Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion How did your PG student prepare for the MCAT?

Son is 15 and a rising sophomore at prestigious university (not an Ivy - by choice). He is a CS/math major and also pre-med (with an interest in an MD-PhD program), and has a couple of significant time commitments (volunteering, scouting, orchestra). I am starting to look at how (and when) he will be studying for the MCAT, and this is my question:

For those who have EG/PG kids who are also high achievers, is it a good strategy to prep for MCAT early (and start taking it early, like after sophomore year), even if you are still missing a big chunk of premed classes (such as organic chemistry and biochemistry)? I hesitate to wait until after the 3rd year, because then he will also be applying to med school, and it doesn't seem like a good idea to wait till the last minute.

I am not planning on spending $$$ on very expensive courses because this wasn't needed for the SAT. He just studied with prep books, but he had more time. I would consider it if the ROI made sense and we were desperate.

I would really love to hear from parents whose kids have gone down that road. Thanks!!

Hopefully you will get advice from people with more recent knowledge, but I figured I'd chime in anyway.

I prepared for the MCAT way back in the day (1991) by working through the Flowers prep book. With regard to timing, a thing to think about is developing intellectual maturity in the subjects being tested. This allows the student to think about the questions with more flexibility than if they just learned the material. So if it were me, I'd take it as late as possible. This is assuming that what is tested is in line with the student's major so they've been working with chemistry, biology, etc the entire time.

No experience with MCAT. In Aus, we have UCAT (previously UMAT) and GAMSAT for undergrad and postgrad entry pathways and my eldest sat the UMAT deliberately without preparation other than the example questions given by the organising body (she did study English, maths, biology, chemistry, physics and economics in high school) because she used the test to decide if she really had the aptitude for medicine (she scored 98 which made her confident to study med).

MCAT applicants who haven’t studied biology or chemistry could prepare by getting human biology and organic chemistry textbooks and reading the relevant chapters for Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems and Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.

Thank you, this is good advice!

I will save these two titles, thank you!

Career scientist here. MD PhD path is a great one with lots of career options and can be a great way to get the residency and career that the student wants. It is also a highly competitive path. I'd urge you to pick 4-5 schools that have MD PhD programs where your DS would like to do the PhD and look at their requirements and suggestions for when to take the MCAT. Looking at the Univ. of Washington page ( see it here: https://mstp.washington.edu/mstp-admissions/admissions-overview/ ) they come right out and say "students who most enjoy and are most successful in our MSTP and thereafter are those with prior breadth and depth of research experience, clinical exposure, and community service." They tell you that all requirements should be completed before applying, Although it is a separate application, they link to the MD program to discuss the prerequisites and MCAT. Although you can find the admission MCAT scores on the MCAT website, UW provides a helpful grid of grades and MCAT scores here: https://www.uwmedicine.org/school-of-medicine/md-program/admissions/mcat To your actual question, UW reminds you "Many applicants take the exam during Spring of the year they apply to allow themselves time to retake the exam if they are unsatisfied with their initial scores. It is advisable for applicants to take the MCAT after they have completed all their science prerequisites. Please note that any previous MCAT scores are visible in your application and will be considered as part of the holistic review." Many of the MCAT test prep centers offer low cost practice tests and I'd urge taking one to see where the student is in preparation. When applying for MD PhD, it truly is "legs of a stool" GPA, research lab experience (not in classes), direct patient contact, and medically oriented volunteer work.. Lastly, the MCAT and GPAs for applicants and matriculants can be found on the MCAT website here: https://www.aamc.org/media/6151/download

Almost forgot to say that many schools limit what PhD you can pursue, so that is also something to check.