Should one study for the MCAT while taking classes? I plan on taking OrgII and PhysicsII in Jan 08' and take the MCAt in April 08. Should I take the semester off to study for it?


3DMOM

You will want to have taken Organic II and Physics I.....before you sit for the MCAT. It just depends on how you plan to study for the MCAT and how light your Spring course load will be...you should also look into the May or June MCAT as well...which could possibly give you an extra month or two to prepare for it.

I can't say if it's something you should do or not, but I will be doing it. Sometimes that's just the way it works out. In the spring I will be taking two classes for my Master's degree, Organic 2 and Physics 2. I'm really not sure how it will work out but I'm hoping and will try for the best. Oh and I will be taking the MCAT on May 25. Good luck!

I think it helps to be taking classes right before the Mcat, a lot of the science will be fresh in your mind then I tried to review a few chapters of Mcat material every night and took a practice test ever saturday, then reviewed the answers every sunday. I didn't have the time or money to take a prep class, but I ended up doing OK.

I doesn't seem very a very effiecent use of time to take an entire semester off just for studying the MCAT. You do want to study well and prepare, but you don't need 8 hours a day for 3-4 months. Its fairly common for people to take the August MCAT (when there were only two test dates) and used the summer to study. If you are worried about giving yourself enough MCAT study time, try to take a lighter load for your semester. And I agree with above posters that it is beneficial to have all your prereqs done before sitting for the MCAT.

I might think that sitting in April wouldn't be too bad since you are in ochem II and physics II but you might not have all the concepts in physics II down. Most likely you will so I wouldn't see it as a huge problem personally.

I might suggest just putting it off until the end of april or may even if you want to take it then have time to retake it in August if needed. But overall in the last few weeks of Physics II you might learn some key concepts that you could use for the MCAT but if you feel you can grasp them on your own you probably wouldn't have much of an issue.

Good luck!