What would you do in this situation? Please help!

[sciencewizard]

I am a non-traditional, post-baccalaureate student.

I am on the pathway to obtaining a second bachelors degree microbiology from my state university, and I have a situation that I hope you guys can offer insight on.

I am currently enrolled to take Vertebrae Physiology this spring semester with a well-known, VERY difficult professor at the university. This professor is known to hardly give out any A's and trust me, this professor is infamous at the university.

My GPA currently is 4.0 with 60 credit hours completed, and I do not need to take Vert Phys to graduate with a microbiology degree. My thought process was this would be a good class to prep for the biology section for the MCAT.

I am already taking 3 other difficult science courses this spring semester as well...so what do you guys think?

Keep in mind that I am recovering from a TERRIBLE GPA from my first bacherlors degree, so straight A's are crucial.

Do you think the physiology portions of the MCAT could be mastered without a course beforehand?

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[cliffhuxtableDO]

you don't need physiology as a course to do well on the MCAT. personally, my MCAT had no phys on it anyway (disappointingly).

if you need to keep the pristine GPA for recovery purposes drop the class, but even 1 B isn't going to wreck your upward trend.

 

[common man]

this is a no brainer. run away from that guy! med schools won't know nor care about how infamous he is or if he doesn't give reasonable grades...they'll just see (and calculate) the unfair grade you get. that alone is not worth whatever little his class will help for the mcat.

the mcat covers a lot of stuff. it's breadth over detail IMO. the class will deplete your precious study time with a lot information that is not covered on the exam. i'd rather save that time studying the princeton review / exam kracker biology book.

 

[TACMON]

drop it. the mcat is like med school (I presume). most learning is done on your own. learn what little physio you think you need on your own.

 

[hopki099]

I would say that physiology is the best non-prereq course to take in preparing for the MCAT. The MCAT tests you on the systems of the body (respiratory, endocrine, excretory, etc.). Physiology will give you a good overview of these topics

That being said, your focus should also be on achieving the highest possible GPA given your background. You might better spend your time learning them out of an MCAT prep book. My opinion might be biased because my general biology courses did not cover any systems of the body, but the Kaplan Biology prep book did teach me just about everything that I needed to know.

 

[HumbleMD]

duh. no. no class is worth taking to study for the emcatz. That's what a prep course is for.

 

[CoolWhipp]

What's with the unnecessary emphasis on how great and well known your professor is?

 

[Catalystik]

I am currently enrolled to take Vertebrae Physiology this spring semester with a well-known, VERY difficult professor at the university. This professor is known to hardly give out any A's and trust me, this professor is infamous at the university.

Run far; run fast. This guy sounds like a C or worse waiting to happen. It would be better to get an A in Physiology at a CC, than to get a low grade at the university. Or you can review it on your own.

 

[belleMD]

Don't do it!

 

[common man]

can't do it!

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