Biochem before DAT versus Great Physics Teacher?

[Smartie4Life]

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Hi,
I go to UCLA where great science teachers for undergrads are few and far between - there's a great physics teacher this upcoming quarter BUT I haven't taken my DAT's and I only have room for either Biochem or Physics in my schedule.

WHICH IS BETTER?

(the other classes I'm taking are
psych 10
psych 100a -stats
because I need to take these classes this quarter in order to be a psychobiology major)

 

[uclaDDS101]

Biochem isn't absolutely necessary to take before the dat, especially if you've already taken all of your LS and Chem classes. If you're talking about physics 6C, then I would take it with Maha (Ashour-Abdalla) because i hear she's great. Plus, at least you know for sure that you won't have to ever take Corbin for 6C. Don't miss this opportunity. Biochem can wait.

 

[phebz1125]

either one will be fine
DAT doesn't have Physics and Biochem

 

[uclaDDS101]

either one will be fine
DAT doesn't have Physics and Biochem

I think he/she knows that. He/she is just asking whether taking biochem now is worth missing an opportunity to have class with a good professor.

 

[BiomajorPreDent]

take physics with the great prof. you dont need biochem for the DAT. You are better off getting an A in physics since alot of people don't manage physics well.

Cliffs AP Bio, Kaplan, Destroyer, Topscore, Acheiver, CrackPAT and your Bio,Chem, and OChem texts are all you need for the DAT. All relevant info you can find in the DAT forum here.

 

[Mindlelae11]

i would take physics with the great prof!

 

[waitingame]

I would disagree with most ppl on here and I would take the biochem before the DAT... I took the DAT the first time without biochem and I know that I would have gotten a couple extra questions correct if I had taken the biochem class before just because some of the extra detail that the class covers and while I was taking Biochem during my senior year I was like Wow this would have been a great review right before taking the DAT and a couple of my friends said the same thing. It isnt necessary to take it but I think it could help you in the long run especially when each question becomes such a huge factor.

 

[SuperPink]

Taking biochem before the DAT would help cuz there are some details in the Bio section suck as glycolosis or photosynthesis cycles....but if you study really hard, you'll do fine without having to take biochem first tho.

IMHO, take physics with a great professor. I took physics with a horrible prof and it really showed in my grade, got a B- cuz I couldnt understand what he was trying to teach us and his exams were nothing like he taught us. For the next course i had a GREAT professor that explained everything...and i got an A+ in his course. Professors do make a difference. And remember that once you pass physics, you'll never have to think of it ever again.....meanwhile you'll be seeing biochemistry in dental school again.

 

[BiomajorPreDent]

yea everything you need to know about glycolysis, photosynthesis and enzymes is in the Cliffs book

 

[LNinlove]

For physics, I would choose the better prof any day of the week. The only biochem stuff I remember was the net ATP gain from glycolysis, which was covered in other bio courses and the Kaplan blue book. Like others have said, having a great physics prof really makes a world of difference when it comes down to the final grade.

 

[Extirpator]

Biochem will be good for drilling the cycles into your head. Physics will do absolutely nothing for the dat... although, you won't need 95% of what you will learn in biochem for the dat and the 5% you will need is what should have been covered in gen bio.

In other words...
Physics = Nothing relevant to dat
Biochem = Nothing relevant to dat that you shuoldn't have already covered

HOWEVER, physics is required for all dental schools (that I know of). Also, many require biochem... So make sure you take both prior to graduation.