Can you score well on the MCAT (510+) without Biochem?

[browneyes124]

Hey guys,
So im kinda in a hard situation right now. Long story short, I need to take the MCAT in the summer of 2018 it I want to be able to go to medical school on time. I graduate in December 2018. I will have all my prereqs done before then except biochem. At my school you have to finish Organic 2 to be able to take biochem but I wont have finished organic 2 until spring 2018. I was wondering if I walked biochem lecture videos from schools posted online and used prep books, could I still score decent (500+) on the MCAT? My major is behavioral neuroscience and Biology so I've taken alot of advanced biology classes already so i'm thinking that may make up a little for not have taken biochem.
I know obviously it would be better to have taken Biochem before the MCAT but unfortunetly I will not have that luxury. My question is can I do good on the MCAT without actually taking the class? and what would you guys recommend to makeup for it and should I try to start teaching myself biochem way before I start MCAT prep? For example if my prep is going to be 3 months, should I start watching lecture videos and taking notes and stuff, 5 months in advance?

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[stickgirl390]

I don't understand a few things:
1) why do you think there is a deadline to attend medical school? You say you want to go to medical school "on time". On time is when YOU are ready, not when your undergrad coursework is complete.

2) You say taking biochem before your MCAT is a "luxury". The fact that you're getting a college education is a luxury. Don't waste this opportunity and rush taking an MCAT you aren't prepared for.

3) If you want to go MD, your target needs to be 510+ not 500.

4) if you absolutely must take the MCAT before Biochem, you must learn all 20 amino acids. You should also know Michaelis-Menton kinetics, enzyme inhibition, Lineweaver-Burk plots, and basics of glycolysis.

5) I took the MCAT before taking Biochem and scored 505. I'm planning on retaking now that I've had Biochem, and personally I'm finding the MCAT significantly more manageable having Biochem under my belt. So many passages that I thought were difficult were simply Biochem concepts that I hadn't learned yet.

Good luck. Remember the path to med school is a marathon, not a race.

 

[browneyes124]

I don't understand a few things:
1) why do you think there is a deadline to attend medical school? You say you want to go to medical school "on time". On time is when YOU are ready, not when your undergrad coursework is complete.

2) You say taking biochem before your MCAT is a "luxury". The fact that you're getting a college education is a luxury. Don't waste this opportunity and rush taking an MCAT you aren't prepared for.

3) If you want to go MD, your target needs to be 510+ not 500.

4) if you absolutely must take the MCAT before Biochem, you must learn all 20 amino acids. You should also know Michaelis-Menton kinetics, enzyme inhibition, Lineweaver-Burk plots, and basics of glycolysis.

5) I took the MCAT before taking Biochem and scored 505. I'm planning on retaking now that I've had Biochem, and personally I'm finding the MCAT significantly more manageable having Biochem under my belt. So many passages that I thought were difficult were simply Biochem concepts that I hadn't learned yet.

Good luck. Remember the path to med school is a marathon, not a race.

1) I don't want to take a gap year or anything for a number of reason and plus even if i do get accepted my first time then i will still have to wait at least 6 months before going. I was suppose to graduate this year but im already delayed by a year so I do not want to wait any longer.
3) I didnt say i wanted a 500 or that was even my goal. Just that if it was possible to get a 500+ without having taken biochem.
4) is that what was mostly on the MCAT you took for biochem?
5) Like I said I've taken alot of advanced biology classes and alot of what you mentioned in your point 4, we have covered in there.

 

[stickgirl390]

I can only comment based on my experiences. I've taken 7 practice MCATS and the real thing, and those topics seem to be covered the most frequently. Knowing the 20 amino acids is mandatory though.

Do your best to make the best application you can. If that means taking a gap year, then take a gap year. Do what you need to do to become a doctor. I took 5 years after getting my bachelors, and My application is still improving. My situation is different from yours of course, I'm just saying my experience means I'm always going to be an advocate that gap years aren't a bad thing.

 

[tvbbnumber41]

I haven't taken the MCAT yet, however, based on my practice scores biochem is pretty much my strongest subject (128-9). I taught myself biochem in about 3 weeks, but I did have a strong foundation in organic chemistry where my professor went over the amino acids extensively. You have to understand, what I realized recently, is that MCAT only requires a pretty superficial knowledge on a lot of these materials. Not sure what college you went to, but realistically about 30% of the material that I would've needed to know in order to do well on an exam at my school was pretty much what is required to do well on the MCAT. It's all about interpreting and extracting information from passages that really is the bulk of this test. Oh and as far as how to learn biochem, I'd recommend Kaplan biochem book. First go, it may be a bit overwhelming so don't try to memorize everything, but don't skip anything until you understand it. Then second time around try and memorize things here and there. Also, supplement it with Khan academy videos.

