Another Thread About Majors

[mada34]

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Hey everyone. I'm currently a rising freshman, accepted as a physics major but having some serious doubts. I've been going back and forth for a while now about which major to choose, getting advice from friends and family, but my indecisive nature has gotten the better of me as pre-registration time is at hand. Obviously, I can change my major later in my college career, but my schedule is packed so tight with pre-med, physics, and advanced math courses that my decision now will really affect my studies down the road.

Anyway, here's the deal: I'm stuck between a major in a foreign language (probably Spanish) or Physics.

I love languages. Like, I really, really love them. In an ideal world, I'd just take the bare-bones pre-med and general studies courses at my college and pack my semesters full of language courses, but that won't work out at my school. I've passed the AP level of Spanish and am, for all intents and purposes, fluent, receiving a 5 on the exam, a 780 on the SAT II, and having spent a few months teaching kindergarten in a rural village in Honduras. A Spanish major would allow me to keep practicing my Spanish, while also allowing me to take some really interesting linguistics classes (the major at my school is mostly linguistics classes about the language, conducted in Spanish). Because I'm coming in with AP credits, I'd only have to take one class per semester in my major to get it, which leaves extra room for studying other languages (Italian and Portuguese, at least, and I've thought about those for majors, as well), doing pre-med reqs, etc. A Spanish major also gives me the option of applying to Mount Sinai Humanities and Medicine (just a thought...I know it's not something to bank on.)

But...I also love physics. The subject really clicked for me from day one, and it truly fascinates me. The Physics Department at my school is really small and tight-nit, giving me lots of opportunities to TA, get good letters of recommendation, and get involved in research starting freshman year. Plus, a physics major sounds really impressive; not to be immature, but I feel proud telling people that I'm a physics major on the pre-med track, whereas to most people a Spanish major comes off as a bit of a joke. Physics, however, seems to get ridiculously hard at the higher levels, and I'd need four more semesters of math (with notoriously tough professors). With physics, I may also have to push chem off till sophomore year, and bio and o. chem off until junior year, which may not be the best idea given that I'm fresh out of AP Bio.

I've grown up around medicine, and am sure that it is what I want to do with my life. Physics would definitely give me better job options (many hedge funds recruit physics majors at my school), but I'm pretty much dead-set on medicine and will keep re-applying if I have to, so the backup plan isn't really an issue.

tl;dr, here's the short version (skip the wall of rambling text if you want):

Physics Major: A small department that I could get to know well for good LORs; lots of early research opportunities; an interesting and impressive subject that would prepare me well for the MCAT and med school; I already have a physics peer adviser and have already registered for the first physics for majors course, and getting out of it would be a pain; it's an interesting subject. BUT it may be too hard for me to handle (I have no idea what to expect from college physics...I've heard horror stories of 20 hour problem sets), requires lots of tough advanced math, pushes bio and o. chem off till junior year, and leaves less room for electives.

Spanish Major: Helps me not lose my Spanish, would separate me from the science pre-med crowd, has some really interesting linguistics classes, allows for more language learning and elective room, gives me the HumMed option, and is just really enjoyable. BUT I don't really need it to achieve or maintain fluency, it may come off as a bit of a joke major (it has to many of my family members..), will be a pain to switch to, keeps me from taking o. chem and physics till junior year (when two years of physics is fresh in my mind), is on a very different level than the courses that I've taken before (I'm not really sure what to expect difficulty-wise now that plain language courses are behind me and lit and linguistics courses in Spanish are here), and may not prepare me all that well academically for med school.

What do you guys think? I'm really sorry for all this text--I've been debating this for a long time with family (and myself), so I have a lot to say... and I've still probably left a lot out. As an added excuse, I just got back from a trip to India and am really jet lagged, so forgive my ramblings

Thanks!

 

[flatearth22]

Go with Spanish*. GPA trumps major, undergrad, courseload, etc all day erry day. Not only does majoring in Spanish give you a better chance to earn a higher GPA, it also gives you more free time so you can rack up EC's, hang out with friends, and just have a more enjoyable, well-rounded college experience.

