Attn: if you plan to come to UCSF.

[tinker bell]

Hey guys,

If you plan to come to ucsf, study your ass off to take the biochem test out exam (I guess there is a reason that they let you test out of it: BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW BAD IT IS). There is nothing worse than that class. I have taken many bad class in my life AT MANY PUBLIC INSTITUITION, but this is the worst of the worst.

If you want to feel how cheap it can be: Go to biochem class.
If you want to feel stupid: Take the biochem exam
If you want to feel disgusted: Look at biochemists.
If you can't do well on your amalgam prep: You are thinking biochem in your head.
If you ever think that UNWED PREGNANT is the worst thing can happen to a girl. Well, I just rather be an UNWED PREGNANT GIRL than sitting for even one minute in that biochem class.

IF YOU DON'T THINK YOU CAN TEST OUT BIOCHEM EXAM, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. It will save you big grief, peace of mind and your valuable time to do something else rather than coming here and have to suffer uneccessary pain.

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[bingpredent]

I plan to take biochem along with biochem lab next semester before dental school starts. So when I do take biochem in dental school, it'll more like a review to me
Best of Luck, Tink

 

[ecdoesit]

Sorry to hear the news.
Thanks for the advice.

When exactly is the date(or approximate range of days) to take those exams?

 

[saman1]

sorry to hear that they are making it so hard for you guys. Did you take any biochem before starting at ucsf?

 

[tinker bell]

The test day is about 3 days after orientation. And that test is not bad at all compares to those midterms we have and the pain we have to suffer with bad instructors.

I had really, really good biochem classes at UCDAVIS with Dr. Segel (if you guys use the blue biochem workbook, you guys know who I am talking about, and if you are from UCD, you know Dr. Segel is the most difficult professor at UCD, but he is fair).

Biochem at UCSF is something else. It's not like you studying amino acids and reactions. You need to know cloning, southern blots, doing map for your genes, plus some stupid gene math.
It's not rocket science, but it's murderer.

I did well on my exam not because they teach me, but because of my working experience. I work in MCB lab for 5 yrs, so I know the answers but my classmates (those with 4.0 in undergrad and got accepted here on Dec 1st), I looked at them after the exams, and my heart sank, because I think noone should suffer this kind of pain.

and the worst thing is that they get away with murder year after year, and their portrait in the society is excellent: What else can be more noble than being a poor biochem professor?

 

[LestatZinnie]

hey not fair!! i just graduated from biochem last year and i have to admit that a lot of the things i studied are more challenging and interesting in an intellectual way than the medicine i'm learning now in dental school, which requires mostly rote memorization.

by your comment of 'poor' biochem professors, i'm not sure if you're referring to their economic status because i'm sure that the full professors at my former faculty earns 6 fig. salaries.

 

[gryffindor]

Originally posted by tinker bell
IF YOU DON'T THINK YOU CAN TEST OUT BIOCHEM EXAM, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. It will save you big grief, peace of mind and your valuable time to do something else rather than coming here and have to suffer uneccessary pain.

There are classes and things that suck at every dental school. But one really bad Biochem class isn't a reason a pre-dent should just cross UCSF off their list. I understand that this Biochem class is horrible and very irrelevant to dentistry, but it's only one class. It'll be over soon, and EVERYONE in your class is going through this misery (except for the few who might have opted out). There are horrible people out there, and you guys just experienced them in the Biochem dept at your school. Every school has them, we've had some really bad classes & instructors too. At this point in 4th year, I've blocked out those experiences and can't remember anymore off the top of my head which classes truly sucked. You suffer throught them and move on. But you shouldn't be telling predents to avoid UCSF like the plague b/c of this class. Your school must have other positives if they graduate competent dentists every year.

 

[StarGirl]

biochem's not that bad... took 3 quarters of it at ucla....
anyways, it never hurts to get out of a class tho... more time to cram in the stuff for other classes....

you guys can come to Columbia, we don't take biochem here...they figure you should know it already...

 

[groundhog]

Reminds me of the scene in "Gross Anatomy" where the struggling M1 gets hit with a pop oral quiz in anatomy lab while trying to bone up for his bio-chem test.

 

[tinker bell]

You guys are probably thinkinng I'm going crazy, with that many pms I have received.

First of all, the class label is biochem, but it's not biochem materials that is taught. Don't think glycolysis or Kreb cycle here. If it's normal biochem, it's a blessing.

This biochem class includes: Protein, gene expression, gene regulation, recombinant DNA, DNA Tech, cell membranes and protein targeting. If you love cloning stuff, this is the place to go. If you can design a cloning experiment, know it like the back of your hand how to make radioactive label probe, how to clone something wacko that is stuck on your toothbrush (it's actually on the test like that "you wake up in the morning and find some black stuff grows on your toothbrush, you bring it to school and try to purify this protein....", how disgusting), sequence it, and express it in a knockout mouse, you will do great in this school.
And don't think those materials are explained well in class. We only learn transcription, translation, tRNA, and mRNA, PCR and southern blot. Everything else is a surprise present on test day.

