@Creekland Sorry for not making my question clear enough! But that was still the answer I was looking for, so thank you for that 
I meant that I was just going to go over some MCAT material, not necessarily take actual full-fledged practice tests, haha. I don’t think I can muster that much stamina yet. Yup, and I’ll be sure to contact my premed adviser once I get the chance!
@WayOutWestMom So it take around 2.5 years to complete the premed courses at URoch? Do you happen to have an estimate for other schools? I’m just a little concerned about whether or not I’ll be able to fit in all of my premed courses in time for the MCAT. This is the reason why I was planning on going over some MCAT material over the summer. At the very least, I want to familiarize myself with the material I’ll be tested on.
Ahh, I see! So that’s what these people meant by pushing students to apply early. I’ll be sure to keep this in mind!
@MidwestDad3 Rochester definitely has its perks (especially its natural scenery), but I do prefer Cleveland’s urban vibe over Rochester’s suburban environment. I know that med school is very demanding (it’s a little intimidating, if you want me to be honest, haha), but it’s really nice to know how much a gap year can add to an application with the myriad of ways to gain further experience and maturity. However, I am a bit worried that taking a gap year and then going to med school will be a huge adjustment after taking an extensive break from academics. Do people who go to med school after taking a gap year tend to struggle more with adapting than those who go straight to med school from undergrad?
@rlyoutofit
Generally it takes 2.5 years at all schools because the required chem sequence is 5 semesters long. (Though a few colleges will allow pre-meds to skip Ochem2 and jump straight into Biochem after Ochem 1. The advisability of this is an ongoing discussion.)
There’s also the matter of fulfilling med school admission requirements. Many med schools that do accept AP credits will do so only if the applicant has taken additional upper level courses in the same dept to supplement AP credits. For example, if an applicant places out Bio1 & Bio 2 with AP credits, most med schools will expect that applicant to take 2 additional upperlevel bio classes (with labs!) to fulfill admission requirements. The same holds true for chem and physics.
Really, there aren’t any shortcuts.
There is no expected schedule to take the MCAT. No “right” time. You take it when you’re ready and not before. This is too important to rush or to do a haphazard job on. You don’t need to apply to med school at the end of your junior year. (In fact, the pre health advising at UR generally suggests that you don’t.)
Med school adcoms want to see “one and done” applicants with a single strong MCAT score. Unlike undergrad admissions, med school admissions do not superscore exam results. At best they will average all your MCAT scores. Also unlike undergrad standardized test scores, you cannot selectively report MCAT scores. Every MCAT score you’ve ever gotten gets sent to med schools when you apply. Even scores that are 10+ years old. (Or as one adcom said, “Your MCAT scores are like herpes, they never go away.”) Having multiple MCAT scores are considered a negative factor when considering an applicant for admission. (For the USMLEs, you only get one chance. No retakes allowed. Thus adcoms want to select for students who have demonstrated they can do well on high stakes exams. )
If you want to do something right now to improve your possible MCAT score, read. Then read some more. The verbal section is the area that is most difficult to improve. The MCAT verbal section requires the ability to understand & interpret complex and difficult material (and not necessarily science-based materials) and make fact-based inferences quickly & accurately. Get a subscription to The Economist or The Atlantic Monthly or both and practice reading/analyzing their in-depth articles.
@WayOutWestMom I’m planning to retake the general science classes (barring physics possibly) in college instead of using AP credits in order to have a better foundation (and since it might be better for my GPA), so I was afraid that I’d be behind compared to those who used AP credits to skip ahead. But it’s a bit reassuring knowing that students have to take additional courses regardless of AP credits, haha. Oh, and I didn’t realize that med schools put so much emphasis on physics. I was told that I could use AP credits to skip out of physics (even if it is on the MCAT) since it’s not as essential as biology or chemistry, but I guess that isn’t the case. Physics isn’t exactly my forte, so that’s a bummer.
Once again, thank you so much for all of this thorough info and for your advice!
I’ll be sure to practice my reading over the summer after I’m done with APs
@rlyoutofit
UR does not allow bio majors/pre-meds to use AP credits for Bio, and strongly recommends against using them for Gen Chem. (AP bio credits allows you to enroll in Bio112-113 instead of Bio110-111; both are intro level biology courses.) At UR, pre-meds take calculus-based physics (more like AP Phys C than AP Phys B) --although it isn’t the same calc-based physics that engineering majors take.
Physics comprises at least 1/3 of the questions of the physical sciences section of the MCAT.
While both of my daughters have lamented about the lack of math in med school (they both had a math major), there is physics in med school. It’s used in pulmonology, cardiology, anesthesiology, radiology, radiation oncology, and nuclear medicine. (partial pressures, venturi effect, fluid mechanics, radiation effects, and other topics)
@rlyoutofit You definitely won’t be behind. My daughter is majoring in microbiology and public health at UR with med school as one of her post-grad options.
Even though she did well in AP physics, she is staying at UR to take physics this summer. And it is a sort of middle-ground physics, described as requiring “calculus as needed.” Her goal is to get all her basic science courses (including five semesters of chemistry) under her belt by the time she takes a semester abroad in the spring of her junior year. She also took Bio112-113 this year after taking AP bio and, while it wasn’t overwhelming, it was challenging even though she did well in AP bio just the year before. Most of her friends who took Gen Chem after doing AP chemistry also found it fairly challenging despite having the AP course under their belts. She definitely saw a major step-up in basic science courses at UR compared to the equivalent AP courses.
@WayOutWestMom Ahh, that’s good to know! I didn’t realize that physics played such a big role in certain medical disciplines. I guess I’ll have to warm up to this idea eventually, haha.
@EllieMom I won’t be using any science AP credits, but I’ll still brush up on the material over the summer because it’s been a while since I took AP chem and bio. I’d assume that college courses are harder than the equivalent AP courses, but after hearing this from so many people I’ll make sure to step up my game so that I won’t fall behind. Thanks for the reassurance and info!