Cellular/Molecular or Bio chem

[TheGoodLife570]

Hi,

I am planning on taking the MCAT in september/october. I will be finishing up the pre-reqs over the summer and I am interested in taking an upper level biology. I did not do well in my first semester of organic (2.0) so I will be retaking that in the fall. I am interested in taking cellular/molecular biology also in the fall but I am wondering if it is OK to just take the lecture and not the lab. The class is 3 credits and the lab is 1 credit. I really dislike labs. I will also be studying for the MCAT during this time.

Also, would it be more beneficial to take Bio Chem-structure and function (1st of a 2 part class) or cellular/molecular Bio?

The university I attend also offers a 1 semester class for medical bio-chem which I could take in the spring Or is the two semester very beneficial?

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DocWinter]

Assuming you already have a minimum of 8 credits with 2 labs of biology, any upper division coursework would be up to you and nothing would be necessarily required.

 

[TheGoodLife570]

.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I would say biochem depending on if there are any schools that you are interested in that require biochem. It is increasingly common so it is something to keep in mind.

 

[DocWinter]

Agreed biochem is prob one of the more useful courses and is often recommend/required for admissions.

I don't think it's upper division though, (at least it wasn't at my school) which seems to be what the OP wants.

 

[NontradCA]

Biochem.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Agreed biochem is prob one of the more useful courses and is often recommend/required for admissions.

I don't think it's upper division though, (at least it wasn't at my school) which seems to be what the OP wants.

Depends on the school. I took a 300, 400, and 500 at my school. All were hard a crap... by no means a 200 level... But I have absolutely heard of schools having a 200 level biochem course.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

Some schools require biochem. So if you're not sure where you're applying yet, I suggest biochem.

 

[TheGoodLife570]

Depends on the school. I took a 300, 400, and 500 at my school. All were hard a crap... by no means a 200 level... But I have absolutely heard of schools having a 200 level biochem course.

The bio chem class is a 300 level course and cell/molec is a 200 level course.
Is the two semester sequence much more beneficial than medical bio chem which is a 1 semester?

 

[drbull]

biochem

 

[kinzav]

biochem, and it will probably help you on the mcat a bit more than cell/molec. If you're real confident you'll do better in cell/molec and not so much in biochem, maybe go cell/molec, but otherwise biochem probably looks better.

 

[DrEnderW]

Biochem... For multiple reasons.

First, performing well in a higher level chem class will help to cover the orgo blemish. Second, med school only scratches the surface molecular bio detail and an intro to biochem class will overlap with the portion of molec bio that will be applicable to med school. Biochem will also be more helpful on the MCAT. With that being said, the first semester of biochem in undergrad will be covered in like 3 weeks in med school before it switches to cell/ nutrition but a solid base is nice.

 

[mke520]

well everyone is saying biochem but i'd say cellular/molecular biology will help you more. i believe both are very important and will be useful for the mcat but when i took the mcat the cellular/molecular biology course i took was much more helpful for me than biochem. i was capable of scoring a 14 in the biological section on the mcat because of my better understanding of cellular/molecular biology whereas i didn't use any of my biochem knowledge at all. again, the mcat varies from one test to another so much so on one test the cell/molecular course may help more than biochem or vice versa