Homemade Pre-Med program

[cookderosa]

<<I think there's a stronger case for doing Bio later for MCAT retention than Physics, but everyone's mileage will vary.>>

I've heard this as a strategy too.
The test is also slated to add a behavioral science component starting in 2015. Let the games begin!

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/m...r1-5PRDsxE

[sanantone]

<<I think there's a stronger case for doing Bio later for MCAT retention than Physics, but everyone's mileage will vary.>>

I've heard this as a strategy too.
The test is also slated to add a behavioral science component starting in 2015. Let the games begin!

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/m...r1-5PRDsxE

Ooh! I would kill that.

[New User]

I think even a year is pushing it. It's 8 classes, 4 are sequential. Traditional schools only offer 3 terms per year, so you're looking at accelerated terms AND double labs to finish in a year.

Many schools have organic chemistry in month long blocks over the summer.

[Jonathan Whatley]

First, you need all A's.

For clarity, if your goal is med school admission in the United States, your plan really should be one by which you can earn all A's in your premedical coursework going forward.

If you have less than a straight-A history, and even if you earn something less than an A here or there subsequently, you shouldn't necessarily give up! You may be able to overcome it.

You should expect to work hard to do so, and you'll need quite a few A's.

Jonathan… still waiting for the final grade to be posted for my first science course here at HES. I had a strong A running grade going into the final exam. I felt knowledgeable and competent about every question on the final. I'm also human, and have to account for a margin for error.

[Jonathan Whatley]

It is FASTER to take the classes SLOWER because time to learn on the front end means your "study for the MCAT" is only study/review/refresh. An accelerated school schedule means potential for gaps, which WILL require learning and filling later. Also, if you have to wait until next cycle, what was gained? There is a saying that I think of for pre-health sciences: No time to do it right but plenty of time to do it twice.

I've heard repeatedly, and from real nontraditional – older than traditional college age, career-changer – pre-meds, versions of the following: "I kind of wish I'd taken a harder version of that course. The subject is important on the MCAT and I would have benefited from stronger preparation."

It also seems common enough – not typical, but not rare – to retake one or more core premedical courses for currency and MCAT prep even if your first take of the subject was a qualifying premedical course, and your grade was strong, and the first take was taken less than ten years ago. (If it was taken more than ten years ago, it's probably timed out for many med schools and you should plan to retake. This threshold may vary; at some schools it may be less than ten years. Others will know more.)

[cookderosa]

I've heard repeatedly, and from real nontraditional – older than traditional college age, career-changer – pre-meds, versions of the following: "I kind of wish I'd taken a harder version of that course. The subject is important on the MCAT and I would have benefited from stronger preparation."

It also seems common enough – not typical, but not rare – to retake one or more core premedical courses for currency and MCAT prep even if your first take of the subject was a qualifying premedical course, and your grade was strong, and the first take was taken less than ten years ago. (If it was taken more than ten years ago, it's probably timed out for many med schools and you should plan to retake. This threshold may vary; at some schools it may be less than ten years. Others will know more.)

I agree with this 100%. I think you're doing the right thing attending HES for your sciences. Clearly, to underestimate the scope of covering 4 FIELDS of science is naive. *correction 5 fields of science.

[New User]

It is FASTER to take the classes SLOWER because time to learn on the front end means your "study for the MCAT" is only study/review/refresh. An accelerated school schedule means potential for gaps, which WILL require learning and filling later. Also, if you have to wait until next cycle, what was gained? There is a saying that I think of for pre-health sciences: No time to do it right but plenty of time to do it twice.

I don't feel the prereqs prepared me all that well for the MCAT. Sure, there is overlap, but these classes aren't designed to teach the test. In my classes there was a lot of information we had to know that is never tested on the MCAT and vice versa lots of material on the MCAT that I had never seen before in my classes. I think the best preparation is to spend a decent amount of time going through a prep book and doing as many practice exams as you can.

[cookderosa]

I don't feel the prereqs prepared me all that well for the MCAT. Sure, there is overlap, but these classes aren't designed to teach the test. In my classes there was a lot of information we had to know that is never tested on the MCAT and vice versa lots of material on the MCAT that I had never seen before in my classes. I think the best preparation is to spend a decent amount of time going through a prep book and doing as many practice exams as you can.

nice......I have no comment.

[New User]

nice......I have no comment.

Just my experience. Your mileage my vary.

[Jonathan Whatley]

Just my experience. Your mileage my vary.

Let's all agree too that it varies by program.

The physics sequence at HES, for instance, omits thermodynamics and quantum mechanics "because," from my notes from the professor's explanation, "General Chemistry teaches that for the MCAT here." Meanwhile fluid statics and fluid dynamics are "covered more here than in physics' majors intro. [sequence]" because of their high relevance to medicine.

The physics textbook, by Nobel laureate Giambattista et al., includes licensed questions from past MCATs. Rubbing it in, the publisher festoons MCAT and American Association of Medical Colleges logos very centrally on the cover. At least one Teaching Fellow (TA) bases review sessions on The MCAT Physics Book, a well-regarded third-party study guide.

I would not say that HES teaches "to" the MCAT. They do teach to their students, they know very many are going on to the MCAT or other paths to health careers, and they work with this.