Advice on Class Schedule

[dapmp91]

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hey guys, I need some advice on my Fall class schedule, I'm taking
1. Physics II (non calc based, I took part one this summer)
2. Genetics ( I have to take this as a bio major)
3. Marine Bio (I heard its fun)
4. Medical Microbiology ( I like microbio, but I'm really iffy on this one)

I'm a bio major, and I'll be studying for the MCAT, so what do you guys think?

 

[side effect]

hey guys, I need some advice on my Fall class schedule, I'm taking
1. Physics II (non calc based, I took part one this summer)
2. Genetics ( I have to take this as a bio major)
3. Marine Bio (I heard its fun)
4. Medical Microbiology ( I like microbio, but I'm really iffy on this one)

I'm a bio major, and I'll be studying for the MCAT, so what do you guys think?

even though its just 4 classes, looks like you'll be pretty busy. especially if youre taking a "i heard its fun" class.

 

[Bacchus]

I took clinical microbiology, the prepatory class for the PharmD's pharmacology class. It was rote memorization... a lot of it. Genetics is a concept class. You have to do problems, but you also need to think a lot, its not just plug and chug into Hardy Weinberg. Physics you must understand the concepts and be able to plug and chug. Marine biology, if like any other biology class, is again going to be rote memorization. This is a lot of stuff to tackle on its own, but also while studying for the MCAT? IMO, bad idea. I'm assuming you're studying now for a January seat, why not take it in April and give yourself time next semester to study?

Also, Physics, Genetics, and Micro usually have labs. 4 sciences with three labs is hell, trust me.

 

[dapmp91]

I took clinical microbiology, the prepatory class for the PharmD's pharmacology class. It was rote memorization... a lot of it. Genetics is a concept class. You have to do problems, but you also need to think a lot, its not just plug and chug into Hardy Weinberg. Physics you must understand the concepts and be able to plug and chug. Marine biology, if like any other biology class, is again going to be rote memorization. This is a lot of stuff to tackle on its own, but also while studying for the MCAT? IMO, bad idea. I'm assuming you're studying now for a January seat, why not take it in April and give yourself time next semester to study?

Also, Physics, Genetics, and Micro usually have labs. 4 sciences with three labs is hell, trust me.

hey, thanks for replying, I'm taking Medical Microbiology (I've already taken regular Microbio) I have to satisfy my upper level bio classes, marine bio is also an upper level class and is pretty easy from what I've heard, and I have to take physics and genetics, but for genetics I'm not taking the lab, I'm only taking physics lab, I plan on taking the april MCAT (if I do well on practice tests), MCAT shouldn't be that bad, I just need time to study for it, 3 hour chunks, just like any other class..

 

[RySerr21]

hey, thanks for replying, I'm taking Medical Microbiology (I've already taken regular Microbio) I have to satisfy my upper level bio classes, marine bio is also an upper level class and is pretty easy from what I've heard, and I have to take physics and genetics, but for genetics I'm not taking the lab, I'm only taking physics lab, I plan on taking the april MCAT (if I do well on practice tests), MCAT shouldn't be that bad, I just need time to study for it, 3 hour chunks, just like any other class..

thats the key. if you are studying for mcat during the school year you HAVE to treat it like a regular course. Make your schedule, set out timef or the week and stick with it every week no matter what. Its easy to say "ahh i have to do this lab, i can do mcat later." or "ahh i have this test comin up and mcat isn't til april." You cant do that. If you treat it like a course and get in a rhythm, thten youll be fine. good luck.

 

[mastamark]

The Physics II and Genetics are not bad to be taking while studying for the beast(will help). I think you got yourself a nice line up. You are gonna be very busy though huh?

Good Luck👍

 

[dapmp91]

The Physics II and Genetics are not bad to be taking while studying for the beast(will help). I think you got yourself a nice line up. You are gonna be very busy though huh?

Good Luck👍

yea I'll be busy, it supposed to be my 4th year, but since I'm a bio major I dunno if I will graduate on time, my extracurriculars suck, only did volunteer service for 2 summers in the hospital (one summer in the ER), I've had so many up's and downs in undergrad, I really wanna just focus on my grades up...

 

[Bacchus]

Why not start studying in your spring semester?

 

[dapmp91]

Why not start studying in your spring semester?

I really want to be prepared for the MCAT I'm not willing to take any chances with this, I've begun studying for it already, I've messed around enough in undergrad and now I just want to focus, and if I do well it'll save me a ton of money because I don't plan on taking the prep courses offered for $1500-2000

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I also found Medical Micro to be useless. But if you need it just to satisfy your upper division bio, what can you do?

 

[clc8503]

hey guys, I need some advice on my Fall class schedule, I'm taking
1. Physics II (non calc based, I took part one this summer)
2. Genetics ( I have to take this as a bio major)
3. Marine Bio (I heard its fun)
4. Medical Microbiology ( I like microbio, but I'm really iffy on this one)

I'm a bio major, and I'll be studying for the MCAT, so what do you guys think?

