Biochem instead of O chem II?

[GregoryMD]

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I know some medical schools allow you to take Biochemistry in place of second semester O Chem to fulfill the requisite. Seeing as how my new major doesn't require O chem two semesters like my previous one, I am more willing to take that in place of O chem. Does it require a lab as well? I don't think biochem has a lab, does it?

Anyway, my main question is how many medical schools do this? i.e., if I took this route, would I be severely limiting my chances of getting into a medical school?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

At my school biochem1 requires o-chem 1 & 2. I don't think it'd be wise to take biochem which is somewhat of a continuation of many organic concepts.

 

[illegallysmooth]

I know some medical schools allow you to take Biochemistry in place of second semester O Chem to fulfill the requisite. Seeing as how my new major doesn't require O chem two semesters like my previous one, I am more willing to take that in place of O chem. Does it require a lab as well? I don't think biochem has a lab, does it?

Anyway, my main question is how many medical schools do this? i.e., if I took this route, would I be severely limiting my chances of getting into a medical school?

If you want a definitive answer, you have to look up the admissions websites of every school you would go to and find the pre-req information. No one is going to know the exact number here. However, all pre-meds I've ever known completed orgo II. In regard to your other question, whether or not biochem has a lab, I suggest looking it up in your course booklet. Undergraduate courses vary from school to school.

 

[Untraditional]

I know some medical schools allow you to take Biochemistry in place of second semester O Chem to fulfill the requisite. Seeing as how my new major doesn't require O chem two semesters like my previous one, I am more willing to take that in place of O chem. Does it require a lab as well? I don't think biochem has a lab, does it?

Anyway, my main question is how many medical schools do this? i.e., if I took this route, would I be severely limiting my chances of getting into a medical school?

OChem II is a great foundational course for biochem, pharmaclogy, cell bio and the MCAT. I recommend it even if you don't need it.

 

[jm192]

O-Chem II is easier in some senses than O-Chem I. Once you figure out how to study for O-Chem I, O-chem II is just doing more of it. It's almost entirely reactions. The jump from Gen Chem to Organic Chem is so much more than Organic I to Organic II. It might not be NECESSARY for Biochem, but it certainly makes Biochem easier to follow.

It WILL be covered on the MCAT.

It might not be required for all medical schools, but it is for a lot. Why close the door on the majority of schools? What if you don't get accepted to the ones that don't? Maybe your GPA/MCAT goes fine, but the interview goes bad there, or you just aren't the fit they're looking for.

I hope you take it--it's really not that bad.

 

[GregoryMD]

Yeah it wasn't an issue with the difficulty for o-chem. It's that I'm trying to make my sophomore year schedule a bit more balanced. As it stands I'm going to have Anatomy & Physiology + Lab, Bio + lab, and O chem + lab both semesters, and a psychology class. It's just that with 3 labs its going to be hard to get a job, do extra-curriculars, and do well.

 

[illegallysmooth]

Yeah it wasn't an issue with the difficulty for o-chem. It's that I'm trying to make my sophomore year schedule a bit more balanced. As it stands I'm going to have Anatomy & Physiology + Lab, Bio + lab, and O chem + lab both semesters, and a psychology class. It's just that with 3 labs its going to be hard to get a job, do extra-curriculars, and do well.

Why are you taking A&P? Can you take it next year instead?

 

[GregoryMD]

Why are you taking A&P? Can you take it next year instead?

Its a pre-req for my minor in physiology. I need to take A&P I and II + labs, and a Biochem elective (about proteins or something), plus three upper division physiology courses. And my major (B.S. in psych) requires a minor.

I could push it back to junior year, and cram all of my physiology courses my senior year. So I'd only have two labs with physics and A&P my junior year. That way I'd just weasel in some psych classes next year.

I could actually do that....Thanks!

 

[illegallysmooth]

Its a pre-req for my minor in physiology. I need to take A&P I and II + labs, and a Biochem elective (about proteins or something), plus three upper division physiology courses. And my major (B.S. in psych) requires a minor.

I could push it back to junior year, and cram all of my physiology courses my senior year. So I'd only have two labs with physics and A&P my junior year. That way I'd just weasel in some psych classes next year.

I could actually do that....Thanks!

Anytime. But, you might want to run your plan by an advisor at school who is more familiar with the relative difficulty of those specific courses. Or upperclassmen who have taken them. Taking on a psych major, physio minor and med school pre-reqs sounds tough since the required courses don't seem to overlap much. Good luck 🙂

 

[Futureblackdoc]

The MCAT test you on Organic 1 and 2 so it would be in your best interest to take it.