Zoology on MCAT??

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

Hi all,


My University has split Bio 2 into Bio 2 & Bio 3 with the result being all animals are covered in Bio 3. They felt that covering microbes, plus plants, plus animals was too much for Bio2. Fine and dandy but my MCAT review book has lots of human biology questions, which is kind of freaking me out because I have covered NONE of that. I’ve taken Bio1 & am halfway through Bio2.


So… my question is, what should I take to prepare for the zoology/human bio questions on the MCAT? I could take Bio 3, which is largely an overview of animals by genera and phyla, OR I could take A&P, OR I could take a class called “Human Structure and Function” which covers a lot of stuff in A&P. Any suggestions??


Thanks!


Dave

2

Wow. How confusing. I’m afraid I don’t know enough about the courses offered at your school to offer any concrete advice. My Intro to Zoology course included basics of phylogeny, cell bio and histology, embryology, genetics, A&P, and a lab. I also took a semester of genetics and one of biochem before I took the MCAT, and I had a background in Human A&P from community college. All of that helped. I don’t know if that can help you in your planning as it seems your school organizes their courses quite differently. You might consult a pre-med advisor for more specific recommendations.

3

If you go to the MCAT website, they offer a PDF file that lists all of the topics that could potentially appear on each section of the MCAT. My advice would be to look at that list and then compare the topics there to the topics listed on the syllabi of the various courses you are considering.

4
  • lign Said:
Hi all,

My University has split Bio 2 into Bio 2 & Bio 3 with the result being all animals are covered in Bio 3. They felt that covering microbes, plus plants, plus animals was too much for Bio2. Fine and dandy but my MCAT review book has lots of human biology questions, which is kind of freaking me out because I have covered NONE of that. I've taken Bio1 & am halfway through Bio2.

So... my question is, what should I take to prepare for the zoology/human bio questions on the MCAT? I could take Bio 3, which is largely an overview of animals by genera and phyla, OR I could take A&P, OR I could take a class called "Human Structure and Function" which covers a lot of stuff in A&P. Any suggestions??

Thanks!

Dave



I would opt for the Human Structure and Function class. You'll get more questions and passages, I think, on physiology than you would in the animal section of Bio 3. If each of the bios are a semester, you'll still wind up taking the required two bio classes plus the one with the S&

F class. The most important of the bios in regards to the MCAT is the first one at the cellular and subcellular levels.
5

Thanks for the responses. I’ll do some more reading of my prep book and flip through some more at the bookstores. I’ll make an appointment with the pre-med advisor and get his input also. With plants, unicellular organisms and viruses in Bio 2, I wonder how much zoology I could have learned anyway if they hadn’t split them. Thanks much!

6
  • Emergency! Said:
If you go to the MCAT website, they offer a PDF file that lists all of the topics that could potentially appear on each section of the MCAT. My advice would be to look at that list and then compare the topics there to the topics listed on the syllabi of the various courses you are considering.



Can you post a link to that PDF? I cant seem to find it on my own
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  • Acct_to_MD Said:
  • Emergency! Said:
If you go to the MCAT website, they offer a PDF file that lists all of the topics that could potentially appear on each section of the MCAT. My advice would be to look at that list and then compare the topics there to the topics listed on the syllabi of the various courses you are considering.



Can you post a link to that PDF? I cant seem to find it on my own



I believe if you go right to the AMCAS website you should be able to get the information on your own.
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Took me a while to find it. They’ve made it a little more difficult to find - I think they’re trying to encourage people to spend the $$$ on their official MCAT guide that they’re selling now.


Anyways, go to http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/prepari ng/creatingstudyplan.htm, Scroll down to “Preparing for the test sections” and then the Info is in the three PDF files listed under “Multiple Choice Sections: Content Outlines”.