how important is it to take genetics, cell bio, physiology/anatomy classes?

[doctorrr-t]

So I've been going through the list of recommended courses that many competitive medical schools provide on their website, and I noticed how some of them would like to see genetics, cell bio, and anatomy/physiology classes to ensure that students are well prepared for their first year in medical school. However, these classes at my school are often not a walk in the park, so I am a bit worried about its potential effects on my overall and science GPA. I've already taken cell bio and it went great, but I wasn't planning to take genetics or physiology because of its infamous difficulty (at least in my school). Instead, I filled up my schedule with other sciences that I am actually good at, such as math, etc for the sake of my GPA, and courses to fulfill my biochemistry major (biochem, physical chemistry, biophysics, etc). What do you guys think? Should I take these courses? I would like to make myself as competitive as possible for top medical schools, so any advice is much appreciated.

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[Goro]

If these classes are difficult at your school, how are you going to possibly survive medical school?

Also, when a Medical School says a course is recommended, that's pretty much a sign that they want you to take it.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I would take a slightly less strong stance than my colleague above. If a class is "recommended," then for sure they would like you to take it, all things being equal. But things are never truly "equal," and I highly suspect that if you have great stats that a school is not going to pass over your app because you're missing a specific class.

Bottom line, if you need other classes for your degree, I don't know that I would go out of your way to take even more (and harder) science courses. At the end of the day your GPA/MCAT is going to be the bottom line, so I wouldn't do anything that risks your GPA or MCAT studying just to maybe score a brownie point or two with a specific school.

 

[KnightDoc]

So I've been going through the list of recommended courses that many competitive medical schools provide on their website, and I noticed how some of them would like to see genetics, cell bio, and anatomy/physiology classes to ensure that students are well prepared for their first year in medical school. However, these classes at my school are often not a walk in the park, so I am a bit worried about its potential effects on my overall and science GPA. I've already taken cell bio and it went great, but I wasn't planning to take genetics or physiology because of its infamous difficulty (at least in my school). Instead, I filled up my schedule with other sciences that I am actually good at, such as math, etc for the sake of my GPA, and courses to fulfill my biochemistry major (biochem, physical chemistry, biophysics, etc). What do you guys think? Should I take these courses? I would like to make myself as competitive as possible for top medical schools, so any advice is much appreciated.

And I am going to split the difference between the advice offered above. 🙂

If you would truly like to make yourself "as competitive as possible for top medical schools" you will take all of the recommended courses AND do well in them. If you don't do well, you certainly won't be helping yourself. And if you don't take them, it's certainly not a death sentence, but no, you will not be "as competitive as possible" as compared to the hundreds or thousands of fellow applicants who have taken them.

Not taking notorious difficult classes in order to protect a high GPA is absolutely not a tactic that adcoms at top schools are unfamiliar with. Their median GPAs are so high that they are truly not impressed merely by high GPAs. Taking tough classes and doing well in them is absolutely important for top schools, where EVERYONE who is competitive either has high GPAs or other hooks, or both.

 

[doctorrr-t]

And I am going to split the difference between the advice offered above. 🙂

If you would truly like to make yourself "as competitive as possible for top medical schools" you will take all of the recommended courses AND do well in them. If you don't do well, you certainly won't be helping yourself. And if you don't take them, it's certainly not a death sentence, but no, you will not be "as competitive as possible" as compared to the hundreds or thousands of fellow applicants who have taken them.

Not taking notorious difficult classes in order to protect a high GPA is absolutely not a tactic that adcoms at top schools are unfamiliar with. Their median GPAs are so high that they are truly not impressed merely by high GPAs. Taking tough classes and doing well in them is absolutely important for top schools, where EVERYONE who is competitive either has high GPAs or other hooks, or both.

Thank you! Do you think that the type of courses taken play such a big role in that they could determine a last minute acceptance/rejection? For example, I know that during high school, we were VERY encouraged to take advanced placement classes because colleges really used that to see if we were challenging ourselves, and applicants who had taken easier classes but had higher grades were at a disadvantage compared to those who take tougher classes with slightly lower grades. I'm wondering if this may be the case for medical schools too... I will definitely be taking hard stem classes as required by my biochem major, but I don't know if this will take the place of genetics and anatomy/physiology..

