Ideal Time to Take Biochemistry??

[bsneuroscience]

***Please feel free to correct me on the timeline process***

I'm a senior high school trying to plan out my college/premed schedule to try to fit in all the prerequisites in 2 years (because MCAT has to be taken before junior year/early junior year + you spend the rest of the year building your resume up for applications and senior year you apply for medical school & go to interviews).

I posted a thread a couple weeks ago asking if my freshman year schedule was good, and I looked ahead to planning out my sophomore year and it got a bit tricky due to the number of science courses I had to take in 1 semester (i've been told 2 per semester is good enough, 3 or 4 is pushing it- keep in mind MOST of these science courses are 4 credits each)

First semester of my freshman year: Bio 1 with lab, Gen chem 1 with lab (I took AP chem this year, so the knowledge is still pretty fresh in my mind), English, and Calculus 1

Second semester of my freshman year: Bio 2 w/ lab, Gen chem 2 w/ lab, communications/oral speaking, and statistics

POSSIBLE first semester of my sophomore year???: Organic chem 1 w/ lab, Physics 1 w/ lab, photography class (gen ed art requirement), literature class (gen ed)

POSSIBLE second semester of my sophomore year???: Organic chem 2 w/ lab, physics 2 w/ lab, [insert either gen ed, elective for neuroscience major, or sociology maybe??], and BIOCHEMISTRY -----> 3 science courses for my second semester of sophomore year.

I've done research and I heard biochemistry is a pretty difficult subject, but it helps if you have a solid foundation in, obviously, biology and chemistry, but also organic chem 1 (not so much 2 I think??)

Is it fine where it is or should I take it over the summer before my junior year? I am determined to finish ALL my prereqs before I take the MCAT and I heard some medical schools look down upon students who take difficult (a.k.a science courses) over the summer because they "couldn't handle the rigor" during the school year and it's supposedly easier during the summer???

Also is organic chem and physics too much in one semester???

thanks again!! I really appreciate everyone's input, especially on my last thread!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AllBleedingStops]

Take this as advice from a total stranger but I found biochem did not overlap with orgo much at all. Which, for me, was a good thing because I hated orgo and was bad at it. Also, taking orgo with lab, physics with lab, and biochem all at the same time sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I am determined to finish ALL my prereqs before I take the MCAT

Why? I mean take things that might help you - basic bios, chems, DEFINITELY biochem, maybe psych/soc - but don't get so freaked out about taking all the pre-reqs before you take the MCAT. It will just get you overly stressed for very little reason. Especially don't worry about A&P for MCAT. Plus pre-reqs vary from school to school a little bit.

because MCAT has to be taken before junior year/early junior year

Where are you getting your advice? Because this isn't true. I took mine in the May after my junior year ended and it worked out very well. Didn't delay my application at all and I had the necessary courses under my belt with a few weeks to hardcore prepare and I did great on it.

And MY BEST ADVICE: Stop planning out your college schedule. It can and probably should change between now and your sophomore year. Course offerings can change, the professor teaching it can change if you want to take it or not, maybe they don't offer it in a certain semester, maybe you have to take some other pre-req first, etc. There are a million things that can influence that schedule and you should probably just wait until you get there to start thinking about the second year of your college experience. Enjoy the summer and live in the moment more.

Just remember: "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

 

[bsneuroscience]

Take this as advice from a total stranger but I found biochem did not overlap with orgo much at all. Which, for me, was a good thing because I hated orgo and was bad at it. Also, taking orgo with lab, physics with lab, and biochem all at the same time sounds like a recipe for disaster.



Why? I mean take things that might help you - basic bios, chems, DEFINITELY biochem, maybe psych/soc - but don't get so freaked out about taking all the pre-reqs before you take the MCAT. It will just get you overly stressed for very little reason. Especially don't worry about A&P for MCAT. Plus pre-reqs vary from school to school a little bit.



Where are you getting your advice? Because this isn't true. I took mine in the May after my junior year ended and it worked out very well. Didn't delay my application at all and I had the necessary courses under my belt with a few weeks to hardcore prepare and I did great on it.

And MY BEST ADVICE: Stop planning out your college schedule. It can and probably should change between now and your sophomore year. Course offerings can change, the professor teaching it can change if you want to take it or not, maybe they don't offer it in a certain semester, maybe you have to take some other pre-req first, etc. There are a million things that can influence that schedule and you should probably just wait until you get there to start thinking about the second year of your college experience. Enjoy the summer and live in the moment more.

Just remember: "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

I've just read up on a couple other forums about people saying there's some orgo chem in biochemistry and that it's important to learn some before you go into biochem b/c at that point-it's just pure memorization.

What classes are ok to not take before the MCAT? (the ones that are easy to learn from a prep book w/o taking the class)? I don't know, in my head, I just think if you're going to pay over 200$ for an 8 hour exam, it's best to prepare for it with all the requirements done so there's no need for a retake. I was also planning to take A&P, but after the MCAT because the topic is still really informational.

Yes thank you for the reminder about the college schedule, I just want my path to go smoothly, but I ATLEAST want to have my first year courses mapped out, trying to figure out sophomore year was difficult so I'll just keep my first year schedule and talk to my advisor because my prereqs I'm taking during the first year already overlap with my neuroscience major.

 

[bsneuroscience]

Generally people at my school do

Freshman year: Chem 1 w/ lab, Bio 1 w/ lab, Chem 2 w/ lab, Bio 2 w/ lab, Calc
Sophomore year: Orgo 1 & 2 w labs
Junior year: Biochem, Physics 1, Physics 2

Try not to take prereqs in the summer. Orgo and physics is not too much in one semester but it all depends on you. You don't need all prereqs before MCAT, just make sure you have Biochem. MCAT is taken late junior year/after junior year

Relax, your schedule's gonna change a million times and it's really not the time to be worrying about it

Is it ok to take Orgo and physics at the same time if the other two classes are "fluff" classes? a.k.a non science classes? I'll probably end in taking biochem first semester of junior year. I was confused on the timeline to take the MCAT because I know if you want to for example attend medical school in the fall of 2020, you should take the MCAT in 2019.