useful courses for mcat and med school

<p>hey guys,</p>

<pre><code>i have read this somewhere in this forum, but i couldn't find it now. i just wanna make sure that besides premed requirement, there are several classes are useful for mcat and med school.
</code></pre>

<p>mcat: genetics, cell bio, anatomy and physiology</p>

<p>med school: biochem</p>

<p>is that right? if i don't take genetics, cell bio, anatomy and physiology before i take the mcat, will i lose a lot of points? Or is studying with kaplan or some other study guides (which ones do u guys recommend?) enough to fill those holes? Or should i audit those classes in a community college?</p>

<p>and biochem isn't useful for mcat? so is that better to take it in senior year?</p>

<p>thanks!!</p>

<p>Hi there</p>

<p>Usually, the courses that medical schools require will adequately prepare you for the MCAT's. As far as advance science courses go, they are probably beneficial. But so far I heard that the best preparation is to complete your prerequisites and then take a few months to actively study the MCAT, either with a study group or a commercial prep course.</p>

<p>Though biochemistry is not covered on the MCAT, many medical schools are encouraging prospective students to take it because, according to them, it is extremely helpful with the first year coursework. </p>

<p>Now, it is in your best interest not to audit any of your courses. It would be even better if all of your classes are graded on a A-F scale. Medical schools would start wondering about your academic ability if they do not have a good way to evaluate your performance. Lastly, it seems like there is a consensus that science courses should not be taken at a community college. But at the same time, different schools have different perspectives about this. For instance, at the Weil Medical College of Cornell University, they make it explicit that they do not want to see science courses to be taking at a community college. On the other hand, the Mayo Medical School seems to be a lot more tolerable. Nevertheless, it is always to your advantage to take courses at a four year university if you have that option. Good luck.</p>

<p>The bio on the MCAT is so basic, intro bio is enough.</p>

<p>when you say intro bio, that means one semester of general biology I right? not the full two semesters of general bio I and II</p>

<p>No, I mean the full two semesters. I thought intro bio was a 2 semester sequence?</p>

<p>bio II is organismal, ecological and evolutionary biology. Bio I is Basic principles of biology with special emphasis on cellular and molecular
biology. I took cell bio in place of BIO II.
Eventually i'm prob going to take BIO II and BIO III which is more into organismal biology but I'll prob take the class after the MCATs</p>