Pre-Med Q&ACategory: MCATWhat Classes to Take for MCAT
AvatarPreethi asked 3 years ago

Hello,
I’m a sophomore and I was hoping to take the MCAT at the end of the sophomore year. I want to make sure that I complete most of the hard classes that are necessary for the MCAT. so I was wondering which classes should I take for the next semester that will better prepare me for the MCAT?
So far I have taken CHEM 130, CHEM 210/211, BIO 225, CHEM 215 (currently taking), PHYSICS 135 (currently taking), PSYCH 111 (currently taking), STATS 225
Thanks

1 Answers
AvatarPragathi answered 3 years ago

Hey Preethi! 
It would all depend on if you wanted to take the MCAT this upcoming May or, if you’re planning to take it this summer. I would highly recommend that you take a biochem course (MCDB 310 or the other alternatives), since almost 80% of this content will be tested on the MCAT. As a result, people usually recommend taking this course the semester before you’re taking your MCAT. 
People also usually take Physics 2 before taking the MCAT, but that isn’t an absolute requirement if you’re willing to put in the work to teach yourself some of the material (or if you have already taken physics in high school, etc) 
With that being said, taking Physics 2 and Biochem the same semester might be a heavy course load depending on the type of learner you are, especially if you’re planning to take the MCAT at the end of your sophomore year (like April/May) and need to be putting in time to study for it. If you were to take the MCAT over the summer, you’d be fresh out of these helpful classes and might have more time to dedicate towards studying. This may be a consideration to make when deciding when exactly your test-date is. 
Some people also say that taking a Soc/Social Psych course can be helpful, but personally I found this material easy to teach myself while studying for the exam. This may be a personal choice depending on your background in psychology. 
Overall, I think it would be really helpful for you to make a 4 year plan to plan out what classes you have left to take and what order you’d like to take them in. If you’d like help putting something like this together, I’d highly recommend that you drop by our drop-in advising hours! 
I hope this answers your question! Once again, please feel free to drop by our advising hours if you have any more questions 🙂 

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