Biochemistry for pre-med

[Kingman123]

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Hey so is a biochemistry major a good major for mcat prep? I'm very interested in biochemistry so don't say pick what you love...

Also what kinds of research is possible in this field?

Final question: is a senior thesis worth it for medical school? Cause it's done during your senior year and I don't think medical schools will be able count the research done for consideration...

Thanks!

 

[deleted480308]

the best major is the one you can get great grades in...I'd say as a high schooler you haven't had enough biochem to know you love bio chem, but you'll have at least a year of gen ed stuff before choosing a major matters

I would recommend to most people that they take a biochem class....I didn't and it's biting me right now as a ms1

 

[Apoplexy__]

Hey so is a biochemistry major a good major for mcat prep? I'm very interested in biochemistry so don't say pick what you love...

Sure, it's good. If you really like it, do it. @sb247 gave you the golden advice: Do whatever you can get A's and a high MCAT in. I majored in Biochem, and I have to say it was pretty useless. The stuff in undergrad is far more detailed and theory-based (PhD-esque) than the medical applications you learn in med school. My genetics class in undergrad helped me more for med school biochem, and my biochem major helped me more (but still almost not at all) for med school pharmacology than for biochem.

Also what kinds of research is possible in this field?

In biochemistry? I would guess a lot of drug pharmacokinetics stuff. Binding affinities, reaction speeds, etc. The process would be the same though -- just find a faculty member to research with in the department you're interested in.

Final question: is a senior thesis worth it for medical school? Cause it's done during your senior year and I don't think medical schools will be able count the research done for consideration...

Sure. When it comes time for residency application after med school, your undergrad research will count. If working on the thesis doesn't hurt your grades or any other part of the key parts of your med school application (volunteering, studying for MCAT, etc.), go for it.

 

[future_dr]

Don't do it. *Asian accent* Biochemisty is-a toooo hard-a.

 

[Kingman123]

Kirbymeister, do you think it would be wiser to major in molecular genetics? Cause that's my second choice right now...
Though I'm not sure about the difficulty of genetics classes, but they do seem really interesting from what I've seen from a couple of the textbooks in the school store lol...

 

[DloopF2]

again, just major in something that you like.
a high GPA is the important thing.

They'd be happier to see an humanities major with a 3.8 than a biochem major with a 3.0 As long as you get the pre-recs, it doesn't really matter what you major in.

 

[Apoplexy__]

Kirbymeister, do you think it would be wiser to major in molecular genetics? Cause that's my second choice right now...
Though I'm not sure about the difficulty of genetics classes, but they do seem really interesting from what I've seen from a couple of the textbooks in the school store lol...

A guy in my class majored in something really genetics heavy (I think it might have been molecular genetics) and he seemed to have a really easy time with some of the early material in the first couple months of med school. The genetics in med school is more similar to undergrad than the biochemistry in med school.

In the end, I'd say taking anatomy and physiology is more important than any major-specific classes. Whatever you can do to manage to take A+P would be the better option, then do whatever major you're more interested in.

 

[Kingman123]

Ok thanks, I have anatomy and physiology classes in my school at the 300-400 level so I think I'll do that.

 

[maxilofacial]

Biochemistry FTW!

 

[Kingman123]

Since I will be taking the new mcat 2015, do you guys think that biochemistry would be more valuable to take as opposed to genetics? I heard genetics was really helpful on the old mcat, but I'm not sure if it will still be as useful.

Also I read through the topic outlines for the biological science section which seem genetics heavy, but the 2015 has more biochemistry emphasis so I'm sort of confused....

 

[cthorburn]

What will have the greatest effect on your MCAT score is the studying you do specifically for the MCAT.(I would say start ~2-3 months before the MCAT, depending on how much time you plan to spend on it per day (I started 3 weeks before my MCAT while working full time, but I regret starting so late)

Ideally your major should incorporate most or all of the pre-reqs that med schools will require of you. Beyond that, it can be whatever you want it to be. I know music majors who have gotten into med school.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Closed due to multiple threads on the same topic.