Room for One Class: Physiology, Immuno, or Biochem? Also, Which Test Date is Best for Me?

[6crew]

Before I dive into the situation let me set the scene: I'm a first semester sophomore slated to graduate 2016. And though most of the people in my med school class will have taken the new 2015 MCAT, I will (hopefully, fingers crossed!) have only taken the older version(One and done mindset when taking the MCAT). I am doing this so that I have access to the plentiful, tried and true study materials available.

Now I had orignially planned on taking the exam late Aug 2014, after I had completed my sophomore year.
In this scenerio:

• I will have taken: Gen Bio, Gen Chem, Orgo, Physics, Micro, and Genetics by that time. However,here is where my questions come into play. I have room for one more class in my schedule and I was wondering what you would recommend (as our schools pre-med advisor has refused to see students until scheduling has commenced. I know I don't get it either). Should I take biochemistry, physiology, immunology, another type of -ology?
• Also, someone recommended that since I am not going to be exposed to as many sciences to take a Kaplan course in the evening and a 1 month summer class of one of the sciences I couldn't fit. Do you think this is a good idea?
• RUNDOWN: I have the 4 core sciences with the addition of micro, genetics and _____? Devote an entire summer of 3 months to study for the MCAT (I take a summer Kaplan course. Possibly take a summer class. )

Should I push the MCAT back till Jan 2015 (LAST CHANCE FOR THE OLD MCAT), as a one semester Junior?
In this scenario:

• I can get another lighter load (12 hrs) semester of classes in while I SIMULTANEOUSLY study (possibly) take a Kaplan class at night.
• I will have a month during the semester break to study for the MCAT exclusively!
• How feasible do you really think it is to study for the MCAT whilst in the school year? (That's why the original plan was to take it in the summer.)
• RUNDOWN: I take the 4 core sciences with the addition of micro, genetics, and lots of -ology classes. I have a 12 hour load while taking Kaplan classes at night. I have 1 month of solid studying for the MCAT.

I'm super sorry for loading you down with all these questions, but I guess you could say I'm word vomiting on you as my replacement pre-med adviser!!

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[Jepstein30]

Before I dive into the situation let me set the scene: I'm a first semester sophomore slated to graduate 2016. And though most of the people in my med school class will have taken the new 2015 MCAT, I will (hopefully, fingers crossed!) have only taken the older version(One and done mindset when taking the MCAT). I am doing this so that I have access to the plentiful, tried and true study materials available.

Now I had orignially planned on taking the exam late Aug 2014, after I had completed my sophomore year.
In this scenerio:

• I will have taken: Gen Bio, Gen Chem, Orgo, Physics, Micro, and Genetics by that time. However,here is where my questions come into play. I have room for one more class in my schedule and I was wondering what you would recommend (as our schools pre-med advisor has refused to see students until scheduling has commenced. I know I don't get it either). Should I take biochemistry, physiology, immunology, another type of -ology?
• Also, someone recommended that since I am not going to be exposed to as many sciences to take a Kaplan course in the evening and a 1 month summer class of one of the sciences I couldn't fit. Do you think this is a good idea?
• RUNDOWN: I have the 4 core sciences with the addition of micro, genetics and _____? Devote an entire summer of 3 months to study for the MCAT (I take a summer Kaplan course. Possibly take a summer class. )

Should I push the MCAT back till Jan 2015 (LAST CHANCE FOR THE OLD MCAT), as a one semester Junior?
In this scenario:

• I can get another lighter load (12 hrs) semester of classes in while I SIMULTANEOUSLY study (possibly) take a Kaplan class at night.
• I will have a month during the semester break to study for the MCAT exclusively!
• How feasible do you really think it is to study for the MCAT whilst in the school year? (That's why the original plan was to take it in the summer.)
• RUNDOWN: I take the 4 core sciences with the addition of micro, genetics, and lots of -ology classes. I have a 12 hour load while taking Kaplan classes at night. I have 1 month of solid studying for the MCAT.

I'm super sorry for loading you down with all these questions, but I guess you could say I'm word vomiting on you as my replacement pre-med adviser!!

1) The higher level classes are more valuable for the biology-related critical thinking skills than their content. Of the classes you posted, I'd pick between Biochemistry and Physiology. Physiology has more content that is test-able but still on such a basic level that you can probably learn it by yourself. I'd honestly probably go Biochemistry but it's a toss-up here.
2) The extra sciences are irrelevant content wise. There's a reason why only intro level classes are pre-reqs.. because the MCAT only covers the content introduced in those classes. There's no need to take an immunology class AT ALL for the MCAT or really any other -ology. You've taken the pre-reqs and the other 'suggested' classes: Micro, Genetics, Physio or Biochem. If you really want, you can take the other between physio/biochem but honestly, your time is better spent studying for MCAT material only rather than the whole course which will go above and beyond what you need to know for the MCAT.
3) You have more than enough exposure to sciences. Whether you want to take a course or not depends up to you.. you know your learning strategies and what works for you best. Kaplan course is very well designed and has loads of online resources. Do you need that structure? Can you do a self-guided study plan?
4) If you're going to devote an entire summer to the MCAT and you know that you'll not only be able to stick with it but also handle studying on your own, I'd say go for it. 3 months is enough time whether with a course or not. You have the classes you need and they'll be fresher now than they will in a few months. Go for it in August when you can devote YOUR ENTIRE SUMMER to the MCAT rather than studying WHILE taking other classes. That's doable too, but often a recipe for disaster.

so my vote: Physio or Biochem, either/or. August by far.

