What ONE class outside of the basic premed classes would you recommend?

[abcxyz0123]

If you could pick ONE class outside of general chem, general bio, physics and o-chem, that helped you on the MCAT the most, which would it be? Examples would be biochem, physiology, cellular bio..etc. Also, would you say its definitely worth taking said class in order to prepare for the test, or do you think you can do well without it?

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[MD Rapper]

If you could pick ONE class outside of general chem, general bio, physics and o-chem, that helped you on the MCAT the most, which would it be? Examples would be biochem, physiology, cellular bio..etc. Also, would you say its definitely worth taking said class in order to prepare for the test, or do you think you can do well without it?

1) Physiology
2) Genetics
3) Biochem

Physiology will give you a foundation in a broad range of topics which will help you for the MCAT.. if not in terms of the subject material than definitely in your thought process.

The reason I say genetics over biochem is because there has been a strong focus on genetics over the past several administrations of the MCAT. I took the test in April and had 3 passages and a couple of discrete questions on it. Not that you need advanced genetics knowledge to answer the questions, but it makes your life a hell of a lot easier. It might push you into the next scoring category on the bio section.

The beginning parts of biochem are great for the MCAT (enzymes, protein formation, the revisiting of gen chem concepts etc.), but the later parts require you to memorize glycolysis and photosynthesis, this is obviously overkill in terms of MCAT preparation. For me, the worst was coming down to the last few weeks before the test and mindlessly memorizing things for biochem on the side when I couldve been doing coursework which would help my MCAT studying.


Oh, and make sure you take one of them, I guess its better to have taken one of them than none. Good luck!

 

[schoolgirl]

If you could pick ONE class outside of general chem, general bio, physics and o-chem, that helped you on the MCAT the most, which would it be? Examples would be biochem, physiology, cellular bio..etc. Also, would you say its definitely worth taking said class in order to prepare for the test, or do you think you can do well without it?

Biochem was really helpful because it tied together more than one subject covered on the MCAT. It was a great review of some general chemistry, organic, and of course biology. The only thing it did not cover was physics. I improved my MCAT score three points after taking biochem, so for me it was definately worth it.

 

[JennieFinch]

Organic Biochem
Reaction Mechanisms

 

[MEG@COOL]

tTHE KAPLAN CLASS. HAHHAHAA I M SUCH A JOKESTER. I KNEW THAT WAS NOT WHAT YOU MEAN BUT THAT IS WHAT I SAID ANYWAY AS A JOKE. HAHAHAHA.

 

[crys20]

physio!

 

[Medikit]

Definitely physiology

 

[greubins]

yeah, i would say physio as well. i had no genetics on my exam, but i think that was a fluke. biochem and cell bio were also helpful.
if you want one- go for physio.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

physio

 

[drguy22]

medical ethics....will help u A LOT at interviews


o wait...i didnt read the whole post...just to prep for tests...then its GENETICS.. or biochem...take both

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

Physiology by a long shot.

 

[hotlikebutter]

If you could pick ONE class outside of general chem, general bio, physics and o-chem, that helped you on the MCAT the most, which would it be? Examples would be biochem, physiology, cellular bio..etc. Also, would you say its definitely worth taking said class in order to prepare for the test, or do you think you can do well without it?

i took a musicology course my senior year, and it was entirely on the Beatles. i think it was great use for the MCAT.

For example,
if i didnt know the answer to a question, Paul sang to me "let it be" ..and i picked B

if i didnt know the direction of a force, John sang, "Help me if you can i feeling down"..so I picked the answer with a down force.

and so on. keeping my fingers crossed, if i score a 45, i will have to thank the mop tops big time.

 

[Mikhail]

Very funny
Hope it works out for you....

i took a musicology course my senior year, and it was entirely on the Beatles. i think it was great use for the MCAT.

For example,
if i didnt know the answer to a question, Paul sang to me "let it be" ..and i picked B

if i didnt know the direction of a force, John sang, "Help me if you can i feeling down"..so I picked the answer with a down force.

and so on. keeping my fingers crossed, if i score a 45, i will have to thank the mop tops big time.

