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MCAT/PCAT


The Dark Lord

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Hi, TIF!

 

I'm looking for study material for the MCAT and the PCAT.

 

If anyone has taken either of these exams, I'm interested in knowing what you used to study.

 

Thanks.

SWAG

 

Mayn U wanna be like me but U can't be me cuz U ain't got ma swagga on.

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Hi, TIF!

 

I'm looking for study material for the MCAT and the PCAT.

 

If anyone has taken either of these exams, I'm interested in knowing what you used to study.

 

Thanks.

Look into taking one of those prep courses. My girlfriend is taking the MCAT in the summer, and she'll be taking the Princeton Review MCAT course. I don't know much about them, or which one is better, but a lot of people say it really helps you do well. Not to mention that they provide you with books/review material for each section that is on the test.

Pretty expensive I guess (~$2 thousand for a course, which I believe is about 100 hours of prep lessons). I'm not taking it, but I would probably do a prep course like this if I was.

 

I've also heard that Examkrackers(.com) is really good, and they have an online store where you can buy review materials, as well as offering live courses.

 

 

Just a disclaimer - this is all 2nd-hand info. I'd do a little online research, maybe try to ask anyone you know who is in med school what they used.

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I don't know much but; my brother borrowed a stack of books from a guy who failed the MCAT 3 times (which is the limit or something, you can't take it again after that) and studied them over half a summer. They were big books that stacked as high as 3 dictionaries and he went through them all and got 90%+ on the MCAT.

 

I guess it depends on how you learn. If you need a teacher, do a prep course. If you know you can learn on your own (u'll need to have gone to university for this) then just borrow the required books and enjoy (hahaha).

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I'm just a pokemon but I know a guy who took the MCAT (whatever that is?) and he recommends that you take a class unless you can structure your time really well with the book prep. Take Kaplan if you already know content well and you'll get a strategic edge. Princeton will do a better job reteaching content. Really as long as you put enough time into studying you'll do well. If you have any more questions about getting into med school, just pm me.

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Thanks, guys. :)

 

In case anyone is curious, I'm a biology major working toward my bachelor's degree. I was in the pre-pharmacy program at my university, but I decided that the schedule was rushing me too quickly (i.e. I would have had to taken general chemistry I and II over the summer. The schedule just seemed to pack too many courses in so little time.) and it was better to just get a degree before going into pharmacy or med school (depends how well I do on the exams).

SWAG

 

Mayn U wanna be like me but U can't be me cuz U ain't got ma swagga on.

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Two of my roommates just got into med school (YAY!). But before that, they went crazy studying for the MCATs (and both retook the test one time).

 

So my advice: get several study review books (including Kaplan & Princeton Review), study the content hard, and take at least a couple of practice tests seriously (time yourself, no cheating, etc.). When you take the practice tests, pay attention to what you're getting wrong or having a tough with, and study those even harder. A lot of people retake (don't be scared of doing this if you don't get your target score the first time) but it's better to be really prepared going into it!

Everybody hug and spread the love :D

 

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Do you know what other requirements their med school had other than passing the MCAT? I know this is different, but I've heard some pharmacy schools require that you make a certain grade in organic chemistry (like you had to have an A in organic chem or you couldn't get accepted due to high competition).

SWAG

 

Mayn U wanna be like me but U can't be me cuz U ain't got ma swagga on.

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Do you know what other requirements their med school had other than passing the MCAT? I know this is different, but I've heard some pharmacy schools require that you make a certain grade in organic chemistry (like you had to have an A in organic chem or you couldn't get accepted due to high competition).

The only exact cutoffs for grades are C- and below for the required classes (that being orgo 1/2 w lab, physics 1/2 w lab, chemistry 1/2 w lab, differing bio classes, as well as various other courses that depends on the school). That being said, competition creates cutoffs but there is a range of schools you can apply to. When you're applying to med schools get the MSAR book or a similar resource and apply to the schools that you have the right gpa for. As long as you have above a 3.0 you can get in somewhere, even if it's a Caribbean school. If you can make it past the weeder classes, don't let grades get in the way of you being a doctor if that's really what you want to do.

 

As for the MCAT, to expand upon what mad4u689 said, I would say first you need to take more than a couple practice tests. In addition to the hundreds of individual practice problems you should be doing, you should probably take 5-15 practice tests. Space them out during your studying duration. And look for patterns in the type of questions you're getting wrong, not necessarily the content you're getting wrong. If you take a class, it will help you a lot with the strategy of the MCAT.

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Also worth noting that all med schools are very different in their acceptance policies.

 

Some put a lot more emphasis on GPA (and as far as I can tell, you should have at least a 3.7 to be competitive - lots of people applying have 4.0).

Most have different MCAT requirements (some put a weight on your score, some have a strict cutoff that you only need to get above, some put more emphasis on verbal reasoning, etc.)

 

Essentially - apply to a lot of them.

 

I went to a little presentation on med school acceptance that was given by a med student, and he said that he applied to every school in the province, and got accepted to only one.

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Also worth noting that all med schools are very different in their acceptance policies.

 

Some put a lot more emphasis on GPA (and as far as I can tell, you should have at least a 3.7 to be competitive - lots of people applying have 4.0).

Most have different MCAT requirements (some put a weight on your score, some have a strict cutoff that you only need to get above, some put more emphasis on verbal reasoning, etc.)

 

Essentially - apply to a lot of them.

 

I went to a little presentation on med school acceptance that was given by a med student, and he said that he applied to every school in the province, and got accepted to only one.

I applied to 28 schools.

Got secondaries back from about 20.

Sent my secondaries back to about 15.

Heard back from about 8.

Interviewed at 3 (I have one more interview coming up next week). Got into 2.

Still waiting to hear back from about 7 more schools.

 

My biggest advice? Take the MCAT early (end of May). Apply early. That's one of the biggest factors for getting into med schools.

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Also worth noting that all med schools are very different in their acceptance policies.

 

Some put a lot more emphasis on GPA (and as far as I can tell, you should have at least a 3.7 to be competitive - lots of people applying have 4.0).

Most have different MCAT requirements (some put a weight on your score, some have a strict cutoff that you only need to get above, some put more emphasis on verbal reasoning, etc.)

 

Essentially - apply to a lot of them.

 

I went to a little presentation on med school acceptance that was given by a med student, and he said that he applied to every school in the province, and got accepted to only one.

I applied to 28 schools.

Got secondaries back from about 20.

Sent my secondaries back to about 15.

Heard back from about 8.

Interviewed at 3 (I have one more interview coming up next week). Got into 2.

Still waiting to hear back from about 7 more schools.

 

My biggest advice? Take the MCAT early (end of May). Apply early. That's one of the biggest factors for getting into med schools.

 

Dude, so true. Anecdotally, some of my friends who have great stats (high GPA and MCAT) but applied later got only a few interviews and didn't get in anywhere. My friends who applied early (that is, send in the primaries right when they come out at the beginning of the summer, and when you get the secondaries, do them asap while still having high-quality school-personalized essays) had much better luck even with lower stats.

 

That said, yeah - they applied to ~30 schools (and didn't apply to the most competitive ones) and have each gotten into only one med school each so far (though with more interviews coming up). (They both had above average grades at a top liberal arts college and MCAT scores in the mid-30s).

 

Also, make sure to apply to local/state schools!! It will often be easier to get in there with the same stats than comparable schools.

Everybody hug and spread the love :D

 

siggypooro0.jpg

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