Advice? Confused about memorizing details

[655703]

I've read a lot of feedback regarding the new MCAT and one consensus seems to be that we should really have a firm grasp on Biochem. Some have said that it would help to memorize particular structures, pathways, and details. As I've tried to do this, though, I can't help but feel like I'm going about this the wrong way... how would detail memorization be helpful? I've always thought that the details are provided in the MCAT passage info, and it's up to you to apply your conceptual knowledge to the details given in order to answer the questions. Does the new MCAT seem to require a thorough knowledge of details (things we can memorize), or should conceptual understanding of biochemical concepts be sufficient to do well on the passages?

I'm having a real difficult time knowing how much Biochem to study/memorize. One could spend years studying the details of pathways and molecules, but there needs to be a stopping point for the purposes of the MCAT. For those who have taken the new MCAT (or even those who are currently studying to take it), where do you think that stopping point is?

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[Alkaidius]

Your initial reasoning is spot on. Basic foundations are the ones you want to focus on the most regarding Biochemistry. Those would include the starting and ending products and the intermediates that are shared between multiple pathways. This new MCAT will test you more heavily on how the different pathways are connected to one another. You might get like one or two questions where they ask you to identify a specific molecule, but those are so low yield that I would only worry about them once you've got the most important details memorized.

 

[carpediem22]

Your initial reasoning is spot on. Basic foundations are the ones you want to focus on the most regarding Biochemistry. Those would include the starting and ending products and the intermediates that are shared between multiple pathways. This new MCAT will test you more heavily on how the different pathways are connected to one another. You might get like one or two questions where they ask you to identify a specific molecule, but those are so low yield that I would only worry about them once you've got the most important details memorized.

Agreed but you will get a few straight up memorization questions. Take that as you will.

 

[655703]

Agreed but you will get a few straight up memorization questions. Take that as you will.

I know that this may be different for each exam, but just to clarify, by a "few" do you mean like 1-5? 5-10? 20?

 

[carpediem22]

I know that this may be different for each exam, but just to clarify, by a "few" do you mean like 1-5? 5-10? 20?

Idk man, it really depends. I don't even remember. But do focus on concepts not memorization.