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Disclaimers: First, let me say I'm a bit removed from the process now as I'm a soon to be M1 so I'm writing this on the old MCAT for those stragglers still taking it. Next let me also point out the obvious that my opinions (YES THESE ARE OPINIONS) are limited to my class experiences at my undergraduate institution. Also, keep in mind that this PSA is only for those planning on taking the old (AKA pre-2015 MCAT).
My qualifications: I studied and took the MCAT twice and scored in the 95th percentile the second time around. Not only do I know what the MCAT demands because I studied for it twice and exhausted ALL the valuable resources (Berkeley, Princeton, EK, AAMC), but I also have taken a lot of upper level courses at my undergraduate university and know the gist behind what you learn in each. Lastly, I took tests and screenings to qualify to be an MCAT instructor and taught two biology sessions so I pretty much reviewed the material two more times, haha. I also tutored all the bio, chem, and physics for my undergraduate institution and reviewed content there as well.
Purpose:
I decided to write this because I've seen a lot of questions regarding what upper level biology classes one should take. The first thing I want to get out of the way is the notion that taking upper level biology as a means to improve your application is flawed. All admissions is looking for is that you got A's and completed your prerequisites. That being said, someone who did very poorly in General Biology stands a chance of slightly redeeming themselves by performing better in an upper level biology class.
Now, here is a ranking for the upper level classes you should take to improve your understanding for the MCAT.
1. Physiology
2. Biochemistry
3. Genetics
4. Cellular Biology (some upper level)
5. All the other -ology classes: Immunology, Pharmacology, Microbiology, Parisitology, Virology, Histology, Neurobiology, Endocrinology, Hematology, etc.
6. Gross Anatomy
Now here is a brief summary of what I learned in each upper division class I took followed by whether I think the class is useful, mildly useful, possibly helpful, but not worth the time, or almost completely useless for the MCAT. .
1. Physiology:
Summary:
In this class, we started out by learning about cellular physiology and how electric and chemical forces governed the charge of a cell. Then we learnt about a variety of channels that influenced this. For there, we moved onto channel proteins/G-proteins and learnt about a large number of examples of them like Cholinergic, Muscarinic, and Adrenergic receptors. We also learned about how smooth muscle, skeletal muscle, and cardiac muscle differed in depth. From there, we learned about the action potential and transitioned into Neurobiology where we learnt about complex reflex systems and how various divisions of the nervous system communicated. After that, we learnt a lot about the cardiovascular system and paid a great deal of attention to the special channels and receptors involved in the action potential and the heart contractions. A good amt. of time was also spent describing the stages of the cardiac cycle and how things overlapped. Next, we learnt some nifty things about the pulmonary system before transition to stem cells which was kind of useless for the MCAT. Afterwards, we took on nephrology and learned about all the processes occurring on the level of the nephron, followed by gastroenterology (lots of digestive enzymes/details...), endocrinology (which was rather intuitive) and we ended with reproduction which was loaded with useful details provided a nice little counterexample to the negative feedback paradigm we learned in endocrinology (LH surge).
Grade: Useful
Why: While it goes in depth, you pretty much take a comprehensive view of all the concepts needed the second half of the traditional MCAT Biology preparation.
2. Biochemistry:
Summary:
We started out by talking about the myriad of forces that hold macromolecules (especially proteins folding) together. This was more in depth than the typical protein folding diagram you learn in gen bio. Afterwards, we talked a lot about enzyme kinetics in depth (you'd be surprising how much there is to learn about it) and how proteins actually do the reactions they do (lots of nucleophilic substitution). Afterwards, we talked A LOT about glycolysis (carb metabolism along with feeder pathways) and memorized a ton of enzymes/substrates/etc. and also learned about the thermodynamics involved. Then, we did the same thing with photosynthesis. After this, we covered fatty acids. We learned about how they're metabolized (breakdown and how much ATP linoleic acid, for example will yield, synthesis, transport molecules, and how they fit in membrane). Afterwards, we spent a huge amount of time memorizing all the stupid details of about DNA from subunits of polymerases to zinc finger patterns on DNA. We also learned all about nucleic acid metabolism.
Grade: Useful
Why : This course is useful because hidden deep beneath all the memorization is the nuts and bolts of biology being repeated over and over again. If you do well in biochem, you'll realize the same patterns over and over like how nucleophilic addition is the basis for all catalysis and how biological thermodynamics works. You'll also learn about DNA reactions in lots of depth which is high on the MCAT.