Plus, majoring in Spanish gives you a gateway to clinical EC's that Physics does not, basically allowing you to kill two birds with one stone. You can use your expertise in Spanish to become a translator at a hospital or free clinic which would be a great clinical experience. Or you can do medical missions in Latin America and provide more meaningful assistance compared to those who are just conversational in the language.

I thoroughly regret majoring in Chemistry (which not as tough as Physics) and not majoring in Spanish. I would have most likely gotten a higher GPA and more meaningful EC's had I gone with the latter. I also wouldn't have felt as guilty when not studying.






























































*This assumes that you 100% want to enter medical school. Obviously as far as jobs after college are concerned, Physics trumps Spanish.

 

[Pinkishcheese]

I'm a physics major entering my senior year with a good GPA. If I can do it so can you.

If you decide you don't want to go into medicine and stick with physics, your best bet is to get a Ph.D (or learn stats and program really well) and go into academia, industry, or finance.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Hey everyone. I'm currently a rising freshman, accepted as a physics major but having some serious doubts. I've been going back and forth for a while now about which major to choose, getting advice from friends and family, but my indecisive nature has gotten the better of me as pre-registration time is at hand. Obviously, I can change my major later in my college career, but my schedule is packed so tight with pre-med, physics, and advanced math courses that my decision now will really affect my studies down the road.

Anyway, here's the deal: I'm stuck between a major in a foreign language (probably Spanish) or Physics.

I love languages. Like, I really, really love them. In an ideal world, I'd just take the bare-bones pre-med and general studies courses at my college and pack my semesters full of language courses, but that won't work out at my school. I've passed the AP level of Spanish and am, for all intents and purposes, fluent, receiving a 5 on the exam, a 780 on the SAT II, and having spent a few months teaching kindergarten in a rural village in Honduras. A Spanish major would allow me to keep practicing my Spanish, while also allowing me to take some really interesting linguistics classes (the major at my school is mostly linguistics classes about the language, conducted in Spanish). Because I'm coming in with AP credits, I'd only have to take one class per semester in my major to get it, which leaves extra room for studying other languages (Italian and Portuguese, at least, and I've thought about those for majors, as well), doing pre-med reqs, etc. A Spanish major also gives me the option of applying to Mount Sinai Humanities and Medicine (just a thought...I know it's not something to bank on.)

But...I also love physics. The subject really clicked for me from day one, and it truly fascinates me. The Physics Department at my school is really small and tight-nit, giving me lots of opportunities to TA, get good letters of recommendation, and get involved in research starting freshman year. Plus, a physics major sounds really impressive; not to be immature, but I feel proud telling people that I'm a physics major on the pre-med track, whereas to most people a Spanish major comes off as a bit of a joke. Physics, however, seems to get ridiculously hard at the higher levels, and I'd need four more semesters of math (with notoriously tough professors). With physics, I may also have to push chem off till sophomore year, and bio and o. chem off until junior year, which may not be the best idea given that I'm fresh out of AP Bio.

I've grown up around medicine, and am sure that it is what I want to do with my life. Physics would definitely give me better job options (many hedge funds recruit physics majors at my school), but I'm pretty much dead-set on medicine and will keep re-applying if I have to, so the backup plan isn't really an issue.

tl;dr, here's the short version (skip the wall of rambling text if you want):

Physics Major: A small department that I could get to know well for good LORs; lots of early research opportunities; an interesting and impressive subject that would prepare me well for the MCAT and med school; I already have a physics peer adviser and have already registered for the first physics for majors course, and getting out of it would be a pain; it's an interesting subject. BUT it may be too hard for me to handle (I have no idea what to expect from college physics...I've heard horror stories of 20 hour problem sets), requires lots of tough advanced math, pushes bio and o. chem off till junior year, and leaves less room for electives.

Spanish Major: Helps me not lose my Spanish, would separate me from the science pre-med crowd, has some really interesting linguistics classes, allows for more language learning and elective room, gives me the HumMed option, and is just really enjoyable. BUT I don't really need it to achieve or maintain fluency, it may come off as a bit of a joke major (it has to many of my family members..), will be a pain to switch to, keeps me from taking o. chem and physics till junior year (when two years of physics is fresh in my mind), is on a very different level than the courses that I've taken before (I'm not really sure what to expect difficulty-wise now that plain language courses are behind me and lit and linguistics courses in Spanish are here), and may not prepare me all that well academically for med school.