Every one warned me about the morphology class. But after the biochem experience, we all agree that we should love our morphology instructor. At least he is clear on what he said.
Or at least tooth morphology is something that we should learn. Everytime I walk out of biochem lecture, I thought I am aiming for PhD in molecular biology.

We all look exhausted at this point. There are bad classes here and there. But this class is going out of order.
Of course this is a good school. But the biochem department is out of control of the school of dentistry. And it's yike to share and come in as second tier.

By all means, take what I said with a grain of salt, come to the school and compare all your choices. You may be one of those lucky who pass the test out exam. If so, your experience here will totally be a bliss.

There are people in my class just graduated from UCD this past June, major in biochem who didn't pass that exam. So, think about it.

 

[KDBuff]

Stargirl,

Do you not take biochem at all, or is it integrated into the sciences basic to dentistry class?

 

[groundhog]

Relax Tinker. Such expereinces prepare you for the type of day in the real world when you punch through the tip and break off a file while doing a root canal and have to set up an emergency referral for your patient to the local endodontist at your expense.

 

[3rdMolarRoller]

yup same crap here...class avg after first exam was a 57
Although the prof was nice and made the second exam easier.

Just study and you will be fine. I took a Biochem class in undergrad and still manged a B+ here

Have a look at our lectures (the earlier ones are down but the later ones are still up), quizes and exams. I do not think ours is as brutal as yours Tink

take a good look at our study questions from lecture 5 and up. Lectures one through 4 were a joke...so damn easy.

I hope this will help some of you.

http://home.nyu.edu/~gcl1/

 

[3rdMolarRoller]

So for some of you pre-dents, what do you think of that link?

Is it harder or easier than you thought? Now remember that class is only 7 weeks long. Imagine cramming all those study questions into your head in 7 weeks on top of other classes

 

[ShawnOne]

Broc,

Those 7 other classes are not science classes right? Dont you guys only get 1-2 science courses at a time?

 

[3rdMolarRoller]

Depends bec they do overlap. For instance, Bio chem and its exam overlaped with Cell org and cell org overlaped with basic tissues. But now we have basic tissues, Gen Dent sim (which has been running since day one) and other BS classes. Its nice how they break it up here

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

yah thats a lot of material crammed in, but I was wondering, since the courses are only 7 weeks long, you cram all that biochem info in those 7 weeks, and then when that is done, u start another class for 7 weeks and cram that subject in....arent you just gonna forget mostly EVERYTHING you learned in that first biochem class or do I just have bad long term memory capacity?

 

[StarGirl]

Originally posted by KDBuff
Stargirl,

Do you not take biochem at all, or is it integrated into the sciences basic to dentistry class?

there's sessions for biochem that you can attend during first year... (i don't know how specific other schools go into biochem so I can't really compare and i didn't go to these sessions... since they weren't required) which is part of the Science Basic to the Practice of Dent class (and I am sure some matieral was covered that was biochem but it's hard to compare w/o having taken a health-program-related biochem class)

*don't get me wrong... dental school's not easy cause we don't have biochem... it's hard NO matter where you end up... so choose wisely*

 

[3rdMolarRoller]

one thing I learned so far, short term cramming will screw you in dental school. Each class really does build on the previous one.

 

[ShawnOne]

Originally posted by avingupta
yah thats a lot of material crammed in, but I was wondering, since the courses are only 7 weeks long, you cram all that biochem info in those 7 weeks, and then when that is done, u start another class for 7 weeks and cram that subject in....arent you just gonna forget mostly EVERYTHING you learned in that first biochem class or do I just have bad long term memory capacity?

This is where USC claims that PBL is a superior way of learning. They claim students should not "cram" for tests, rather learn the information in its practical application. Supposed to help retention and application.

 

[StarGirl]

Originally posted by ShawnOne
This is where USC claims that PBL is a superior way of learning. They claim students should not "cram" for tests, rather learn the information in its practical application. Supposed to help retention and application.

who would want to be a trojan....
big game in a week!
(for all the bruins out there!)

 

[cusp of carabelli]

trojans have a tendancy for popping when the pressure gets hot... GO BRUINS!

 

[Soon2BDDS]

wow, this is interesting
to all of you who plan to attend UCSF next year, believe me, that biochem is not the end of the world. It's just one more class among 10 others, and it's not one of the most difficult ones. From what I know you will not have to take the first part anyways because they are requiring one class of biochem this year. I don't know if they will offer the entrance exam for the second part. So, if your decission to come to UCSF depends on this biochem thing don't even bother wasting your time thinking about that, it does not matter - what matters really is if this is the school you think you'll make the most out of this experience. PM me with any questions, i'll be happy to answer with what I know. UCSF is a great place if it works for you
peace