying, and I’m glad. But other people say it worked fine for them to wait til then. It depends on you. Have you taken Organic yet? You HAVE to know organic going into the MCAT. Again, how much you can balance depends on your outside commitments and how you feel about the material. There’s quite a bit of math in both gen chem and physics. By the way, are you taking algebra or calc-based physics? Anyway, if you have nothing else going on and you’ve taken organic, it seems to me like chem, physics and MCAT is not too much at one time.
I would rank premed classes in the following order of difficult from hardest to easiest…
Physics
Organic Chemistry
General Chemistry
Biology
I don’t really see a problem with your taking Physics and Gen Chem together (or taking Physics and Bio together, or Orgo and Bio together).
I just would try and avoid taking Physics and Organic Chem simultaneously.
Good luck.
I would argue that there isn’t really a universal “difficulty” indicator for these courses. Mostly, it depends on you and your various strengths and weaknesses. Some people who do poorly in Gen Chem, do very well in Organic Chemistry because they are more visually oriented and are good memorizers/reasoners. And, then others find that Organic Chemistry is the most difficult and that Gen Chem and Physics are easier because they are more mathematically inclined.
I have a few friends in my post-bacc program who are working full-time and taking Organic and Physics while also studying for the MCAT. They have very little time for shadowing, volunteering, or doing anything outside of studying.
It all depends on you. Just be sure to enjoy the experience. You will be spending a lot of time in class and out of class devoted to this process; it really helps to be able to peak out above the stress once and a while and see the big picture. There are times that I am at peace with the possibility of “not getting in” when next year when I apply because the journey this far has been such an incredible experience. I have met people in my post-bacc program that truly inspire me. I believe good doctors can come from many different places, but some of the nontraditional students I have met along the way have humbled me in what they are willing to sacrifice to pursue this career for what seem like very real and very noble reasons.
It was really interesting to see this list because mine was so different!
The most difficult for me is Organic Chemistry
then General Chemistry 2 (General Chem 1 is mostly review of high school chemistry)
then Biology
and Physics being the easiest.
I find premed physics to be rather superficial at City College, due to the absence of any calculus and therefore the absence of any DERIVED concepts. Before every exam I would write out the formulae on notecards, memorize them. Then on the exam: plug the word problems into said formulae.
One warning: the chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics that I see in my MCAT reviewing jives pretty well with what I was taught in class. The biology does NOT-- for one thing, any sensible intro to biology class needs to emphasize plant structure and function to a large degree, and I have YET to see an MCAT question on plants at all.
Really, the MCAT is generally in love with chemical processes above all other scientific concepts. Half the exam, of course, is general chemistry and organic chemistry. THEN, I would estimate, half the biological science questions relate to biochemical processes. AND the physics questions are really into gas behavior which is mostly derived from physical chemistry.
Am I crazy or have others noticed this tendency?
Matt
NYC
If you are doing both chem and physics I think you should be OK depending on how much you work/don’t work. Just do a lot of problems and you will be good to go. Last semester was my first semester back and I took Chem, Physics and Cell Bio. I did OK so I think you should as well.
Hi there,
DC Chad is correct in that the difficulty of your mastery of pre-med classes is very person-dependent. The MCAT is a test of test-taking skills which may be learned. Your grades in your pre-med coursework often have nothing to do with your final MCAT score. I would encourage you to do lots of practice tests and obtain the retired MCAT exams. If you have huge knowledge gaps, a review course could shore them up. If you have poor test-taking skills, you may need to polish up these skills before you attempt the MCAT. Again, working thorough the retired exams will give you an idea of where you have weaknesses. If you are weak in test-taking, even studying a whole year is not going to help you. Finding a good test-taking skill course will so make sure that you get what you need to do well both in your coursework and on the MCAT. If it takes an extra semester or year, the wait is worth it if it means the difference between getting into medical school or not getting in.
Good luck!
Natalie 
-Natalie,
You had mentioned obtaining copies of retired MCAT exams, that sounds like an excellent idea, how would I go about doing this?
Sandy
MCAT practice tests
There are several old MCAT’s available on AAMC’s website, link above. You can access one for free. For $80, you can have access to 4 full length MCATs. You are given access through two MCAT administrations. I only did the free one, but if I had had more time, I would have bought access to additional tests.
The online test access is great. You can take a whole test under timed situations, or take one section at a time. It will give you what you would have scored on that test, and you can go back and see what you missed. It will also analyze for you how you did on the different topics, which is great for determining what your problem areas are.
You can also print out the test questions if you buy access, but not the solutions.
Amy