 

[HopelessDreamer]

While I was able to do well without taking physiology (partially luck) I'd definitely recommend taking physio over biochem and immuno. It's definitely possible to teach yourself the required physiology content, but it was extremely frustrating for me to have to learn entire physiological systems in a day or two (given the amount of study time I had available).

Also, like the poster above me suggested, I'd recommend not taking an extra class over summer an instead just dedicating your time to MCAT studying.

Best of luck!

 

[6crew]

While I was able to do well without taking physiology (partially luck) I'd definitely recommend taking physio over biochem and immuno. It's definitely possible to teach yourself the required physiology content, but it was extremely frustrating for me to have to learn entire physiological systems in a day or two (given the amount of study time I had available).

Also, like the poster above me suggested, I'd recommend not taking an extra class over summer an instead just dedicating your time to MCAT studying.

Best of luck!

Thank you very much for your input! So overall what would your votes be? Physio and Aug?

 

[Jepstein30]

While I was able to do well without taking physiology (partially luck) I'd definitely recommend taking physio over biochem and immuno. It's definitely possible to teach yourself the required physiology content, but it was extremely frustrating for me to have to learn entire physiological systems in a day or two (given the amount of study time I had available).

Also, like the poster above me suggested, I'd recommend not taking an extra class over summer an instead just dedicating your time to MCAT studying.

Best of luck!

You forced yourself to learn all that content in a day or two and wonder why it was difficult?

Physio isn't too hard on the MCAT, there's just a ton of it. I didn't take a class on Physio. I did well on Physio in my prep/MCAT.
Why? because knowing it was something I was deficient in, I spent extra time on it.

Not bashing you but not sure how you can tell someone to take physio just because you didn't give yourself enough time to learn it. Shouldn't be based off of personal experience ESPECIALLY when your personal experience will not be similar to the OPs in terms of study time allotted.

 

[6crew]

1) The higher level classes are more valuable for the biology-related critical thinking skills than their content. Of the classes you posted, I'd pick between Biochemistry and Physiology. Physiology has more content that is test-able but still on such a basic level that you can probably learn it by yourself. I'd honestly probably go Biochemistry but it's a toss-up here.
2) The extra sciences are irrelevant content wise. There's a reason why only intro level classes are pre-reqs.. because the MCAT only covers the content introduced in those classes. There's no need to take an immunology class AT ALL for the MCAT or really any other -ology. You've taken the pre-reqs and the other 'suggested' classes: Micro, Genetics, Physio or Biochem. If you really want, you can take the other between physio/biochem but honestly, your time is better spent studying for MCAT material only rather than the whole course which will go above and beyond what you need to know for the MCAT.
3) You have more than enough exposure to sciences. Whether you want to take a course or not depends up to you.. you know your learning strategies and what works for you best. Kaplan course is very well designed and has loads of online resources. Do you need that structure? Can you do a self-guided study plan?
4) If you're going to devote an entire summer to the MCAT and you know that you'll not only be able to stick with it but also handle studying on your own, I'd say go for it. 3 months is enough time whether with a course or not. You have the classes you need and they'll be fresher now than they will in a few months. Go for it in August when you can devote YOUR ENTIRE SUMMER to the MCAT rather than studying WHILE taking other classes. That's doable too, but often a recipe for disaster.

so my vote: Physio or Biochem, either/or. August by far.

Thank you so much for your thorough input, I genuinely appreciate it!

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

physiooo
Biochem is bare minimum and the detail of an upper level immuno class is ridiculous for the MCAT.

 

[HopelessDreamer]

You forced yourself to learn all that content in a day or two and wonder why it was difficult?

Physio isn't too hard on the MCAT, there's just a ton of it. I didn't take a class on Physio. I did well on Physio in my prep/MCAT.
Why? because knowing it was something I was deficient in, I spent extra time on it.

Not bashing you but not sure how you can tell someone to take physio just because you didn't give yourself enough time to learn it. Shouldn't be based off of personal experience ESPECIALLY when your personal experience will not be similar to the OPs in terms of study time allotted.

First of all, I don't wonder why it was difficult. I understand why it was, but I was on a time crunch and didn't have much of a choice. I should also clarify that I mean a day or two per system, not for all of the physiology.

Also, I'm not telling them to take physio "just because I didn't give myself enough time to learn it". Rather I'm suggesting that they take it because it (in my opinion) is more abundant on the MCAT than biochem or immuno and they asked which of the three classes would be most beneficial. In my opinion, physiology is the most beneficial.