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

philosophy 101

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

( side note omg my 1000 post! i feel like a oldie )

 

[fpr85]

philosophy 101

There's philosophy on the test?

 

[DD214_DOC]

There's philosophy on the test?

Philosophy 101 is probably deductive logic (although I really can't remember how much I inferred, so maybe inductive would be more useful). Either way, these are probably more useful to know than physio, genetics, and biochem combined. After taking the MCAT, most of the test really is figuring stuff out based on the passages. You really don't need to memorize the Kaplan/EK/PR/Textbooks.

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

I disagree. I fail to see how hours studying Plato's "Allegory of a Cave" are going to help memorize the Renin/Angiotensin pathway.

And I'm not sure, but I don't think an analysis of de Spinoza's feeling about reality vs. God were necessary in understanding how chemical gradients sustain renal function.

Saying that the MCAT "is about thinking and reasoning, not about memorizing stuff" is rhetorical bull. The people who score high know a lot about science.

 

[DD214_DOC]

I disagree. I fail to see how hours studying Plato's "Allegory of a Cave" are going to help memorize the Renin/Angiotensin pathway.

And I'm not sure, but I don't think an analysis of de Spinoza's feeling about reality vs. God were necessary in understanding how chemical gradients sustain renal function.

Saying that the MCAT "is about thinking and reasoning, not about memorizing stuff" is rhetorical bull. The people who score high know a lot about science.

Logic has nothing to do with reading Plato or Spinoza; you obviously have never taken it.

Obviously you have also not taken the MCAT. There's no way you can memorize everything on the exam. Probably 80% of the questions in each section are based on a passage and require the taker to think logically about the information provided and reach a conclusion and answer based on information, logic, and knowledge. This is deductive/inductive logic.

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

You're wrong on both counts. That makes three.

In fact, I have a minor in Philosophy and scored a 32 on the April MCAT.

Philosophy 101 would be "Introduction to Philosophy". Logic takes a second seat, at best, to historical and conceptual material in that class. It is usually a prerequisite for any logic classes.

The question examples I just cited were, in fact, on my April MCAT. And they were also fresh in my mind since I had just taken Physiology, which covered that material one week prior to the exam.

Your arrogant reply is totally misplaced.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Read dude.

"Philosophy 101 is probably deductive logic"

My argument isn't specific to Philosophy 101, it's specific to logic.

 

[Rubick]

It's pretty obvious to me (though I haven't gotten my scores yet) that in order to score high on the MCAT, you need to be good at both.

Of course you need to have memorized volumes of bio and ochem material. And of course there will be some things that you haven't studied on the test. But these things you haven't studied typically are in the passage.

You can't be really good at one or the other, you need to find a compromise.

cheers

 

[jeffsleepy]

physio would definately help the most. I would have appreciated a better background in that.

The only logic you need on the MCAT you have already.

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

Read dude.

"Philosophy 101 is probably deductive logic"

My argument isn't specific to Philosophy 101, it's specific to logic.

The question was, "What ONE class would you recommend?"

The student can only take one class.
Introduction to Philosophy is a class.
Introduction to Philosophy is required to take Logic.
Thus, taking logic would require two classes.
Thus, logic is not the answer to the question.

Maybe you should "Read dude."

 

[Pembleton]

Physiology most definitely

 

[megan11864]

Do you think molecular biology would be in the same ranking as genetics/physio/biochem on the mcats? Or are those 3 the most important after basic premed courses? ALso do you recomended cell physio or human physio or is a general physio class enough? thanks

 

[Nutmeg]

Intro to Chemical Process Analysis.

 

[kmnfive]

Physiology = Anatomy?

 

[BSChemE]

It is funny that no one mentioned Cell Biology. Someone told me that it was good to take for the MCAT. Any thoughts?

Also, should you take Human Physiology?

 

[freaker]

I'd guess human phys.

With that said, I don't know if I'd recommend a course as a means of studying for the MCAT. I hadn't had a science course in four years and scored ~95th percentile just using an old Princeton Review book.

