need some mcat advice (any extra premed advice is a plus)

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>hey guys I’m looking for some mcat advice.
First let me explain my educational background.</p>

<p>I graduated from a dual credit high school (Texas Academy Leadership in the Humanities) in '07. TALH is a dual credit program that works with Lamar University to provide students with college level classes. I graduated with about 63 hrs of credit with a GPA of 3.6. I transfered to UT-Austin the following year and earned a 1st GPA of 3.3. So far I have 90+ hrs. Here is the pre-med course work I have completed/plan to take:</p>

<p>Composition 1 and 2: B in both
Cal 1: B
Cal 2: C (Yes I know I screwed up in this subject, this is my only C)
Bio 1: A
Bio 2: A
Bio Lab: B
Chem 1: B
Chem 2: A
Chem Lab: A
Physics - taking this summer
O Chem - Fall 2008, Spring 2009
I think I should have roughly a 3.5- 3.7+ gpa with everything averaged together when I finish.</p>

<p>I think I should take the MCAT in August 2009 but Im not sure if I will be ready. My dad is suggesting to delay the MCAT until 2010 and take a couple of mcat prep courses. Is this a good idea? How should I prepare? Right now I bought the examkracker complete mcat study package and started to review the bio and verbal books. What sort of pace should I be studying at?</p>

<p>My plan to to apply to texas med schools here: [UT</a> System-TMDSAS Homepage](<a href=“http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/]UT”>TMDSAS Homepage)
Getting into UT-Southwestern is my ultimate goal. (any texas med school is fine with me)</p>

2

<p>The consensus from some of the people who have succeeded at the MCAT on this board (BDM, BRM, NCG, and me) is, as I understand it, more or less the following:</p>

<p>Start studying three months/one semester in advance. Anything more is overkill and a waste of your time.</p>

<p>Take the MCAT when you’ve taken most of the required pre-med science courses.</p>

<p>August 2009 is 16+ months away. Spend your summer building up your resume for your AMCAS/TMDSAS application. Don’t waste it on test prep at this point.</p>

3

<p>You don’t need “a couple” of MCAT prep courses. One is fine. If you bomb the MCAT, the testing companies will usually let you take the course a second time for free or at a discount. I think somewhere b/w 6-10 weeks is about right for most people as far as prep time goes. It’s a lot more stressful (and you’ll probably need a full semester) if you try to do it during the school year but I found my summer MCAT prep to be rather chill. I went to my 2 1/2 hour class every day, played basketball afterwards, and studied for a couple more hours at night.</p>