 

[browneyes124]

I can only comment based on my experiences. I've taken 7 practice MCATS and the real thing, and those topics seem to be covered the most frequently. Knowing the 20 amino acids is mandatory though.

Do your best to make the best application you can. If that means taking a gap year, then take a gap year. Do what you need to do to become a doctor. I took 5 years after getting my bachelors, and My application is still improving. My situation is different from yours of course, I'm just saying my experience means I'm always going to be an advocate that gap years aren't a bad thing.

Do you think it would be overkill if I tried to find a university that uploads their biochem lectures and try to kind of teach myself that way a few months before my official MCAT prep? or maybe even get a tutor that can kind of go over biochem concepts with me

 

[DBC03]

As a 35-year old applicant, I'm having a difficult time understanding why so many college kids are feeling an unspoken pressure to go to medical school immediately after graduation. My friends who immediately went to medical school are the most miserable in the medical profession. A gap year (or two or three) will give you the opportunity to learn and grow in ways you cannot even imagine right now.

As far as the MCAT goes, you should be aiming for the highest score possible to put you in the best position possible. If you try to rush it, you may be taking a gap year (or two or three) against your will with rejection letters under your belt.

I highly recommend taking at least one, if not two, semesters of biochem. If you can currently draw all the amino acids, tell me which enzymes are involved in all the metabolic pathways (including pentose phosphate and fatty acid oxidation) along with their locations, then draw me a graph representing a ping pong mechanism, I'll agree that you know plenty and don't need it.

But - the best way to find out if it's possible is to take a sample AAMC MCAT and see how you score. Come back and let us know.

The one area where all the prep books and khan academy are still lagging is biochemistry. It can probably be self taught, but you may have an easier time if you take the class.


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[browneyes124]

I haven't taken the MCAT yet, however, based on my practice scores biochem is pretty much my strongest subject (128-9). I taught myself biochem in about 3 weeks, but I did have a strong foundation in organic chemistry where my professor went over the amino acids extensively. You have to understand, what I realized recently, is that MCAT only requires a pretty superficial knowledge on a lot of these materials. Not sure what college you went to, but realistically about 30% of the material that I would've needed to know in order to do well on an exam at my school was pretty much what is required to do well on the MCAT. It's all about interpreting and extracting information from passages that really is the bulk of this test. Oh and as far as how to learn biochem, I'd recommend Kaplan biochem book. First go, it may be a bit overwhelming so don't try to memorize everything, but don't skip anything until you understand it. Then second time around try and memorize things here and there. Also, supplement it with Khan academy videos.

Thanks so much! Did you use the Kaplan biochem book to teach yourself?

 

[browneyes124]

As a 35-year old applicant, I'm having a difficult time understanding why so many college kids are feeling an unspoken pressure to go to medical school immediately after graduation. My friends who immediately went to medical school are the most miserable in the medical profession. A gap year (or two or three) will give you the opportunity to learn and grow in ways you cannot even imagine right now.

As far as the MCAT goes, you should be aiming for the highest score possible to put you in the best position possible. If you try to rush it, you may be taking a gap year (or two or three) against your will with rejection letters under your belt.

I highly recommend taking at least one, if not two, semesters of biochem. If you can currently draw all the amino acids, tell me which enzymes are involved in all the metabolic pathways (including pentose phosphate and fatty acid oxidation) along with their locations, then draw me a graph representing a ping pong mechanism, I'll agree that you know plenty and don't need it.

But - the best way to find out if it's possible is to take a sample AAMC MCAT and see how you score. Come back and let us know.

The one area where all the prep books and khan academy are still lagging is biochemistry. It can probably be self taught, but you may have an easier time if you take the class.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Are the sample tests free or do you have to buy like a package?

 

[stickgirl390]

Are the sample tests free or do you have to buy like a package?

There is a free full length on nextstepmcat.com

 

[stickgirl390]

Do you think it would be overkill if I tried to find a university that uploads their biochem lectures and try to kind of teach myself that way a few months before my official MCAT prep? or maybe even get a tutor that can kind of go over biochem concepts with me

If you find lectures uploaded from a 3 week summer course, that might be your best option. It will cover the core of the subject without all the fluff.