3. Introduction to (Fundamental) Genetics (Introductory, not human, bacterial, etc.)
Summary:
This class starts out by talking about Mendelian inheritance (Punnett Square Logic MCAT tests) and then goes into talking about non-Mendelian Inheritance. It takes a lot of reasoning which some may find refreshing
Then you talk about chromosomal arrangements (crossing over), etc. You'll have meiosis down cold. Then, you start learning about crossing over, recombination, and gene mapping (map units) and stuff which is actually the toughest thing the MCAT talks about in genetics. After this, you learn a myriad of techniques (ex. deletion mapping) which is cool I guess. After this the class transitions to something more molecular and it's almost like biochem where you're learning about the 3 DNA processes (replication, transcription, translation) and all the mechanisms involved. Once you finish that, you start learning about population genetics which is useless for the MCAT.
Grade: Useful
Why: It pretty much makes you know the genetics stuff on the MCAT cold. It also serves as a good biochemistry review for the DNA stuff. There have been arguments that the MCAT is increasingly molecular. If so, this is a good class to take. If any complex genetic stuff shows up on the MCAT, you might be familiar with it if you took a genetics class. That being said, a lot of the material is way in depth and overkill.
4. Cellular Biology/Molecular Biology/Eukaryotes (NOT MICRObiology):
Summary: This class teaches you about all the organs and what they do in depth. It explains how membrane potentials work and how cellular organelles communicate and package things in depth. Basically, it's just a more in depth review of what your cellular biology class should have taught you.
Grade: Mildly Useful
Why: You really should have learnt this in Bio II. If you missed some things, this class reinforces details which is the good thing about it. It also teaches you some complex biology which may help you with complex stuff thrown at you on the MCAT.
4. Microbiology:
Summary:
This class starts out with all the types of pathogens and then classifies them. Then it start talks about various pathogenicity patterns of viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc. It’s a LOT of fact-memorization with very few novel concepts.
Grade: Possibly helpful, but not worth the time.
Why: This class is only useful because it gives you a solid foundation on the important qualities of bacteria, viruses, and fungi which is the microbiology aspect of the MCAT. What you could do though that’s more useful than taking this class is make a table listing the characteristics of eukaryotes, prokaryotes, fungi (eukaryote), and viruses and how they compare and contrast. Spend a couple of hours doing this and you should have a good understanding.
5. Immunology:
Summary:
You start by learning how the body protects itself on a basic innate level and then transition to what's known as the complement system. You learn all about these various proteins, their cascades, and stuff. Then, you start learning more about acquired immunity, T-cells/B-cells and clonal selection and you go pretty in depth with the mechanisms and how so many combinations are generated. It's really a LOT of stuff and I forgot most of it. Afterwards, you learn more about various diseases/autoimmune diseases and how they apply to the basics you've already learnt about.
Grade: Possibly Helpful, but not worth the time.
Why: None of this stuff is on the MCAT. Ya, if you buy Berkeley, you'll see some of this stuff. All you really need to know usually comes from a gen bio book or in a few pages of a good MCAT review book like Princeton or EK's.
6. Neurobiology:
Summary:
This class starts out with an introduction to the Nersnt potential/cell potential (another review), but it’s critical for how neurons communicate so it makes sense. Then, the class progresses to how neurons communicate and you learn about the action potential for the 8th time (good review if you still haven’t gotten it down). Then the class talks about various types of drugs that can work on the neuronal pathways and then gives some examples of cases with people with neurological disorders. Then the class hits some big picture concepts about neuronal growth and plasticity which are interesting but not relevant to the MCAT. Concepts addressed are memory/learning/circadian rhythms/sleep. The class ends by covering the ear and eye stuff. Also, somewhere in there they should take about the functions of the neuronal parts and the division of the nervous system.
Grade: Potentially useful, but not worth the time.
Why: Besides review topics like the action potential and divisions of the nervous system, this class is completely off-topic of the MCAT. The ear and eye stuff rarely shows up on the MCAT, but even if it does, most books take a page or two to summarize what’s MCAT worth. Only consider taking this class if you’re interested in neurobiology.
7. Endocrinology:
Summary:
This class basically takes you through all the endocrine organs and explains the role of each hormone in depth and tests for abnormalities.
