Cell Bio Vs. Human Phys

[JulianCrane]

So, I will be taking the MCAT next April and I am trying to construct a suitable schedule that will both accomodate my stress level and allow me time ot study for the MCAT. As of now, I will be taking General Phys 2, Genetics, and either Cell Bio or Human Phys? The question is which course would be more advantageous for me for the MCAT? Also, if anyone has taken these courses at WashU or any other school for that matter, any advice would be great. Thanks, guys!

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[medapp03]

I would personally recommend physiology. You would probably get some overlap with the cell bio and genetics courses. I took the August MCAT and found a lot of the cell bio type questions to be genetics related. I was so thankful I had taken physiology when I saw the infamous EKG passage b/c we had actually done EKG's in class and learned to interpret them. You definitely need a decent background in cell bio for the MCAT, but you could probably do that on your on easier than physiology. The labs you will do in physiology (like EKG) will just really help the information stick with you. It had been four years since I took the course and remembered those darn EKG's. Plus, the physiology will be a big help once you get to med school. Good luck!

 

[dpark74]

Originally posted by medapp03
I would personally recommend physiology. You would probably get some overlap with the cell bio and genetics courses. I took the August MCAT and found a lot of the cell bio type questions to be genetics related. I was so thankful I had taken physiology when I saw the infamous EKG passage b/c we had actually done EKG's in class and learned to interpret them. You definitely need a decent background in cell bio for the MCAT, but you could probably do that on your on easier than physiology. The labs you will do in physiology (like EKG) will just really help the information stick with you. It had been four years since I took the course and remembered those darn EKG's. Plus, the physiology will be a big help once you get to med school. Good luck!

I agree to a point with medapp. I never took physiology, but took cell bio and scored very well on the bio section (april 2002 though). Just because there was a section on EKG doesn't mean that one needs physiology...you were lucky. From what I have learned from taking the exam twice (8/1995 and 4/2002) is that they want to keep you guessing by introducing new passages...but the one thing that is constant is the fundamental concepts of bio being tested. I personally would choose cell bio over physiology.

 

[batman123]

I would choose physiology over cell bio. After taking the test twice, I found myself faced with a many more physiology questions than cell bioogy related questions; furthermore, i found that test prep courses (I took both Kaplan and PR) I took did not prepare me sufficiently for these sections, so I often resorted to physiology textbooks to supplement my studying.

Cell bio wsa my favorite pre-med course in college, but it didn;t help me as much as I thought it would for the MCAT.

 

[Mike59]

The AAMC is right on when they say "upper level courses are not necessary" for the MCAT. I rocked anatomy and physiology and biochem (4.0 in all semesters) and made a lowly 9 on the Bio this past august.

Note to everyone: THE MCAT DOES NOT TEST FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE!!! If you take these hard courses with the MCAT in mind, you are fooling yourself. I was no better prepared for that test after a summer of hard studying and all those courses under my belt than I was in the middle of Intro. Bio. The MCAT is all about working with what is presented, and playing games with ridiculous multiple choice answers. I don't recall one question where I could say "thank goodness for physiology". Even the EKG passage, the information necessary to answer the questions was either in the graphs or you have to reason your way through the choices.

I am frankly upset with the MCAT and refuse to take it again (27-S). Speaking from experience, smart people can do poorly on this test, and I am living proof (4.0 in a hard science major from a hard school). Please do not waste your time taking upper level courses to prepare for the MCAT.

 

[nero]

i found cell bio to be much more useful.........the "infamous" EKG passage had as much info as most physio books, and everythig could have been answered from teh chart.......however, the lac operon one was a hard one wihtout having cell bio......i foudn cell bio to be helpful in a few passages and of course genetics...........it was mentioned that these are not necessary, but they sure as heck wont hurt and will make the test more bearable since you will be familar with some of these advanced topics..........just a thought


nero

 

[efex101]

Do you guys remember what about lac operon the question related to? we just recently got done in cell bio with lac operon...

 

[Mike59]

Originally posted by indo
Why is your school to be considered a hard school, thus implying that it is harder than other schools? I've always wondered that...Is it because there is more competition for the A range of the bell curve? Or do the well known universities actually have more difficult Organic Chemistry courses, for example?

My school is considered a difficult school precisely for the reason you stated. Organic Chemistry at my school has nearly 200 people gunning for only 10-15 As. We are on a +/- GPA system as well, which really screws people over if they make a A- or B- (3.7 and 2.7 respectively)- grades that somehow appear with much higher frequency than their + counterparts. Imagine yourself slugging to get ranked near the top of your orgo class, only to end up with a 3.7 because you're not in the top 5-10. I'm sure coming from such a school is a positive in some respects, as our state medical schools know about the quality and difficulty of our education and tend to select many students from our school every year. The only problem for the people with many A and B minuses is the out of state med schools that have never heard of us before.

 

[Bevo]

Ive taken mollecular and cell bio as well as anatomy and physiology. I didn't do very hot on the MCAT. They're good courses to take and I learned a lot, but neither really helped me all that much on the MCAT.

 

[Mike59]

Originally posted by lmbebo
Ive taken mollecular and cell bio as well as anatomy and physiology. I didn't do very hot on the MCAT. They're good courses to take and I learned a lot, but neither really helped me all that much on the MCAT.

Finally, someone echoing my sentiments (sorry about the MCAT score, I feel your pain!)

 

[pbehzad]

Originally posted by Mike59
My school is considered a difficult school precisely for the reason you stated. Organic Chemistry at my school has nearly 200 people gunning for only 10-15 As. We are on a +/- GPA system as well, which really screws people over if they make a A- or B- (3.7 and 2.7 respectively)- grades that somehow appear with much higher frequency than their + counterparts. Imagine yourself slugging to get ranked near the top of your orgo class, only to end up with a 3.7 because you're not in the top 5-10. I'm sure coming from such a school is a positive in some respects, as our state medical schools know about the quality and difficulty of our education and tend to select many students from our school every year. The only problem for the people with many A and B minuses is the out of state med schools that have never heard of us before.

This sounds exactly like my school. Its way to competitive, and they are trying to weed out way to many students. Now as far as only 10-15 A's thats not that many, im sure our organic class has more A's but the damn +/- system really screws peoples gpas. oh well, i guess thats the way life is, i have to swallow this crappy system.