 

[DBC03]

Are the sample tests free or do you have to buy like a package?

You can try one of the free ones from the other test prep companies. Many students get lower scores on those then the real thing


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[tvbbnumber41]

Thanks so much! Did you use the Kaplan biochem book to teach yourself?

Yes. You have to remember that biochemistry, just as the way the name implies, is pretty much just a combination of biology and chemistry. Oh one thing to remember, it will seem overwhelming at first, but remember to do questions and practice tests, while you are doing content review, because it helped me clarify on some material as well as see what are the high yield questions. So for example I noticed almost every B/B section had at least one question requiring an elementary understanding of certain AA properties such as polarity or charge, a question regarding enzyme kinematics, and one about some sort of gene processing.

It seems that with an extensive content knowledge, but without much practice one would expect to score maybe in the low mid 500s. Whereas one with low content knowledge, but extensive practice will score mid to high 500s. And lastly one with both practice and extensive content review one will score in above the 510s. I realize this is very generalized so obviously take this with a grain of salt. But, just remember that as important content review may seem just keep practicing. I started out with a score of 498 diagnostic and I got really upset because people told me that in order to improve I needed to study for at least 3 months. Well I'm 1 month deep and I'm scoring 507-510. I focused heavily on doing practice questions, so at times I felt as though if I wasn't really improving, but you'll notice your scores start to go up. So fingers crossed. Good luck!

 

[browneyes124]

If you find lectures uploaded from a 3 week summer course, that might be your best option. It will cover the core of the subject without all the fluff.

Yeah that's a smart idea.

 

[browneyes124]

Yes. You have to remember that biochemistry, just as the way the name implies, is pretty much just a combination of biology and chemistry. Oh one thing to remember, it will seem overwhelming at first, but remember to do questions and practice tests, while you are doing content review, because it helped me clarify on some material as well as see what are the high yield questions. So for example I noticed almost every B/B section had at least one question requiring an elementary understanding of certain AA properties such as polarity or charge, a question regarding enzyme kinematics, and one about some sort of gene processing.

It seems that with an extensive content knowledge, but without much practice one would expect to score maybe in the low mid 500s. Whereas one with low content knowledge, but extensive practice will score mid to high 500s. And lastly one with both practice and extensive content review one will score in above the 510s. I realize this is very generalized so obviously take this with a grain of salt. But, just remember that as important content review may seem just keep practicing. I started out with a score of 498 diagnostic and I got really upset because people told me that in order to improve I needed to study for at least 3 months. Well I'm 1 month deep and I'm scoring 507-510. I focused heavily on doing practice questions, so at times I felt as though if I wasn't really improving, but you'll notice your scores start to go up. So fingers crossed. Good luck!

Nice improvement. Have you taken all the prereqs required and also are you using prep books and tests as your main form of studying?

 

[kbac13]

In my experience, biochem seemed to be the biggest chunk of the MCAT. I took my exam after 1 semester of biochem and scored a 516 (with a 132 in B/B and C/P ). If you are able to use online materials and Kaplan books to study, go for it, but I would not rush it. Good luck!

 

[browneyes124]

In my experience, biochem seemed to be the biggest chunk of the MCAT. I took my exam after 1 semester of biochem and scored a 516 (with a 132 in B/B and C/P ). If you are able to use online materials and Kaplan books to study, go for it, but I would not rush it. Good luck!

Thanks for the input! Did you think Kaplan was a good resource for MCAT in comparison to other companies?

 

[kbac13]

Thanks for the input! Did you think Kaplan was a good resource for MCAT in comparison to other companies?

I didn't really explore other companies as I had heard generally positive things about Kaplan. IMO, Kaplan does a decent job with the material. As I had their first edition books, there were some concepts missing especially for psych/soc but this may have changed with the newer editions. As for their practice exams, they were super specific and sometimes too difficult in comparison to the actual exam. For example, my average Kaplan exam score was 506-507 and I was able to get a 516 on the actual one. Hope this helps!

 

[browneyes124]

Since I can't officially take the class till Fall 2018, do you guys think I could just audit it this coming fall? We have 2 biochemistry that are required so if I started this fall I could have them both finished by the MCAT. I need yeah I won't get a grade yet but I can still learn the info