MCAT Biology Section

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ShySpliceosome

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What Biology courses are covered on the MCAT? I will probably take it next summer, but I am concerned because I have not taken Anatomy/Physiology yet, and it doesn't seem to be part of the curricular "track" I'm on. :confused: I guess I'll have to consult my academic advisor on that one. So far, I have taken General Biology, General Chemistry, Genetics, Organic Chemistry, and Microbiology. I will be taking Physics and Molecular/Cell Biology this year. I just want to make sure I have all my bases covered before Test Day.

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The crucial ones are genetics, molecular bio, biochem, physiology physiology physiology. Physiology. My one physiology course covered all the topics in BR book 1.

I've taken cell bio and developmental bio, those were a good supplement in that they assured pretty much nothing in content review was new or foreign, but honestly those classes (esp cell bio) went into way, way more detail than required for MCAT purposes (i.e. the detailed mechanisms for signaling and specific 2nd messenger pathways, detailed mechanisms for secretory pathways)
 
i didnt have to take anatomy and phys for my chem degree, but i decided to anyway and it helped tremendously considering the amount of time i took to do well in the class.
 
The crucial ones are genetics, molecular bio, biochem, physiology physiology physiology. Physiology. My one physiology course covered all the topics in BR book 1.

I'm jealous. my physiology class covered just the first two chapters in TBR book 1. after it was all said and done, I was one angry pre-med at the lack of content. but that's life.
 
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The crucial ones are genetics, molecular bio, biochem, physiology physiology physiology. Physiology. My one physiology course covered all the topics in BR book 1.

I've taken cell bio and developmental bio, those were a good supplement in that they assured pretty much nothing in content review was new or foreign, but honestly those classes (esp cell bio) went into way, way more detail than required for MCAT purposes (i.e. the detailed mechanisms for signaling and specific 2nd messenger pathways, detailed mechanisms for secretory pathways)

I have the exact opposite feeling about cell bio.... I feel like some of the things I learned in that class are so applicable to the random questions that require a good grasp on all organelle functions. Although I guess the frequency of those types of questions isn't very high... lol.

I really do wish I had taken some anatomy and physiology though. I think orgo is the one thing that's really rocking my BS score, so I have bigger fish to fry right now heh.
 
I have the exact opposite feeling about cell bio.... I feel like some of the things I learned in that class are so applicable to the random questions that require a good grasp on all organelle functions. Although I guess the frequency of those types of questions isn't very high... lol.

I really do wish I had taken some anatomy and physiology though. I think orgo is the one thing that's really rocking my BS score, so I have bigger fish to fry right now heh.

I think we had pretty different cell bio courses then. My class didn't go over organelle function or any basics at all (well I think it would be beneficial to add that this was the hardest and most challenging class I've taken at my school. The questions on his midterm and final demanded so much more intuition and application than the joke MCAT bio questions)

Just reading the titles on half of my notes here, we went thru actin dynamics such as treadmilling and GTPase-induced migration, the excruciatingly detailed mechanisms and involved enzymes and regulation of .... mitochondrial import, nuclear import, ER import, early/late secretory pathways, nuclear hormone signaling pathways, GPCR mechanisms, adenylyl cyclase pathway, PLC-beta pathway, cGMP phosphodiesterase pathway, TGF-beta pathway, JAK/STAT pathway, Ras/MAPK pathway, hardcore regulation of cell cycle (Cdk's Cdc's), apoptosis pathways....I'm gonna stop, and do some ochem myself :)
 
I'm jealous. my physiology class covered just the first two chapters in TBR book 1. after it was all said and done, I was one angry pre-med at the lack of content. but that's life.

My friend said the same thing about his physio course. His school is supposed to be a "science" school as well - with the volume of pre-med students at science undergrad universities I don't understand how they can afford to skimp out on their main human physio course.

Yeah, the physics and gchem departments at my school are pathetic, but luckily we have amazing, overqualified ochem / bio teachers. At least we did. God damn budget cuts.
 
Thanks, everyone, for your input! Apparently, Anatomy/Physiology isn't required at my school, but I'm going to take it anyway! ;)
 
I think we had pretty different cell bio courses then. My class didn't go over organelle function or any basics at all (well I think it would be beneficial to add that this was the hardest and most challenging class I've taken at my school. The questions on his midterm and final demanded so much more intuition and application than the joke MCAT bio questions)

Just reading the titles on half of my notes here, we went thru actin dynamics such as treadmilling and GTPase-induced migration, the excruciatingly detailed mechanisms and involved enzymes and regulation of .... mitochondrial import, nuclear import, ER import, early/late secretory pathways, nuclear hormone signaling pathways, GPCR mechanisms, adenylyl cyclase pathway, PLC-beta pathway, cGMP phosphodiesterase pathway, TGF-beta pathway, JAK/STAT pathway, Ras/MAPK pathway, hardcore regulation of cell cycle (Cdk's Cdc's), apoptosis pathways....I'm gonna stop, and do some ochem myself :)

No, sounds to me like our cell bio classes were identical... strange. You don't find that knowing about all the protein modifications and secretory pathways helps a bit during the questions about eukaryotic cells? I mean some of the info is totally extraneous to the MCAT, but I think knowing the more complicated stuff helped me solidify a bunch of the more basic information that I need for BS.
 
No, sounds to me like our cell bio classes were identical... strange. You don't find that knowing about all the protein modifications and secretory pathways helps a bit during the questions about eukaryotic cells? I mean some of the info is totally extraneous to the MCAT, but I think knowing the more complicated stuff helped me solidify a bunch of the more basic information that I need for BS.

Hallelujah @ that sentence. Literally, so many people on these forums want the easy way out, to learn the bare minimum, etc. It def does help to know more the more complicated stuff, like when you get a passage that wouldn't REQUIRE you to know all the biology that it's presenting, cause it gives you all the info, but if you do know all that stuff it makes it easy to skim the passage in 5-10 seconds and hit the questions way faster. Saving precious time.

Still, if someone wants to do the bare minimum and hasn't taken physio/molec/biochem/genetics, those should def come before cell bio. It would be first runner up tho.
 
Hallelujah @ that sentence. Literally, so many people on these forums want the easy way out, to learn the bare minimum, etc. It def does help to know more the more complicated stuff, like when you get a passage that wouldn't REQUIRE you to know all the biology that it's presenting, cause it gives you all the info, but if you do know all that stuff it makes it easy to skim the passage in 5-10 seconds and hit the questions way faster. Saving precious time.

Still, if someone wants to do the bare minimum and hasn't taken physio/molec/biochem/genetics, those should def come before cell bio. It would be first runner up tho.

Agreed 100%. Biochem might have been the most helpful course out of all my upper levels, to be honest. All that protein junk and amino acid pka/pkb/pl stuff is ezpz after a semester of biochem. Though I kinda wish I had taken genetics last semester because it's probably my weakest biology related content knowledge and none of the review materials seem to cover it that well.
 
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