Classes to Take Before MCAT – Getting Ready to Score Well

The classes you take before the MCAT can be a powerful foundation to not only make your MCAT preparation easier but also more successful! 

In this blog post, I will share EXACTLY which classes you should take before you take your MCAT. You will also learn…

• When is the best time to take them?
• What should you do if you haven’t taken them yet?
• Can you also just take them as AP/DE classes? 
• Are there any extra classes that could be helpful?

This post is all about classes to take before MCAT.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.

List of Classes To Take Before MCAT

What is the MCAT?

The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is a 230 question, 7.5 hour exam that is required by medical schools to grasp your knowledge on topics required for medical school. 

They use it as one of the factors in admission, but not the only one so don’t flip out if your score isn’t what you wanted. Apart from the fact that there are plenty more ways to stand out and show that you are medical school material, there are also tons of options to improve your score over time!

Now, the MCAT consists of four different sections: 

• Biology & Biochemistry
• Critical Analysis & Reading Skills
• Chemistry & Physics
• Psychology & Sociology. 

Scoring well on the MCAT requires you not only to memorize the content but truly understand a lot of pretty complex concepts within these sections. Therefore, preparing yourself early on by taking some specific classes for the MCAT can be a great advantage once you dive into your MCAT studying.  

Recommended Classes to Take Before the MCAT

First of all, officially there are no classes you HAVE to take in order to be eligible to take the MCAT exam. So if you want to self-study all of it, that’s totally up to you! Here comes the big BUT though…

As there are quite a few prerequisite classes you have to take to matriculate into medical school, coming closer to your application you will have to tackle these sooner than later. And since a lot of them serve as a fantastic MCAT preparation, they are great classes to take before your MCAT.

These classes will prepare you for the subjects covered in the MCAT and are actually recommended by the AAMC (the organization that creates your MCAT exam):

• 2 semesters of General Biology 
• 2 semesters of General Chemistry  
• 2 semesters of Organic Chemistry 
• 2 semesters of Physics
• 1 semester of Biochemistry 
• 1-2 semesters of Psychology (Intro & Developmental, or skip to Developmental) 
• 1 semester of Sociology 

It would be best to have all of these classes out of the way, then take the MCAT. But it also wouldn’t be the end of the world if there was *one* you were missing. 

If there are two or more of these classes you haven’t taken I would personally take a little more time to do so before diving into your MCAT study mode.

Bonus tip: There will be experimental design questions included in the Bio & Chem sections so it can be very helpful to take labs with as many of the courses above as possible. If for some reason you cannot take one of the labs and don’t want to miss out on this, you can also purchase a manual online to study the different methods.

How Important Are These Classes? 

Not every subject listed above is equally represented in the MCAT questions, so it might be beneficial to focus more on a few of the heaviest topics. Also keep in mind your personal weak spots and any subjects where you could generally need a bit more support for! 

MCAT Breakdown Based on Classes

Want to know which topics to prioritize? Here is how much of each class you will find on your MCAT exam: 

• 25% Biology
• 20% Psychology
• 15% Biochemistry
• 10% General Chemistry
• 10% Physics
• 10% Organic Chemistry
• 10% Sociology  

So obviously, it is very important to understand biology, psychology, and biochemistry rather than fully focusing on physics or sociology while studying. But a great score comes from performing well in each section. Keep that in mind before scratching subjects like organic chemistry off your study list (even though it’s tempting!).  

Deep Dive into the MCAT Sections

One fact about the MCAT that some might not know, is that subjects can come up in any of the four sections. For example, a biology-related question can be included in the chemistry & physics section. So let’s take a closer look at the breakdown of each of the sections. 

