<p>I haven't taken biology yet or orgo but I heard the orgo is very basic on the mcat so my concern is with bio. Is it possible to take the MCAT while self studying these topics because I wont be able to take this class until two years. I want to take MCAT now while I remember chem and physics, and from what I saw of the PS section it was really easy (no studying and got all the questions right,a lot easier than my AP class). I went to a specialzed science HS and took AP Chem and Physics so maybe thats why this section was easy,but I never took AP Bio, so my concern would be whether I could read the stuff myself through a college textbook/MCAT/AP prepbook?</p>
<p>What test was the PS section from that you took?</p>
<p>Princeton Review and Kaplan, I didnt take the AMCS one so it could be off.</p>
<p>You took 2 full-length physical science sections (that’s around 100 questions total) and got no questions wrong?</p>
<p>I might have missed a couple but I got 15s. This is not that big of a deal, because my roommate got a 35 and his friend a 41. I only took one section. I think the MCAT PS is much easier than the Physics and Chem subject GRE. Thats not my concern though, I was more asking about the BS and whether it is possible to self study the material.</p>
<p>No .</p>
<p>The difficulty of the passages isn’t really the question because the test is curved. So, regardless of whether the physics problems are easy or hard, it’s how you do in relation to others that’s going to determine the score. A lot of people think that the MCAT is very shallow (which it is). It’s not meant to test subjects in depth but your competition is in general much better than your competition for the GRE (since the people applying for med school generally have higher GPA’s than the people applying for grad school). </p>
<p>The reason I ask you these questions is that I think your idea of taking the MCAT w/o orgo and bio stems from your overconfidence from your Physicial Sciences sections. I think in general it’s not a good idea to self-study for any of these subjects. Your review time for the MCAT should be spent reviewing, mastering test techniques, and getting the timing down, not learning orgo for the first time.</p>
<p>I’m guessing no one has done this from the lack of responses? The funny thing about the curve is that (If the test prep sources had correct curve scales) I had higher percentages on the MCAT individual section (think it was 99%) than the subject phys and chem (low to mid 80s). I was told that very few american students get above 80 percentile for physics(and I believe math and chem too) gre. Is the BS section harder and grader harder than the PS section? Also, what about the VR dection?</p>
<p>The scaling is about the same for the BS section and slightly more generous for the VR section. I took the MCAT back when it was 1/3 longer (so 77 questions per science section and 60 questions per verbal section). Back then you could miss 1 question per science section and still get a 15. Now, there’s only 50 or so questions so I’m not sure if you can still miss that one question to get a perfect score.</p>
<p>Norcalguy’s advice is dead on. You sound overconfident, so odds are you’ll just ignore advice anyway, though.</p>
<p>I just watched D go through MCAT torture. She took MCAT after senior spring, Kaplan course and did not due as well as she wanted. Taking the test is an ordeal that one needs to be ready for i.e. finger printing between sections, computer cubicles, etc. She then spent 5 months working her butt off studying, doing Kaplan again. the test taking techniques were much more helpful second time around. And being prepared for test environment was crucial. received 33R and importantly all section scores were about the same. From little I know, appears you do not want a lopsided test score i.e. high two sections such as BS, PS but low verbal. I am sure there are those naturally brilliant individuals who can waltz in and ace MCAT but not for most smart ,mere mortals.</p>
<p>The highest scaled score for all takers in 2007 which was the first go round of the new test format was a 41 and it was achieved by .1 percent of all takers making them the 99.9 percentile.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/combined07.pdf[/url]”>http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/combined07.pdf</a></p>
<p>The highest scaled score for all takers in 2008 was a 42 and .1 percent again scored a 41 and .1 percent scored a 42.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/combined08.pdf[/url]”>http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/combined08.pdf</a></p>
<p>wait from what i understand in your post, you are a junior or senior in HS, since you mention not being able to take the biology class for another two years (?). in which case: why the h*** are you studying so early on…even if you were to take it now, things might change and your score would be too old by the time you apply…take it easy.</p>