TrentH

I’m an Incoming freshman for 2012. The “Biology I” course has already filled up for the fall semester and unfortunately; I did not get to register for it. The officer in charge of making schedules put me in “Biology II” instead. My first instinct was that courses with numerical sequences are usually built upon each other. It made me wonder if this holds true for intro biology courses.

Am I at a "disadvantage" if I take Bio II fall semester and Bio I in the spring?

Disadvantage meaning, not having enough foundation for Bio II (if Bio II does, in fact, build on Bio I).

TrentH

To add, I'm also assuming medical schools do not care about the order we take the courses. True or false?

WayOutWestMom

Med schools don't care about sequence, but you're right to be concerned about being placed in Bio 2, esp if you haven't taken AP Bio.

Based on my Ds' experiences, while there may not be much continuity (in terms of topics covered), Bio 2 does expect you to have a firm basic grasp of concepts from Bio 1.

You might be OK in Bio 2, but you also might find yourself scrambling to play "catch-up" and end up being permanently behind. Ask the prof teaching the course to put you on the waitlist for Bio 1.

Bigredmed

It really depends on what the topics in the courses are. Bio, compared to chem and physics, is much less sequential. And that fact that Bio 2 doesn't require Bio 1 as a pre-req makes me think that you should be okay.

For example at my UG, Bio 101 was all the macrolevel bio - more of a survey course that introduces concepts that will be explored way more in depth if you were a bio major, like that organisms are made up of cells, that individuals within a species interact with others of their species and with different species or that evolution is the driving force of biodiversity. You'll probably spend an inordinate amount of time on phylogeny and other outdated concepts that while helpful in organizing in a broad sense, aren't actually that useful the higher you go. In other words, what a decent HS biology course should have already taught you. It was a course designed to give the business major who needed to get a science out of the way a broad exposure to the field, or to give the person who didn't know what biology was a chance to see a small glimpse of what the field had to offer.

Meanwhile Bio 201 (has since been renumbered to Bio 102) was the first bio course that actually "meant" something - this was a class focused only on cell structure and function, and it, not Bio 101, was the class that higher level biology courses listed as a pre-req.

This sort of setup - where the 101 class is a survey of the entire field and subsequent classes are the ones that actually teach that stuff in depth - is very, very common. It certainly happened in my sociology classes (I was a sociology major), the intro to Econ class I took (which stands alone as the only class I ever dropped during UG), and my intro psychology course. All were just touching the surface, none really added much to my education at the next level except to say "I've heard of this before - briefly", and if they hadn't been pre-reqs wouldn't have been worth the tuition dollars.


So, look at the upper level bio courses and see if they require Bio 1 in order to take . If they don't, and you can get into them with Bio 2 instead, then don't worry about it,(watch out for the OR, my UG Bio 101 OR 102 was the pre-req for all the upper level bio courses - just had to have one).

Oh and for the record, I never took Bio 101, and in fact, my friends and I (when we were junior/senior pre-meds), used to joke about the number of people we'd meet who would say "Oh, I used to be pre-med" and then you'd ask them what made them change their minds, and it'd invariably be Bio 101 and the corresponding lab (which was a ridiculous amount of work) that made them reconsider their career plans. It seriously was probably the number one course for weeding out pre-meds and it wasn't even a required class in any sense...

So you might not even need to take Bio 1, and can instead fulfill your year of bio courses for med school requirements with a more interesting upper level course.

TrentH

Here’s a list of the biology courses at this school. I did not include the courses related to ecology, geography, evolution, etc… as I’ve read that these particular courses are worthless for the MCAT. Hope it makes sense, mainly listing this basic outline to show the general sequence for biology courses at my university.

