Do I need BIO if...

[tuoniz]

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If I have taken 1.5 years of Higher than BIO1 classes will they automatically retrofit the requirement for premed? IE.

BIO 11 Human Anatomy
BIO 12 Human Physiology
BIO 13 Microbiology

I don't see the point in taking gen bio if I already have taken more difficult classes... ideas?

 

[Aromatic Amine]

as far as i recall, you need to take the 4 core req's, unless you AP'd outta them. did you?

 

[shindotp]

Don't need to take gen bio if you took upper level courses. You finish a year of lab also?

 

[tuoniz]

Yes there were labs with all three courses.

 

[njbmd]

If I have taken 1.5 years of Higher than BIO1 classes will they automatically retrofit the requirement for premed? IE.

BIO 11 Human Anatomy
BIO 12 Human Physiology
BIO 13 Microbiology

I don't see the point in taking gen bio if I already have taken more difficult classes... ideas?

None of these courses fulfills the requirement of one year of General Biology with lab. A course having a higher number does not offset the requirement. If you don't meet the requirement, you don't meet the requrement whether you see the point or not. Go to medical school websites and read their prereqs. Either you meet them or you don't.

 

[jla314]

None of these courses fulfills the requirement of one year of General Biology with lab. A course having a higher number does not offset the requirement. If you don't meet the requirement, you don't meet the requrement whether you see the point or not. Go to medical school websites and read their prereqs. Either you meet them or you don't.

this is absolutely wrong. check with your office of career services if you have one at your school (i just did) - they'll probably give you a list of your institution's courses that satisfy the premed requirements at most med schools. at my ocs, they list a TON of bio courses (some of which are fairly specific, like genetics or anatomy/physiology) that fill premed requirements, plus they list 'or more advanced courses' as an option. you are fine.

 

[Quantum Mecha]

this is absolutely wrong. check with your office of career services if you have one at your school (i just did) - they'll probably give you a list of your institution's courses that satisfy the premed requirements at most med schools. at my ocs, they list a TON of bio courses (some of which are fairly specific, like genetics or anatomy/physiology) that fill premed requirements, plus they list 'or more advanced courses' as an option. you are fine.

I have heard the same. In my school, nutrition and kinesiology majors take Introductory Physiology with Lab, as well as Introductory Microbiology with Lab (these are not the same ones that Biology majors take), and some (nutrition) are required to take Applied Microbiology (300 level). Now these are not your typical biology courses taken by pre-meds, so does the pre-health center say "also take General Biology I and General Biology II" No; The pre-health advising center suggests that these students take General Biology I with Lab and then take Molecular Genetics after that. Note that there is no General Biology II, and perhaps the only reason General Biology I with lab is required is because it is a prerequisite for Molecular Genetics.

 

[wanderer]

Check with schools. Only they can give you a real answer. Most schools I believe are not that strict with making you take the typical 8 courses, but some might be. Also if you read closely a lot of schools just say 8 credits of biology or 8 credits of biology exclusive of ......(usually botany), implying that any other bio course is sufficient.

Also when one says general biology they mean biology that covers a wide range of organisms; "cell biology" for example is general biology. Invertebrate zoology is one example of a course that would not be considered general bio.

 

[Van Chowder]

OP: In general I would assume that those classes do NOT fulfill the Gen Bio reqs. However I am fairly certain there are school that do accept them in lieu of Gen Bio. You should contact schools you can see your self applying to and ask each one individually.

Good luck!👍

 

[MaryLennox]

i am sure some schools would take it, but not all of them. i am trying to think back to what was actually covered in bio 1 and 2. it was partly microbio (which you have) and physiology (which you have) but also stuff about genetics and evolution and populations, which you may be lacking in. but how did you take upper level courses without doing gen bio? i would think that would be a prereq.

 

[Handinhand]

Very little of a year of General Bio lecture is microbio and A&P. It was a lot of genetics and cell bio, ecology, a TON of Botany and a little zoology. Lab had no A&P and only like 2 or 3 labs of microbio stuff.

You'll also be screwed going into the MCAT without having any Genetics

 

[MaryLennox]

Very little of a year of General Bio lecture is microbio and A&P. It was a lot of genetics and cell bio, ecology, a TON of Botany and a little zoology. Lab had no A&P and only like 2 or 3 labs of microbio stuff.

You'll also be screwed going into the MCAT without having any Genetics

i guess it depends on the school- mine were heavy in physiology but had no botany at all IIRC.

 

[bioteach]

You'll also be screwed going into the MCAT without having any Genetics

You'll have an uphill battle with the MCAT if you haven't taken the courses it is based upon (gen bio, gen chem, o chem, physics).

Going to med school without a gen bio class is not impossible but certainly not the wisest move considering it is the foundation to everything else.

