No problem. I’m just about to take my first exam and I am freaking out a little bit. I do know what to study, but it will take a serious time commitment to get it done. I need to make sure I can do the calculations by hand, without Mathematica’s help… yikes.
A lot of the problems are of the ‘story problem’ variety, which is what I meant by ‘real world’ applications - compounded interest problems, things like that.
The last time I had trig was 15 years ago and I got a D. So that’s how much trig I know… We’ll see of course how the exam goes, but I haven’t really needed it for the quizzes and homeworks. Mathematica does that sort of calculating for you, and you get to concentrate on understanding the underlying concepts - what the derivative is, global scale behavior of graphs, stuff like that. You do basically have to teach it to yourself, but there are instructors available to chat with, and you get a TA.
As far as time goes… if I manage to get an assignment a week done (which I usually don’t - I’m falling behind) it takes maybe 6-8 hours a week to get it done well. Now, however, studying for the exam is taking up a whole lot more than that… Of course, I would expect to spend the same amount of time (at least) if I were taking a regular calculus class.
Good luck deciding. The Netmath people have been really nice, and make themselves available to help, so I’m sure they’d be happy to answer any questions you have.
Question about calculus…I have already taken a lot of math classes (college algebra, trigonometry, precalc algebra and applied calculus…). Do you think I need to take the Calculus 1 with Analytical Geometry? BTW I did get “As” in precalc, trig and applied calc.
Kris
Not unless the med schools you are applying to require 2 semesters of calc.
This brings me to a question too as far as the biochemistry requirement that a lot of med schools have now. And yes, I know it’s “strongly recommended” and not an actual requirement, but eh same thing if it’s important enough that they mention it to begin with.
I looked at Davis and there’s not a clearly-labeled biochemistry course there. However, there is a BIS 102 - Structure & Function of Biomolecules which seems to match the course description of Biochemistry courses at a couple other universities I looked at. When you apply for med school and it has you put all the courses in, can you make a notation as to that being a biochemistry course? Is it a biochemistry course to begin with?
I’m sure a question that will be asked is what is the course description btw so here ya guys go. 
102. Structure and Function of Biomolecules (3)
Lecture–3 hours. Prerequisite: Chemistry 8B or 118B or 128B. Structure and function of macromolecules with emphasis on proteins; enzyme kinetics; supra-molecular assemblies; membranes; cytoskeleton; cell motility and cell division.–I, II, III. (I, II, III.) Cheng, Etzler, Fairclough, Gasser, Hilt, Leary, Theg
Is there a pre-med advisor you can ask? Or does Davis print a list of “pre-med” courses? Ohio State had a listing of recommended “pre-professional” courses that just about any advisor could give you. These were listings of courses that would meet the pre-requisites for most professional schools.
- Emergency! Said:
Well, there's no pre-med advisor at my CC but I'm sure I could find out once I get to Davis. Hopefully they do have some sort of class that is considered biochemistry since I pretty much have to go to Davis due to several factors. Once I transfer there, I'll definitely ask.
This 102 course… hm… does it cover the citric acid cycle and glycolysis? My biochem course covered enzyme kinetics in great detail but nothing about cell motility and structure. This sounds like a cross between biochem and molecular bio.
Looking at the course description, not that I’m aware of. And by the way, you’re right, Davis does seem to mix those two since it offers a degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology but not just Biochemistry by itself.
I looked up the Health Sciences Advising web site at Davis and came up with this:
http://advisingservices.ucdavis.edu/advising/hsa/h…
It seems as if 102 (and another course 103) are considered biochemistry. Blah, Davis makes it confusing as hell just to take a class in biochemistry, seems as if 101, 102 & 103 need to be taken to fulfill that requirement instead of just one class.
- Qween Said:
- One year of General Chemistry with lab.
- One year of Organic Chemistry with lab.
- One year of Physics with lab (does not need to be calculus-based).
- One year of English (66% of all schools).
- College Math and/or Calculus (32% of all schools).
- Humanities Electives (17% of all schools) .
FYI, this list from the OP was taken dirrectly from http://www.NontraditionalMedicalStud ent.com
It looks like BIS 101 is Genetics and 102 is Biochem, both good choices for med school (having just completed my Biochem course I can say this with some confidence). You can do okay in med school biochem without those courses, and you’ll have to study your patootie off in any case, but having seen the major molecules before does take a little of the “deer caught in headlights” feeling out of the whole experience.
- samenewme Said:
Yeah that's about as far as I can figure out. BIS 101 is required for the degree I want to get anyway (Psychobiology) so I'll just pick 102 up as an elective then. You'd think they'd just label it as Biochemistry and make it easy, sheesh.
- MikeG Said:
- Qween Said:
- One year of General Chemistry with lab.
- One year of Organic Chemistry with lab.
- One year of Physics with lab (does not need to be calculus-based).
- One year of English (66% of all schools).
- College Math and/or Calculus (32% of all schools).
- Humanities Electives (17% of all schools) .
FYI, this list from the OP was taken dirrectly from http://www.NontraditionalMedicalStud ent.com
Last year 16+ schools required biochemistry. Some schools require statistics. Some have no math requirement. You might want to look at the "Medical School Admissions Requirements" (MSAR) book put out by the AAMC to get the specifics for each med school. It's updated every year, the new version usually available in late April.
Cheers,
Judy
There is a good chance this is a dumb question but here goes: What do admission requirements mean when they say something like, “Courses must include one upper-division Biology course.”? I don’t know what upper-division means.
Thanks!
When they state that it needs to be an upper level, they mean that it must be taken either as at a junior or senior level. Courses in a two-year school would not be considered an upper level course.
Kris
On the topic of Biochemistry, I’ve also been in somewhat of a blurr.
Reading the thread, along with various med. school sites, I’m getting the picture that
- Biochem is part of medical basic science curriculum;
- Some schools integrate biochem is each of the organ systems’ training.
At McGill, where I am currently enrolled as an ‘Anatomy and Cell Biology’ major:
BIOC212 <-- covers molecular mechanisms of cell function, cell cycle, cancers, tumors, DNA repair, …
BIOL201 <-- covers kinetics, thermodynamics, metabolism, glycolysis, citric acid cycle and additional topics in great detail
I’ve viewed several lectures from both courses online, which are available to the general public as well. Hard to believe, but true!
The web site is: http://cool.mcgill.ca Select either course from the dropdown box at the upper left. Lectures can actually be downloaded to your PC in MP4 format, or viewed streaming.
I plan to seriously view one or two of those courses in the coming summer months - to avoid the ‘dear in the headlights’ effect - should I ever get there!
Ron
Ron,
cool! (no pun intended)
Thanks for the link. I downloaded the 1st 7 biochem lectures and will put them on my iPod. I’ve already taken one semester of biochemistry but some review and additional info will be useful.
I really enjoyed biochemistry–it’s like the icing on the cake, after that tough slog through chem, orgo, and bio.