Anatomy & Physiology... must-takes before MCAT?

[summerallwinter]

I am trying to balance my undergrad schedule and am wondering if I should take A&P I and II before the MCAT or save it for my senior year since I heard it's a very intense class. How much will it help me on the MCAT? I want to take it irregardless, obviously, but will be taking O Chem and Physics along with other classes my junior year and am wondering if I should balance A&P on top of that.

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[7starmantis]

I am trying to balance my undergrad schedule and am wondering if I should take A&P I and II before the MCAT or save it for my senior year since I heard it's a very intense class. How much will it help me on the MCAT? I want to take it irregardless, obviously, but will be taking O Chem and Physics along with other classes my junior year and am wondering if I should balance A&P on top of that.

O Chem & Physics >>>>> A&P

I would think it would help, but wouldn't be restrictive if not taken. I had it before my MCAT.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I honestly don't think it would be very helpful, if at all. Definitely put it off and preserve your GPA, and focus on the stuff that will actually be highly tested.

 

[HPSPpayissues]

It helps significantly, espeically PHYSIOLOGY. Not Anatomy though. If you can take a human physio, I highly recommend it. It is pretty HIGH YIELD for MCAT, although not totally necessary

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

They're not required but I'd recommend physiology (if you can find a physio only class). It was very helpful, in my opinion.

 

[7starmantis]

I honestly don't think it would be very helpful, if at all. Definitely put it off and preserve your GPA, and focus on the stuff that will actually be highly tested.

I would think A&P would be a GPA booster. What do I know.

 

[NickNaylor]

They're not required but I'd recommend physiology (if you can find a physio only class). It was very helpful, in my opinion.

+1

The MCAT doesn't seem to test much straight-up anatomy. However, I've found physiology to be EXTREMELY helpful. My intro bio classes didn't provide any of the more in-depth physiology information, so I would've been screwed.

 

[NickNaylor]

I would think A&P would be a GPA booster. What do I know.

Dunno about your institution, but A&P is a notorious weed-out class for the nursing majors here.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I would think A&P would be a GPA booster. What do I know.

Never took it in undergrad, but it seemed like the OP was concerned about balancing it with two other science classes. YMMV.

 

[7starmantis]

Dunno about your institution, but A&P is a notorious weed-out class for the nursing majors here.

Yeah, I lead SI for nursing students (A&P) for quite a while, just thought bio or pre-med would take a different A&P course. Cool.

 

[armybound]

I don't think it's imperative at all, especially if you're concerned with your grades. An MCAT review book should have all physiology you'll need. Remember that only the 2 intro bios are required for the MCAT, so if they want you to know something above & beyond that they will supply all of the information you need and it will be your job to decipher it and think critically.

 

[summerallwinter]

Thanks for the advice guys. I really enjoy the subject of A&P and have studied it some on my own. I am not in any way afraid of taking the class... BUT, I work close to full time, and will be taking O Chem and Physics at the same time I'd be taking A&P (to my knowledge my university does not offer them separately), so I don't want to carry an unmanagable workload, especially when I am taking the MCAT the following summer.

Thanks again everyone who has replied so far.

 

[DrBowtie]

Don't take it if its not required. The class isn't necessary at all to do well on the MCAT.

 

[riverjib]

I am trying to balance my undergrad schedule and am wondering if I should take A&P I and II before the MCAT or save it for my senior year since I heard it's a very intense class. How much will it help me on the MCAT? I want to take it irregardless, obviously, but will be taking O Chem and Physics along with other classes my junior year and am wondering if I should balance A&P on top of that.

As others said, A&P is often a weed-out course for nurses (or those applying to nursing programs) and can be pretty competitive. There are three levels of physiology in my school--the undergraduate bio major physio, human physio for health majors (mostly in master's and PA programs), and medical physio, which is for medical students but non-med students can enroll if they can manage to fit it into their schedules...pretty much impossible to do for most full-time students, since it takes up a large block of time.

