Taking Biochem before Orgo II?

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ZeroTouchMeNot

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Dear SDN,

For the spring semester, unfortunately, I can't take Orgo II since there are no more slots left. That said, I can take Biochem instead, since it's only prereq at my school is Orgo I, which I have taken (I have no idea why it's like this). My question is: Will medical schools speculate why I took Biochem first before Orgo II? I got an A in my Orgo I, so it's not like I'm trying to avoid taking Orgo II.
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I don’t believe it should be any issue at all. Like you said there were no slots left, so if asked (which I doubt you will be) you can easily explain why.

For the sake of content gaps, I didn’t use anything I learned in Orgo II in my biochem class. I used very little organic chemistry overall in that class to be honest
 
Thank you for the reply! That's reassuring.
artemisthegreek said:
I don’t believe it should be any issue at all. Like you said there were no slots left, so if asked (which I doubt you will be) you can easily explain why.

For the sake of content gaps, I didn’t use anything I learned in Orgo II in my biochem class. I used very little organic chemistry overall in that class to be honest
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artemisthegreek said:
I don’t believe it should be any issue at all. Like you said there were no slots left, so if asked (which I doubt you will be) you can easily explain why.

For the sake of content gaps, I didn’t use anything I learned in Orgo II in my biochem class. I used very little organic chemistry overall in that class to be honest
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I don't think they'll care - most med schools list biochem as a recommended class (not even requirement), and the ones that require it don't say what order to take classes.

All you need for Biochem is taught in Orgo 1
 
ZeroTouchMeNot said:
Dear SDN,

For the spring semester, unfortunately, I can't take Orgo II since there are no more slots left. That said, I can take Biochem instead, since it's only prereq at my school is Orgo I, which I have taken (I have no idea why it's like this). My question is: Will medical schools speculate why I took Biochem first before Orgo II? I got an A in my Orgo I, so it's not like I'm trying to avoid taking Orgo II.
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Absolutely not! In fact, I had to get a waiver to take it at my school before Orgo2, where it WAS a prereq, because I wanted to take it before I took the MCAT. No one cares, and it hasn't come up even once. Med schools don't look at sequencing. In fact, they don't even look to see if you have all of their prereqs until pre-matriculation, after you are admitted. Good luck!!
 
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Biochemist3412 said:
I don't think they'll care - most med schools list biochem as a recommended class (not even requirement), and the ones that require it don't say what order to take classes.

All you need for Biochem is taught in Orgo 1
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KnightDoc said:
Absolutely not! In fact, I had to get a waiver to take it at my school before Orgo2, which WAS a prereq, because I wanted to take it before I took the MCAT. No one cares, and it hasn't come up even once. Med schools don't look at sequencing. In fact, they don't even look to see if you have all of their prereqs until pre-matriculation, after you are admitted. Good luck!!
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Thank you for the response! Did you not find Biochem to be difficult since you did not take Orgo II beforehand when it was a prereq in your case? Also, did you find Orgo II to be more easier when you took it after you took Biochem?
 
ZeroTouchMeNot said:
Thank you for the response! Did you not find Biochem to be difficult since you did not take Orgo II beforehand when it was a prereq in your case? Also, did you find Orgo II to be more easier when you took it after you took Biochem?
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Nope. I received a lot of advice that you don't need Orgo2 to do well in Biochem, and it was correct, which is why your school doesn't even require it. The department chair at my school just disagreed, but I was able to get a waiver from the professor and I did fine. Biochem didn't really help with Orgo2, but, as advertised, it made studying for the MCAT a lot easier.
 
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