Biochemistry

[an_apple_a_day]

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so at my school there are basically two biochem options: elementary biochem (which my pre med advisor told me was fine for the mcat) or a grad level biochem class for grad students and undergrad majors/minors.

i liked orgo and im a pretty good student. my only concern is my gpa- the grad level class is graded on a distribution (like 15/100 are allowed to get A’s). the class material looks pretty dense and a good number of students are biochem majors or grad students who already have a good foundation in biochem and orgo, whereas im a neuro major (i also haven’t taken any bio past intro bio). is it worth the risk for my gpa? im pretty sure i’d get an A in elementary biochem but im nervous to take the gamble/make my life hell for a semester when i could just get the A and move on.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

so at my school there are basically two biochem options: elementary biochem (which my pre med advisor told me was fine for the mcat) or a grad level biochem class for grad students and undergrad majors/minors.

i liked orgo and im a pretty good student. my only concern is my gpa- the grad level class is graded on a distribution (like 15/100 are allowed to get A’s). the class material looks pretty dense and a good number of students are biochem majors or grad students who already have a good foundation in biochem and orgo, whereas im a neuro major (i also haven’t taken any bio past intro bio). is it worth the risk for my gpa? im pretty sure i’d get an A in elementary biochem but im nervous to take the gamble/make my life hell for a semester when i could just get the A and move on.

Eh. I'd normally say that getting a B in a class is not a big deal, and taking something that will interest you is always good. But if there is a version of the class you can probably get an A in that will get you the material you need, I say go for that one. Why take a more difficult class just to take the more difficult version?

 

[puahate]

My school was set up almost like this. We had 3 biochems. One was elementary, one was middle tier, other was grad level. I took the grad level one. My reasoning was this. The elementary one did not seems to focus too much on metabolism, I wanted to learn metabolism for the MCAT so I was already leaning to the grad one because it taught metabolism. The mid tier one was too bio focuses and barely talked about the mechanism in biochem. The grad course was tough as hell but I earned a B. I did like the class and I would not say I regret it because still to this day I understand biochem questions on the MCAT for the most part even without a full review of biochem.

All of this depends on you. I am typically a person that tries to default to the easy A but I really did want to go to the next level with this class. I know medical schools don't care about this and I understand that. I dont have a super high IQ but I always will push myself if I desire to.

 

[BOAO523]

Go get your A and make sure you study your you know what off come mcat time.

 

[evasive fish]

Why adding extra risk (GPA-wise) and complication (course load-wise)? Take the elementary biochem.
1.) The elementary biochem class will (according to your advisor) provide you with enough foundation for the MCAT. If it doesn't, you can always supplement your study with other materials.
2.) You have a high probability of earning an A with the elementary biochem class.
3.) According to your own estimates, it is guaranteed that about 85% of students in the advanced biochem course will not get an A.
4.) Assuming biochem has a lab, it will also have more credit hours, and getting a B or lower will obviously hurt rather than help your GPA.
5.) If you have a genuine motivation to learn more in depth, you can always do so outside of a formal class.

 

[an_apple_a_day]

Eh. I'd normally say that getting a B in a class is not a big deal, and taking something that will interest you is always good. But if there is a version of the class you can probably get an A in that will get you the material you need, I say go for that one. Why take a more difficult class just to take the more difficult version?

i guess why i wanted to do it was because of the added challenge and the potential for a minor. neither of which matter for med school i know.

im leaning towards dropping to the lower level but i would hate to not challenge myself if i could excel.

 

[Dagrimsta1]

Go get your A and make sure you study your you know what off come mcat time.

Agree with above. You’ll get more Biochem in med school too so...

 

[an_apple_a_day]

Agree with above. You’ll get more Biochem in med school too so...

would having a more solid foundation with the grad level class be beneficial/worth the gpa risk come mcat/med school time? a previous student i talked to who took the class said it helped her immensely and she barely studied for the biochem mcat bc of it.

 

[ClimbsRox]

I think most people are missing the most important point. Focus on the curriculum, not the grade. I took an undergraduate and a graduate level biochemistry class. The undergraduate covered all the metabolism that was going to be on the mcat and was a fairly straightforward class. The graduate level one focused on kinetics, thermodynamics, protein structure, and molecular dynamics. It was my favorite class, but it had almost nothing directly relevant to the MCAT. Biochemistry is arguably the most heavily tested subject on the mcat. Learn it well.

 

[BOAO523]

There's clearly much greater value to you as a student in taking the more difficult biochem course and there's value in staying true to yourself in seeking challenges as an undergrad.

My perspective is that learning graduate level biochem or stimulating/challenging myself intellectually is not a major bottleneck that can withhold me from fulfilling my career goals. Not getting into medical school most certainly is. If you're a smart, disciplined student who embraces academic challenges I suspect you'll get into medical school regardless of which course you take. But for me personally, I believe in optimizing my chance of overcoming the true bottleneck which for me (and for many of us), is getting into medical school. Let's forget the mcat because by the time you test you're probably going to be ready for the biochem regardless. Why risk lowering your GPA? Getting a "B" I got in a science course literally cost me like .23 sGPA Units. GPA is still fine, but higher would've been nicer. You may very well land in the A range for the graduate course. Just think hard about the risk/reward.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

i guess why i wanted to do it was because of the added challenge and the potential for a minor. neither of which matter for med school i know.

im leaning towards dropping to the lower level but i would hate to not challenge myself if i could excel.

Challenge yourself by getting the best MCAT score you can get. Don't risk your GPA for a "challenge." If you really, really love biochem and that's the only course available, or the other one is so superficial that you won't learn much, then go for it. But it sounds like you'll get what you need out of the easier one.

And this is coming from someone who majored in math, so I'm no stranger to taking difficult courses out of interest.

Coincidentally, I’m taking a grad biochem course right now. It’s really interesting, but I’m already in the application cycle so my grade in this class isn’t really going affect me that much (assuming I get a C or better).

 

[leonardoson]

I say do the graduate level. Sounds like you want to so do it. I jeopardized my GPA multiple times by taking hard classes, but classes i was interested in. Funny thing is i got B+'s in the easier classes. My GPA is still good, and I dont regret a thing because i took classes I wanted to take and were challenging.

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

If you're a neuro major, I would assume elementary Biochem wouldn't cut it for your degree. You may want to verify that with an advisor at your school before you decide.

Edit: I just looked at my school and they don't even require Orgo 1 for Neuro. I find that very odd, but so it is.

 

[Medic741]

Grad level biochem isn’t all that bad. Just expect to work hard

 

[Dagrimsta1]

would having a more solid foundation with the grad level class be beneficial/worth the gpa risk come mcat/med school time? a previous student i talked to who took the class said it helped her immensely and she barely studied for the biochem mcat bc of it.

I took a grad level biochem course and it was definitely beneficial for med school. Not so much for my GPA tho. Figure out which is more important for you. If your GPA is doody, then it’s simply an uneccsssary Risk. Med school will teach you what you need to know for boards, not General biochem. This grad level course might even go deeper than a med school course will (unlikely tho). In terms of MCAT, I felt like it was less of knowing biochem and more of understanding and dissecting passages. That will take you much farther than simply knowing facts. You can learn the required biochem for the MCAT without the grad level course.