Hi,

I'm in second year right now and I need some advice. I still haven't taken either of the two Orgo courses. The plan was to take them this summer, because I took physics last summer. However, I also want to write the MCAT at the end of this summer.

1) Is it possible to take just the first Orgo and an MCAT prep course at the same time?
2) Does Orgo help you do better on the MCAT?
3) Which MCAT prep course should I take?
4) How was Orgo in summer school, a general review perhaps?
any other advice?

I'd greatly appreciate any answers! Thanks Have a great day

any prereq for med school helps you do better on the mcat

FYI: I took Chem 2OA3 and 2OB3 in the summer after my first year and took the MCAT in the summer after my second year.

1. It's possible. I know people who had research jobs and did MCAT prep courses at the same time. Some prep courses (ex. Prep101 I think) have evening classes and you can choose which day of the week you attend. It is recommended that you focus on MCAT as much as you can, though. It's easy to get astray and fall behind if you have a schedule to follow.

2. MCAT orgo does not nearly go to the depth and breadth compared to the orgo courses. MCAT orgo applies straightforward concepts through passages, so whether you're answering questions as part of passages or whether they're discretes (standalone questions), they don't go as deep as Mac orgo courses do. However, be aware that the MCAT is much more of a thinking and reasoning exam than the orgo courses. Some people have said that they've barely studied for the orgo and biology sections (together they from the biological sciences section) and they still did well because extensive prior knowledge of the subject is becoming less crucial.

3. This is up to your learning style, schedule, and financial limitations. Some popular ones are: Kaplan, Princeton Review, Prep101, etc. Another option which is much cheaper is self-studying by using books published by the companies I just mentioned, or even mixing them. A popular but demanding MCAT schedule is the SN2ed Schedule written out by someone at the SDN forums. They use a combo of Princeton Review, Berkeley Review, and Examkrackers books.

4. Not bad. The first orgo had fewer reactions to memorize but required more time wrapping your head around concepts and familiarizing yourself with the model. The second orgo was more reaction-centered with a lot of focus on synthesis (choosing reactants and reaction conditions to reach a certain product). The labs were easy to get good marks on but preparation ahead of time is useful.

Thaanks! That was actually super helpful