<p>Calculus 1: 4 credits
English 101: 3 credits
Intro to Psychology: 3 credits
General Chemistry w/ lab: 4 credits
Science and Technology Research Honors Prog. Classes: 2 credits</p>
<p>Total: 16 credits</p>
<p>So what do you think about my schedule? Is it appropriate for a freshman at college, since I want to go out, adjust, and make friends...</p>
<p>Also, since I am pre-med, I have to take 1 yr of biology. Am I supposed to take it 1st semester also (and also 2nd semester of my freshman yr)? I don't want to add more to my current courseload...Furthermore, I have credit to exempt from the 1st intro Biology class but I heard I need that knowledge for the 2nd intro to Biology class...In your opinion, should I exempt?</p>
<p>Yes it is just fine. Take bio when you have the space. If you aren’t a bio major and don’t need it for later classes then it really isn’t a biggie if you take it in your sophomore year.</p>
<p>But I have to finish all my pre-med courses before taking the MCAT, right? Before 2nd semester of junior yr ends, I’m guessing…so wouldn’t be an overload if I take organic chemistry w/ lab, biology, and physics my sophomore yr? Should I maybe take bio my 2nd semester freshman yr and 1st semester my sophomore yr maybe?</p>
<p>Or maybe I should take summer classes??? Maybe…</p>
<p>No, you don’t have to finish your pre-reqs before taking MCAT, they just have to be finished before your enrollment.</p>
<p>If you’ve never had experience with college level bio/physics/orgo, then yes it could be an overload taking the three together, but certainly not impossible. It’s definitely even MORE work with the accompanying bio & physics labs.</p>
<p>You should definitely finish the science pre-reqs before the MCAT. You MIGHT be able to get away unscathed without O-Chem 2. The big prob is not to finish before taking the MCAT, it is finishing before starting to study for it ideally. I would take Bio 1 in the spring and bio 2 in the fall of your sophomore. If the lab is a separate entity you could always take that after the MCAT or while you are studying for it. Lab’s aren’t that helpful as far as MCAT needed knowledge goes. Either that or summer school it.</p>
<p>I would not worry too much about Psych at this point, D. took Bio instead, since otherwise, all classes are easy. 18-19 hours would be better, do not rely too much on Junior year, when you have to have lighter schedule to prepare for MCAT.</p>
<p>The MCAT is not knowledge based and the whole thing about finishing all pre reqs before taking the test is greatly overrated. With a good prep course and plenty of practice you should have no problems. The review materials are plenty for what you need to learn about the subject matter.</p>
<p>I took the MCAT at the end of my sophomore year because I did not want to have it hanging over me during my junior year. At the time, I was missing my second Biology, my second Organic Chemistry and my second General Chemistry. I had only completed a year of Calculus and a year of Physics. I scored a 38. </p>
<p>Review materials and practice exams are key.</p>
<p>^ This was my assumption. The MCAT doesn’t even cover all the material you would cover in the introductory class, and what it does cover it doesn’t really go all that into depth like you do in the class.</p>
<p>What works for one person does not necessarily work for everyone, someone able to score in the 99th percentile probably isn’t the best case study for the many who just want to break 30. I would strongly encourage everyone to finish the pre-reqs. Prep courses aren’t always feasible and a lot of people don’t feel that the lectures are that great for one (I say this as a former MCAT prep teacher), and for two some people work better with more back ground knowledge and having the material sound at least vaguely familiar. Yes, university classes are more in depth and a lot isn’t on the MCAT, but it is for most people more practical to take the courses rather than then learn the material the first time through from a book and supplemental lectures that don’t hit everything by a long shot.</p>
<p>The MCAT is knowledge based, it is just not only knowledge based. Only a fraction of the questions are direct confrontations of what you know, but good luck doing well trying to wing it without memorizing physics and general chemistry equations.</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree with the above statement and all my MCAT tutors (Kaplan) will also disagree with that statement. </p>
<p>The review materials from most prep courses provide you exactly with what *you need to know for the test, including all those equations and other pesky details *. Most of the answers to the questions come from critical thinking and deduction from passages given, even in PS and Bio.</p>
<p>Perhaps someone trying to break a 30 needs to focus in what is more important for the test. It is very likely that only very general information will stick from three years of pre reqs.</p>
<p>Since this post is on the same topic i have in mind, I will like to post my own schedule for freshman year as well. With in addition, I have AP scores for the classes I took and I’m guessing that they are on par with university classes. I ask that whether or not this schedule is feasible for me in order for me to make a perfect gpa, I know thats kinda implied. BTW, I go to Baylor if the university’s own academics come into play.</p>
<p>Calculus (3 on the ap exam)
Bio (5 on the ap exam)
Intro to Psych (4 on ap)/ Logic
Chemistry (I dont know yet but lets say 3)
English(4 and a 5 on the ap exams) OR Latin
Chapel( no grade >_< )</p>
<p>English is a iffy for me because I dont know if its overwhelming to put with 3 science classes or adding elementary latin would be easily, suggestions appreciated.</p>
<p>Myopinion,
“The MCAT is not knowledge based and the whole thing about finishing all pre reqs before taking the test is greatly overrated. With a good prep course and plenty of practice you should have no problems. The review materials are plenty for what you need to learn about the subject matter.”