 

[jla314]

actually most of gen bio could arguably be said to be irrelevant to medicine, as medicine deals specifically with human biology 🙂 and the class i found most useful for the mcat was hands down anatomy/physiology.

 

[Brent8927]

Personally, I would highly, highly recommend taking gen bio.

The problem is that some schools may very well waive the requirement for you, but a few might not--and that limits you. But before you take anyone's advice here about not taking bio call every school you would really like to attend. The last thing you want is the wrong advice that will prevent you from going somewhere.

I thought bio really helped for the MCAT. I took the MCAT with only the pre-reqs (no upper-div bio like physiology, etc), and I felt those courses and some self-studying more than adequately prepared me for it.

Take a look at the topics covered on the MCAT--there's a 4 or 5 page pdf somewhere on the MCAT or AAMC website, listing all of the topics that are fair game (Mendelian genetics, Bernoulli's eq., etc) and if you don't know everything in the bio section, take I'd definitely gen bio.

What might be best is to just take bio right before your MCAT--it'll still be fresh in your mind, you won't have to worry about not having all the pre-reqs, and as an added bonus, you should do really well in the class since you understand a bunch of the more difficult concepts in biology.

 

[Handinhand]

i guess it depends on the school- mine were heavy in physiology but had no botany at all IIRC.

From what I have heard you're in the minority. Most people I know got killed at their respective schools with Botany in Gen Bio II. You're lucky I guess, because it's the most boring damn thing I could ever imagine spending two months studying on.

You'll have an uphill battle with the MCAT if you haven't taken the courses it is based upon (gen bio, gen chem, o chem, physics).

True, but I emphasized Genetics because I think it's the least touched upon in any other UG Bio/Chem class. I never took Cell Bio, but I get enough of it between Neurobiology and Biochem. Genetics however, if I never took that class and studied my ass off for it, I would be screwed. I also don't see how you could have a solid grasp on any area of Biology without having a good backround in Genetics. Even in my Ecology class I'm in now, it's very relevant.

 

[tuoniz]

None of these courses fulfills the requirement of one year of General Biology with lab. A course having a higher number does not offset the requirement. If you don't meet the requirement, you don't meet the requrement whether you see the point or not. Go to medical school websites and read their prereqs. Either you meet them or you don't.

Just got off the phone with WU a few hours ago and they said yes it works. These all have labs and they all fit the requirement. Thanks for all the posts in the thread. I might as well take Gen Bio. I had planned on taking genetics anyhow. So many classes. I guess adding another semester on top of everything else isn't so bad. ONWARD!

 

[MedStudentWanna]

this is absolutely wrong. check with your office of career services if you have one at your school (i just did) - they'll probably give you a list of your institution's courses that satisfy the premed requirements at most med schools. at my ocs, they list a TON of bio courses (some of which are fairly specific, like genetics or anatomy/physiology) that fill premed requirements, plus they list 'or more advanced courses' as an option. you are fine.

You realize the person you just said was absolutely wrong is a med school admissions committee member, right?

OP, pick up an MCAT review book and thumb through the Bio section. You'll see molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, etc. If you don't know that stuff, you need to take Gen Bio I. Physiology is great and it will help you, definitely, but there's a wider range of subjects you should know for the MCAT, particularly genetics and some molecular biology, all of which is taught on the basic level in Gen Bio I.

It won't matter what med schools require if you can't get past the MCAT.

 

[shindotp]

You realize the person you just said was absolutely wrong is a med school admissions committee member, right?

OP, pick up an MCAT review book and thumb through the Bio section. You'll see molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, etc. If you don't know that stuff, you need to take Gen Bio I. Physiology is great and it will help you, definitely, but there's a wider range of subjects you should know for the MCAT, particularly genetics and some molecular biology, all of which is taught on the basic level in Gen Bio I.

It won't matter what med schools require if you can't get past the MCAT.

Well, he was wrong nonetheless.

Are you kidding me, MCAT bio can be learned in like 2 weeks from scratch. Obviously if the OP placed into upper level bio classes, he's had enough bio background to learn whatever was missing from the MCAT in his upper level bio courses fairly easily.

 

[jla314]

You realize the person you just said was absolutely wrong is a med school admissions committee member, right?

OP, pick up an MCAT review book and thumb through the Bio section. You'll see molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, etc. If you don't know that stuff, you need to take Gen Bio I. Physiology is great and it will help you, definitely, but there's a wider range of subjects you should know for the MCAT, particularly genetics and some molecular biology, all of which is taught on the basic level in Gen Bio I.

