<p>I plan on taking the MCAT between my sophomore and junior year in college. My question is, before taking the MCAT, would it be necessary to finish the Physics 1 and 2 sequence, or would Physics 1 prepare me enough for the MCAT? The same question goes for the Orgo 1 and 2 sequence. Also, it is best to delay taking Biochemistry until after the MCAT, correct? I have read through nearly every post on the threads Coursework and MCATs and am trying to clarify between some things I have read. Thank you.</p>
<p>I would definitely take the full orgo sequence. Offhand, I can't remember a whole lot of MCAT material that came from orgo 2, but it helped to solidify the entire course in my head, and I was much, much more comfortable after I got out of the second course. If you take the MCAT before the second physics, you'll need to study some optics on your own, but you'd probably be okay other than that, I think.</p>
<p>Why the rush to take the MCAT so early?</p>
<p>Carboxylic acids (Orgo II) and heavy doses of E&M (Physics II). Neither is particularly difficult and could be learned through self-study, but that's hard to recommend. It's not as if Physics I will prepare you for E&M; they're pretty separate courses.</p>
<p>(E&M? I'm assuming that is electricity and magnetism?)</p>
<p>ginnyvere, Ideally I would like to take the MCAT directly before the beginning of my junior year, however after reviewing my potential schedule, I think perhaps the end of the first semester of my junior year would work out much better. Any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>i mean you can take orgo and physic during sophmore year and finish both series? and then just take mcat during summer between sophomore and junior year.</p>
<p>For me, it was impossible for me to complete all my pre-med requirements before the end of my junior year, and so that's when I took the MCAT. </p>
<p>I think that the ideal time to take the MCATs is when you can finish all the course requirements without rushing them. It's not worth cramming all your courses together in order to take the MCAT early. Whatever else, it's not worth risking your gpa in order to give yourself that much time to retake the MCAT if necessary. Given that the MCAT is offered so many times a year now, I would not recommend taking it after sophomore year without a really compelling reason. Taking it after your first semester of junior year is a lot more reasonable.</p>
<p>Also consider that MCAT scores for most colleges are only valid for 3 years...so if you take the MCAT's early and score well, but your GPA is not up to scratch (3.6 science, 3.7 all other, 3.65 overall), than you will have lest time to improve on your GPA and less of a chance to finish a post-bac if necessary to improve your gpa.</p>
<p>I think it is in your best interest to take MCAT's during or after Junior year if your gpa is not as strong. Also, Fr and So, you tend to take only the lower-division classes, so upper-division classes may hurt your GPA in a way you might not predict if there is an upward trend in difficulty.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend finishing both semesters of organic chemistry and physics before taking the MCAT, especially physics because, as bluedevilmike stated, physics II has nothing to do with physics I. I found OChem II to be important because it tied all of organic chemistry together, and concepts became a lot easier to grasp.</p>
<p>You have to think about when is the most opportune time for you to take it. I just took cell biology, analytical chemistry, and finished physics this spring. Although the material covered in the first two courses are not necessary, they have definitely been/will be helpful during my MCAT studying, which began a week ago. I am glad I took all of my courses when I did because it's so far been easy reviewing instead of relearning. I feel like the timing is right for me, and so I am taking the exam this August.</p>