Why You Need MCAT Chem/Phys and Bio/Biochem (Most Premeds Don’t Know This!)

Understanding Why Bio/Biochem Is On The MCAT

Before we can break down how to conquer these sections, it is extremely important for you to understand why they are even included on the MCAT. 

Many people understand why Bio/Biochem is important. You’re going to be a doctor, doctors need to know biology, that makes sense…

But it is easy to forget that many of the details you need to learn for the MCAT that seem irrelevant now will be something you have to learn in medical school. 

Take ribosomes, for instance: skimming over the differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic ribosomes doesn't seem like a big deal. However, when you think a little further about it, you realize you will be prescribing antibiotics as a physician. 

To do this, you will need to understand the antibiotic's mechanism. If an antibiotic binds on the 30s subunit versus the 50s subunit, what does that mean in terms of treatment for the patient? 

This may seem in the weeds now, but you will be expected to know this in medical school!

Building a solid foundation in these subjects now will make applying new information you learn in medical school to clinical practice much easier (and there is a lot to learn!). 

If you’re looking for some top strategies on how you can improve your bio/biochem skills, check out our helpful video from a 520 (97th percentile) scorer here! 

Understanding Why Chem/Phys Is On The MCAT

While it may seem more intuitive why Bio/Biochem is important for future doctors, what about Chem/ Phys? 

Many people struggle with chemistry and/or physics in college and learn to hate it instead of love it…

But what if you realized that the body's biological phenomena are governed entirely by chemistry and physics? Think of your heart. To truly understand how the heart works, you must apply several physics principles. 

To know how all the signals get sent through the heart, you need to understand electrochemistry. To know how blood goes to different places in your body, you need to understand fluids. You’re going to need an understanding of resistance and circuits. This will help you understand hypertension, a disease that affects millions of people every year… 

All of this is just for one organ system! Physics is key to understanding the body.

There’s actually a lot of tips and tricks you can learn to make acing the physics math on the MCAT so much easier that your MCAT mentor Aly teaches you in a helpful video. Learn these top physics math strategies here!

But what about chemistry? 

Think about your kidneys and your lungs: they are constantly utilizing acid-base chemistry to keep your body in homeostasis. To understand the pathology of diseases affecting these organ systems, you need to know the chemical concepts behind them. 

However, this doesn’t mean you need to become an expert on lung physiology right now. That is what medical school is going to teach you. What it does mean is that you want to set a good foundation for core knowledge, while using your time studying for the MCAT to teach you how you learn best. 

If you're looking to make sense of these chemistry concepts, you should definitely check out Khan Academy's free MCAT content resources here. 

If you can master these concepts now, you will not only succeed on the MCAT, but you will also set yourself up for a smooth adjustment to medical school.