Org I vs Anatomy and Physiolgy I

[jweeze]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I can only take Org I or Anatomy and Physiolgy I over the summer. Is there one would that would help more for the upcoming PCATs this year?

 

[Busta919]

I would depend on which subject you feel stronger in. Both A&P and Organic make up the smallest portion of the Biology and Chemsitry sections. If you feel stronger in Biology, take Organic. If you are feeling ambitious, and don't have anything to do this summer, take Organic 1 and II, it will get that off your plate. I would not recommend that course of action with A&P.

 

[delano2000]

OChem was pretty rough over the summer so I would not recommend it. OChem is like a different language, it's hard to learn it over a 4 week period (whether it's I or II). OChem makes up about 40% of the Chemistry section. Personally, I would go with A&P even though OChem may be of more benefit for the PCAT.

 

[dudecoolname]

Depending on your lecture/lab instructers A & P can require ALOT of memorization. I've studied more for this semesters A & P class than I have just about any other class...I can't imagine taking it in the summer but I guess it could be done.

Organic really depends on your teacher, it can be a fairly easy class...or a really difficult class, depending on your teacher.

I wouldn't do either personally, but if I had to choose I'd say take Organic


EDIT - So yea OP, make sure you visit www.ratemyprofessors.com before making a decision

 

[amox]

A lot of orgo and AP is on the test. Something else that will really help you is to brush up on diseases and causes. For example Cystic Fibrosis, Malaria, etc. Seems basic but trust me.

91Bio/88Chem on PCAT 🙂

I took Orgo 1+2 + Labs over 1 summer semester. It was hell, but if that means you get into pharm school 1 year early, then DO IT.

And as the gentleman said above, orgo really depends on teacher 🙂

 

[Notecard]

Definitely take Organic 1. You'll at least have a basis in organic chemistry for the PCAT which is very necessary. Not only that, but the second Organic is slightly intuitive once you have the first Organic under your belt meaning that the second semester of Organic 2 is less necessary for the PCAT. Plus the Bio section of the PCAT is split between like 6 different Bio classes whereas chem is split between 4 (mostly 3).

 

[jweeze]

I appreciate all of the feedback and a little more background might help. I graduated from college back in 2002 and have been a financial advisor for the past 8 years. I took gen chem I and II as well as bio I and II the first time I was in college but didn't take org at all. I'm currently retaking all of my prereqs because they're too old now. My chem prof is incredible! Because of my schools schedule during the summer, he is allowing me to take org I in the 1st summer session before I take gen chem II in 2nd summer. I have done perfectly fine in the 1st half of gen chem I(100 average so far).

 

[NaOH]

My vote is Org as well. I took Org I last summer and did fine... of course, it helped that here, at least, the first third of Org I is "Everything We Already Taught You in Gen Chem But You Managed To Forget Anyway". So it wasn't that bad. Just stay on top of it and make a concerted effort to really internalize what you learn - I got off to a rocky start in Org II just because a lot of stuff from 1 didn't stick as well as it should have.

 

[wmw]

I took ochem I in fall semester (A); I took A&P I&II over the summer (A-,A) and ended up with chem:99% bio:88%.... idk what you can extrapolate from that haha , but a&p over the summer wasnt too bad even with both labs, ochem over the summer I would not do however, you need time to let it sink in and properly understand it; a&p is more memorization

 

[Passion4Sci]

Both require rote memorization and a ton of practice, so IMO, you're going to have a tough time with either. I'd definitely take the one that you need the most help with on the PCAT but, like other folks have said, they don't really comprise a lot of the PCAT content (to my recollection anyway).

 

[hillwilliam]

I would get the Orgo I and Gen Chem II done this summer. Take Orgo II and A&P in the fall. Take the fall PCAT. You need Organic and A&P for the PCAT.

I don't agree with previous posters that Orgo is not a large part of PCAT. The actual content varies from test to test. When I took it in August 2010, at least 40% of the Chem test was Orgo. Fortunately I had taken Orgo II and A&P II over the summer and ended up with 99 Chem and 98 Bio subtest scores.

 

[PharmDizzle]

I can only take Org I or Anatomy and Physiolgy I over the summer. Is there one would that would help more for the upcoming PCATs this year?

I can't say more emphatically ORGO ORGO ORGO!!! Both times I took the PCAT it was much more organic than gen chem. I learned functional group names and that sort of thing on my own but it was nowhere near enough. I got 37th percentile in chemistry first time I took it. The second time I was halfway through orgo I and my score jumped to 90th percentile in chemistry. The bio section was more general bio than A&P. I took A&P 5 years earlier so forgot a lot of it but I just reviewed basics of A&P and did great in the bio section both times I took it. In summation, ORGO!!!

 

[longhornatheart]

I'm going to say it depends on the Pharmacy schools that you are applying to. The PCAT is going to be completely computerized starting July this year and 5 PCAT exams will be administered in September. The next round won't be until January 2012. Most schools do not accept the January PCAT score as it arrives too late for consideration. The best thing to do is to check.

That being said, if the schools you are interested in do not take the January PCATs, then take organic chemistry over the summer! A&P did show up on the PCAT but there weren't too many questions beyond what was covered in bio 2 on the body systems. Having taken A&P prior to taking the PCAT probably only helped me on 2 questions at most on the bio section.

Contrast that with the chemistry portion which was about 40% orgo, it's hardly anything. I took the PCAT with only 1 month of orgo underneath my belt and chemistry was easily my worst section because of it. Despite studying ahead in orgo and using MCAT materials, it's a very difficult concept for the majority of people to grasp.

 

[monkieez]

I also put my vote in for orgo. A&P is much easier to learn on your own that orgo. Plus, the A&P stuff on the PCAT wasn't particularly in depth and you probably would do fine with just reading the bio section of a PCAT prep book. For what it's worth, I used the Kaplan book for bio and read a chapter or two a day during the summer for the August PCAT.