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thedocta

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Background: Appreciate any and all advice. I'm finishing up my bachelor's in a non-science major this Spring so I'm taking a year to finish pre-requisites and get some additional ECs. I'm going to take classes in all 3 summer, fall and spring semesters, but I'm also going to take the MCAT after next year's Spring semester May 2017 right before I apply, so I want to set myself up with a very light Spring semester for study time.

Question: Because of the way my school's schedule is, I can take organic chemistry 1 in the first summer session and biochemistry in the second summer session, but I can't take organic chemistry 2 over the summer so I'd have to bypass it for biochemistry until I could take it in the fall. Would it be worth the extra study time for the MCAT that I'd allow myself in the Spring semester by taking the courses this way? Or would I be better off going the standard OCHEM->OCHEM2->BIOCHEM route even though I'd have to take OCHEM2 in that Spring semester where I'd want to devote a ton of studying to the MCAT?

I know biochem isn't a pre-req, I'm going to take it based on advice for MCAT prep. I'm also taking into account the more difficult, very condensed summer classes, these are only 5 weeks long. I welcome advice from anybody that's been in a similar situation or any opinions at all, thanks a lot.

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Personally, I think that orgo1 is fine for intro biochem. At my school you take them at the same time usually, but I have never used stuff I learned in orgoII in biochem. Everything you do need for biochem, you learn in orgo1.
At least that was my experience!
 
Personally, I think that orgo1 is fine for intro biochem. At my school you take them at the same time usually, but I have never used stuff I learned in orgoII in biochem. Everything you do need for biochem, you learn in orgo1.
At least that was my experience!

I second this. Biochemistry is definitely doable without Organic II.

A five-week biochemistry course will be a beast, however.
 
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I agree with @bcemslayer. My biochem corse was not too ochem heavy--you never really look at how electrons move around, it's more about pHs and how charges and groups interact and stuff.
I would shoot a quick email to the professor that typically teaches the course and ask how necessary s/he thinks it would be, since it will be somewhat specific to school and professor.


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At my school, you can't take Biochem without ochem 2. I mean it's a good thing that you don't have to go through the sequence of ochem to take Biochem, I don't think you'll struggle if you're motivated and stay on task. However, what worries me is the pace of summer classes especially for a class such as Biochem. It also depends on your strengths, for example I think Biochem was WAY easier than ochem 2 or physics 2, but other people struggled with Biochem compared to ochem or other science classes.
 
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The main mechanisms in biochem are from orgo 2 (carbonyl chemistry mostly). but the logic behind it isn't too mind blowing. you'll be fine. biochem is mostly pathways that take shear memorization.
 
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