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Undergrad Courses to Take for MCAT Success

By U.S. News & World Report

Preparing for the MCAT may seem daunting. But for the science-based portions of the exam, your preparation path is conveniently outlined in your premed prerequisites.

Completing biology, biochemistry, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, psychology and sociology during your undergraduate years provides you with the foundational skills necessary to succeed on the first three parts of the MCAT.

But when it comes to the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills — or CARS — section, the path to developing a strong foundation may be less clear. For the CARS section, you have 90 minutes to answer 53 questions that test your understanding and interpretation of short reading passages.

These passages, often between 500 and 600 words, test you in comprehension, analysis and reasoning within and beyond the text. As such, it makes sense that taking humanities-based classes may help you prepare.

[Discover three ways to prepare for the MCAT as a premed student. ]

But with so many types of humanities courses to choose from, how do you decide which ones will help you develop the skills necessary to achieve a high score? Review these essential skills and class suggestions to help you develop a solid foundation for the CARS section.

1. Develop comprehension with poetry analysis: To evaluate your foundations of comprehension, the CARS section test your understanding the key information in the passage and how you draw meaning from rhetorical devices, text structure and word choice. Perhaps no other form of literary analysis can help you strengthen these skills as effectively as poetry, given that it uses myriad literary devices to convey meaning.

Devote a semester to taking a poetry class and carefully combing through poetic structures and word choice for their surface and deeper meanings. This can train you to develop a nuanced sense of how conscious decisions the author makes dictate the overall message and impression of a work.

[Learn how to match MCAT prep to your learning style.]

2. Learn reasoning within the text with philosophy: Philosophy is a discipline that is famous for carefully structured, complex arguments. From the classics of Plato to the more modern essays of Michel Foucault, philosophical texts ask readers to review the argument or claim the philosopher makes and judge it according to specific criteria.

And that is exactly what the MCAT stipulates you do in the CARS section so as to test your reasoning within text.

During your undergraduate studies, be sure to take an introductory philosophy class or a philosophy course that specifically focuses on reasoning. By learning to analyze the intricacies of philosophical works, you will become adept at locating arguments within a text, identifying how an author chooses to support his or her claims and evaluating whether that support is effective or problematic. These abilities are critical to earning a high score on the CARS section.

[Avoid making these four common MCAT prep mistakes.]

3. Master reasoning beyond the text writing fiction: In addition to helping you cultivate improved writing skills for the medical school admissions essays you will soon pen, enrolling in a fiction-writing course can prompt you to explore alternative endings, different perspectives and the ways in which events culminate for a final effect.

Similar to how the CARS section tests two aspects of your comprehension, it will also test your reasoning beyond the text in two ways. First, you are tested on how you can take information from the original passage and apply this to a new situation. Second, the CARS section will test how you take new information from a test question, add this to the original passage and then analyze the effects.

By crafting your own works of fiction, you learn how the subtle construction of detail affects the overall outcome of the text. Any feedback you receive from your classmates or instructors can also assist you in exploring how new information and perspectives can lead to fresh meanings.

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Undergrad Courses to Take for MCAT Success originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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