Biology on the MCAT & seeking some advice

[kingdomheart]

I was looking for some advice about the MCAT BIO/BIOCHEM section. AAMC claims it tests biology that is presented in what a typical freshman may find in their biology prerequisite courses in college. I definitely think that is bull****. I'm not sure about everyone else, but the prerequisites for the "one year of bio requirement" at my institution is Evolutionary Biology & Cell Biology (which obviously aren't the only things tested). However looking through some MCAT bio books I see a broad range of topics covered that can be found in higher-level courses such as Genetics, Physiology, Molecular Biology etc. So I was just curious as to what you guys did to prepare for the BIO/BIOCHEM section. I would say I am pretty solid in biochem, but my foundation in biology is lacking because it seems as if there is so much material. Before I take the MCAT, the biology courses I will have taken are: Evolutionary,Cell, Physiology, and Biochem. I will not have done Genetics.

So my questions are what did you guys do to best prepare for the biology portion and is it possible to do well in the BIO section without having done upper level BIO courses such as genetics?

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[Coltuna]

Really any prepbook is good for bio. You will have taken many more formal college Bio courses than I did, and I felt comfortable with Bio on the exam.

 

[ServiceFirst]

I recommend the Kaplan Complete Subject Review for content review. However, this does not replace learning from your courses. I would absolutely recommend taking genetics. In addition, does your university offer molecular biology and scientific writing courses? In my experience, these courses were extremely valuable in my preparation for the MCAT.

 

[Lamegane]

Any advices or tips about how to tackle in the Biology passages?

 

[workaholic181]

Yea the MCAT bio stuff definitely reminded me most of my second semester molecular biology class.

Practice. Practice. Practice. Use the AAMC official FLs and bio question banks.

IMO, the bio passage questions often ask 3 or so questions specific to the passage itself, than one or two kind of random but related topic question that draws from your content knowledge. Not sure if that helps but I know I personally was surprised by that.

Use the highliting feature, and also really really take the time to appreciate the graphs in the stem and the descriptions for them!

 

[Lamegane]

Yea the MCAT bio stuff definitely reminded me most of my second semester molecular biology class.

Practice. Practice. Practice. Use the AAMC official FLs and bio question banks.

IMO, the bio passage questions often ask 3 or so questions specific to the passage itself, than one or two kind of random but related topic question that draws from your content knowledge. Not sure if that helps but I know I personally was surprised by that.

Use the highliting feature, and also really really take the time to appreciate the graphs in the stem and the descriptions for them!

Ok thanks. I will use your tips

 

[AdaptPrep]

Any advices or tips about how to tackle in the Biology passages?

Practice definitely helps! Also AAMC has put out the full topic list of items that may be covered on the MCAT. That is always a good starting point...start making your own notes as you're in the pre-req classes.
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