Will taking biochem next semester help, application wise?

[reese07]

I am applying for the 2011 cycle, which means that med schools will only know that I'm taking biochem in the fall but won't see my actual grade. Will this still benefit my application? I have a really tough schedule next fall and was wondering if taking biochem (not required) would be worth it for boosting my application.

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[worlddoctor23]

I am applying for the 2011 cycle, which means that med schools will only know that I'm taking biochem in the fall but won't see my actual grade. Will this still benefit my application? I have a really tough schedule next fall and was wondering if taking biochem (not required) would be worth it for boosting my application.

IMO, It would definitely help, but not at the expense of doing poorly in other prerequisites. Biochem is one of the tough courses in med school and having some idea of the topic would be a big plus. But, I wouldn't take it unless I knew I can pull off a decent grade in it and the other prereq courses I am taking at the same time. If not, then take it slow, not all schools require biochem.

 

[reese07]

I actually finished all my prereqs, but I am going to take molec with biochem. Would I be able to pull off a decent grade if I am poor in organic?

 

[Daedra22]

I actually finished all my prereqs, but I am going to take molec with biochem. Would I be able to pull off a decent grade if I am poor in organic?

At my school, biochem and o chem have little to nothing to do with each other. I really struggled in o chem, but I found biochem to be less chemistry and more biology, so I did much better.

 

[whirpooltech]

I did the same in both OCHEM and BIOCHEM. It is very useful, but it will be very stressful for you if you load up while taking it. I took Immunology, physiology, and Biochem one, and Biochem lab work that took up 20+hours a week. DO NOT load up with Biochem unless you are an exceptional student. I had to drop phys and didn't get A's in either biochem or immunology. In fact the only A I got was in lab work LOL. Just be careful and don't think that you can go drinking every night and get an A in biochem lol

best of luck

 

[worlddoctor23]

I actually finished all my prereqs, but I am going to take molec with biochem. Would I be able to pull off a decent grade if I am poor in organic?

Everyones ability is different. When I took Biochem in undergrad, there wasn't a massive amount of orgo in it. Even in a medical school postbac program, I didn't see very much orgo either. I think you can probably do well because if you run into some orgo, you can review what you may need, which I don't think would be much. My advice is to talk to faculty and let them know your concerns. I'm sure they can give you a better idea.

 

[randomusername]

At my school, biochem and o chem have little to nothing to do with each other. I really struggled in o chem, but I found biochem to be less chemistry and more biology, so I did much better.

I'll second that, o-chem kicked my butt while biochem didn't.