Grade: Potentially useful, but not worth the time.
Why: While basic Endocrinology is useful for the MCAT, you’d be much better served making flash cards of all the hormones and understanding negative feedback in general. That being said, having a class about all of them will make you have them down cold which is good because they’re high yield on the MCAT. However, you do learn a lot of unneeded stuff in this class as well.
7. ALL THE REST (Parisitology, Pharmacology, Histology, Virology, Hematology, Cancer Biology other –ologys your college has to make itself special, Gross Anatomy):
Summary: N/A.
Grade: Completely Useless for the MCAT.
Why: All these classes teach you highly specialized information. Only take them if you’ve done everything you need to and you’re itching to learn about these topics. What you need to know will be covered in medical school. Pharmacology is virtually memorizing a LONG list of drugs (just wait until medical school). While it may help refresh your physiology, so will a brief exercise in matching adrenergic/cholinergic receptors with various tissues in your body (but again, it’s not really that important for the MCAT). Histology is completely irrelevant to the MCAT and is basically anatomy on the tissue level. Virology is cool and you learn a lot about a subdivision of microbiology but only maybe the first two classes of review will be helpful for the MCAT but you’re better off just looking up the lytic/lysogenic cycle and learning the functions of viral components and reverse transcriptase (should have seen this is biochem or genetics anyways). Parisitology goes deep into the exceptional pathogens and is pretty far off from anything you’d be expected to know for the MCAT. Cancer biology is really interesting too but again, the fundamentals of cancer should have been covered in general biology, genetics, and biochemistry. This class talks about the subdivisions of neoplasms and it’s not stuff you need to know. Finally, anatomy alone is probably useless. You learn some small tidbits like subdivisions of the nervous system which is good but it’s also like a paged summary in most MCAT Bio books. Also, I guess knowing the functions or organs which is covered superficially in anatomy helps. Other than those things which will take 10 minutes to review, it’s not very useful.
Thanks for reading! Also, keep in mind that the class descriptions are for those classes at my school. That being said, I did talk to other students at different universities and for the more important subjects, I looked at the For Dummies series and other self-teach books at the bookstore and they seem to describe the course structure as I outlined. I hope this helps those out there who are still deciding on what classes to take for the pre-2015 MCAT. For those taking the 2015 MCAT, sorry…but reading this was a waste of time.
My qualifications: I studied and took the MCAT twice and scored in the 95th percentile the second time around. Not only do I know what the MCAT demands because I studied for it twice and exhausted ALL the valuable resources (Berkeley, Princeton, EK, AAMC), but I also have taken a lot of upper level courses at my undergraduate university and know the gist behind what you learn in each. Lastly, I took tests and screenings to qualify to be an MCAT instructor and taught two biology sessions so I pretty much reviewed the material two more times, haha. I also tutored all the bio, chem, and physics for my undergraduate institution and reviewed content there as well.
Purpose:
I decided to write this because I've seen a lot of questions regarding what upper level biology classes one should take. The first thing I want to get out of the way is the notion that taking upper level biology as a means to improve your application is flawed. All admissions is looking for is that you got A's and completed your prerequisites. That being said, someone who did very poorly in General Biology stands a chance of slightly redeeming themselves by performing better in an upper level biology class.
Now, here is a ranking for the upper level classes you should take to improve your understanding for the MCAT.
1. Physiology
2. Biochemistry
3. Genetics
4. Cellular Biology (some upper level)
5. All the other -ology classes: Immunology, Pharmacology, Microbiology, Parisitology, Virology, Histology, Neurobiology, Endocrinology, Hematology, etc.
6. Gross Anatomy
Now here is a brief summary of what I learned in each upper division class I took followed by whether I think the class is useful, mildly useful, possibly helpful, but not worth the time, or almost completely useless for the MCAT. .
