Good idea to teach yourself Biochemistry for the MCAT?

[Garosen]

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I am an incoming junior who will be taking the MCAT in June 2014. My Biology major doesn't require that I take Biochemistry, however, I have heard that knowledge of macromolecules & metabolism helps a lot on the MCAT.

So... I am taking a lot of heavy workload courses next year and am hesitant on signing up for biochemistry at my school. I am considering teaching myself the course material over the summer. Is this a good idea?

Also, I am not the type of person to get distracted or lazy. I would be more than willing to teach myself. Do you think this method of learning would be effective? If so, what textbooks would you recommend/have you used in the past?

Also- any thoughts on Berkeley's online Introduction to Biochemistry course? Is it class helpful and in-depth enough for someone planning to take the MCAT?

 

[milski]

A biochemistry class will be way too much detail compared to what is being tested on the MCAT. The general understanding of biologically related molecules which is typically part of intro biology classes should be enough.

 

[Reaganite]

I took the mcat like 10 years ago, but I don't think it ever hurts to have additional upper division classes in biology, biochemistry, etc. under your belt. I remember taking a practice mcat after my first year (intro bio only) and scoring around an 11 or 12 on the bio section. I took the MCAT a year later (after taking several upper division biology classes) and from the get-go (no specific studying) was routinely scoring 15s on the practice exams and ended up with a 15 on the real deal. I absolutely credit it to the additional classes (including biochem) that I took. That being said, teaching yourself the material is low-yield in my opinion.

 

[brood910]

I took the mcat like 10 years ago, but I don't think it ever hurts to have additional upper division classes in biology, biochemistry, etc. under your belt. I remember taking a practice mcat after my first year (intro bio only) and scoring around an 11 or 12 on the bio section. I took the MCAT a year later (after taking several upper division biology classes) and from the get-go (no specific studying) was routinely scoring 15s on the practice exams and ended up with a 15 on the real deal. I absolutely credit it to the additional classes (including biochem) that I took. That being said, teaching yourself the material is low-yield in my opinion.

The current MCAT is totally different from the old MCAT you took..
It is WAY WAY WAY HARDER.

 

[Captain Sisko]

The current MCAT is totally different from the old MCAT you took..
It is WAY WAY WAY HARDER.

Not completely sure we can say this. I didn't take the MCAT ten years ago... did you? The most recent AAMC practices- 9, 10 and 11 are from around ten years ago, and they're fairly representative of the exam I took. In fact, my actual mcat almost mirrored my AAMC9 scores.

 

[Temperature101]

Not completely sure we can say this. I didn't take the MCAT ten years ago... did you? The most recent AAMC practices- 9, 10 and 11 are from around ten years ago, and they're fairly representative of the exam I took. In fact, my actual mcat almost mirrored my AAMC9 scores.

More like 5 years...

 

[asecondtolife]

If you finished organic chemistry and general biology, you're good to go on anything related to biochemistry and macromolecules. I felt that even the review books went too in depth in terms of biochemistry topics.

 

[gettheleadout]

More like 5 years...

But that doesn't change his point, does it? No one here has experienced both administrations (2013 and 2003).

 

[Reaganite]

The current MCAT is totally different from the old MCAT you took..
It is WAY WAY WAY HARDER.

I have a really really really hard time believing that. We all used to say the same thing back in my day 😉. People used to bitch about all the ochem that was on the early 2000 exams. It was also around my year that the verbal reasoning section changed quite dramatically. In the end, it's all scaled, so the difficulty is meaningless. It also doesn't change my feeling that more upper division classes can only help you.