To your point number 1, not sure if a formal bio chemistry course is needed before taking MCAT. Is it worth taking an entire course load for a semester or better focus that much time and energy on the preparation itself?
C (and the cohort) took MCAT right after sophomore year and they all did very well on MCAT and none had time to take biochem prior to that even if they wanted to. Of course C enrolled in a graduate level biochem course at the med school at the beginning of junior year, but MCAT was done with by then.
There can be exceptions always but in general biochemistry is a very important part and most times with a high percentage of questions in the sectionā¦ so it is good if the student can take a formal course before the MCATā¦ especially for anyone not in a BSMD who wants to score as high as possible to be competitive in the admissions process. BSMD students look at the reqd score for their program.
But in general it is goodto take a formal biochemistry course before the MCAT , yes.
Yeah know so many of that kind. Not only that, they go to these misfit schools where they end up being mediocre or at the bottom of pile effectively derailing their medical pathway, they would have spent a fortune on the undergrad by then. Then if they have to go to some masters to do some damage control, they again feel awkward or out of place to go to the cheaper state schools and have to spend another mini fortune on some fancy brand or OOS name with again no guarantees it will improve their lot. And then the med school again. And the unmeasurable cost of emotional turmoil of all these struggles?
My S took biochem 1 but not biochem 2. He studied on his own the MCAT topics in biochem 2. All the MCAT prep books have some kinds of review. Khan Academy also has extensive lectures on all MCAT topics. Itās possible to earn 90s percentiles without formal courses, but itās not for everyone. Those courses alone are not easy even with in-person lectures and office hours. Also, a normal traditional premed track plans for all premed requirements taken by spring junior year, early enough for the AMCAS opening late spring/early summer that year. I know someone who had AP Chem and Aped out of freshman chem, took Ochem in freshman year and biochem in the fall of sophomore year. They took the MCAT in their 2nd year of college to get it out of the way for other graduation requirements and to do study abroad in senior year. Because the BSMD program is a 4+4 program and does not allow early graduation, they can elect do fun things to enrich their lives before the grind in med school starts. To each his own, but do have a plan and a contigency plan. For example, even though my S felt quite comfortable that heād pass the relatively low MCAT requirement for his program, he still took it in March, leaving room for receiving the result a month later, and can still sign up for the May exam in time. No one could predict a bad day. With COVID and other RSV lurking year-round, anyone can have a bad test day and need to retake.
This is a weird question if one join bs Md program like PLME or Upitt where MCAT is not required and taken. Will not taking MCAT impact medical school foundational understanding and scores ?
Not having a score is not an impact, but not having a solid science foundation would impact the experience of the first part of med school and possibly the rest of the journey. No one will prevent them from taking practice tests to see if they have the knowledge. The issue is āwould they want to budget their time to sit down for 7-8 hours for each practice test?ā The AAMC has a suite of practice MCAT that is suppose to mimic the real test. They are much closer in the format and degree of difficulty than other test prep materials.
I agree BS MD students are smart and they have to catch-up and seen HPME data which shows they have performed equally well or better than other medical students. HPME also did not have MCAT requirement. Also taking gap year in 7 year program was recommended.
Only BU SMED students can take MCAT and score 100th percentile without Biochem and no prep. Every other premed is recommended to take biochem 1 before MCAT to score well.
Even in PLME or Pitt Gap as part of premed or your major you will be reqd to take biochemistry. Different universities have different sequences and dofferent pre requisitesā¦ however they make sure that biochem is covered.
No, wasnāt referring to BS/MD studentsā required score levels in earlier post when I said they all did very well. It was way beyond that requirement range (which are pretty modest in most if not all programs). What I was referring to was their range was around 520 ish give or take. Should have been more explicit.
Each med school has a set of premed prereq to support a successful MCAT (which is normally required to apply) and to provide a solid foundation on which a successful med school education would build. Regardless of the matriculation requirements for the BSMD programs, all matriculants should meet the premed prereq for that medical school.
Agree! Most BSMD students do score high. However some may not score high and that is because they take the MCAT hurriedly in the sophomore year summer ā¦ so as to give them more tries (except for Hofstra) in case they fall short of the required score. It is part of a strategy but I agree generally a majority of BSMD students do score high.
Sadly there are some parents ā¦who push only ātop school name tooāā¦
IMO itās very simple
If a Kid is NOT SURE of path (Med/not) ā¦ then choose the best āfitā Top 10 or Bottom 10 or whatever to keep options open.
If a kid is SURE ā¦then choose the best āfitā ā¦ if itās BSMD ā¦so be it (this does not mean kids not performing or not smart or not aiming high or scared or other misnames thatās thrown frequently)
IF i am in love/happy with this personā¦ then why will i keep lookingā¦ or in other wordsā¦ why wait for āDisney princeā to come in horse ( sure it may happen for 1 or 2 but not for all )ā¦
Sometimes it get tired here with saying these messages again and againā¦ LOLā¦
Yep itās trueā¦ lot of folks do those to boost your resume.
Sadly itās still NOT guaranteed if you take GAP or top school either as itās becoming more competitive nowadays so you have to build your āoverall resumeā very good.
LOLā¦