-My D. would disagree. She felt much better about MCAT after she actually has finished Physics class. She was missing a lot of Physics questions at the beginning of MCAT preparation. She said that it has helped a lot to have done with all pre-req classes.</p>
<p>In regard to English, take as little as possible in college, although it is an easy “A” if one needs to raise GPA. Do not waste time on that, unless it is area of your personal interest.</p>
<p>…mmmcdowe, I second your opinion, “What works for one person does not necessarily work for everyone, someone able to score in the 99th percentile probably isn’t the best case study for the many who just want to break 30. I would strongly encourage everyone to finish the pre-reqs.”</p>
<p>Apparently MyOpinion is an exeptionally talented test taker. 38 is very high score and very unusual for one with very few pre-req classes completed. Calc. is not even needed for MCAT at all. MyOpinion experience supports my D’s opinion that for average test taker it is better to complete all pre-req’s.</p>
<p>I am a Kaplan tutor and my classmate wrote many of the revisions in the new material.</p>
<p>Most of the material tested on the MCAT is, as you say and as I alluded to, not direct confrontations of your knowledge. Other than the discrete questions, everything is application (hence the “not just knowledge based”). Yes it is true that the MCAT is not attempting to test you on the very most difficult concepts, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a knowledge based test. You do need to know things for it, and much of it is general knowledge compared to the total class that you take. Concepts, as we like to say at Kaplan. As you also said, general information is what you tend to remember from classes, and quite a large chunk of what is on the MCAT is that general information. Even for the more specific things I have always found that it is easier to relearn than learn something. It just connects quicker. If I was taking the MCAT again I would hate to have to LEARN things for the first time with less context. Wrote memorizing is always inferior to memorizing through understanding. Someone who has taking tests, quizzes, and homework assignments on something in the past is much more likely to understand something than by just memorizing the equation on the Kaplan flash card or reading it once in the prep book. I had many students in my classes complain that the Kaplan prep books didn’t go in depth enough for their tastes, and for some areas I admit I would have to seek out other references to feel that I had an adequate understanding to teach the class.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I’m not denying the ability to surpass the inconvenience of not having take the classes, but I would rather encourage the safe and proven road. I would be surprised if many Kaplan teachers did not recommend trying to take the pre-reqs first or at the very least during prep, I know my center did. The other practical reason for taking the MCAT after your pre-reqs is that you ensure that you will have finished them with an adequate grade in time for applying with that MCAT score.</p>
<p>rawkfist. I might caution you on this schedule. It’s a lot to chew and I might suggest dropping at least one class. English or Psych or whichever is the earliest in the morning :D. It depends on what your major is. Calc and Bio are also options if you aren’t a science major or in a major that has lots of science reqs.</p>
<p>I agree with you. The point I was trying to make is that sometimes is difficult to complete all requirements prior to the MCAT. In my situation, trying to do so would have caused me to miss out on some other courses that I was interested in taking. I felt that my overall educational experience would have been less fulfilling and enjoyable without those courses. Interestingly, my lowest score is the subject that I feel most confident with because it is my major (so much for taking plenty of classes in that subject matter and the MCAT)</p>
<p>We need to remember that there is no such thing as a Premed Degree. I feel that one should try to get a general background with the pre reqs because the review materials can really help you fill in any lagoons that you may have. Preparation for the test is key.</p>
<p>rawkfist, I agree with mmmcdowe. Six courses is too much and I would caution you about three science courses together (especially since Biol and Chem will prob have labs). I would drop one of the sciences.</p>
<p>MyOpinion and mmmcdowe, then I would be left with just 4 classes. Isn’t that going to make me behind? And I already took AP classes for them so I been over the material already for all 5 classes. And please ignore the Chapel class, its rather nothing but attendance.</p>