It won't matter what med schools require if you can't get past the MCAT.

haha oops 🙂 but i stand by what i said. in my personal experience, and in the more general experience of the hundreds of pre-med applicants from my undergrad, med schools have been pretty flexible in what they'll take for pre-reqs. i doubt they'd nitpick over the 'generalness' of bio with the OPs proven strong bio background.

and OP, i am also using pretty specific classes to fill the bio pre-req (human anatomy/physiology and genetics as my two bio semesters), and i'm getting interviews. no one has contacted me about not having 'general' bio. hakuna matata

 

[tuoniz]

You realize the person you just said was absolutely wrong is a med school admissions committee member, right?

OP, pick up an MCAT review book and thumb through the Bio section. You'll see molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, etc. If you don't know that stuff, you need to take Gen Bio I. Physiology is great and it will help you, definitely, but there's a wider range of subjects you should know for the MCAT, particularly genetics and some molecular biology, all of which is taught on the basic level in Gen Bio I.

It won't matter what med schools require if you can't get past the MCAT.

Sounds like your directing this at me although if you read above I didn't call anyone wrong. I simply called the school and asked them directly.

 

[tuoniz]

haha oops 🙂 but i stand by what i said. in my personal experience, and in the more general experience of the hundreds of pre-med applicants from my undergrad, med schools have been pretty flexible in what they'll take for pre-reqs. i doubt they'd nitpick over the 'generalness' of bio with the OPs proven strong bio background.

and OP, i am also using pretty specific classes to fill the bio pre-req (human anatomy/physiology and genetics as my two bio semesters), and i'm getting interviews. no one has contacted me about not having 'general' bio. hakuna matata

👍

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Well, he was wrong nonetheless.

No, he wasn't. Some schools may take those courses, but they're in the minority.

Are you kidding me, MCAT bio can be learned in like 2 weeks from scratch.

Have you even taken the MCAT yet? I have and if you look at the MCAT forum, you'll find others that agree with me when I say that there's never been anything more laughable written on these boards.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

haha oops 🙂 but i stand by what i said. in my personal experience, and in the more general experience of the hundreds of pre-med applicants from my undergrad, med schools have been pretty flexible in what they'll take for pre-reqs. i doubt they'd nitpick over the 'generalness' of bio with the OPs proven strong bio background.

and OP, i am also using pretty specific classes to fill the bio pre-req (human anatomy/physiology and genetics as my two bio semesters), and i'm getting interviews. no one has contacted me about not having 'general' bio. hakuna matata

That's because you're at least getting your genetics in there, but I still think you're absolutely wrong. I had A&P and Micro and was told by over 10 med schools that I needed Gen Bio.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Sounds like your directing this at me although if you read above I didn't call anyone wrong. I simply called the school and asked them directly.

It was directed to jla314. You know, the person I quoted.

 

[Curt1418]

I am in the same situation. I was not in a typical pre med program so I took the upper level biology courses instead of the intro. I graduated in May, taking the MCAT in January. I met with an admissions officer at three MD schools and each told me to take the Gen bio to meet the requirements. It makes no sense at all. I received A's in upper level bio, graduated, and now I am taking two Intro courses just to have them on my transcript. Dumb, but it has served as a good review for MCAT.

 

[chman]

I think you should check with the individual schools you are applying to. I am pretty sure some schools just say "a year of bio" as appose to others that say "a year of intro bio." That is the only way you will know for sure.

 

[jla314]

It was directed to jla314. You know, the person I quoted.

Let's play nice...

I agree with chman, OP - it looks like you'll just need to call your schools for some official answers.

 

[wanderer]

That's because you're at least getting your genetics in there, but I still think you're absolutely wrong. I had A&P and Micro and was told by over 10 med schools that I needed Gen Bio.

Were you told before you applied or after?

 

[randombetch]

No, he wasn't. Some schools may take those courses, but they're in the minority.



Have you even taken the MCAT yet? I have and if you look at the MCAT forum, you'll find others that agree with me when I say that there's never been anything more laughable written on these boards.

Examcracker's MCAT bio book is ~300 pages. Only about 150-200 pages have info on them. Read 5 pages an hour (reading really slowly, taking the time to memorize everything necessary), 6 hours a day, for 6 days and you have finished the book. Reread two more times it at 10 pages an hour and you'll still be finished in under 2 weeks. I would say having read a book three times carefully counts as having learned the material.

I don't see why the material can't be learned in 2 weeks.

 

[Handinhand]

Examcracker's MCAT bio book is ~300 pages. Only about 150-200 pages have info on them. Read 5 pages an hour (reading really slowly, taking the time to memorize everything necessary), 6 hours a day, for 6 days and you have finished the book. Reread two more times it at 10 pages an hour and you'll still be finished in under 2 weeks. I would say having read a book three times carefully counts as having learned the material.

I don't see why the material can't be learned in 2 weeks.

Jesus christ...

That's like saying I'm going to get an A on a final exam because I learned how to do the problems on the test review sheet given a week before class end.

Do you REALLY think all of general biology can be summed up and effectively taught within 2-300 hundred pages? Really, I hope you do, because that's one less person the actual competitive applicants need to worry about taking up space during the application cycle.

