Non-science major

[Southern Gentlemen]

I was wondering if taking the core "pre-med" courses only is good enough to do well on the MCAT. I am planning to change my major to psychology, and I think that along with my psychology requirements, and a minor, I will only have enough time to take the suggested courses (bio,chem,organic,physics). Are there any other courses that are essential for ensuring success on the MCAT?

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[Pathologist]

I would definitely try to take biochemistry. I haven't taken the MCAT yet, but I've heard from everyone I've talked to about this to make sure I take biochem.

 

[Cottontop]

Biochem is a must, not necessarily for the MCAT but definitly for a good foundation before your first year. Many schools have started requiring biochem prior to admission and after finishing 2/3 of my first year of medical school I couldn't agree more. Many assumtions are made concerning entry level knowledge of the basic sciences for first year medical students, and one of the biggest is a fundamental knowledge of biochemistry. I would forego all the extra upper division organic, p-chem, and physics
classes for fundamental biochem or at least a good course in metabolism. Those pathways will consume you if you don't have a basic understanding. I did not have biochem prior to my first year. I spent 2-3 times more studying for that one class than my peers who had a better foundation. I still did well, but was sleep deprived for two quarters. I am getting ready for finals right now and I will be sooooo glad when I can lay that book down and NEVER look at it again (well until boards that is!)

By the way, what is a nice "southern gentleman" like yourself doing in Pennsylvania?

 

[moo]

Just a general question, what stuff in biochemistry is covered in med school? I am taking a year long course in biochem and in the first semester we did the basic TCA cycle, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, etc. Now we are doing FA synthesis and breakdown (beta oxidation), urea cycle, and nucleotide synthesis and breakdown. Is this roughly similar to what you guys do in med school?

 

[Becket]

moo-

Yeah, that pretty much covers what's taught in med school, along with some other topics like protein and DNA synthesis. You look like you'll be well prepared.

 

[together]

Human Physiology is a MUST for the MCAT.

I have heard conflicting perspectives about the importance of biochemistry for the MCAT, although I agree that it's VERY important for medical school.

Together

 

[Starflyr]

My ideas on this are a little different, I guess. I agree that biochem is a VERY good thing to take...for medical school. I did not see any biochem questions on the MCAT, nor did I have any questions that I KNEW I didnt get make me wish Id taken biochem before the time I took it (I took the august MCAT and biochem that fall). One thing that my MCAT form focused heavily on was genetics. There were (I think) 2 VR passages that related to it and all but 2 of the bio-oriented questions had to do with genetics. Developmental helped me too. I didnt see any questions that I needed to know human physiology for, aside from basics (like, what do the kidneys do? type things). Physiology, like biochem is probably more useful (imho) for medical school preparation than the MCAT.

Good luck
Star

 

[Hallie]

Southern Gentleman,
I took only the core prereqs and felt that they were sufficient prep for the MCAT. I took a Kaplan review course and found that most of the content of the MCAT was covered by this course. Then again, there were definitely questions on the MCAT that I thought were difficult and required a lot of thinking beyond what I had learned in Kaplan - maybe these questions were not as difficult for individuals with a stronger science background ... I am not sure. My point is, the MCAT CAN be done with just the core reqs (although I would advise taking a prep course). I even know someone who took the MCAT before taking any physics and did really well. So don't stress if you have to take the MCAT without additional coursework - although it really sounds like taking biochem is a good idea at some point regardless! Good luck! =)

 

[Meli]

My advisor has recommended taking Genetics and Cell Biology in addition to all the reg. stuff specifically for the MCATs.

 

[omores]

Whether you need to take science courses beyond the core requirements really all depends on you -- how your mind works, the best ways for you to learn new material, how much time you have. Certainly it's not true that you MUST take biochem,physiology or genetics in preparation for the MCATs. I am living proof that you can take the minimum required courses and still get an excellent score (I'm also living proof that's it's possible to have a 4.0 science GPA and an over-40 MCAT and get rejected without interview by Harvard and Hopkins -- but that's another story!)

The best advice I can give you is to get hold of practice MCAT tests and see whether you think your courses have given you the information you need. Example: most of the practice tests I looked at had physiology questions that I couldn't answer, but I didn't have time to take a physiology course. Instead, I studied the physiology chapters of my General Biology textbook (chapters we'd never covered in class), and that worked fine.

The same goes for prep courses: there are those who will tell you that they're critical to a good score. They're not -- it's possible (and cheaper!) to do it on your own, although it helps if you can get your hands on some of the prep-course material -- I had a friend who passed his TPR stuff on to me, and it was a great help. Still, if you want the materials, the structure, and the discipline that a prep course can give you, then by all means take one.

So check out some practice tests, think about what YOU need, and take it from there.

 

[Jacky]

To moo: Wow, your biochem is a year long (2 semesters)!! I wish I had that luxury. My undergraduate class literally crammed all that in 1 semester and it kicked my butt! (31 chapters of ridiculous text...completely out of control!) Funny, now the bio dept. is considering dividing the class into 2 terms. (a lot of good that does me now!) At least I got the last laugh (got an A!!). Good luck with it!

[This message has been edited by Jacky (edited 02-07-2001).]

 

[oscar505]

Why not just major in Biochem and solve all your problems? you'll get plenty of it and some a yearof P chem as an added bonus.

 

[Medigirl]

I took the MCAT having only taken the core requirements and did fine (well enough to get interviews). I also took the Kaplan course, which was key for my method of studying (need assignments b/c i am not self-motivated). After taking the MCAT, I took Biochem and realized it would have made the test a bit easier. Kaplan taught me how to approach Biochem questions using logic, but had I already taken Biochem, i would have just known the answers. Make sense? There was quite a bit of genetics on the test, too, and I found having taken genetics courses helped but was not necessary. Kaplan prepared us for those questions as well. The genetics questions were pretty basic: Mendelian genetics and such, which I believe is covered in most Bio classes. Hope that helps!

 

[rxfudd]

No need to major in biochem...what you get out of pchem and biochem to what you have to put in is not nearly worth it...if you are considering grad school, then yeah, I would recommend it. But I'm killing myself right now having to take quantum AND study for the MCAT (which incorporates very little quantum and thermo, at least at the pchem level). And all the biochem you need is in your intro bio text - you may not have covered it, but it's there.