Biochemistry major for college?
Brown and Tufts are both great universities. Biochemistry is a very good, high profit margin degree. You have some pretty good credentials to get into the degree you want. But make sure that you are active in school, not just focusing on school work, but also in clubs, you have some, but some more activities wouldn't hurt. Tufts is particularly a hard school to be admitted to so they will be looking at more than GPA and SAT. Go here for some great biotech schools: http://www.biotechnologydegrees.org/page/biotechnology-degree-search?page=6 Good luck!
Questions about pursuing a biochemistry major in college?
Questions about pursuing a biochemistry major in college? I'm considering doing biochemistry instead of a normal degree in Biology. One of the major reasons I feel this way is that during AP Biology last year (I'm currently a high school senior), my favorite topics were the molecular concepts such as cellular respiration, dna and rna synthesis, organic molecules and photosynthesis and other topics that involved a bit of theory based chemistry. I DESPISED the taxonomy and plant units because they didn't seem as interesting. Gnenetics was fine as well. Math is not a problem for me, I'm really good at math so either degree's requirements for math classes will most likely not be a problem. This year I am taking AP Chemistry and I'm struggling (whether it be because the course is so difficult or the teacher or what have you but I'm not doing very well). I may even retake it in college just because I don't want to do poorly in organic chem etc. My question is 1) Does biochemistry span all those topics or similar topics? 2) How difficult does the chemistry get? Theres a lot of analytical chemistry in AP Chem according to my teacher but is biochem the same way? I do plan to pursue a pre-med path in college.
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Biochemistry or Biology Major?
It really just depends on what your interests are and what the required classes are for that major. Biology is much more broad than biochemistry. I would suggest taking an intro biochem course before deciding on going that way. It's a harder major than biology, though I would think biochem is more fun than bio (I choose cell bio and genetics for majors). How informative those majors are and how they'll help you with the mcat depends on what the classes you'll be taking are. If you're a bio major, you could probably get by with taking a lot of plant or zoology type classes. While these classes are informative, I don't think they're as relevant to the MCAT as some biochem classes would be. There's a good number of molecular biology on the MCAT, and biochem major would help with that. It just really depends on what you prefer to learn. I decided against the biology major because I was more interested in the cell bio/genetics aspect of biology. The biology major would've forced me to take classes on topics I'm not really interested in. So I would look into the actual class descriptions for the classes you're required to take. I'm not sure wher eyou are in your studies, I'm pretty sure you'll be okay with being either major for the first year and could switch easily to the other one if you don't think you want to be whatever one you chose. The very first introductory classes (like chemistry and basic bio) are likely to be the same for both majors. Choose whichever one sounds more interests! Both will help you with the MCAT. You could probably tailor either major to more human-centered classes.
The most popular seems to be Lehninger: Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry: David L. Nelson, Michael M. Cox: 9780716771081: Amazon.com: Books. Lots of physiology - seems to be especially popular among pre-meds and med students. Don't forget to check out books in molecular biology too (What is the best introductory cell biology textbook? ) as they also cover a lot of similar material in a different way.At a level somewhere in between Lehninger and Voet is Garrett: Biochemistry: Reginald H. Garrett, Charles M. Grisham: 9781133106296: Amazon.com: Books. This is a bit shorter than the other two. I like some of the chapters, though I didn't like its chapter on Enzyme Kinetics, which seemed awfully confusing. (I preferred Lehninger's treatment on Enzyme Kinetics a lot more)Fairly advanced: Voet (Biochemistry (BIOCHEMISTRY (VOET)): Donald Voet, Judith G. Voet: 9780470570951: Amazon.com: Books ).Very dense on the details - a structural biologist would like it.For a summary, there's Lippincott's biochemistry: Biochemistry (Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews Series): Denise R. Ferrier PhD: 9781451175622: Amazon.com: BooksIf you want to learn organic chemistry from a biochem perspective, see Organic Chemistry With a Biological EmphasisIf you want to go further into proteins, try Introduction to Proteins: Structure, Function, and Motion (Chapman & Hall/CRC Mathematical and Computational Biology): 9781439810712: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.comIn the end, I think you'd learn best if you used a combination of textbooks (and I think this is even more true for fast-moving fields like biochemistry than it is for more established fields). I liked using a combination of both Lehninger and Garrett.
It depends on what your community college offers, and what you are seeking. Are you going into a 2-year health profession Associates degree? Or transferring to a 4-year college in biology? Would your major area be in biochemistry?In general, if you can get any course at a community college which is counted by an accredited four-year college for transfer, then there are advantages to taking that course at the community college. (I use transferability as a proxy in lieu of knowing about your specific CC.)If your CC offers biochemistry, or multiple biochemistry classes, go ahead and take them. I wouldn't think there are too many; often just one, because CC's are designed to do the freshman & sophomore years of a four-year program. You'd have two semesters of general biology, four semesters of general and organic chemistry. Perhaps a one semester each of genetics, microbiology, and biochemistry.
Biochemistry is any process that can be related to chemical reactions and living things.For example, The human body and muscles.Biochemistry studies how certain molecules will react to the energy molecule: ATP to make the muscle contract and produce movement.Another example can be of how we can maintain things alive such as bacteria, archae and even animals. With biochemistry we can "measure" their homeostasis capacity like pH, climate or nutrients to make sufficient enough to live.
Would you consider Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as a good choice in College?
If you major in life sciences such as Biology or Chemistry, you can't get a job right after college except for being a research assistant. Those that major in life sciences know they have to go into grad school but the options are plenty and diverse. You can get an applied doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy, medicine, dentistry, podiatry, and public health. Or get a PhD to be an academic and a researcher. You can get a masters in forensic science, biotechnology, epidemiology/public health, nursing, physicians assistant, nutrition and dietetics, and occupational therapist. Doctorate's degree can take anywhere from 3 to 5 years depending on the program, and master's can take 1-2 years. But a couple years isn't going to hurt you, pick the one you're most interested in doing for the rest of your life. Research assistant's don't get paid jack, plus they do ***** work... so go into your Biochem major with a grad school plan.