 

[Hiroshi]

So, what about let's say UPenn http://www.med.upenn.edu/admiss/admissions1.html

I don't quite understand if they accept AP Bio Credit or what their requirements are at all. It all seems quite vague. Another question is, I took AP Bio in my junior year of high school - should I consider taking it again anyways for the MCATs?

 

[randombetch]

Jesus christ...

That's like saying I'm going to get an A on a final exam because I learned how to do the problems on the test review sheet given a week before class end.

Do you REALLY think all of general biology can be summed up and effectively taught within 2-300 hundred pages? Really, I hope you do, because that's one less person the actual competitive applicants need to worry about taking up space during the application cycle.

Uh, yes I would get an A on a final exam if I knew how to do all of the problems on the test review sheet. If you can't, then that's probably just because you're not very bright (which from your post, I can easily infer).

And yes, all of general biology that is present on the MCAT pretty much fits in 200-300 pages. Go and find me one MCAT bio question in the FL practice exams that can't be solved using what is in my examcrackers book and logic.

And if you think I won't be a competitive applicant, you're wrong. 😉

 

[FlowRate]

Jesus christ...

That's like saying I'm going to get an A on a final exam because I learned how to do the problems on the test review sheet given a week before class end.

Do you REALLY think all of general biology can be summed up and effectively taught within 2-300 hundred pages? Really, I hope you do, because that's one less person the actual competitive applicants need to worry about taking up space during the application cycle.

For the MCAT, yes.

MCAT doesn't cover nearly as much botany as I had in my bio classes or as much detail in general. However, I effectively learned all of my general bio in about the amount of time outlined earlier. (10 hours max per test * 10 tests at most = 100 hours MAX, probably way less

So actually, yes overall.

 

[Handinhand]

Well then I can't wait for you two [*****s] to get a 45T. Personally, I won't be holding my breath.

 

[FlowRate]

Well then I can't wait for you two [*****s] to get a 45T. Personally, I won't be holding my breath.

I got a 39Q. 14PS 11VR 14BS. I studied exclusively with EK materials (and AAMC ptests). Statistically, it's highly likely I did better than you. Plus an A in a year of gen bio and genetics.

Disclaimer: I usually don't like to whip out the premed e-peen, but I figure a purpose is served here... somehow. 😉

 

[Handinhand]

I got a 39Q. 14PS 11VR 14BS. I studied exclusively with EK materials (and AAMC ptests). Statistically, it's highly likely I did better than you. Plus an A in a year of gen bio and genetics.

Disclaimer: I usually don't like to whip out the premed e-peen, but I figure a purpose is served here... somehow. 😉

So you took general bio and genetics and got an A in them. Sounds like that's when you learned the material, and then reviewed it later. That was the whole point I was trying to make. Nobody learns all the material for the first time from a few hundred pages in a review book. If that was the case you could just forgo all of Undergrad and pre-req classes, study for 6 months, take the MCAT and matriculate.

PS, a 39 is damn impressive, and I also got an A in bio and genetics. 😀

 

[FlowRate]

So you took general bio and genetics and got an A in them. Sounds like that's when you learned the material, and then reviewed it later. That was the whole point I was trying to make. Nobody learns all the material for the first time from a few hundred pages in a review book. If that was the case you could just forgo all of Undergrad and pre-req classes, study for 6 months, take the MCAT and matriculate.

PS, a 39 is damn impressive, and I also got an A in bio and genetics. 😀

With that clarification, I agree. EK is not meant for first-time learners--it is a review tool for the MCAT. However, I still stand by the idea that I have not spent more than 100, maybe 200 (that's a whole lot) hours on biology, total, during college and that I think you can learn all the bio you need for the mcat (which is not what you need for med school, methinks) from EK.

Thanks 😉

 

[randombetch]

I got a 39Q. 14PS 11VR 14BS. I studied exclusively with EK materials (and AAMC ptests). Statistically, it's highly likely I did better than you. Plus an A in a year of gen bio and genetics.

Disclaimer: I usually don't like to whip out the premed e-peen, but I figure a purpose is served here... somehow. 😉

AHHHH OH MY GOD. I have never seen someone get served so hard on SDN or any forum ever!!!

Congrats on the 39 - extremely impressive. 👍👍👍👍

 

[tuoniz]

It was directed to jla314. You know, the person I quoted.

Gotcha it just seemed that it was directed two ways. 🙂

 

[tuoniz]

I got a 39Q. 14PS 11VR 14BS. I studied exclusively with EK materials (and AAMC ptests). Statistically, it's highly likely I did better than you. Plus an A in a year of gen bio and genetics.

Disclaimer: I usually don't like to whip out the premed e-peen, but I figure a purpose is served here... somehow. 😉

👍