Cell Metabolism

[Satire5Texul]

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Not sure if to take this class ? Would it be helpful for the MCAT ? Medical School ?

5 reactions covered in every single detail. Citric acid cycle, electron transport chain. Gluconeogenesis + 2 other important ones.

Tests are intense, one of the most failed courses. Among 36 open-ended questions for a test - questions like draw every step starting with amino acid --> glucose. Everything like the back of your hand.

Pharmacy students in retrospect hated the class but said it was extremely helpful. No word on what medical students have to say about it. I just want to make sure it's helpful for the MCAT as well.

Course load is memorization heavy concurrently with that class. But I'll manage working on things daily.

Thank you ~

 

[sonofva]

Maybe for mcat. Def for your future biochem courses in mes school

 

[stemingen]

not worth the risk of lowering ur GPA. You can learn the same material yourself when preparing for the MCAT.

 

[Satire5Texul]

If anybody else has something to add, that would be great.

But If its good for medical school then I might just end up taking it. Because why not set myself up for success.
Also I wouldnt get any of the questions wrong about any of the pathways on the MCAT.

 

[625233]

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. You need to get in first.

 

[Medic5522]

not worth the risk of lowering ur GPA. You can learn the same material yourself when preparing for the MCAT.

If it's pretty widely failed, don't do it. Study the biochem for the MCAT on your own. You'll learn all the biochem you need to be a doc in med school. Trust me, I made the exact same mistake with an immunology course in undergrad.

Classes like that focus on the minutia of each metabolic process. Most of that is pretty irrelevant clinically; you just simply don't need that level of detail.

Definitely don't assume that knowing metabolic pathways will keep you from missing MCAT biochem questions. It's 50% knowing the material and 50% "playing their game."

 

[Biochemistry2014]

I say take it. If youre confident about yourself and your study habits, then you can take away a LOT of beneficial information from the class that will help with the MCAT and future courses.

While I understand what others are trying to say, I personally think its silly to avoid a class because of fear of its difficulty. Challenge yourself and grow.

 

[Glandzburg]

This would be very beneficial for your medical school biochemistry course BUT you need to get in to medical school first so don't wreck your GPA over it. If you think you can handle it, I would go for it.

EDIT: not sure how helpful it would be for the new MCAT as I took the old one.

 

[tenblackalps]

Sit in on lectures but don't register for the class. Even then, you don't need to know the minutiae of those reactions to do well on the mcat. I scored a 131 on bio/biochem from taking an intro biochem course and self-studying the kaplan and khan academy material;m. I never knew every single detail. Amino acid metabolism (nitrogen metabolism included) isn't even on the mcat.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Taking classes in undergrad because you think they'll help you in med school is silly. You'll learn in med school what you need to learn for med school. Take classes in undergrad that you want to take because you'll never get to take those kinds of classes again.

 

[Glandzburg]

Taking classes in undergrad because you think they'll help you in med school is silly. You'll learn in med school what you need to learn for med school. Take classes in undergrad that you want to take because you'll never get to take those kinds of classes again.

I both agree and disagree. I would be lying if I said my extensive chemistry/biology background in undergrad hasn't helped me immensely in medical school. My year-long biochem course was extremely thorough, to the point where I have learned literally everything I've seen halfway through med school biochem once before. This applies to neurophysiology and endocrinology as well. It is obviously easier to re-learn than to try to grasp something the first time, especially given the pace of medical school. So it isn't totally silly.

That being said, it's really not worth making college miserable if you only want to take those classes to get a leg up in medical school. I took those classes because I enjoyed them and knew I wanted to go into biomedical research if medical school didn't work out. If you are smart enough to get into medical school, you are smart enough to learn new concepts based on your prerequisite knowledge.

TL;DR - @WedgeDawg is right, don't take classes you have no interest in just for the small benefit it may give you in medical school.

 

[Satire5Texul]

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. You need to get in first.

Never had problems slaughtering chickens. ever. Its a skill.


Thank you everyone. I got kind of scared after seeing @WedgeDawg drawing post about neuroantomy, but the whole point of that thread was going along what everyone is saying, its not really worth it in undergrad.
I spoke to the professor as well, and he is highly regarded and super helpful, but it seems the level the class dives into is beyond what is needed like everyone noted.

Self-studying. and looking for something more helpful. Just because I have little interest other than its sole potential benefits.

 

[Medic5522]

Never had problems slaughtering chickens. ever. Its a skill.


Thank you everyone. I got kind of scared after seeing @WedgeDawg drawing post about neuroantomy, but the whole point of that thread was going along what everyone is saying, its not really worth it in undergrad.
I spoke to the professor as well, and he is highly regarded and super helpful, but it seems the level the class dives into is beyond what is needed like everyone noted.

Self-studying. and looking for something more helpful. Just because I have little interest other than its sole potential benefits.

You could always pick up a copy of more clinically oriented biochem book (Marks Medical Biochem, maybe?) if you want to get into a little more detail without putting yourself through the misery of an overly detailed metabolism class.

 

[Satire5Texul]

Thank you, everyone has been incredibly helpful !

I am going to take medical chem class which has a prereq of regular biochem. So its essentially upper level chem. And will be taking other upper level biochem classes. so those should be sufficient.

I think we are using a book similar to that one actually. And I can always use that one as supplement.

 

[Ad2b]

Don't take cell metabolism. Insider knowledge 😉

 

[Satire5Texul]

Haha 😀

There goes the straw that broke the camel's back ~

 

[Ad2b]

Haha 😀

There goes the straw that broke the camel's back ~

😀 NO animal cruelty required 😛