Astrophysics Pre-Med

[863168]

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All his or her points are valid and under-recognized to newer pre-meds regardless of what the motivations for his or her statements are. You seem to be the one trying to psycho-analyze and make things more personal/complicated than they really are. OP, I strongly suggest you do your research and figure out how these astrophysics classes are. It’ll vary based on university and I know someone who majored in astrophysics and the classes were not terribly difficult. Like Lawper says, play to your strengths.

Their points aren't sound and are borderline absurd. It's parallel to someone providing a diagnosis without an assessment and arguing it's justified because they themselves had X and know Z is the intervention without running Y tests. Perhaps I'm not a big supporter of paternalism and find that people are too quick to push people into 4 year plans of which they have 0 responsibility for the ramifications. Also, perhaps I am mistaken into thinking that actually trusting yourself to have the balls to succeed is a large component of success in life and far more important than anything else you could gain as a value ethos or life experience.

 

[Redpancreas]

Their points aren't sound and are borderline absurd. It's parallel to someone providing a diagnosis without an assessment and arguing it's justified because they themselves had X and know Z is the intervention without running Y tests. Perhaps I'm not a big supporter of paternalism and find that people are too quick to push people into 4 year plans of which they have 0 responsibility for the ramifications. Also, perhaps I am mistaken into thinking that actually trusting yourself to have the balls to succeed is a large component of success in life and far more important than anything else you could gain as a value ethos or life experience.

LOL, you chose a discussion of a pre-med majoring in astrophysics to unload this argument? In regards to your analogy, no one is slapping a diagnosis on this case. All we’re saying is that these are not the typical pre-med classes and stating the reasons doing this could be risky. On the flip side, all OP has said is that he or she likes astrophysics and you’re treating it like it’s their life’s passion.

 

[deleted804295]

Not the same thing but I have a friend who chose an engineering major while being a premed. I find this to be smart because it's an easy backup in case medical school doesn't work but it also makes the likelihood of medical school lower.

It's safe to say that her GPA has suffered a lot for those engineering courses. She eventually is getting better grades but it took her a while- I won't lie I also had difficulty first entering university but it took her a lot longer than me to get acclimated and she's a smart cookie with the same ACT as me and a higher hs GPA.

 

[altblue]

Not the same thing but I have a friend who chose an engineering major while being a premed. I find this to be smart because it's an easy backup in case medical school doesn't work but it also makes the likelihood of medical school lower.

It's safe to say that her GPA has suffered a lot for those engineering courses. She eventually is getting better grades but it took her a while- I won't lie I also had difficulty first entering university but it took her a lot longer than me to get acclimated and she's a smart cookie with the same ACT as me and a higher hs GPA.

Engineering can be a double-edged sword. You have a better chance of getting a job if med school doesn't happen, but engineering can actively decrease your chances of getting in. My buddy is set to graduate magna cum laude in BME, but his GPA is still borderline and actually decreased over time as he started to more away from prereqs and more towards engineering classes. I know a girl who managed to do a bit better in an engineering double major, with all the pre-med extracurriculars, but she's also very bright and has exceptional time management skills. In short, it's tough.

 

[Robin-jay]

Their points aren't sound and are borderline absurd. It's parallel to someone providing a diagnosis without an assessment and arguing it's justified because they themselves had X and know Z is the intervention without running Y tests. Perhaps I'm not a big supporter of paternalism and find that people are too quick to push people into 4 year plans of which they have 0 responsibility for the ramifications. Also, perhaps I am mistaken into thinking that actually trusting yourself to have the balls to succeed is a large component of success in life and far more important than anything else you could gain as a value ethos or life experience.

Your analogy about "paternalism" is fairly misplaced here.

The student is looking for the best way to succeed and follow their dreams.

risk/benefit system supports biology major over rigorous majors.

Also, if someone doesn't like biology or biology-related majors, then that's also not a good sign they will enjoy medical school where biology is fairly relevant.

 

[It's lupus!]

Look, I don't agree with Robin, but I do agree that it isn't a terrible idea. There are far worse things he could do with his academics. Robin isn't making an absurd or unreasonable suggestion. We're really nitpicking at opinions on strategy at this point.

Sent from my Pixel XL using SDN mobile

 

[863168]

Look, I don't agree with Robin, but I do agree that it isn't a terrible idea. There are far worse things he could do with his academics. Robin isn't making an absurd or unreasonable suggestion. We're really nitpicking at opinions on strategy at this point. Sent from my Pixel XL using SDN mobile

Whether he decides to major in biology or astrophysics, the first two years are likely going to be highly similar outside of certain schools having niche specialty choices like having students take Calculus for engineers over a more broad, less specific Calculus course. However, being adamant and telling the student that they should rule out astrophysics if they want medical school before September even rolls around is condescending. In addition, arbitrary comparison figures like a 3.7 astrophysics major losing a medical school seat to a 3.8 biology major is an absurd comparison in a vacuum that ignores multiple variables that play a part in the adcom decision making process. Many medical students are matriculating into medical school with non-life science majors. Making assertive statements that the OP should just be a cookie cutter applicant with little to no information on the specs of the student's ability to actually perform is a deterministic approach that undermines the value of students as individuals.

 

[jd989898]

Go for it but bail if your GPA enters the danger zone. I would have loved to major in math/engineering if I wasn't such a wimp lol. I was always (albeit rationally) worried about having a high GPA, but I think it held me back from some of my true interests.