Pre-Med Coursework: Genetics

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Hi all,

I noticed on the MSAR that 80% of med schools either recommend or require a genetics course in premed coursework. I was wondering if my Molecular and Cell Biology class would suffice in this regard with respect to the perspective of adcoms. I feel obligated to take a genetics course even if its "recommended" by the med school (especially the UCs) because I know they look at the breadth of an applicant's courseload, but its not really something I personally would be interested in.
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no and you're gonna need genetics in medicine. i'd start being interested in it.
 
Cellular Bio won't be considered a genetics course- I have heard you will really use genetics in medicine (like the previous poster said)... I would suggest taking it if you get a chance but then again many say biochem is important and I didn't take that.

Take everything with a grain of salt but you will use it in medical school
 
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Molec/Cell Bio is entirely separate from a Genetics course. I would highly recommend both prior to med school if your schedule allows. And yes, genetics is not as exciting as the former course, but it is extremely important.
 
Life 101: You will often have to go through things you dislike in order to get to things you like.
 
justdoit31 said:
Cellular Bio won't be considered a genetics course- I have heard you will really use genetics in medicine (like the previous poster said)... I would suggest taking it if you get a chance but then again many say biochem is important and I didn't take that.

Take everything with a grain of salt but you will use it in medical school
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bchem is rec or req by ~75 of the 125, so it's probably a good thing to take.

genetics is i think generally described as one of the "bio classes you should take" pre-matric.
 
snicket said:
Life 101: You will often have to go through things you dislike in order to get to things you like.
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no i don't and you can't make me
mooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Just an FYI -- on the BS section of my MCAT, I had four molecular genetics passages. Needless to say, I didn't do so hot.
 
If you are not majoring in bio I wouldn't bother to take it. For the MCAT, you might have a slightly easier time, but you might as well just study extra hard for a few months instead of wasting a full class at Berkeley on something you don't even like. If you go to med school you will have to take genetics there anyway so any desire you have to learn genetics will be fulfilled. I would suggesting exploring other fields that you are interested in because you will never get this chance again. :)

However, make sure to do really well in the science courses that you do take because taking fewer BCMP courses will make your science GPA much more heavily weighted on a few courses.

P.S. I didn't take a genetics course and I received tons of interviews and a the first few acceptances (including one at a UC!!)
 
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jurassicpark said:
bchem is rec or req by ~75 of the 125, so it's probably a good thing to take.

genetics is i think generally described as one of the "bio classes you should take" pre-matric.
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yes I know bio chem would be helpful and don't deny it but the way my degree was structured it wouldn't fit so I decided to take pretty much all the other pre-reqs and then just study a lot more on the bio chem section during first year.
 
Would Bacterial Genetics count as a genetics course?
 
if u have a 3.7+ in a year of general bio, chem, physics, and orgo, there is no need to do any other science courses... if it was so important it would be REQUIRED
 
yowhatup said:
if u have a 3.7+ in a year of general bio, chem, physics, and orgo, there is no need to do any other science courses... if it was so important it would be REQUIRED
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some do require other classes, sweet pea.
 
StIGMA said:
No, not at all. The information that you learn from a "genetics" course is everything that is applicable to humans and would be helpful for medical school. Ie: working within a diploid, multicellular, sexual reproductive system.
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Agreed. However, bacterial genetics is still important for research purposes, so if you want to take bacterial genetics for ____ and giggles, go ahead. Though, I must admit. I'm biased because I'm one of those weirdos who love genetics, and I especially LOVE bacterial genetics.

However, you should still take a human genetics course.
 
yowhatup said:
if u have a 3.7+ in a year of general bio, chem, physics, and orgo, there is no need to do any other science courses... if it was so important it would be REQUIRED
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JurassicPark argues a good point.

Also, many medical schools, I think, feel general bio just isn't enough bio exposure for many students. Pre-health advisors feel the same way. Think about it. If you really want to go to medical school (which covers much bio and genetics material, no doubt), you should show interest in going above and beyond with at least a few biology courses.

Does it need to be genetics? no, but it's an option.
 
Its going to be a big thing in the future and the material is not really that difficult (and rather interesting). I have friends in medical school right now who said that their undergrad genetics course was extremely useful.
 
I was told by a number of people that no coursework I take in my undergrad will be particularly helpful to me in med school because everything is just at a whole new level. I suppose I will find this out soon enough.

As for the emphasis being place on genetics, I think some of these comments are going overboard. Maybe 1 or 2 of the schools I am applying to even mention genetics. I also spoke with someone from Mt. Sinai about my coursework since I am a history major and he said as long as you minor in a science, then you will be fine. I am minoring in chemistry with a major in History, so I don't have room for genetics or biochem and my adviser and this individual from sinai had no problem with that.

Just my two cents I suppose. Time will only tell.
 
there is absolutely no need to do higher level science courses... only do what is required.... if you want to do an upper level course do it ONLY for learning purposes, and not to impress ad com's.... 99% of medical schools only require a year of bio, chem, orgo, and physics with labs... .. i did neither a major nor minor in science and have some medical school acceptance offers
 
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Thank you, yowhatup. I feel like opinions like ours are often lost on SDN haha.
 
cavalier329 said:
Thank you, yowhatup. I feel like opinions like ours are often lost on SDN haha.
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haha yea i feel the pain too.... people just need to chill and get a life... like go out with friends to watch how alabama is gonna win at all imo.. rather than worrying about which courses, or even worse I got an A-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in Chem 811 Advanced Einstein Organic Chemistry.... I'm doomed and i'm gonna be a homeless person living off beer and fries
 
Revilla said:
Just an FYI -- on the BS section of my MCAT, I had four molecular genetics passages. Needless to say, I didn't do so hot.
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Me too. Genetics saved my butt on the MCAT.
 
I found genetics very useful for the MCAT. It also will help a good deal in medical school.

Biochem would probably be more helpful for med school than the MCAT. However, if you undergrad biochem is like mine, it will have a very different focus than med school biochem. We had to memorize and draw structures and reactions. This was the majority of what was tested.

In med school, you will not have to do this. You will be concerned more with trends, regulation, and the "big picture."
 
First, you DON'T need to take genetics to do well on the MCAT, in my opinion. Most of the stuff on the test--at least from practice tests I took and the actual test--is the Mendelian gentics (and some molecular genetics) you'll learn in gen bio and relearn studying for the MCAT.

Second, I was a science major, didn't take genetics (but did take biochem, cell bio, other biosciences) and have several acceptances. Just go into NYU. It's a nice course to bolster your science experience, but not necessary.
 
I did not take genetics as an undergrad. I had some exposure to it through other courses, and I studied what was required for the MCAT from the MCAT prep books. Not having genetics did not adversely affect my application. I recently finished a course in medical genetics as part of my first year medschool curriculum and made an A without difficulty. Don't stress too much over genetics.
 
Valvool said:
I did not take genetics as an undergrad. I had some exposure to it through other courses, and I studied what was required for the MCAT from the MCAT prep books. Not having genetics did not adversely affect my application. I recently finished a course in medical genetics as part of my first year medschool curriculum and made an A without difficulty. Don't stress too much over genetics.
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yea, I sorta missed the point of this thread. :oops:

You shouldn't have any application problems from not taking genetics. Not a big deal.
 
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