Can’t take biochemistry

[Erney456]

Hi everyone!
I am in a bit of a jam regarding taking biochemistry. I am starting my junior year and was unable to get into the biochemistry class (only 24 students allowed). Biochemistry I is only offered in the fall and I will be going abroad next fall so I really got screwed. I am trying to convince the professor to let me in, but in the likely situation she does not, would it be worth taking an online course? They are around $1200 and I really don’t want to spend that much and community colleges near me don’t offer biochem. How necessary is this course for mcat and prereqs?

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[IsleyOfTheNorth]

How necessary is this course for mcat and prereqs?

Essential.

 

[Erney456]

Essential.

So you would think that the online course would be worth it?

 

[chunkyfilms]

Ask the registrar if they can manually add you to the class.

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

It's hard to say without knowing more about it, but the knowledge is definitely important.

@Goro might be able to chime in on how Adcoms would look at it taken as an online course. Also, make sure that you check with the schools that you'll be applying to to make sure they'll accept it as completing the prereqs. I don't think most schools require a lab with Biochem, but better to check and be safe.

 

[Erney456]

Ask the registrar if they can manually add you to the class.

I Need professors approval and she seems very resistant to letting me in

 

[Erney456]

When do you plan on applying to medical school?

I plan on taking a gap year but ideally would take mcat before I go abroad in august if I could just get in biochem

 

[MyOdyssey]

Hi everyone!
I am in a bit of a jam regarding taking biochemistry. I am starting my junior year and was unable to get into the biochemistry class (only 24 students allowed). Biochemistry I is only offered in the fall and I will be going abroad next fall so I really got screwed. I am trying to convince the professor to let me in, but in the likely situation she does not, would it be worth taking an online course? They are around $1200 and I really don’t want to spend that much and community colleges near me don’t offer biochem. How necessary is this course for mcat and prereqs?

Biochemistry is the most heavily tested subject on the MCAT. It appears in both the biological sciences section and the physical sciences section.

A lot of medical schools don’t accept online classes as satisfying prerequisites. You can find out exactly which ones by purchasing a subscription to the MSAR.

Taking a key class at a community college over the summer may be regarded as a cop-out by some medical school ad coms. I recall reading this in one of the LizzyM Ask Me anything threads.

 

[TypeADissection]

Has the MCAT really changed that much since I took it? I never took any additional science courses beyond the four pre-reqs and didn’t have a problem. I thought the test prep materials essentially covered what you needed to know for the exam. Now I’m starting to feel old.

 

[MyOdyssey]

I wanted to add that many medical schools list biochemistry as a prerequisite. Subscribe to MSAR and you can find out which ones.

Some other options:

1. Does your undergrad offer biochem over the summer?

2. Do other 4 year universities that are convenient to you offer biochemistry over the summer?

 

[allantois]

Most CCs don’t even offer Biochem on top of that

 

[gyngyn]

Has the MCAT really changed that much since I took it? I never took any additional science courses beyond the four pre-reqs and didn’t have a problem. I thought the test prep materials essentially covered what you needed to know for the exam. Now I’m starting to feel old.

Things have changed...

 

[puahate]

Has the MCAT really changed that much since I took it? I never took any additional science courses beyond the four pre-reqs and didn’t have a problem. I thought the test prep materials essentially covered what you needed to know for the exam. Now I’m starting to feel old.

Of course it changed.

 

[Goro]

It's hard to say without knowing more about it, but the knowledge is definitely important.

@Goro might be able to chime in on how Adcoms would look at it taken as an online course. Also, make sure that you check with the schools that you'll be applying to to make sure they'll accept it as completing the prereqs. I don't think most schools require a lab with Biochem, but better to check and be safe.

Different schools may not allow for online coursework. Best to check with MSAR.

At my school, we're OK with it as long as it's from an accredited university.

 

[Erney456]

I wanted to add that many medical schools list biochemistry as a prerequisite. Subscribe to MSAR and you can find out which ones.

Some other options:

1. Does your undergrad offer biochem over the summer?

2. Do other 4 year universities that are convenient to you offer biochemistry over the summer?

Thank you I will look at MSAR. My undergrad doesn’t have summer classes as it is a small liberal arts school, but I will look into 4 year universities nearby. Thanks!!

 

[Erney456]

Biochemistry is the most heavily tested subject on the MCAT. It appears in both the biological sciences section and the physical sciences section.

A lot of medical schools don’t accept online classes as satisfying prerequisites. You can find out exactly which ones by purchasing a subscription to the MSAR.

Taking a key class at a community college over the summer may be regarded as a cop-out by some medical school ad coms. I recall reading this in one of the LizzyM Ask Me anything threads.

Thank you for the insight!! I did speak to an ad com member who said at their school they see one bigger community college class ok if it is for a good reason (in my case: study abroad and limited scheduling)

 

[857770]

Hi everyone!
I am in a bit of a jam regarding taking biochemistry. I am starting my junior year and was unable to get into the biochemistry class (only 24 students allowed). Biochemistry I is only offered in the fall and I will be going abroad next fall so I really got screwed. I am trying to convince the professor to let me in, but in the likely situation she does not, would it be worth taking an online course? They are around $1200 and I really don’t want to spend that much and community colleges near me don’t offer biochem. How necessary is this course for mcat and prereqs?

Is there another college or university within reasonable distance where you can take this course? I know people that have done this: they took most of their courses at their college, and within the same semester they took one course at another college. One person did not like the orgo professors at my former ugrad, so she went to another school just to take that course.

 

[Tree1996]

For prereqs its essential, for MCAT, I would say recommended. You can definitely self study biochem and succeed on the MCAT

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Essential.

The knowledge is essential. Taking the course first is not. If OP is a motivated student who can self study, it is totally possible to take the MCAT without taking biochem and to do well. I did not take biochem prior to taking the MCAT and did very well on it because I took the time to find out what the important topics were and study them on my own. Of course it is preferable to take a biochem course, but if that's not possible, that doesn't mean OP is screwed.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Has the MCAT really changed that much since I took it? I never took any additional science courses beyond the four pre-reqs and didn’t have a problem. I thought the test prep materials essentially covered what you needed to know for the exam. Now I’m starting to feel old.

My MCAT was extremely biochem heavy (just took it in June, so recently). The bio/biochem section was almost entirely biochem passages, and I had a really difficult one in c/p as well. You really need to know biochem to do well.

 

[MyOdyssey]

The knowledge is essential. Taking the course first is not. If OP is a motivated student who can self study, it is totally possible to take the MCAT without taking biochem and to do well. I did not take biochem prior to taking the MCAT and did very well on it because I took the time to find out what the important topics were and study them on my own. Of course it is preferable to take a biochem course, but if that's not possible, that doesn't mean OP is screwed.

Some medical schools require a biochemistry course as a prerequisite, yes?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Some medical schools require a biochemistry course as a prerequisite, yes?

Yes. I didn't say it wasn't essential to applying to medical school, I said it wasn't essential to take it before the MCAT. Not every school requires it though (though I bet more and more schools will either require it or require either ochem 2 or biochem).

 

[XOXO123]

Not sure if this would work for you, but I took biochem II in the spring rather than taking the first half in the fall because the spring professor was much better. Still covered pretty much all the important metabolism stuff for the MCAT and I don’t think that not having done the first half impacted me.

 

[deleted804295]

Hi everyone!
I am in a bit of a jam regarding taking biochemistry. I am starting my junior year and was unable to get into the biochemistry class (only 24 students allowed). Biochemistry I is only offered in the fall and I will be going abroad next fall so I really got screwed. I am trying to convince the professor to let me in, but in the likely situation she does not, would it be worth taking an online course? They are around $1200 and I really don’t want to spend that much and community colleges near me don’t offer biochem. How necessary is this course for mcat and prereqs?

Take it at a community college in the spring. Make sure it includes both biochem 1 and 2. You do not need 2 full semesters of biochem.

 

[Erney456]

Not sure if this would work for you, but I took biochem II in the spring rather than taking the first half in the fall because the spring professor was much better. Still covered pretty much all the important metabolism stuff for the MCAT and I don’t think that not having done the first half impacted me.

That is great to know thank you!

 

[EasyEveryoneWouldDoIt]

many medical schools now require biochemistry and not taking takes you out of the running of almost half of all medical schools ... i learned that the hard way last cycle. while it is possible to self teach yourself the subject and do well on the MCAT ... i did and got a respectable 130 on the B/B section I don't recommend it. i probably put in more hours teaching myself through various textbooks and youtube lecture videos then I would have if i took the class. i eventually was able to take the class this summer in person and looking backing having taken the class in person would have made MCAT studying so much easier

 

[MyOdyssey]

Take it at a community college in the spring. Make sure it includes both biochem 1 and 2. You do not need 2 full semesters of biochem.

Who or what requires 2 full semesters of biochemistry?

 

[deleted804295]

Who or what requires 2 full semesters of biochemistry?

Biochemistry majors.

 

[676188]

Who or what requires 2 full semesters of biochemistry?

I took biochem 2 to get a minor in chem, but there was material in the second semester that was relevant for the mcat.

 

[MyOdyssey]

I took biochem 2 to get a minor in chem, but there was material in the second semester that was relevant for the mcat.

What biochem 2 topics were relevant for the MCAT?

 

[JeSuisUnDoc]

What biochem 2 topics were relevant for the MCAT?

From what I remember, the genetics side of biochemistry.


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[[Time]]

Pay one of the students already in the class for their spot. Problem solved.

 

[676188]

What biochem 2 topics were relevant for the MCAT?

I’m sure this is school specific, but we focused on fat and protein metabolism in biochem 2, so those pathways were helpful. Also, we covered many lab tests/techniques I’ve yet to see in a lab setting, but often showed up in mcat passages, so I was at least familiar with them.