Does having had taken the undergrad version of a class make the medical school version any more manageable vs coming from 0? (Thinking about Genetics)

[RespectTheChemistry]

Hi -

I am a little shaky about the idea of taking Genetics. It's one of the last classes I need for my Bio major. People have been telling me horror stories about it since I started school here! I can get a B but probably not an A. The class has the highest D/F rate in the department and one of the highest at the university at over 50%. When I tell people I'm a double major, they keep telling me to do whatever I can to avoid taking Genetics up to and including dropping my Bio major. It seems so silly to throw my entire Bio major out the window to avoid taking one class. (I have a second major and could graduate without the Bio major, but it just seems like such an overreaction.) However, I am very protective of my GPA for obvious reasons and don't want to do something foolish. There's a nonzero chance I'd get a C and that would be bad.

Something else I thought to ask was if getting an introduction to preclinical coursework in undergrad makes any difference for understanding it in medical school vs. coming from zero. That could be an argument for taking it that I would have to weigh against a class I realistically probably can't get an A in. I don't want to end up with a "kicking the can down the road" effect of making me more likely to fail or otherwise do poorly in the Genetics class people take in medical school.

Thanks!

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[voxveritatisetlucis]

I would take genetics since it is important to know for MCAT. From my experience, many people struggle with genetics in UG because they don’t adapt their studying mechanisms from other bio classes. Genetics needs to be studied more like a chem class than a bio class (due to the problem solving nature of the course)

Most med schools are pass fail for preclinical so I guess there is less pressure than taking genetics in UG. I would say the problem solving algorithms and study habits that are developed while taking rigorous UG courses are more important than the memorization of content from UG to med school, especially considering most ppl take gap years nowadays

 

[deleted1129181]

I took 2 virology courses in undergrad, aced both of them, and yet virology is my weakest subject in med school...... still don't know how that happened.

Genetics in college is very technical oriented, so you might study recombination frequency and details of double strand break repairs. But in medical school, you really only learn genetics related to clinical topics. These include knowing the most common translocations in blood disorders, most common mutations in various cancers, clinical presentations of down syndrome, etc. None of these were taught in my genetics course in college. It's kind of like learning the electrical wiring of a plane versus learning how to pilot the plane.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Sometimes you need to unlearn the bad habits of undergrad when you get to professional school. You think you know genetics and biochemistry... it may help with vocabulary but you'll learn what you need to know for medical school and the boards.

 

[LizzyM]

Your major does not matter (except in extreme cases such as a major in leisure management) and having a double major matters even less. Do not hesitate to drop the Bio major if it doesn't seem to be in your best interest to continue with it.

 

[RespectTheChemistry]

Your major does not matter (except in extreme cases such as a major in leisure management) and having a double major matters even less. Do not hesitate to drop the Bio major if it doesn't seem to be in your best interest to continue with it.

Thank you.

From the information in this thread, it sounds like the lack of Genetics won't be an issue down the road, which was my final concern before dropping the major.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

major in leisure management