What's a good class besides the required ones to take for the MCAT?

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Strictly thinking about the MCAT, I'd take the Physical Chemistry class just because it seems to overlap with a lot of the concepts on the physical sciences section. That section is also very formula-intensive, so using them in your class will probably help you remember them.
 
Biochemisty, physiology, cell biology, genetics was good too... you do not need pchem or analytical. The chemistry and orgo are very basic on the MCAT. Advanced chemistry courses are useless and may even confuse you. The physics was super easy. A critical reading course would help too. I thought verbal was the hardest section.
 
Speaking as a chem major, all of my upper level classes were absolutely useless for the MCAT. MCAT thermodynamics is on such a rediculously simplified level that p-chem thermo is going to make things even more confusing. Analytical chem is also useless to anyone but the analytical chemist. In all honesty, the MCAT really is on the intro level, and advanced classes genearally won't help you. Only one's i'd even consider would be biochem, genetics, and physiology, with physiology being the most important if you didn't get a lot of that in your intro bio class. I'd go and take something interesting, as you're going to get nothing but science in med school. An ethics class might help you in interviews.
 
i really don't think pchem will help you for the mcat. I'd say definitely say biochem and physiology will
 
CTtarheel said:
Speaking as a chem major, all of my upper level classes were absolutely useless for the MCAT. MCAT thermodynamics is on such a rediculously simplified level that p-chem thermo is going to make things even more confusing. Analytical chem is also useless to anyone but the analytical chemist. In all honesty, the MCAT really is on the intro level, and advanced classes genearally won't help you. Only one's i'd even consider would be biochem, genetics, and physiology, with physiology being the most important if you didn't get a lot of that in your intro bio class. I'd go and take something interesting, as you're going to get nothing but science in med school. An ethics class might help you in interviews.
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The best things to take are more bio classes. Bio is very broad and it helps when you are familiar with a particular subject and do not have to read the passage. Everything else is basically intro material.
 
If you are going back to school to take an introductory biology sequence then you probably wouldn't be able to take higher level biology at the same time. The best thing to do is study everything in the introductory biology textbook that you DON'T see in class (as well as the material you do see there). There's no way to cover Campbell and Reece or any of those other intro texts in two semesters of class, but the MCAT is written as if intro texts are covered in their entirety.
 
I think biochem would help, but genetics wouldn't. The genetics covered on the MCAT are of the BIOL 101/102 variety. Don't confuse the issue -- go with Biochem or physiology
 
i found endocrinology and physiology to be helpful
 
atomi said:
I need to go back to school this year to take biology and organic chemistry so I can take the MCAT and apply to medical school. But I need another class to get to 12 credits so I can be full time. Any suggestions on what to take? Keep in mind that I took chemistry and physics 3-4 years ago, but I was an engineering major who did pretty well, so I can handle myself.

I was looking through the course catalog at courses on analytical chemistry and physical chemistry.

Analytical Chemistry
A first course in analytical chemistry. Topics covered include volumetric and gravimetric analysis, and elementary spectroscopy.

Analyt Chem Life Sci
Introduction to methods of quantitative analysis for students in life sciences curricula. Topics include classical wet methods of gravimetry and titrimetry (acid-base, redox, and complexametric), and instrumental methods of electrochemistry, spectroscopy, and chromatography. Also included are sampling theory and statistical treatment of data. Partially duplicates 2114.

Physical Chemistry
Principles of thermodynamics, kinetics, and quantum mechanics applied to chemical equilibria, reactivity, and structure. Partly duplicates 4615, cannot receive credit for both 3615 and 4615. I,II,III.


Or maybe I should take a humanties course that may help with applications?

Or a graduate course in biomedical engineering?

Intro to Biomedical Engr
Cell membrane equivalent circuit, biomedical sensors, instrumentation, frequency and time domain, physiologic modeling, compartmental analysis, mass transport, cardiovascular biomechanics. Biomaterials, tissue engineering, prosthetics, cell therapies, histology, biotechnology and genomics. Radiographic imaging computerized tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, lasers and optics.

Too many ideas. Any recommendations?
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Human physiology is a good class. It is helping me quiet a bit on my practice tests.
 