I took the human physio for master's and health majors because I needed it for my major. It's a useful course, and will definitely help on the MCAT, but only with a small portion of the bio section. A large chunk of the bio section is passage-based, and most of that requires more verbal reasoning skills than it does actual knowledge of biology. Physiology definitely helps on passage-based and "free" bio questions, but it's definitely not necessary. Your basic bio class (if you dig up your notes from freshman year) probably covered enough of the basics, and a review book from Kaplan, PR, or Exam Krackers could probably fill in the gaps. Take physio if it's required, or you have time to take it as an elective and really want to take it. It certainly won't hurt, but you don't really need it.

 

[scapermoya]

I am trying to balance my undergrad schedule and am wondering if I should take A&P I and II before the MCAT or save it for my senior year since I heard it's a very intense class. How much will it help me on the MCAT? I want to take it irregardless, obviously, but will be taking O Chem and Physics along with other classes my junior year and am wondering if I should balance A&P on top of that.

not a word. 😎 regardless is.

i didn't take physio before the mcat, but it might have helped a bit.

often times on the MCAT the questions themselves have the information needed to answer them. if you took a physiology class, you might get done with some questions faster, but it wouldn't necessarily help you get more right.

i wouldn't take it unless you can get a great grade.

 

[Sunbeam]

personally i found physio to be pretty helpful on the MCAT, though not absolutely necessary. considering you're taking o-chem and physics at the same time though you might want to skip it.

 

[FrodoBaggins]

Anatomy will not help one bit on the mcat. Physiology would come in handy. I felt that the most important classes for the mcat is gen chem, physics (physics II more than physics I), gen bio, cell biology, molecular biology, orgo and physiology. Getting basic info from all those classes and then just taking as many practice tests as possible will get you where you wanna be.

 

[TTigers70]

not a word. 😎 regardless is.

👍

 

[bravofleet4]

It helps significantly, espeically PHYSIOLOGY. Not Anatomy though. If you can take a human physio, I highly recommend it. It is pretty HIGH YIELD for MCAT, although not totally necessary

+1

You might find a few articles on the MCAT to be stuff you actually covered in physio depending on how in detail your instructor goes. They don't expect you to know it but if you do it gives you an advantage.

 

[nonsciencemajor]

no not necessary at all

general bio is a must however... why.... because I think I have read somewhere that the MCAT is written in a way assuming that all the science questions can be answered just with the information you learned in general bio, chem, orgo, and physics....

this is because with so many premed's with different majors, the only way to standardize the test is to test only the subjects that all premed's have taken.. general bio, chem, orgo, and physics because these are the published requirements of 99% of medical schools in the US

because these courses are the stated requirements of med schools, and because I think the MCAT is written with solely these courses in mind, regardless of whether one has AP credit or not, these courses should be taken at the university level... even if it means an applicant does not do any upper division science courses as they are ELECTIVES and not REQUIRED courses for med school

 

[The Enchanter]

If I could choose one class beyond the core classes tested on the MCAT (chem, phys, ochem, bio), it would absolutely be physiology. The MCAT does test some of this material - not heavily but it's there. Make sure you can handle the course load though. The payoff of getting a couple more questions correct on the MCAT is not worth tanking your GPA.

 

[nonsciencemajor]

If I could choose one class beyond the core classes tested on the MCAT (chem, phys, ochem, bio), it would absolutely be physiology. The MCAT does test some of this material - not heavily but it's there. Make sure you can handle the course load though. The payoff of getting a couple more questions correct on the MCAT is not worth tanking your GPA.

well those few extra questions can also be answered correctly with your knowledge in general bio and the reading passage the MCAT gives accompanying the question...

Technically a student who has done only a year of general bio, chem, orgo, physics, and english can get a great great great score on the MCAT because the MCAT is written with only these subjects in mind

 

[JmanDO]

Like it's been said, anatomy will not help you on the MCAT.
Physio will but I don't believe you need to take the class to do well.

I never took it, I went with what I'd learned in bio courses and the review books and had absolutely no problem on test day with that type of stuff, it's quite basic.