What do you guys think? I'm really sorry for all this text--I've been debating this for a long time with family (and myself), so I have a lot to say... and I've still probably left a lot out. As an added excuse, I just got back from a trip to India and am really jet lagged, so forgive my ramblings

Thanks!

You should major in english so you can write more novels like this post.

 

[nysegop]

Go with Spanish*. GPA trumps major, undergrad, courseload, etc all day erry day. Not only does majoring in Spanish give you a better chance to earn a higher GPA, it also gives you more free time so you can rack up EC's, hang out with friends, and just have a more enjoyable, well-rounded college experience.

*This assumes that you 100% want to enter medical school. Obviously as far as jobs after college are concerned, Physics trumps Spanish.

Agreed

I'm a physics major entering my senior year with a good GPA. If I can do it so can you.

If you decide you don't want to go into medicine and stick with physics, your best bet is to get a Ph.D (or learn stats and program really well) and go into academia, industry, or finance.

Agreed. People always tell you to go with what will land you with a good GPA, but honestly probably the best way to get a good GPA is to pursue your passions. We, as human beings, are generally more capable at doing well in what we love.

 

[mimelim]

If you love Physics, do the Physics major. Grades matter for medical school, but they most certainly are not the ONLY thing. If you get less than an A in Mechanics, E&M2, upper level quantum etc. It isn't because you aren't smarter than other pre-meds, its because you are taking ridiculously hard classes. Adcoms know this and those with half a brain (vast majority) will not hold it against you. Now, if you can't hold your own in those classes (failing, doing inferior work) that is a different story.

The biggest positive I took from doing Physics in undergrad was problem solving abilities and the ability to simply put, think. There is no replacement for having to solve hard problems, design experiments, do real labs etc. If there is one thing that prepared me for medical school, it was that.

I have now relocated to Texas for my residency. I regret every day that I did not take my Spanish more seriously. But at the end of the day, I think of languages the way I do my computers/programing background. They are all tools. Extremely useful tools that make you very valuable to the wards and research projects. But at the end of the day, I would never major in any of those, unless I was really interested in something in particular. I certainly wouldn't study them for the sake of a GPA.

Do not waste your time in undergrad studying things for the sake of a GPA. Take things that you will actually learn something in.

 

[Tappinfool66]

Hey everyone. I'm currently a rising freshman, accepted as a physics major but having some serious doubts. I've been going back and forth for a while now about which major to choose, getting advice from friends and family, but my indecisive nature has gotten the better of me as pre-registration time is at hand. Obviously, I can change my major later in my college career, but my schedule is packed so tight with pre-med, physics, and advanced math courses that my decision now will really affect my studies down the road.

Anyway, here's the deal: I'm stuck between a major in a foreign language (probably Spanish) or Physics.

I love languages. Like, I really, really love them. In an ideal world, I'd just take the bare-bones pre-med and general studies courses at my college and pack my semesters full of language courses, but that won't work out at my school. I've passed the AP level of Spanish and am, for all intents and purposes, fluent, receiving a 5 on the exam, a 780 on the SAT II, and having spent a few months teaching kindergarten in a rural village in Honduras. A Spanish major would allow me to keep practicing my Spanish, while also allowing me to take some really interesting linguistics classes (the major at my school is mostly linguistics classes about the language, conducted in Spanish). Because I'm coming in with AP credits, I'd only have to take one class per semester in my major to get it, which leaves extra room for studying other languages (Italian and Portuguese, at least, and I've thought about those for majors, as well), doing pre-med reqs, etc. A Spanish major also gives me the option of applying to Mount Sinai Humanities and Medicine (just a thought...I know it's not something to bank on.)

But...I also love physics. The subject really clicked for me from day one, and it truly fascinates me. The Physics Department at my school is really small and tight-nit, giving me lots of opportunities to TA, get good letters of recommendation, and get involved in research starting freshman year. Plus, a physics major sounds really impressive; not to be immature, but I feel proud telling people that I'm a physics major on the pre-med track, whereas to most people a Spanish major comes off as a bit of a joke. Physics, however, seems to get ridiculously hard at the higher levels, and I'd need four more semesters of math (with notoriously tough professors). With physics, I may also have to push chem off till sophomore year, and bio and o. chem off until junior year, which may not be the best idea given that I'm fresh out of AP Bio.

