Genetics or Biochem b4 mcat?

[KristenAnn]

I can take only one- genetics or biochem before my april 05 mcat.
Which one would be more beneficial?

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[hmgcoa]

you know, if you're really weak in genetics, it might not be a bad idea to take the course so that if, by chance, you get any genetics related passages, you'd be fine on the real mcat. (also, keep in mind that it is genetics that kills most students on the mcat...ie. "oh my goddd..that test had sooo much genetics, i think i bombed it!")

on the other hand, you could take a chance, not take genetics, and just hope that it doesn't show up. the liklihood of them giving you some hardcore genetics passage is pretty low...(although it is one of the recent changes that the test writers have noted). but nonetheless, i'm sure a good background in regular bio should be fine for the genetics required.

by going with the biochem route, it will definately make the entire bio section seem a bit more familiar...esp if you have anything related to proteins, lab techniques (ie westerns, eliza..etc), or even some of the respiration and metabolism (ie. glycolysis and krebs/oxidative phosphorylation)...

in the end, i'd say i would take biochem, just because it would give me a broad preparation...while genetics is worthwhile, there is not too much that could show up on the real day that a bio course wouldn't have taught you already...

hope that helps...

biochem is what i say.

 

[lorelei]

I'd say biochem as well. I felt that regular bio classes gave me enough genetics for the MCAT - however I'm a math-type person so all the combinations and probabilities came easy. On the other hand, personally the things like glycolysis were more difficult because it was more memorization and also it was stuff I was totally unfamiliar with beforehand. So for me, biochem would have been more helpful. If you're the other way around (struggle with genetics, biochem is easy) then take genetics. Neither course is *necessary* for the MCAT (I didn't actually take either genetics or biochem) but it's up to you to figure out which might be more helpful.

Which is all to say, I don't really know

 

[UCLAstudent]

I'd say genetics. My MCAT had a ton of genetics on it. Oh, and I didn't take biochem before the MCAT.

 

[TiggidyTooth]

I think it's almost an even draw. It'll come down to pure luck as to how much of either genetics or biochem is on the real thing. I took both classes and found both to be invaluable. In all honesty though, I can distinctly remember 2 passages from the real thing dealing with genetics...but none with pure biochem. I remember a couple questions pertaining to biochem...but nothing you couldnt deal without the course...hmmm. In genetics you learn soooo much in such a short period of time when compared to biochem. All that stuff from sequencing to genetic recombination to cell growth cycles to making protein. You really get so much out of a genetics class and all you really need from biochemistry are the dynamics of amino acids, kreb cycle, glycolysis. I would definately go with genetics.

Tooth

 

[shad420w]

I would say Biochem...

Most of the genetics is pretty much right out of introductroy biology. I mean, with genetics it just takes practice, and then you will get it.

Biochem gives you a lot of familiarity with the nomenclature, and would make you feel more at ease reading through passages with dense biochem topics.

 

[tank you]

I think you should take the genetics class, and then go over some of the important biochem topics (noncompetitive/competitive inhibitor, electron transport chain, glycolysis/krebs) by yourself.

 

[Medikit]

I'd go with genetics

 

[themadchemist]

I'd put my money on biochem. If your course is like mine (and the one I took was just a module of our intro bio sequence), then you'll get rigorous instruction in important experiments and ways to design experiments. You'll start to understand the concepts within the context of the laboratory a little bit better and you'll get a wealth of useful info. for the MCAT.

I think MCAT genetics is VERY doable and that you can learn everything you need from some review notes. It's pretty basic stuff and with practice, you should be able to handle it. Maybe finding a small book on pedigrees would help, b/c Kaplan, for example, doesn't cover them well. However, our genetics intro module was very rigorous, so maybe that's skewing my perspective.

For what it's worth, though, chalk another one up to biochem.

 

[KristenAnn]

Thanks everyone for your input!!

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

I guess the answer is whichever you think you'd enjoy more. It's a pretty even split.

If I had to pick, I'd do genetics - you're guaranteed to have genetics on the MCAT. Even if it is relatively simple, you'll need to practice anyway.

Physiology would help more than either.

 

[researchprof]

To the OP, do anything you want. MCAT science is not difficult enough to require extensive knowledge of biochem or physio or genetics. You can learn the stuff from review books/textbooks. I suggest Examkrackers.

 

[GBFKicks]

Genetics without a doubt

 

[MEG@COOL]

I can take only one- genetics or biochem before my april 05 mcat.
Which one would be more beneficial?

Im takin both b4 MCAT.... Huhuha sucka.

 

[MoosePilot]

Take a prep class and get the basics you need in both.

 

[palmtree]

genetics hands down...the biochem does not get complicated and it can be learned in 1-2 days...the genetics is a huge part of the exam and some people get up to 5 passages on it. i had a bunch...i dont remember how many. plus even the changes made on the mcat say that it will become more genetics based. goooo with the genetics!

 

[Reimat]

When you guys say that genetics is more important, is that because the test asks questions on genetics that go beyond what intro bio covers? or because a genetics course gives you practice in doing things like pedigree charts?

I'm getting the impression from posts that taking genetics is useful for people who aren't logically or mathematically inclined because a course will offer practice- while biochem might be better for those who would rather spend that course time reinforcing biochem concepts.

 

[themadchemist]

Honestly, all the inheritance genetics you need to know for the MCAT (from what I've seen) involve:

-Multiplying numbers together to get a likelihood ratio (c'mon, this is easy!)
-Knowing the difference between dominant and recessive, autosomal and sex-linked (can be learned in two hours, tops)
-Being able to manipulate simple pedigree charts

The molecular genetics is more involved, but understanding this should be much easier with a solid foundation in biochemistry. Additionally, some biochem courses touch on the basic molecular genetics needed for the MCAT.

 

[KristenAnn]

Thanks everyone for all your helpful insight

 

[MizzouDrWannabe]

I haven't taken it yet either - but a friend of mine scored a 34 on the April MCAT last sem and he told me Biochem REALLY helped him a lot. He told me he wouldn't have been able to answer a couple of the questions at all without it, so I"d say biochem.

 

[Mitro]

I don't think any type of difficult genetics came up on my MCAT - basically nothing beyond what you would be exposed to in an intro course. However, I felt that there was alot of Biochem stuff that I wasn't exposed to before Biochem.

 

[rcd]

Officially take Genetics, but go to the Biochem lectures... And do the work and buy the book... Next semester take Biochem, and only go on test days. Seriously though. If you do this, you can take Genetics winter semester, and have a now easy class when crunch-time for the MCAT comes around.

 

[Reimat]

Officially take Genetics, but go to the Biochem lectures... And do the work and buy the book...

Wow, I don't know how you found the time to pull this off, but if it's possible, I'm sure it would work well.
I have to take biochem for my major, and I think it'll benefit me more than genetics, but kudos to those who find a way to do both.