1. Physiology:
Summary:
In this class, we started out by learning about cellular physiology and how electric and chemical forces governed the charge of a cell. Then we learnt about a variety of channels that influenced this. For there, we moved onto channel proteins/G-proteins and learnt about a large number of examples of them like Cholinergic, Muscarinic, and Adrenergic receptors. We also learned about how smooth muscle, skeletal muscle, and cardiac muscle differed in depth. From there, we learned about the action potential and transitioned into Neurobiology where we learnt about complex reflex systems and how various divisions of the nervous system communicated. After that, we learnt a lot about the cardiovascular system and paid a great deal of attention to the special channels and receptors involved in the action potential and the heart contractions. A good amt. of time was also spent describing the stages of the cardiac cycle and how things overlapped. Next, we learnt some nifty things about the pulmonary system before transition to stem cells which was kind of useless for the MCAT. Afterwards, we took on nephrology and learned about all the processes occurring on the level of the nephron, followed by gastroenterology (lots of digestive enzymes/details...), endocrinology (which was rather intuitive) and we ended with reproduction which was loaded with useful details provided a nice little counterexample to the negative feedback paradigm we learned in endocrinology (LH surge).
Grade: Useful
Why: While it goes in depth, you pretty much take a comprehensive view of all the concepts needed the second half of the traditional MCAT Biology preparation.
2. Biochemistry:
Summary:
We started out by talking about the myriad of forces that hold macromolecules (especially proteins folding) together. This was more in depth than the typical protein folding diagram you learn in gen bio. Afterwards, we talked a lot about enzyme kinetics in depth (you'd be surprising how much there is to learn about it) and how proteins actually do the reactions they do (lots of nucleophilic substitution). Afterwards, we talked A LOT about glycolysis (carb metabolism along with feeder pathways) and memorized a ton of enzymes/substrates/etc. and also learned about the thermodynamics involved. Then, we did the same thing with photosynthesis. After this, we covered fatty acids. We learned about how they're metabolized (breakdown and how much ATP linoleic acid, for example will yield, synthesis, transport molecules, and how they fit in membrane). Afterwards, we spent a huge amount of time memorizing all the stupid details of about DNA from subunits of polymerases to zinc finger patterns on DNA. We also learned all about nucleic acid metabolism.
Grade: Useful
Why : This course is useful because hidden deep beneath all the memorization is the nuts and bolts of biology being repeated over and over again. If you do well in biochem, you'll realize the same patterns over and over like how nucleophilic addition is the basis for all catalysis and how biological thermodynamics works. You'll also learn about DNA reactions in lots of depth which is high on the MCAT.
3. Introduction to (Fundamental) Genetics (Introductory, not human, bacterial, etc.)
Summary:
This class starts out by talking about Mendelian inheritance (Punnett Square Logic MCAT tests) and then goes into talking about non-Mendelian Inheritance. It takes a lot of reasoning which some may find refreshing
Then you talk about chromosomal arrangements (crossing over), etc. You'll have meiosis down cold. Then, you start learning about crossing over, recombination, and gene mapping (map units) and stuff which is actually the toughest thing the MCAT talks about in genetics. After this, you learn a myriad of techniques (ex. deletion mapping) which is cool I guess. After this the class transitions to something more molecular and it's almost like biochem where you're learning about the 3 DNA processes (replication, transcription, translation) and all the mechanisms involved. Once you finish that, you start learning about population genetics which is useless for the MCAT.Grade: Useful
Why: It pretty much makes you know the genetics stuff on the MCAT cold. It also serves as a good biochemistry review for the DNA stuff. There have been arguments that the MCAT is increasingly molecular. If so, this is a good class to take. If any complex genetic stuff shows up on the MCAT, you might be familiar with it if you took a genetics class. That being said, a lot of the material is way in depth and overkill.
4. Cellular Biology/Molecular Biology/Eukaryotes (NOT MICRObiology):
Summary: This class teaches you about all the organs and what they do in depth. It explains how membrane potentials work and how cellular organelles communicate and package things in depth. Basically, it's just a more in depth review of what your cellular biology class should have taught you.
Grade: Mildly Useful
Why: You really should have learnt this in Bio II. If you missed some things, this class reinforces details which is the good thing about it. It also teaches you some complex biology which may help you with complex stuff thrown at you on the MCAT.
4. Microbiology:
Summary:
This class starts out with all the types of pathogens and then classifies them. Then it start talks about various pathogenicity patterns of viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc. It’s a LOT of fact-memorization with very few novel concepts.
Grade: Possibly helpful, but not worth the time.
Why: This class is only useful because it gives you a solid foundation on the important qualities of bacteria, viruses, and fungi which is the microbiology aspect of the MCAT. What you could do though that’s more useful than taking this class is make a table listing the characteristics of eukaryotes, prokaryotes, fungi (eukaryote), and viruses and how they compare and contrast. Spend a couple of hours doing this and you should have a good understanding.