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Bio 101 General Biology – mainly for non-majors. No pre-req.
Bio 125 Intro Cell & Molecular – Pre: High school Bio and Chem. (or BIO 101 & CHEM 114 – both courses for non-majors for each subject)
Bio 175 Intro Biology I – No pre req. – (full)
Bio 176 Intro Biology II – No pre req. – currently on my schedule
Bio 243 A&P I – No pre req.
Bio 244 A&P II – Pre: 243
Bio 270 Intermed Cell & Mol Bio – Pre: Bio 125 or Bio 175 & 176 Rec: O Chem. concurrently
Bio 275 Microbiology – Pre: 1 year of Chem. Reccomends: Bio 101,175, or 176
Bio 280 Biostatistics – No pre req
Bio 410 Biochemistry Pre: Organic Chem II concurrently & Physics 107 (second course of non-major physics) or 171 (Physics: Elec & Magnetism)
Bio 415 Cell Biology – Pre: Bio 410
Bio 466 Genetics – Pre: Bio 410

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Based on the above (assuming the course names match the typical course description for each respective course title), what would be the “ideal” course sequence to take in preparation for the MCAT?

I sent an email requesting to be on the waitlist for 175 but am wondering if I would be able to go with a different sequence by taking higher level courses in replacement. My main concern would be to make sure the courses have the right content for MCAT preparation (I assume higher level courses in biology will fulfill med school pre-requisites.)

It looks like I would need both 175 & 176 if I decided to take Bio 270 (assuming I do not take Bio 125). I planned to take 175 & 176 during my fall and spring semesters, respectively. Biology 175 & 176 are both the intros that would fit the intro courses the MCAT recommends taking. Would I be at a disadvantage if I decide to skip either one (or both?) and opt for higher level courses?

Bigredmed

What's your major?

It's been so long since I was involved in the MCAT - over 6 years at this point - that I'm not entirely aware of the changes on the bio section. But I was under the impression that evolution was getting increasing weight. Certainly back in my day, evolution was a fair game topic and at least one Hardy-Weinburg equation was likely a given. But someone else can answer that question better.

Looking at it...I think some of it depends on your major. Bio 125 seems like a more effective use of your time in terms of getting you into upper level courses. That assumes that Biochem really doesn't require any other bio courses. If at all possible, I'd try to talk to some upperclassman who knows what they're talking about. If you aren't a bio major and thus have flexibility, the upperclassman's opinion on the classes and in particular the profs that are teaching them could put you in the best position possible. If the prof for one of these courses is particularly outstanding that'd be the best choice. The other option would be just to hold off until spring semester in terms of biology, focusing instead on doing well in chemistry (since that sequence does go in order and you need to complete more chemistry than anything else).

TrentH

I am an econ major.

These are the courses I left out:

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Bio 281 General Ecology - Pre: 175 or 176 Rec: HS Algebra
Bio 309 Biogeography - Pre: Bio 101 or 175 or 176
Bio 357 Evolution - Pre: Bio 125 or 175 or 176
Bio 375 Bio of Microorganisms - Pre: Bio 270
Bio 381 Conservation Biology - Pre: Bio 270 & 281
Bio 443 Ecological Animal Physiology - Pre: Bio 125, 270
Bio 481 Advanced Ecology & Evolution - Pre: Bio 270, 281, 357
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Not sure about evolution. I based my generalization on information in the pinned 'Coursework' thread by Bluedevilmike at the top of this sub forum. Looking at the date it was written, I can see the possibility that it may be out dated for the new MCAT. Maybe someone can update it for the new MCAT?

In an email I received this morning, Biology II (176) is being assigned to all freshman and was reassured that Biology I (175) isn’t needed before 176. Feeling more confident after learning all other freshmen are taking it with me. Also double checked on the Biochem course, the department chair recommends Cell & Mol (270) but it isn’t an enforced pre req.
I’ll go chat with a few of my upperclassmen friends who may know more about the classes in the biology department.

ImOnOne

Bio II at my college didn't have much to do with Bio I and it was in fact easier in terms of material than Bio I. I'm not sure how it exactly works at your college, but take that how you will.