question..making my last schedule before i take the mcat

[abcxyz0123]

hey guys, i am a soph in college and am planning on taking the mcat in august of 2006 (summer before junior year). By the end of this semester, i will have completed 1 year of gen chem, 1 year of bio, the 1st half of organic chemistry, and 1 year of physics. I will be taking the 2nd half of organic next semester. Anyway, I was just wondering if you think that it would be important if i squeeze in a 5 credit physiology class also? THe reason why i wouldnt is because it would make my schedule extremely busy, so I'm trying to choose between that physiology class or a 3 credit history class to help complete my major. Did you guys find that you could study everything you needed to know purely from your test prep books? Or do you think it is so much more helpful to take an actual upper level course before taking the mcat?

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[modelslashactor]

Physiology would help, but not taking it wouldn't really hurt. The physiology on the MCAT is extremely basic and can be picked up from prep books or even a general bio book (Campbell is my favorite). I'd say go ahead and take it if you are interested in it and it's not more work than it's worth. You have two years left and should have plenty of time to complete your major or whatever it is you're doing.

 

[DrBowtie]

I was struggling with the same decision.
I will have all my pre-reqs done plus cell bio and an upper level physics and was debating whether or not to take genetics. In the end I decided not to take the class and instead put that time into prep.

 

[AWhitehair]

I was struggling with the same decision.
I will have all my pre-reqs done plus cell bio and an upper level physics and was debating whether or not to take genetics. In the end I decided not to take the class and instead put that time into prep.

I was wondering about this as well. I think I have decided to take the august mcat instead of april. Then, my next question was whether or not to take physio or immunology in the summer to help with the mcat. Prob a bad idea... takes away from study time for mcat?

 

[DrBowtie]

Here is the thing about upper levels that I have asked and got mixed responses.

Is it the in depth study of new material or the repetition of the underlying concepts and keeping them fresh that makes them good preparation?

There doesn't seem to be a consensus. I think rather than learning something in depth that has more info than needed just for the sake of the MCAT seems off. If you put in the exact same time you would have for the class on topics only covered in the MCAT it seems that would be more efficient.

 

[AWhitehair]

Here is the thing about upper levels that I have asked and got mixed responses.

Is it the in depth study of new material or the repetition of the underlying concepts and keeping them fresh that makes them good preparation?

There doesn't seem to be a consensus. I think rather than learning something in depth that has more info than needed just for the sake of the MCAT seems off. If you put in the exact same time you would have for the class on topics only covered in the MCAT it seems that would be more efficient.

I agree. My old boss (PhD of medical genetics who had once wanted to go to med school) told me she took the mcat having had a lot of upper level bio and found it hard to give the answer the question was looking for when she had so much previous knowledge on the subject. It lead her to a deeper analysis than what was needed and possibly a better answer (which in turn would have been the wrong one).

 

[abcxyz0123]

Here is the thing about upper levels that I have asked and got mixed responses.

Is it the in depth study of new material or the repetition of the underlying concepts and keeping them fresh that makes them good preparation?

There doesn't seem to be a consensus. I think rather than learning something in depth that has more info than needed just for the sake of the MCAT seems off. If you put in the exact same time you would have for the class on topics only covered in the MCAT it seems that would be more efficient.

Exactly! i've asked the same question so many times to people on sdn and around my school, and unfortunately i've had the same results. But you and I have both reached similar conclusions; i guess it would be smarter and more efficient to replace the study time you would have put into doing well in an upper level course by just studying harder on more relevant info over the summer.

 

[DrBowtie]

Here is the link to the thread where I got some pretty good answers:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=235334

 

[izibo]

I was struggling with the same decision.
I will have all my pre-reqs done plus cell bio and an upper level physics and was debating whether or not to take genetics. In the end I decided not to take the class and instead put that time into prep.

You would be much better off with upper level genetics as opposed to an advanced physics course. Physics on the MCAT is very, very basic. Those who have taken advanced classes will be at no advantage.

Bio, on the other hand, is a mixed-bag. Yes, the material is basic, but most courses don't cover all the MCAT material indepth. In other words, an advanced Bio class like genetics may come in extremely helpful on the MCAT.

Personally, I had taken both advanced physics and advanced bio courses by MCAT time. The physics didn't help me whatsoever, but the Bio courses helped me with at least 4 or 5 questions.

 

[DrBowtie]

You would be much better off with upper level genetics as opposed to an advanced physics course. Physics on the MCAT is very, very basic. Those who have taken advanced classes will be at no advantage.

Bio, on the other hand, is a mixed-bag. Yes, the material is basic, but most courses don't cover all the MCAT material indepth. In other words, an advanced Bio class like genetics may come in extremely helpful on the MCAT.

Personally, I had taken both advanced physics and advanced bio courses by MCAT time. The physics didn't help me whatsoever, but the Bio courses helped me with at least 4 or 5 questions.

I am a physics major so there is no way around it.