5. Immunology:
Summary:
You start by learning how the body protects itself on a basic innate level and then transition to what's known as the complement system. You learn all about these various proteins, their cascades, and stuff. Then, you start learning more about acquired immunity, T-cells/B-cells and clonal selection and you go pretty in depth with the mechanisms and how so many combinations are generated. It's really a LOT of stuff and I forgot most of it. Afterwards, you learn more about various diseases/autoimmune diseases and how they apply to the basics you've already learnt about.
Grade: Possibly Helpful, but not worth the time.
Why: None of this stuff is on the MCAT. Ya, if you buy Berkeley, you'll see some of this stuff. All you really need to know usually comes from a gen bio book or in a few pages of a good MCAT review book like Princeton or EK's.
6. Neurobiology:
Summary:
This class starts out with an introduction to the Nersnt potential/cell potential (another review), but it’s critical for how neurons communicate so it makes sense. Then, the class progresses to how neurons communicate and you learn about the action potential for the 8th time (good review if you still haven’t gotten it down). Then the class talks about various types of drugs that can work on the neuronal pathways and then gives some examples of cases with people with neurological disorders. Then the class hits some big picture concepts about neuronal growth and plasticity which are interesting but not relevant to the MCAT. Concepts addressed are memory/learning/circadian rhythms/sleep. The class ends by covering the ear and eye stuff. Also, somewhere in there they should take about the functions of the neuronal parts and the division of the nervous system.
Grade: Potentially useful, but not worth the time.
Why: Besides review topics like the action potential and divisions of the nervous system, this class is completely off-topic of the MCAT. The ear and eye stuff rarely shows up on the MCAT, but even if it does, most books take a page or two to summarize what’s MCAT worth. Only consider taking this class if you’re interested in neurobiology.
7. Endocrinology:
Summary:
This class basically takes you through all the endocrine organs and explains the role of each hormone in depth and tests for abnormalities.
Grade: Potentially useful, but not worth the time.
Why: While basic Endocrinology is useful for the MCAT, you’d be much better served making flash cards of all the hormones and understanding negative feedback in general. That being said, having a class about all of them will make you have them down cold which is good because they’re high yield on the MCAT. However, you do learn a lot of unneeded stuff in this class as well.
7. ALL THE REST (Parisitology, Pharmacology, Histology, Virology, Hematology, Cancer Biology other –ologys your college has to make itself special, Gross Anatomy):
Summary: N/A.
Grade: Completely Useless for the MCAT.
Why: All these classes teach you highly specialized information. Only take them if you’ve done everything you need to and you’re itching to learn about these topics. What you need to know will be covered in medical school. Pharmacology is virtually memorizing a LONG list of drugs (just wait until medical school). While it may help refresh your physiology, so will a brief exercise in matching adrenergic/cholinergic receptors with various tissues in your body (but again, it’s not really that important for the MCAT). Histology is completely irrelevant to the MCAT and is basically anatomy on the tissue level. Virology is cool and you learn a lot about a subdivision of microbiology but only maybe the first two classes of review will be helpful for the MCAT but you’re better off just looking up the lytic/lysogenic cycle and learning the functions of viral components and reverse transcriptase (should have seen this is biochem or genetics anyways). Parisitology goes deep into the exceptional pathogens and is pretty far off from anything you’d be expected to know for the MCAT. Cancer biology is really interesting too but again, the fundamentals of cancer should have been covered in general biology, genetics, and biochemistry. This class talks about the subdivisions of neoplasms and it’s not stuff you need to know. Finally, anatomy alone is probably useless. You learn some small tidbits like subdivisions of the nervous system which is good but it’s also like a paged summary in most MCAT Bio books. Also, I guess knowing the functions or organs which is covered superficially in anatomy helps. Other than those things which will take 10 minutes to review, it’s not very useful.
Thanks for reading! Also, keep in mind that the class descriptions are for those classes at my school. That being said, I did talk to other students at different universities and for the more important subjects, I looked at the For Dummies series and other self-teach books at the bookstore and they seem to describe the course structure as I outlined. I hope this helps those out there who are still deciding on what classes to take for the pre-2015 MCAT. For those taking the 2015 MCAT, sorry…but reading this was a waste of time.
