self taught genetics and physiology

[korndoctor]

---

Members don't see this ad.

going through the threads, i noticed that genetics and physiology are pretty heavy on the biological portion on the mcats, am i correct?

if that is the case, what textbooks (best) would you guys recommend to use to study genetics and physiology on my own? I do not have time to take the physiology class offered at my school and it doesnt fit into my schedule, so i'm okay with learning it on my own. I already took a genetics class at my college but the textbook we used was so horrible...it waterdowned everything so i really didnt learn anything, it felt more like a review of general bio than anything.

 

[BNSN]

I would absolutely not worry about taking a physiology course. The physiology on the MCAT is covered in the second semester of a traditional intro Bio course.

Just use the Campbell/Reece Bio textbook and Examkrackers Bio study guide. You ought to be fine.

 

[Hurricane95]

Physiology can be a pretty extensive portion of the biological sciences section of the mcat. Genetics is in there too, although to a far more elementary degree. Generally the genetics covered in your general biology course is sufficient, assuming you know it well. I wouldn't recommened however buying a course textbook in each subject to study from for the mcat. You will go into far more detail than necessary if you attempt to read an entire textbook in each subject. I recommend you get your hands on a good mcat biological science review book, like TPR or Kaplan. I took the princeton review course and used their review books, which I thought were excellent. They cover everything you need to know and really limit the superfluous info. They don't sell the exact same ones to the public (they're for their students) but I believe they sell very similar ones.

 

[Hurricane95]

At least at my undergrad, the general biology course does NOT cover enough physiology for the exam. You really have to know your basic physio for all the organ systems: respiratory, renal, GI, musculoskeletal, cardio, etc. You can use campbell as a backup, but you need a condensed review book from an accredited source.

I bought examkrackers as overkill, but never used them. I know lots of people swear by them, but I didn't like them for some reason. They might be good for some people, but for some reason I never liked them.

 

[112258]

I never took any sort of physiology class, and I got a 10 on the bio section. I thought genetics and immunology were pretty helpful classes. 👍

 

[topdogg82]

you don't need a physio class for bio- just learn (aka memorize) the physio in your kaplan/princeton review book, and it worked for me (14 on bs). btw, i also didn't take a biochem class. i would however recommend genetics, and there was a lot of microbio on my exam, which i also hadn't taken. honestly, most of the science courses go much more in depth than you need for the mcat.

 

[topdogg82]

*repost*

 

[topdogg82]

*repost*

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

i agree with top dog... physio is lots of memorization but genetics would be good to know well