I also love micro but I hated med micro. This coming from a Medical Technologist who has taken a little over 20 hours of Microbiology courses (general micro, med micro, parasitology, mycology, mycobactiology, clinical bacteriology + labs) med micro is no walk in the park if you get a professor that actually plans on teaching the course and is up on his or her micro. When I took it we had to memorize all the flow charts for gram "pos" cocci, common gram "neg" rod flowcharts, gram "pos" rod flowcharts, diplococcic flowcharts, enterobacteriacea flow charts (the big one, lol), miscellaneous bacteria (this sucks because they are miscellaneous for a reason- no flow chart so you literally have to memorize all of the individual and specific biochemical patterns), anaerobes suck too because they also have no flow chart (and they stink, lol). We also had to know all the biochemical tests that are used and the methodology behind them, literally paragraphs upon paragraphs of memorizing and explaining. Oh, and common antibiotics and how they work (what part of the bacteria they destroy). There is much more to the science of antibiotics than just penicillin working on the bacteria's cell wall. Thats just one of many antibiotic families and they all work differently.

On the other hand, you may luck out and get a professor that is laid back and only expects the competency minimal, but just so you know Med Micro has the potential to be a b*tch of a hard class, and yes, I do think it will be beneficial down the road. Just know what you are getting yourself into. It is a ton of memorization. I think I studied more for it than I did for Organic. Just study hard and it won't be that bad. I'm just warning you because it looks like you are taking a heavy load and med micro requires a lot of time. Best of luck. If you ever have any med micro questions feel free to PM me on here.

Sorry about the rant, I just read a few posts with users down-playing the class and thought to myself that they must have had a watered down version of med micro.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I also love micro but I hated med micro. This coming from a Medical Technologist who has taken a little over 20 hours of Microbiology courses (general micro, med micro, parasitology, mycology, mycobactiology, clinical bacteriology + labs) med micro is no walk in the park if you get a professor that actually plans on teaching the course and is up on his or her micro. When I took it we had to memorize all the flow charts for gram “pos” cocci, common gram "neg" rod flowcharts, gram "pos" rod flowcharts, diplococcic flowcharts, enterobacteriacea flow charts (the big one, lol), miscellaneous bacteria (this sucks because they are miscellaneous for a reason- no flow chart so you literally have to memorize all of the individual and specific biochemical patterns), anaerobes suck too because they also have no flow chart (and they stink, lol). We also had to know all the biochemical tests that are used and the methodology behind them, literally paragraphs upon paragraphs of memorizing and explaining. Oh, and common antibiotics and how they work (what part of the bacteria they destroy). There is much more to the science of antibiotics than just penicillin working on the bacteria's cell wall. Thats just one of many antibiotic families and they all work differently.

On the other hand, you may luck out and get a professor that is laid back and only expects the competency minimal, but just so you know Med Micro has the potential to be a b*tch of a hard class, and yes, I do think it will be beneficial down the road. Just know what you are getting yourself into. It is a ton of memorization. I think I studied more for it than I did for Organic. Just study hard and it won’t be that bad. I'm just warning you because it looks like you are taking a heavy load and med micro requires a lot of time. Best of luck. If you ever have any med micro questions feel free to PM me on here.

Sorry about the rant, I just read a few posts with users down-playing the class and thought to myself that they must have had a watered down version of med micro.

So you had Clinical Micro and still felt Medical Micro was useful? My medical micro was just a generalized lump of crap, whereas my clinical micro was much more specific and disease related.

 

[clc8503]

So you had Clinical Micro and still felt Medical Micro was useful? My medical micro was just a generalized lump of crap, whereas my clinical micro was much more specific and disease related.

I felt that it was very useful, especially if you're not going to take clinical bacteriology as I did in Medical Technology Clinicals (B.S.). True, everything that I learned in Med Micro, concerning bacteria, was covered again in Clinical Bacteriology plus more. Med Micro however was more broad in terms of mycology, acid fast bacilli, parasitology, virology, etc. Of course i took all these courses individually as well. Med Micro was basically General Micro on steroids at my school. Of course this varies from school to school, professor to professor. The information and depth of knowlege will be variable depending on the instructor. Also, I'm a Medical Technologist, it's my job to identify bacteria and determine its suseptibility patterns so that the physican will know what he or she is treating and what antibiotic will be most effective (example MRSA is treated with vancomycin not methecillin-the traditional treatment of choice for Staph Aureus). Since this is my job, i wouldnt expect many students to even have to take as much micro as I did. It would probally be overkill to some extent since thats the job of the Medical Technologist, Clinical Laboratory Scientist, Bacteriologist, etc.

That being said, I feel the subject is so useful because many bacteria are developing antibiotic resistance at an alarming rate. Its good to get as much exposure as possible. The antibiotic of today will probally not be the antibiotic of five years from now. Therefore the subject is very important. Take VRE (vanc. resistant enterococcus) for example. It already has to be treated with a battery of antibiotics because vanc alone is not effective and it is amoung the strongest known antibiotics for treating gram pos cocci. If VRE mutates again and becomes even more resistant, we're screwed. It would not be too far fetched to say that the fall of mankind could be due to microbes, so in my opinion you can never learn enough on this subject. LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AND TAKE THE COURSE SERIOUS!

 

[clc8503]

So you had Clinical Micro and still felt Medical Micro was useful? My medical micro was just a generalized lump of crap, whereas my clinical micro was much more specific and disease related.

BTW, i just noticed from your screen name that you are a fellow MT. Im glad to see more MT's plan on going to Med School. Its a great route. Its good to be familiar with the lab since the lab is responsible for about 85% of all diagnosis. 👍