BA vs. BS (oops)

[vp826]

Last thread of the day I promise.

I compared the BS and BA degrees for a biology major at my university. I biggest different I saw was that the BS degree required Calc I, II, and III while the BA only required Calc I. Which one do you guys think is better? Are this degrees appropriate for med schools?

Just doing some research so am not fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages of different degrees. I am going to see the counselor once school starts but thought I get a little heads up before I walk into the office.

Thanks in advance.
Vishal

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[etf]

um well at my school (berkeley) they do not offer a B.S. in biology - they are all B.A.s. No one cares.

 

[VPDcurt]

Ahh yes...the BA vs. BA thread. Always a winner in my book.

 

[vp826]

oops. Sorry about the mistake. I meant BA vs. BS.

 

[Mr. McDuck]

It doesn't matter, as long as you do all your pre-reqs, which both the BA and the BS should do.

 

[theaggie07]

Honestly, I'd say it doesn't matter. It comes down to which one you'd do better in. If you're a math genius then go for the BS, if not then a BA might be more appropriate. You just want to be sure you're trying for as many As as possible to make it past that first round of cuts at the schools.

 

[brains]

I agree that it doesn't really matter. You're not going to use that stuff anyway when you get to med school, so don't waste your time. I'm not. A BA in chemistry is only 30 hours, and the BS requires 48 hours. FORGET THAT! I have a 3 year old at home that I'd MUCH rather spend my time with. That's more than a year of extra school that you don't need. Just make sure you have all your pre-reqs out of the way and you'll be fine.

 

[DoctorPardi]

I'll also include that it doesn't matter.

 

[GoodDoctor]

I could see a BS perhaps helping more if you apply to a MD/PhD program. Either way you would still need outside research experience, so a BA would probably be quite comparable to a BS for an MD/PhD program. For regualr MD, they love humanities majors and other non science, so a BA is just as good as a BS.

 

[vp826]

Alrighthy then. Sounds like BA it is.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[sentry]

BA for sure -- one caveat though, make sure you do well in Calc. I. At most schools the difference between a BA and a BS is math, and adcoms will know this. If you do badly in calc. I, they will probably assume something is up -- as opposed to if you make an A, then you can ramble on about how you "wanted to take some philosophy of medicine classes" or something like that

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

I could see a BS perhaps helping more if you apply to a MD/PhD program. Either way you would still need outside research experience, so a BA would probably be quite comparable to a BS for an MD/PhD program. For regualr MD, they love humanities majors and other non science, so a BA is just as good as a BS.

I agree.

If you like research and are a good math person, go BS.

If you want to go straight MD and you like the humanities, go BA.

My gut feeling is a BA is better to adcoms because they like touchey-feely doctors.
-Dr. P.

 

[Lbgem]

um well at my school (berkeley) they do not offer a B.S. in biology - they are all B.A.s. No one cares.

Actually depends on which bio major you're talking about. We (at the CNS) joked we had a science degree while all you L&S bio majors had an 'art' degree.

 

[RokChalkJayhawk]

Actually depends on which bio major you're talking about. We (at the CNS) joked we had a science degree while all you L&S bio majors had an 'art' degree.

If you have a significant time commitment elsewhere, and don't like Bio (or chem or whatever) go for the BA. