How important is it to take a physiology course before the MCAT?

[grindtime1]

Since my school barely covered any physiology in the 100 level biology class, I'm wondering if I should take the class before my MCAT as it seems to be a pretty big topic in the BS section.

Or is it possible to learn everything from a TPR Hyperlearning or EK biology book?

I need to know because I'll be signing up for 2nd semester classes soon and I'm a sophomore, but probably 90% of the seats are taken by juniors who are allowed to sign up before us sophomores.

Should I take the course or is it possible to learn enough for the MCAT with a good prep book?

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[ksmi117]

Not at all necessary. I never took Physiology and I got a 15 in BS, using just the TPR Hyperlearning books.

 

[Isoprop]

Not at all necessary.

I agree.

 

[BennieBlanco]

Since my school barely covered any physiology in the 100 level biology class, I'm wondering if I should take the class before my MCAT as it seems to be a pretty big topic in the BS section.

Or is it possible to learn everything from a TPR Hyperlearning or EK biology book?

I need to know because I'll be signing up for 2nd semester classes soon and I'm a sophomore, but probably 90% of the seats are taken by juniors who are allowed to sign up before us sophomores.

Should I take the course or is it possible to learn enough for the MCAT with a good prep book?

It isn't important, but if it is part of your major or you have a class you can take it will help.

You only need to know the very basic ideas yet if you have studied the things in detail, the prep is easier.

Not necessary; makes prep easier; can't hurt.

 

[coat0023]

While I don't think it is absolutely necessary, I will say that 3/5 of the Bio section when I took it was very rooted in physiology. Most notably was the physiology of the kidneys. Definitely a good idea to know the renal systems and the associated hormones.

 

[Jumpman04]

not required, but be ready to put in hours of detail-oriented studying...

$0.02

 

[wanderer]

I never learned physio in intro bio, so I learned most of it from Campbell & Reece. I suppose I could have learned it from review books as well, but the ones I had were inadequate. C & R was enough for the MCAT.

 

[Vihsadas]

It's not necessary, but any foundation you have in the sciences will be helpful. You can do extremely well in bio with only taking the basic sciences.

 

[Omni]

If you are gonna take the MCAT sometime next semester, then I'd suggest to take it. I found that more than half of the bio content review was all physiology. All though you can learn all that through EK or any other source, having a deeper understanding of physiology offered by your class will make you better prepared for the passages and other things that may appear such as angiotensin/renin system or anything else. It will help you with passages and on top of that, you won't need to rely as much on MCAT prep books for bio.

 

[Skan]

Not necessary since you'd go into too much detail. Tha mcat doesn't require you to memorize that much knowledge anyway. it's a thinking test. You're better off focusing on review books.

 

[Protactinium]

Not necessary. I probably got ruined on kidney questions and that's something covered by my courses that I aced back in the day. Just use the TPR book and you'll be set.

 

[Segovia]

Why not? I took the 7/2 test and there were a couple of specific knowledge-based questions about the kidney that were not testing deduction at all - but straight memorization. I wouldn't take the course as a substitute for passage practice, but it would be a great adjunct to your bio foundation.

Many people underestimate the amount of "low hanging fruit" questions that are on the MCAT. By this, I mean you will have direct questions that are testing memorization, and while these are not the majority, they do substantiate taking a traditional class. Don't miss these questions!

While the MCAT is a thinking test, the more you are exposed to the language of science and have to grapple with the ideas, the better you will do. Taking a class facilitates this. Unfortunately, most teachers don't test in the same skewed manner as the AAMC, but it is up to you to ask yourself how a specific concept would be asked.

 

[loveoforganic]

Made a C and B- in Gen. Bio (my only biology courses, ever) and made a 12 in BS studying only with EK Bio. Definitely not necessary. Ended up reading the book ~5x though at least.

 

[FlowRate]

I had only taken general biology year and genetics before the mcat, got a 14 in BS. I would say that I felt like physiology would have been very helpful and maybe microbiology as well. This is because, for me, true mastery usually comes from application of material to learning new material (for instance, I didn't feel totally competent with calculus and dEQ until my PChem and Fluid Dynamics class). I would very strongly recommend taking genetics if you're going to us EK for bio. For this section, I think my class really helped more than EK.