I've grown up around medicine, and am sure that it is what I want to do with my life. Physics would definitely give me better job options (many hedge funds recruit physics majors at my school), but I'm pretty much dead-set on medicine and will keep re-applying if I have to, so the backup plan isn't really an issue.

tl;dr, here's the short version (skip the wall of rambling text if you want):

Physics Major: A small department that I could get to know well for good LORs; lots of early research opportunities; an interesting and impressive subject that would prepare me well for the MCAT and med school; I already have a physics peer adviser and have already registered for the first physics for majors course, and getting out of it would be a pain; it's an interesting subject. BUT it may be too hard for me to handle (I have no idea what to expect from college physics...I've heard horror stories of 20 hour problem sets), requires lots of tough advanced math, pushes bio and o. chem off till junior year, and leaves less room for electives.

Spanish Major: Helps me not lose my Spanish, would separate me from the science pre-med crowd, has some really interesting linguistics classes, allows for more language learning and elective room, gives me the HumMed option, and is just really enjoyable. BUT I don't really need it to achieve or maintain fluency, it may come off as a bit of a joke major (it has to many of my family members..), will be a pain to switch to, keeps me from taking o. chem and physics till junior year (when two years of physics is fresh in my mind), is on a very different level than the courses that I've taken before (I'm not really sure what to expect difficulty-wise now that plain language courses are behind me and lit and linguistics courses in Spanish are here), and may not prepare me all that well academically for med school.

What do you guys think? I'm really sorry for all this text--I've been debating this for a long time with family (and myself), so I have a lot to say... and I've still probably left a lot out. As an added excuse, I just got back from a trip to India and am really jet lagged, so forgive my ramblings

Thanks!

I'm actually a Spanish major. Here's a brief version of my story. I started as a biology major, went through a year and a half of college, left at the end of my sophomore fall semester to take care of my dad (he had three strokes), did this for a year and a half, realized when I was home how much I missed Spanish, went back to school last summer to take a few Spanish classes to get back in the groove, loved it and continued with the major, decided to study abroad and just got back from an amazing, six-month semester in Spain.

If you're absolutely set on medicine, Spanish might be the better option. Being bilingual is a plus in probably almost any job environment, studying a language will give you the chance to study something in depth that you may never have the chance to study again and majoring outside the sciences could make you look more well-rounded (this shouldn't be your only reason for choosing the major - it really shouldn't even be a significant reason). I started to realize that being well-rounded was more important, to me at least, and not only in terms of being accepted to medical school, but also just for the sake of having the experiences. I also took Italian (which wasn't bad) and Portuguese for Spanish-speakers (which I LOVED) and I'm so glad that I had the chance to take some really interesting classes like these. Don't get me wrong - I do enjoy science and I actually took a really cool systems neuroscience class last semester, but language, linguistics, and language learning and the science behind it really fascinate me. I'm actually starting to have doubts about medicine and considering doing something with language and language learning. I found an interesting masters program in Barcelona involving language and cognitive science and am considering doing it even if I do continue on to medical school.

In short, I'd really recommend a foreign language major to a pre-med who has a passion for it. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[LAMD2017]

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[ben kenobi]

I am a physics major, and all I can say is that it's hard to know whether you will like it until you really get into it. In the end physics isn't really for me, but it is really interesting and you learn some crazy stuff. I worked my butt off for mostly b's, which hurts my med school chances. I ended up having to add biology as a second major in an attempt to raise my gpa.

My advice would be to take mechanics and E&M, just to see how you like it. You have to take them anyway, so you might as well. That gives you a year to figure out what you want to do. Talk to some older physics students and try to get a feel for the upper level classes at your school.

 

[michmedic]

You should major in english so you can write more novels like this post.

This!

 

[seahawks2013]

op you should douuble major
















notsrs

 

[serendipity007]

You should major in english so you can write more novels like this post.

Like me!

This!

op you should douuble major

Like me like me!

Seriously it's fun!
and hard