I'm writing the MCAT in August and judging from my practice exams, I wish I had taken a course in Human Physiology and Mendelian Genetics. The courses I took I've found helpful include Biochemistry, Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, and Organic Chemistry (1 and 2), Sociology (just to get comfortable with verbal topics but I avoid brining my outside knowledge in). I also took an intro course in Statistics and Calculus 2, but those still have yet to help.
 
I would take one of these three:

Biochem
Genetics
Physiology

*I noticed that some of the AAMC tests have had quite a bit in the way of physiology. You could say that for Genetics too.
 
WHOA WHOA WHOA
ok, first off
P-Chem I WILL HELP YOU. How can you say that it won't when on the AAMC's there have been ENTIRE passages dedicated to:
1) non-ideal gas laws (2-3 weeks of p-chem)
2) solid/liquid/gas phases (more in-depth than chem I) (2-3 weeks of p-chem)
you might as well get a hard course like p-chem under your belt pre-mcat, since the quantatative reasoning you have to do for the p-chem tests helps alot for the PS on the MCAT

Secondly, take a physiology course... huge BS booster. I got a 10 w/o knowing a single thing on O-chem (I just can't do it..., mental block) A physiology class will give you a huge leg up on most pre-meds who have never touched the stuff yet are being tested on it

Molecular genetics too
 
chewsnuffles said:
WHOA WHOA WHOA
ok, first off
P-Chem I WILL HELP YOU. How can you say that it won't when on the AAMC's there have been ENTIRE passages dedicated to:
1) non-ideal gas laws (2-3 weeks of p-chem)
2) solid/liquid/gas phases (more in-depth than chem I) (2-3 weeks of p-chem)
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I majored in chem and didn't find pchem to be at all useful for the mcat. My course was pretty well dedicated to deriving, well . . . everything. Not all that useful (for the MCAT). Biochem on the other hand I thought was semi-useful, maybe on one or two passages. Had to study a lot of intro bio I skipped (stupid AP credits) b/c I wasn't so familiar with organ systems. Physiology would have helped here.
 
Dakota said:
I majored in chem and didn't find pchem to be at all useful for the mcat. My course was pretty well dedicated to deriving, well . . . everything. Not all that useful (for the MCAT). Biochem on the other hand I thought was semi-useful, maybe on one or two passages. Had to study a lot of intro bio I skipped (stupid AP credits) b/c I wasn't so familiar with organ systems. Physiology would have helped here.
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sounds a bit like you had a bad p-chem teacher. My p-chem course helped me immensely.
I agree that AP credits actually SCREW OVER a pre-med. It's best to just re-take the classes...
Finally, physiology = best kept secret for BS sucess.
 
physiology should be another requirement for the test it's so important. you can get away without taking classical genetics (i did), and the biochem you need is very basic. if you have to pick one, take human physiology
 
Physiology or Biochem.


STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING!!!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?!??! BME DESTROYED ME
 
geno2568 said:
kaplan's useless
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agreed.

genetics and cell bio are both pretty useful.
 
English, English, more English, History, and Philosophy.

Seriously, the trick to the mcat is understanding what the questions are asking. The amount of actual science knowledge needed to get a good score is far less than most people make it seem. I went in not knowing a single physics formula nor do I even know what a racemic mixture is (i only recall the word and it seems to pop up a lot in discussion around these parts). Yet I got a 31. Not the greatest score, but good enough, especially considering the work i put into it. To get higher I wouldnt have had to anything more than study a kaplan book or something, advanced chem bio and physics courses would have been serious overkill. All theyll do is stress you out (that is IF your taking them simply to get a higher mcat score and not just because youre interested). The trick is knowing how to read. Its crazy how many of the questions are asking things that are already in the passages and dont need any calculations etc whatsoever. the prereqs effectively just get you used to science terminology etc.

if you really want a science class recommendation then take an upper level bio that is just reading journal articles. something like current topics in genetics or blah blah. those one or two credit thingies with really high course numbers. They arent hard, and youll get used to having info thrown at you that youve never seen before and digesting it which is really what a large part of the mcat is about.
 
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