Biochem and Genetics a good idea and MCAT question??

[AgentBlue]

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I am choosing classes for next year and I was wondering if pchem helps out with the PS section on the MCAT since I might not be able to fit it into my schedule. I will be a junior next year and the science classes I am taking would be Orgo 2 and animal physiology (our school doesn't offer human anatomy & physiology) in the fall term then Biochem and Genetics in the Winter term.

1.) Would the above combination of classes be a smart idea (specifically Biochem and Genetics)??

2.) Is pchem going to help me a lot with the MCAT, and if so what class should be replaced (Biochem, Genetics, or animal physiology)??

Thanks for your input!!!🙂

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Getting a good PS prep book will be significantly more useful than taking pchem..

 

[Mazdave]

If you have taken and passed a year of General Physics and a year of Inorganic Chemistry, then you have taken all of the courses you need for the PS section. I would guess that an extremely high percentage of MCAT test-takers did not take P-Chem prior to the test, and I'm not really sure what you would get out of P-Chem that would be useful for the MCAT that you didn't get in your earlier Physics or Gen. Chem. Only take it next year if you have the burning desire to do so.

 

[AgentBlue]

If you have taken and passed a year of General Physics and a year of Inorganic Chemistry, then you have taken all of the courses you need for the PS section. I would guess that an extremely high percentage of MCAT test-takers did not take P-Chem prior to the test, and I'm not really sure what you would get out of P-Chem that would be useful for the MCAT that you didn't get in your earlier Physics or Gen. Chem. Only take it next year if you have the burning desire to do so.

Yeah, I forgot to add that I have already taken physics 1 & 2 but only one semester of "inorganic chemistry"/gen chem. I am not sure how the chem courses are arranged in your school but we only have one semester of gen chem 1 and no gen chem 2. I know that med schools generally require two semesters of inorganic chemistry but I am not sure how this can be done at my university as I pointed out earlier. I guess I would have to take pchem as my second semester inorganic chemistry requirement, what a bummer...🙁

 

[waterpolo480586]

I took pchem and believe the class to be totally worthless. It covers nothing that the MCAT covers and most of the class deals in such depth with quantum or enzyme kinetics that there was no way that it would be covered on the MCAT. I took the MCAT after my sophmore year and got a 33 with only taking a 200 level inorganic chemistry class, an Intro bio class, a class on evolution and genetics, ochem 1 and 2, and physics 1 and 2. The only regret that I have about taking the MCAT then was that I am taking biochemistry now and that might have helped me on the MCAT.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Yeah, I forgot to add that I have already taken physics 1 & 2 but only one semester of "inorganic chemistry"/gen chem. I am not sure how the chem courses are arranged in your school but we only have one semester of gen chem 1 and no gen chem 2. I know that med schools generally require two semesters of inorganic chemistry but I am not sure how this can be done at my university as I pointed out earlier. I guess I would have to take pchem as my second semester inorganic chemistry requirement, what a bummer...🙁

I'd go talk to your pre-health/med adviser to see what people normally do to complete the inorganic chem series.

 

[startswithb]

The only chemistry class beyond Gen Chem that would be somewhat useful for the MCAT would be analytical chem; you get very good at acid/base calculations. Definitely not PChem.

 

[Shakespeare37]

I'm with most others on this.... PChem covers topics in depth that the MCAT never touches. If your school offers inorganic, take that. Biochem and Genetics are covered on the MCAT, but generally at a much lower level than those courses are taught at. Good luck!

 

[Lil Mick]

I loved pchem and anything related to physics, but none of it helped much with the MCAT. It definitely helped me learn to think about problems from the perspective of someone in that field, but I think it only helped with the most difficult one or two problems on my PS section (if you're shooting for a 13-15)...

 

[TTigers70]

I found biochem to be very helpful for a couple reasons. Beyond giving you extra info that helps fit past training together, it demanded fluency in acid-base rxns, etc that can be tested.

With that being said, don't foresee an MCAT every testing on what intermediates blah blah in the TCA cycle. Prep books are definitely higher yield but if you are planning on taking biochem, yes it can be helpful if you do so before your MCAT.

 

[kevo246]

The biochem is definitely not necessary, but will help in general understanding of the molecular level biology. Genetics, I feel, has greatly helped me in the BS section of the MCAT. I regularly find a pedigree or dihybrid cross question that I can quickly answer thanks to genetics lecture. My recommendation: take the genetics. It will help.