 

[KnightDoc]

Thank you! Do you think that the type of courses taken play such a big role in that they could determine a last minute acceptance/rejection? For example, I know that during high school, we were VERY encouraged to take advanced placement classes because colleges really used that to see if we were challenging ourselves, and applicants who had taken easier classes but had higher grades were at a disadvantage compared to those who take tougher classes with slightly lower grades. I'm wondering if this may be the case for medical schools too... I will definitely be taking hard stem classes as required by my biochem major, but I don't know if this will take the place of genetics and anatomy/physiology..

Not really. Remember, PLENTY of people are not hard science majors. Schools love the diversity they bring, and those who are admitted tend to do very well. By definition, they are not taking all of the recommended extra classes because they have a hard enough time just fitting the prereqs into their schedules.

You asked about being as competitive as possible -- that requires doing everything they suggest. But no, that is not required to be competitive, unlike UG, where the top schools actively looked to see that applicants took the most challenging courses available to them. OTOH, if you are a science major and you actively, obviously shy away from difficult courses to protect your GPA, that will be a bad look. But substituting difficult upper level courses you know you will do well in for some of the courses schools recommend will be absolutely fine. You do not have to take all of the recommended courses to be competitive at top schools.

 

[deleted1017120]

If you want to make yourself "as competitive as possible", then you should take all the courses while also doing basically everything else you possibly can.

If you are willing to go for "competitive while enjoying my limited undergraduate years and the freedom that they entail and not driving myself into a deep, stress-induced depression" I would highly recommend using this time to take as many unique classes that you want to that you have a passion for, trying different EC's, or getting real employment experience. As long as you aren't wasting that time sitting in your dorm room watching paint dry, you should be able to turn it into time that meaningfully informs your life going forward and therefore should strengthen your application. Remember that your undergraduate years are unique in the flexibility and opportunities that you have; something as simple as learning a new language will never be this accessible for the rest of your life.

I don't think that any school will shred your application for not taking recommended courses or having a mild dip in GPA in one semester, so you absolutely can get into these schools without doing every standard "check-the-box" thing. It's really going to be up to you to look at what courses you're taking, the experiences that you have outside of coursework, and the room you have to add more difficult courses and decide if taking these courses is 1) necessary for your competitiveness and 2) won't hurt your GPA too much.

That said, there is something worth noting about taking undergraduate classes to gain exposure to what you'll learn in medical school so you can pick it up more quickly. While medical school is much more rigorous, these classes lay the foundation of what you'll be learning in medical school, and it's a distinct advantage to be able to come in and at least vaguely remember general concepts and language when you start blazing through the incredible amount of information you'll need to learn. I had to take my university's medical school pharmacology classes (literally the exact coursework as the medical students) as part of my M.S. in pharmacology. The classes themselves were significantly easier because I had done an undergraduate minor in pharmacology. It makes it so that maybe half the class is just reviewing concepts you've already learned. I even had a lot of study material saved and ready for me from my undergraduate courses.

 

[lanadelgay124]

You have to keep in mind that the vast majority of applicants -- both non- and hard science majors -- are taking those classes and excelling in them. Genetics probably isn't entirely necessary (unless the school requires/recommends it), but imho anatomy and physiology are pretty important for both the MCAT, and demonstrating readiness for medical school.

You can't both "be as competitive as possible for top schools," and avoid classes that everyone else is taking, and most schools want to see.

 

[YCAGA]

The more biology classes you can take, the better. That advice is solely from the point of view of giving you a leg up during fall semester M1 (at most schools). In terms of admissions, your sGPA and MCAT are more important imo than taking specific, non-required science classes.