Which course should every college student take (completely different question, I know)? Macroeconomics.

 

[ethanolabsolute]

Hehe, I think maybe that girl was joking about philosophy, maybe not though. Anyways, I think genetics would be most useful, because there is lots of it on the new MCAT format. I didn't have physiology, so I guess I can't really tell u how helpful that is. Seriously though, I think that after u have all of ur basic premed classes, the only thing that is necessary is to buy urself some MCAT comprehensive review books, and some practice tests, and go to town.

 

[Nutmeg]

It is funny that no one mentioned Cell Biology. Someone told me that it was good to take for the MCAT. Any thoughts?

Also, should you take Human Physiology?

I gotta say that I don't quite understand the trumpeting of physiology. I positively suck at physiology, I've never taken a physiology course, and my studying of physiology comprised cramming with my general bio text in the car on the way to the test. There were, if I recall correctly, about three or four questions related to physiology, and I managed a 13 on the BS section. However, there were a great many questions that required you to analyze an experimental design and/or the resultant data. Cell biology is a great help in this. In particular, since I was also a ChemE major, I took a class called "Cell biology for engineers" in the BioE dept, and it was basically nothing but learning lab techniques and why the techniques were useful, how to interpret the results, etc.

I recommend the intro to chemical process analysis for the PS, but I think that a good cell bio class that focuses on lab technique is the best thing I took for the BS. A genetics course might be helpful if it has a lab component, but other than that, my genetics class was a bit of analysis that I found pretty easy and straight forward, couple with an assload of memorization of specific details about specific mutations etc that had absolutely no use on the MCAT.

 

[traki]

A real lab class where you are forced to think as opposed to memorize. Some universities have lab courses that are like a job: 20-35 hours/week depending on the school. I am not taking about being a lab tech - I am talking about a lab course where you design your own experiments, etc.

The mental skills required to perform well in such a class will help prepare you for the analytical skills you will need on test day.

If it must be a lecture class:
For BS I'd recommend Molecular Genetics, with Biochem/Cell Bio a close second. I completely disagree with Physiology - that is completely unnecesssary.

For PS, I recommend PCHEM - you should be able to reguarly break 13 if you ace that course (granted, not an easy course to ace).

For VR, I recommend an appropriate law class that emphasize logic; a philosophy course (not a 100-level course) was not a bad suggestion either. Traditional English classes will not help you.


Regards,

DJ

 

[gujuDoc]

It is funny that no one mentioned Cell Biology. Someone told me that it was good to take for the MCAT. Any thoughts?

Also, should you take Human Physiology?

cell bio basically is an overlap of genetics and biochemistry. So if you took genetics and biochem, that would be sufficient enough.

 

[QofQuimica]

I agree with everyone who suggested taking logic, philosophy or other similar courses that teach you critical thinking. Most pre-meds are biology or other nat sci majors and have plenty of science background. What they lack is the ability to put it all together, and that is what the philosophy course can help you learn to do. If you think you won't like general philosophy, try a philosophy of science or a medical ethics class. I had a great time in my philosophy of science class; I was the only science major in there, and it was pretty interesting discussing how science works with a bunch of people who only knew about theory "in theory".

P.S. Whoever said that you could get a high score just by knowing a lot of science is incorrect. Memorization might help you do well on the DAT, but not on the MCAT.

 

[evajaclynn]

For PS, I recommend PCHEM - you should be able to reguarly break 13 if you ace that course (granted, not an easy course to ace).

I aced PChem.
Did not regularly break 13 in PS.
In fact, never broke 13 in PS.
Heck, I never broke 13 in anything.
I don't necessarily agree with the above statement, but I wish it were true!

 

[PKP719]

Punani 101 - LOL , cuz your game wont be ever the same after med school .

he he , ok seriously though .

I would take some humanities class where you work on critical thinking & problem solving. Md's should learn how to problem solve systematically and critically .. not just assuming by "resident experience" and shoving regular pills down peoples throats.

 

[tank you]

physiology (human) will not only help you on the MCAT, it will give you some nice general background for med school, since it's all about how our body works.