Human Physiology vs. Biostats

[Ben25]

I do not want to take animal physiology while I take Physics 2 this term. The human physiology is known to fail students at my university. I think I will take physics 2 and biostats and lab. Will it be bad to take the MCAT without having a course in human physiology? I have had human anatomy and we discussed some basic physiology. I am also taking a Kaplan Online course to review for the MCAT. It said in the course they will go over Physiology for the MCAT. I am also going to study the Princeton Review book to learn the physiology from their prospective.

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[SDN2013]

I'd recommend taking physiology if at all possible. I had it the same semester as the mcat, and it helped because the two overlaps so much

 

[Nanon]

I would take stats at some point. Many med schools have started to require it as a pre-req, whereas none that I know of require physiology. Physiology is helpful for the MCAT, but if you're taking a course, it's not really necessary.

 

[Jolie South]

I would take stats. You'll get all the physiology you need in med school and I don't think it would be that helpful.

Stats is becoming more and more important with evidence based medicine and many schools only give minimal education as to how to actually interpret studies.

I took Biostats, but it was so long ago that I never actually used it. Now, I've forgotten everything.

 

[SDN2013]

That's the thing. I had biostats in my freshman year. By sophomore year I had already forgotten it, whereas I can still remember physiology stuff. Statistics can be easily self learned through reading a biostat textbook, whereas physiology takes a lot longer because you need to memorize them. With stat you can look up textbooks as reference.

 

[Jolie South]

That's the thing. I had biostats in my freshman year. By sophomore year I had already forgotten it, whereas I can still remember physiology stuff. Statistics can be easily self learned through reading a biostat textbook, whereas physiology takes a lot longer because you need to memorize them. With stat you can look up textbooks as reference.

Undergrad physio is going to be insufficient for preparing you for med school as are most undergraduate courses that people take to "prepare."

 

[Ben25]

So bascially there is not enough physio on the MCAT to make me want to take it before the MCAT? I think I will get enough of it from the Kaplan review course.

 

[Jolie South]

So bascially there is not enough physio on the MCAT to make me want to take it before the MCAT? I think I will get enough of it from the Kaplan review course.

Kaplan will teach you all you need to know. Biological Sciences was my best section and I never took physio. It's really basic level stuff that's covered: where does protein digestion begin, what arteries carry deoxygenated blood, a few token hormones, etc.

There are many subjects that "could" help with the MCAT but aren't necessary to succeed if you prep appropriately with a class or books. The MCAT requires basic knowledge with an emphasis placed on reasoning and interpreting unknown passages. I found knowing too much about a subject to be a hindrance sometimes because I would use my knowledge instead of passage information to answer questions.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

So bascially there is not enough physio on the MCAT to make me want to take it before the MCAT? I think I will get enough of it from the Kaplan review course.

I took physiology after the MCAT. Not my best idea ever. I did okay, but BS ended up being my lowest score (10). I am convinced I could have done better if I would have had physiology before the MCAT.

 

[SDN2013]

Kaplan will teach you all you need to know. Biological Sciences was my best section and I never took physio. It's really basic level stuff that's covered: where does protein digestion begin, what arteries carry deoxygenated blood, a few token hormones, etc.

It's not necessary to take it before the MCAT. There are many subjects that "could" help with the MCAT but aren't necessary to succeed if you prep appropriately with a class or books.

For me, I didn't think Kaplan was that helpful, I thought my physio course prepared me much better and thankfully my version of the MCAT was extremely light on ochem and heavy on physio

 

[copingmethods]

For me, I didn't think Kaplan was that helpful, I thought my physio course prepared me much better and thankfully my version of the MCAT was extremely light on ochem and heavy on physio

I agree. I'm sure college human phys does a poor job at preparing one for med school physio, but I think having taken it could only help for the MCAT.

That said, if you really think the courseload will hurt your grades, don't do it.

 

[rjf]

I do not want to take animal physiology while I take Physics 2 this term. The human physiology is known to fail students at my university. I think I will take physics 2 and biostats and lab. Will it be bad to take the MCAT without having a course in human physiology? I have had human anatomy and we discussed some basic physiology. I am also taking a Kaplan Online course to review for the MCAT. It said in the course they will go over Physiology for the MCAT. I am also going to study the Princeton Review book to learn the physiology from their prospective.

I will try to say this as nice as I can. If you want to be a medical doctor, and believe that you actually have what it takes to become one, then you should never, under any circumstances, be afraid of any undergrad course. If you don't have what it takes to do well in the human physiology course at your school, what makes you think you will survive it during medical school?

With that being said, I would strongly recommend taking the human physiology course. Of all my undergrad courses, I would definitely say it was the most useful course in preparing me for the MCAT.