 

[jhmmd]

So I've been going through the list of recommended courses that many competitive medical schools provide on their website, and I noticed how some of them would like to see genetics, cell bio, and anatomy/physiology classes to ensure that students are well prepared for their first year in medical school. However, these classes at my school are often not a walk in the park, so I am a bit worried about its potential effects on my overall and science GPA. I've already taken cell bio and it went great, but I wasn't planning to take genetics or physiology because of its infamous difficulty (at least in my school). Instead, I filled up my schedule with other sciences that I am actually good at, such as math, etc for the sake of my GPA, and courses to fulfill my biochemistry major (biochem, physical chemistry, biophysics, etc). What do you guys think? Should I take these courses? I would like to make myself as competitive as possible for top medical schools, so any advice is much appreciated.

I am a bit confused about why genetics, A&P etc. are not part of your biochem major
To answer the question, TAKE THESE COURSES. They will prepare you for the MCAT. 'Nuff said.

 

[YCAGA]

I am a bit confused about why genetics, A&P etc. are not part of your biochem major
To answer the question, TAKE THESE COURSES. They will prepare you for the MCAT. 'Nuff said.

Little to no anatomy on the MCAT, otherwise I agree. Genetics is normally an elective in a bio major, and maybe not even counted for biochem.

 

[MaxCycle42]

You don't need a 4.0 to get into medical school. But you do need to take some difficult classes to show you CAN handle medical school.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

You can't stay on the porch if you want to run with the big dogs, e.g., you want to attend where the applicants have very competitive stats. To compete, you will have to excel at the same competitive courses. You don't need to be a science major for sure, but if schools you choose recommend these courses, I think you would be misguided not to take them.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Little to no anatomy on the MCAT, otherwise I agree. Genetics is normally an elective in a bio major, and maybe not even counted for biochem.

Interesting, i think it must vary a lot school to school. Genetics was very much required for a bio major at my school (though you had a couple different course options you could use to fulfill it).

 

[fluorescent colors]

If you are having to take Pchem and Biophysics, those courses are much much harder than Genetics, Cell Biology, and Physiology. In fact, Cell Bio, Genetics, and A and P are required for most PA schools.

 

[vilap]

Little to no anatomy on the MCAT, otherwise I agree. Genetics is normally an elective in a bio major, and maybe not even counted for biochem.

Mostly true, but I would saying basic understanding of heart, lungs, and kidneys are a soft requirement for MCAT.

 

[RespectTheChemistry]

Interesting, i think it must vary a lot school to school. Genetics was very much required for a bio major at my school (though you had a couple different course options you could use to fulfill it).

Same here (massive state university in the Midwest)! To the bane of my existence in fact because the only professor who taught it was horrific!

 

[DigNewton]

If you took cell bio and it went great for you, and you're a biochem major, and you're taking upper-level pchem... I can't imagine genetics or physiology actually being a problem for you. Anatomy shouldn't be a problem either, but some people struggle to adjust to the large amount of rote memorization required. Know your limits and don't set yourself up for failure, but take those upper-level bio courses if you can. They are foundational topics that you will see again and again in medical school (or any grad program involving biomedical sciences), and the more exposure you have to them, the better.

 

[deleted1108964]

Superficial reasons like "MCAT" or "competitiveness" should not be your sole rationale for taking a class like physiology, which is literally the foundation of most medical studies...if you think physio is 'too hard' or boring then you should not go to medical school.

 

[Lucca]

Superficial reasons like "MCAT" or "competitiveness" should not be your sole rationale for taking a class like physiology, which is literally the foundation of most medical studies...if you think physio is 'too hard' or boring then you should not go to medical school.

I disagree, although physio is the foundation of medicine, the way physiology is used in day to day practice and what happens in the classroom have almost nothing to do with eachother, and there are a very significant number of specialties that don’t use 99% of the physiology we learn in med school.

To answer the op, the way to make yourself competitive is to have a high GPa and mcat. Beyond that, ECs and achievements are going to have a bigger impact than lines on a transcript no one will read.

 

[Talldoctor96]

Havent read any comments above me but I would take them. Frankly, those classes were like 30-50 percent of my entire first year. I survived my first year as well as I did because of the foundation I received at Georgetown in classes similar to the ones you listed. Frankly, they can’t teach the basics in Med school. So personally I would take it even if it’s hard.