UNE Biochemistry and studying for the new MCAT??

[neuropanic]

I am graduating UG in December and am planning to study for the new MCAT during my would be senior spring semester. I plan to take the new MCAT in April with the first round but I have not taken Biochemistry. I had planned to take it this semester as well as studying for the MCAT seeing as it is included in the MCAT, and I wanted to get some background for medical school.
That being said - I mostly don't care about the grade I get in Biochem, I just want the knowledge. However I have not decided upon the med schools I'll apply to and some may require it, so I may need to submit a transcript.
My school's tuition is steep - so I planned on taking the UNE Medical Biochem because it is actually significantly cheaper than my university.
But, I've read the class is horrific and almost unmanageable with other time commitments. The MCAT is my priority but I will need Biochem for it!

For those of you who have taken the course or are in it now, would you say taking the class while preparing for the MCAT is doable??? Granted I would love a B or greater in the class.
If not, does anyone know of any other online cheapish Biochem courses that are better?

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[neuropanic]

HELP. Anyone have any input??
Or about the UC Berkeley Biochem - the reviews for both of these classes on these forums have been horrific but they are a couple years old.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

Go buy a book and read through it. There was a thread about the UNE biochem online course and many people said they had to put in 110% to get an A. I think a review book with the newest mcat material should be sufficient for the review. If you want a more thorough review then you can buy a college textbook and go through that. This will all be considerably cheaper than taking a full course where you have to report a potential low grade (cannot hide the grade from applications).

 

[neuropanic]

Thanks, I did consider doing a self-study thing. The only thing I worry is that I may be applying to a few schools in TX that require Biochem as a pre-req.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

I suggest you take the course at your school. Do you pay per credit or are you full time. I remmeber paying the same tuition for 12 or 18 credit semesters if you are full time. And taking it at your school will give you an actualy teacher to talk to if you have questions or need help.

 

[neuropanic]

If you are full-time (12 hours +), you pay the same tuition. Up until 12 credits, you pay per credit. I am on scholarship but only if I am full time. So if I am only taking the 3 credit hours next semester as I am graduating, it will be $5300 (ABSURD). If I was to remain full-time and take random classes, my scholarship comes in, but I still end up paying some out of pocket, which was another reason I elected to graduate early in December. It's slightly confusing because of financial aid crap etc.
So it ends up being that no matter what, I will pay over $2000, whereas if I take it online I can get it a lot cheaper.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

Well then if this is the only course you are taking over the next few months then the UNE course may be fine. Just make sure you spend time studying for the mcat also, but I think 1 online course (even if its difficult) is highly manageable.

Also there is a thread about UNE biochemistry and UNE medical biochemistry. I do not know if these online courses are the same or different. Might want to find out about that

 

[neuropanic]

Thank you for your input!

 

[Doug Underhill]

I feel like a traditional biochem course will have lots of bulk in it that won't be useful for the MCAT. If I were you, I would look into MCAT-specific prep courses for biochem.

My biochem course was filled with that sort of thing, at any rate.

 

[allantois]

Just go to class without paying for it

 

[PlaqueBuster]

Just go to class without paying for it

but if he isnt enrolled at the university that semester it might be an issue

 

[neuropanic]

I feel like a traditional biochem course will have lots of bulk in it that won't be useful for the MCAT. If I were you, I would look into MCAT-specific prep courses for biochem.

My biochem course was filled with that sort of thing, at any rate.

Just go to class without paying for it

I thought of these solutions but the problem is I may be applying to med schools that require biochem (med schools in Texas) and so it would be necessary to have a grade in the class.
I guess I will have to suck it up and take a terrible class- the UC Berkeley seems to be better than the UNE

 

[PlaqueBuster]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/stay-away-from-uc-berkeley-online-biochemistry.918146/

you may want to reconsider your decision

EDIT: nvm you already commented on it