Biology & Biochemistry: 

• 65% Biology (38 questions)
• 25% Biochemistry (15 questions)
• 5% General Chemistry (3 questions)
• 5% Organic Chemistry (3 questions) 

CARS: 

• 50% Humanities (27 questions)
• 50% Social Sciences (26 questions)

*Difference in number is due to rounding

Chemistry & Physics: 

• 30% General Chemistry (18 questions)
• 25% Biochemistry (15 questions)
• 25% Physics (15 questions)
• 15% Organic Chemistry (8 questions)
• 5% Biology (3 questions)

Psychology & Sociology: 

• 65% Psychology (38 questions)
• 30% Sociology (18 questions)
• 5% Biology (3 questions) 

While technically you can take the MCAT without taking one of the classes above, it is not recommended. Truly understanding all the basic foundational concepts can be so much easier if you have a professor and classmates there to ask questions and clarify. 

Trust me, your score will be better and you will not be as stressed if you get these classes under your belt before taking the MCAT. 

That may mean you need to consider a gap year, but that’s ok! I took multiple gap years which helped me tremendously to improve myself as an application, plus gain such valuable life experience. 

When Is The Best Time To Take The Recommended MCAT Classes?

If you started out college as a premed, I would recommend getting prereqs out of the way as soon as possible. You will be so thankful when you have freedom of what classes you take at the end of your degree. 

Here is a suggested schedule for when to take your MCAT classes, which can totally be adjusted to your personal timeline though. 

Freshman Year

• General Chemistry
• General Biology
• Sociology

Sophomore Year

• Physics
• Organic Chemistry
• Psychology

Junior Year

• Biochemistry 

This would allow you to take the MCAT the second semester of your junior year if you want to matriculate into medical school right after you graduate college. 

Remember: There is no harm in pushing back your test date and maybe take a gap year in between to put your best foot forward once you are ready to apply. 

If you’ve decided on the premed route a little later in college, don’t worry. There may be room in your schedule to complete these classes before junior year if you do not want to take any gap years. You can also take the MCAT in your senior year (or later) and take one or more gap years before medical school. 

For more guidance on preparing for medical school during college, check out my blog post Pre-Med 4-Year Plan.

Can You Also Just Take Them as AP/DE Classes?

Some of the suggested classes to take before MCAT can be tackled in high school through Advanced Placement (AP) or Dual Enrollment (DE) classes. For these, it is very important you make a B or higher. So if you think that would be too much for your study load, wait until college. 

General Biology, General Chemistry, Physics, English, Psychology, and Sociology can all be taken as AP or DE. It’s your choice which ones you choose but I would recommend taking Psychology, and Sociology. Intro-level psychology and sociology are relatively easy courses and are great to get you acquainted with college level work. 

If you do choose to take more DE or AP classes like some of my Road to Acceptance students have done, you can start with General Biology or General Chemistry. It may also be beneficial to take math classes your high school offers. But again, please don’t stretch yourself too thin because you may end up having to retake these in college if the grade is not sufficient. 

Additional Classes That Would be Helpful

I actually had to take the MCAT twice since my first score tragically expired during my 3 year gap in between. So before I applied to medical school the second time, I enrolled in a post-bacc program for additional classes to raise my GPA (among improving so many other things). 

Now, the second time I took the MCAT, my score increased from 509 to 516, reaching my personal target score! 

I believe that going beyond the standard classes to take before MCAT and adding some extra courses to my sheet helped me so much to improve my score. 

Here are the additional classes I took for the MCAT: 

• Anatomy & Physiology 
• Medical Physiology
• Histology
• Virology
• Nucleic Acid Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry

It might not make or break your score to go the extra mile with your classes but it could give you a more in-depth examination of certain topics which could clarify and reinforce topics on the MCAT. But it was definitely a great help for my MCAT preparation! 

If you could use guidance for creating your own MCAT study plan (without any of the confusion, procrastination or overwhelm that usually comes with it) – my online course MCAT Roadmap guides you through each step! So that you can confidently create a *realistic* study routine that fits your personal timeline, schedule and pace. 

Final thoughts on classes to take before MCAT

I know from experience that the MCAT is a grueling exam and takes several months to properly prepare for. Trust me, you don’t want to risk having to retake it because you skipped some of the recommended classes or didn’t truly understand the concepts through self-study alone. So prepare ahead of time by taking the necessary classes, find where you might want to dive deeper with bonus classes and you will lay a great foundation for your MCAT studying in order to reach your personal goal score!

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