Ask Us Anything! With Claudia Mikail, MD, MPH, & Kaplan Medical School Admissions Consultant

cmikail

Hi, my name is Claudia Mikail, MD, MPH, and I'm a Kaplan Medical School Admissions Consultant.

A common question we get is "Do I need to take all med school required courses (like physics and sociology) before I take the MCAT?"

The MCAT is a lot like life. There’s an ideal way to prepare for it and a real way to
prepare for it. Based on your circumstances, the two approaches might differ.

Let’s start with the ideal way. The MCAT exam assesses your knowledge of biology,
chemistry, physics, and behavioral sciences (psychology/sociology), along with your critical
reasoning skills. Pre-medical courses provide a foundation in these subjects and thought
processes, so it would be best to take them all before sitting for the exam.
But what if you’re not able to complete them by then? What if you're missing a course? Can you still take the exam and record a solid score? The answer is yes, provided you've taken the rest of the core requirements. When I was a pre-med myself, I took the MCAT in April of my junior year of college, before finishing my second semester of physics. What was my strategy for doing well on the exam? I aimed to maximize my score on the material I had already studied and tried to gain familiarity with the topics I hadn’t covered yet by reading review texts, attending review lectures, and completing lots of practice questions. On test day, I completed the items familiar to me first and saved the unfamiliar ones for last, making sure to gain points where I was most confident. How can you better pinpoint the information you’ve already mastered and what you still need to learn for the exam? The AAMC’s MCAT content outline provides an overview of the concepts you’re expected to know. Use this tool to assess your knowledge base. Which areas are you comfortable with? Which ones are new to you? Breaking down the material into smaller, more manageable chunks will enable you to take better account of your preparation for the exam, structure your study plan, and take greater control over your performance on the MCAT.

A key to succeeding on this exam, on your medical school application as a whole, and in life in general, is to evaluate yourself, lean into your strengths, and mitigate your weaknesses as much as possible using the resources available to you.

In other words, make the most of what you have.

Have any other questions? Let us know in the comments and we'll select one to answer on our next ASK US ANYTHING!

henryrana

Hello,

Looking for your help,

I have done my B. pharmacy from india , having 60 percentage (First Class) . I had done High school 12th with Distinction percentage with science subjects-Biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, English And at 10th std done with Distinction with Science, mathematics, English, Social Science.

My question is , I am at age of 37 and licensed pharmacist. I like to pursue my career ahead in medicine. So, is my above subjects is good enough for getting admission. Or do I need to study something Social Science or psychology etc add to make my profile stronger to get admission in canadian medical school?

Could u please help me to guide about MCAT AND OTHER POINTS that I had to work and appear for mcat.

I think my GPA of undergraduate is looks not enough. How I make it stronger GPA and appear for MCAT AND make my profile stronger.

Is any one like me who had gone through this.

Please guide me.

Thank you

cmikail

Thanks for your message. With your pharmacy background it sounds like you already have strong grounding in the medical sciences, which is an excellent head start! To get a better idea of how to strengthen your application, I recommend looking at the AAMC's Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) database and searching the information they provide on Canadian schools specifically. The MSAR offers details on required and recommended courses, GPA and MCAT expectations, selection factors, and more. The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) website also provides a wealth of information. These are great resources for learning what particular schools are looking for and the steps you might take to build your strongest application. Outside of coursework and test scores, admissions committees want to see that you have a clear-cut rationale for changing your career and that you've had meaningful medical experiences to support your decision. This is one of the most important points to address as a non-traditional applicant. Best wishes!

raya_m

Hello,

I was wondering do we or do professor submit the letters of recommendation to AMCAS on our behalf?

cmikail

Hi, thanks for your question. Recommenders submit their letters directly to AMCAS, via either the AMCAS Letter Writer Application or Interfolio. You would personally request a letter from your professor first, obtain their preferred email address, then provide it to the letter service, which will send them a submission link.