Organic 1 or Biology 2

[sheerin]

I'm not sure which course I should take during the summer that will prepare me for the PCATs. I will also be studying for the PCATS during the summer but not sure which subject will be more stressed on the exam. Thank You.

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[Texas PharmDoc]

I'm not sure which course I should take during the summer that will prepare me for the PCATs. I will also be studying for the PCATS during the summer but not sure which subject will be more stressed on the exam. Thank You.

Are you planning on taking the PCAT in June or August? There are some schools that may frown upon taking such an important pre-req (Organic) during the summer.

I would definitely take Organic before you take the PCAT though. You can study Bio 2 much easier on your own if thats the only option. But why not take both classes?

 

[sugarxoxo]

There was hardly any ochem stuff on my pcat I took last aug. but a lot of bio and bio2 Would help more in my opinion.. There was like one or two naming of ochem stuff on the pcat and in my opinion ochem is way easier than bio... I'm finishing my ochem2 this semester. And I've done all my bios already. =)

 

[atticus27]

Since the bio section has a broader range of subjects consisting of A&P, Micro, and Gen Bio, you should be able to pull off a decent score without Bio II. Although without Orgo under your belt your chem score will probably take a beating. I would say my chem section was about 55% orgo and my bio section had maybe 2-4 questions from bio II. just my opinion.

 

[aboveliquidice]

Since the bio section has a broader range of subjects consisting of A&P, Micro, and Gen Bio, you should be able to pull off a decent score without Bio II. Although without Orgo under your belt your chem score will probably take a beating. I would say my chem section was about 55% orgo and my bio section had maybe 2-4 questions from bio II. just my opinion.

I think I saw maybe 6 or 7 organic questions... it is debatable how many bio 2 questions. It really depends on what path your school takes concerning the order of biology. Some schools do the in-depth tour of the phyla from sponges up through vertebrates and call that bio 2 - other schools take the tour first, then the major science later. The major science portion shows up on the PCAT - knowing all about each phylum is not important for pharmacy school.

Still - I would take organic - far more difficult for me to guess...

 

[lymmys]

Go for Biol 2. There were only 2-3 questions of O.chem when I took it, and they were not even serious ochem, just naming. So I think you should go for Biol.

 

[PharmasaurusRx]

I also vote for Biology II. I took the PCAT in Fall 2006, so maybe it has changed, but I also remember that the only Orgo that showed up was naming the structures. Nomenclature was covered completely in my Orgo I.

 

[aboveliquidice]

I also vote for Biology II. I took the PCAT in Fall 2006, so maybe it has changed, but I also remember that the only Orgo that showed up was naming the structures. Nomenclature was covered completely in my Orgo I.

You should re-read the original post before making a recommendation.

 

[aplif3]

I would go for Organic 1 instead of Bio 2.
I feel like Bio is more important, but if you are not familiar with Organic at all, it will be pretty difficult to grasp the concepts quickly. Additionally, since you have had bio 1 and bio 2 will only be covering similar topics but with more details, you can just go buy a review book and read up on that to prepare for the bio questions. But that's just me. Good luck

 

[thephoenician88]

bottom line, you need both to do well (high percentile) on the pcat....I would say organic 1>bio 2 though because the basics of organic showed up a few times on my pcat.

 

[TTUMike]

Organic will help you more than Bio II on the PCAT in my opinion.

 

[Rx by mail]

Bio II will be more of a help than Orgo. I took the PCAT early in the fall semester, just after starting orgo... and scored in the mid 90's. Like a previous poster stated, there wasn't much for orgo in the chemistry section, however I do recall the biology section being more indepth than I expected - including several anatomy questions, even though anatomy isn't a pre-req at many school.


good luck!

 

[cschellh]

I think bio > orgo by FAR! orgo was very basic, and it seemed to be a lot more nomenclature than anything. as for bio, there was a lot more of that on there i thought.. and i think taking bio would better your score overall. (if you can't take both before the pcat) good luck!

 

[cschellh]

everyone seems to be at odds though...... good luck deciding =)

 

[Texas PharmDoc]

I would go for Organic 1 instead of Bio 2.
I feel like Bio is more important, but if you are not familiar with Organic at all, it will be pretty difficult to grasp the concepts quickly. Additionally, since you have had bio 1 and bio 2 will only be covering similar topics but with more details, you can just go buy a review book and read up on that to prepare for the bio questions. But that's just me. Good luck

This is what I was getting at. It depends on the version of the PCAT you are taking. Some have more organic material than others. I just think it's easier to buy a book to study Bio II on your own. Well in m opinion, it would be just as easy to study organic on my own, but some people struggle with that class more than others.

Just dont wuss out...take both.

 

[stkyrice]

Wow, when I took the PCAT, I had just finished O-Chem 2, and I was actually pretty floored because there were at least 2-3 questions pertaining to stuff I had just learned. It must've worked, since I scored mid90s in chem. Most of the o-chem questions I had were from O-chem 1, and even then there were more general chem than organic.

However, that being said, I think second semester bio would probably be more useful since there are definitely more questions that were relevant to second semester bio.

 

[sheerin]

Thank You all! I'm pretty quick with chemistry, so I might just study organic chemiistry individually comparing to biology. Thank You again and good luck.

 

[thephoenician88]

Thank You all! I'm pretty quick with chemistry, so I might just study organic chemiistry individually comparing to biology. Thank You again and good luck.

make sure of that, because organic is nothing like general chemistry.