Lastly, I didn't say that I didn't give myself enough time to learn it, rather that it was frustrating, as I had never seen most of it before.


(Not trying to be overly defensive, just trying to clarify!)

 

[Jepstein30]

I really do think its a toss-up between Physio/Biochem and something you'll have to figure out yourself. If you have a MCAT book in front of you, take a look through the Physio sections and see if its something you'll be comfortable learning by yourself. For some people, it won't be and they should take physiology.

Biochem, for me, would be what I would take because while there's much less content tested.. the way the class it typically presented and tested at most colleges helps you better develop the same critical thinking skills you'll need for the MCAT. Again, I haven't taken Physio (that doesn't mean I don't know about the class) but considering the MCAT has concentrated more on molecular biology than physiology as of recent years.. biochemistry would be something I'd feel better suited with. It's a very good, high-level conceptual class.

Most of the physio you'll see on the MCAT is just another layer or so deeper than what you probably learned in high-school (or intro to bio). So think about how you did with that material when it was presented to you in a class environment and whether its something you can do by yourself. If it is, I'd go with Biochem as, IMO, the difficulty of the content will better prepare you OVERALL for the MCAT (and not even just BS). If it's not and you're more the type of learner who likes to see things presented to you or just struggle with Physio systems.. then take Physio.

Same thing with Genetics. I'm sure you saw in your genetics class that the material you learned was way too difficult to be tested on the MCAT. The MCAT only covers very basic genetics.. but that doesn't make genetics useless as it really helps develop those problem solving skills at a more advanced science level.

First of all, I don't wonder why it was difficult. I understand why it was, but I was on a time crunch and didn't have much of a choice. I should also clarify that I mean a day or two per system, not for all of the physiology.

Also, I'm not telling them to take physio "just because I didn't give myself enough time to learn it". Rather I'm suggesting that they take it because it (in my opinion) is more abundant on the MCAT than biochem or immuno and they asked which of the three classes would be most beneficial. In my opinion, physiology is the most beneficial.

Lastly, I didn't say that I didn't give myself enough time to learn it, rather that it was frustrating, as I had never seen most of it before.


(Not trying to be overly defensive, just trying to clarify!)

Fair.

One or two days per system is much better, as well. See above for my thoughts.

I personally took the MCAT minus taking a physio class and while I probably spent just a little more time on physio than you, I didn't feel it was too conceptually difficult and am much happier that I had taken biochemisty. I wonder if you studied out of TBR? If so, I can see why it felt very frustrating and very new. I'd recommend going EK if you're going self-learning route.

TBR physiology is really too much in depth.. it's there for students with a good background already who want to fine-tune their physio knowledge and turn it into a strength. That's not the primary goal of MCAT studying though.. the primary goal is to eliminate weaknesses. Then you can get as many strengths as you can to maximize your chances of hitting the jackpot on test day. TBR as a whole is better for developing strengths and while I recommend it for those with a good content background, it shouldn't be used to learn material for the first time. So, OP, if you're going with Biochemistry... use EK/TPRH for these chapters IMO.

 

[HopelessDreamer]

I really do think its a toss-up between Physio/Biochem and something you'll have to figure out yourself. If you have a MCAT book in front of you, take a look through the Physio sections and see if its something you'll be comfortable learning by yourself. For some people, it won't be and they should take physiology.

This is good advice

I personally took the MCAT minus taking a physio class and while I probably spent just a little more time on physio than you, I didn't feel it was too conceptually difficult and am much happier that I had taken biochemisty. I wonder if you studied out of TBR? If so, I can see why it felt very frustrating and very new. I'd recommend going EK if you're going self-learning route.

TBR physiology is really too much in depth.. it's there for students with a good background already who want to fine-tune their physio knowledge and turn it into a strength. That's not the primary goal of MCAT studying though.. the primary goal is to eliminate weaknesses. Then you can get as many strengths as you can to maximize your chances of hitting the jackpot on test day. TBR as a whole is better for developing strengths and while I recommend it for those with a good content background, it shouldn't be used to learn material for the first time. So, OP, if you're going with Biochemistry... use EK/TPRH for these chapters IMO.

I used EK for all of bio content as I had heard that TBR is too in depth (I agree). EK lays out the absolute essentials, so it's important to pretty much know everything in EK, but that's completely manageable.


I think the reason that I'm inclined to recommend physio over biochem is that biochem at my school (I took a year of it after my MCAT) didn't really challenge me or force us to use much critical thinking or reasoning. I'm currently taking physiology, and my professor pushes us to use our understanding of the material to answer more critical thinking type questions. I suppose it depends on the professor and difficulty of the course.

 

[6crew]

Thank you both! I've really taken a lot out of your input and I will remember the factors you brought up when making my decision. And also a BIG thank you for the book recommendations! Between all the brands and subjects its very difficult for me to nail down the perfect combo of prep books!