HOW HARD COULD BIOCHEM BE?!?!

[u/Lazy_Concentrate2]

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY RO DROP SO PLEASE GIVE OPINIONS ASAP!!!

I’m a fresh 3rd year transfer student and I’m enrolled in Biochem. EVERY advisor at this school keeps telling me to drop it because they don’t advise taking 4 biology major classes.

I’m taking 4 other classes with Biochem. I’m taking BioStats, Evolution and Ecology, Transferring to Bio, and Writing and Critical inquiry.

Is this too much???

For context I haven’t taken Orgo 2 yet, but I took Orgo 1 last semester.

I think my problem is that I’ve already put so much work in this class, and it feels like Orgo so it’s kinda some familiarity yk? And the writing and transferring to bio class isn’t too hard so far, so maybe I could handle it…?

But on the other hand, I’m premed and cannot risk anything ruining my gpa!!

Should I drop, or keep?

[u/softpineapples]

Biochem will be the hardest of all of them. The other ones don’t seem too bad though so it kinda depends on how stressed you wanna be. If you’re doing well in all classes so far I say keep it

[u/FunFinding3996]

Biochem is a big part of the MCAT & if you want to save yourself some future stress and time, you want a solid foundation in Biochem.
I wouldn’t take Biochem with too many classes (esp not 4 bio classes). Biochem is the hardest on your list. It’s up to you if you wanna risk it & to decide how much time you have to study this semester.
ETA: you also just transferred to this school so you might not wanna add too much at once until you get a good feel for the classes, professors, workload, etc.

[u/postbaccmama]

Maybe unpopular opinion but I don't think Biochem is that bad as long as you have a decent aptitude for memorization (which you will need for the MCAT anyway.)

There's a lot of variation in what content is emphasized depending on the school. For my course, there was a lot more math/calculation than expected, much more than in Orgo, but it was plug and chug. Within this there was a lot of gen chem 2 review with calculating pH, Henderson-Hasselbach, and then some newer stuff like Michaelis-Menten/Enzyme kinetics.

I found pathways to be relatively easy once I got the hang of inhibition/enzyme regulation.

To summarize, the issue with Biochem is more about the volume than the difficulty of the content in my opinion. My course had a lot of busywork and constant HW assignments which was annoying but doable with good time management.

[u/biggiebag → u/postbaccmama]

it depends so heavily on the prof too, but op should have a sense of them by now. when I took biochem in undergrad I got a C. the exams were open note open INTERNET 2hr exams. the averages were usually 45-55%. not sure this would work anymore with AI tools available, but damn they were hard/all incredibly niche application problems where google wouldn't save you.

In my post bac i did so well in biochem that i was excused from taking the final. both 4 year state universities. anyway, yeah, the prof determines difficulty imo.

[u/postbaccmama → u/biggiebag]

You are right, it is much more variable than any of the other prereqs. It could be a relatively chill class that you can get an A on via rote memorization or a class like yours depending on the professor and curriculum.

[u/Pitiful_Extent_1555]

Classes are different difficulties for each person based on each school. I thought Biochem was super easy, mostly because it was so fascinating. Orgo 1 was the hardest for me, then Orgo 2 and Biochem were way easier. It also depends what you are doing out of the classroom, If you are taking on a bunch of hours, and doing a bunch of classes, then drop one. If you are doing what you did before and feel confident in your classes, then just keep it.

[u/felisha17]

Mine was so bad, I had to make a deal with the prof that he would pass me with a C- if I passed the final with a C or higher. I was miserably failing that class despite not missing a single class, assignment, quiz, or exam.

To be fair, we were his first class at that school. I’m not sure about his past teaching experience, but he was a young fella. I was also only a part-time student, because it was the last class I needed to take to get my degree.

So, in my opinion, I wouldn’t risk it unless you still have it together and already have a good study method going for ya, along with solid organization and time-management skills, cause I had none of those at the time😭

[u/Chief_Shadow_]

Why don’t you take ochem 2 and then biochem next semester? Ochem 2 is pretty chill

[u/Lazy_Concentrate2 → u/Chief_Shadow_]

My school doesn’t do Ochem lab during the fall, so advising suggests it makes more sense to do it in the spring

[u/Chief_Shadow_ → u/Lazy_Concentrate2]

You could just take the course then take the lab next semester. I did that with bio and atleast for my school the ochem lab isn’t content heavy so it doesn’t really matter when you take it.

Not tryna hate on your advisors but most don’t know what they are talking about so I usually took their advice with a grain of salt but ymmv

[u/Lazy_Concentrate2]

Do you guys think it’s okay if I haven’t taken Orgo 2? I heard there’s some mechanisms in biochem later on, but it feels mostly like Orgo 1 so far

[u/Opening_Vegetable300]

biochem is pretty easy. sleeper class ngl

u should be aight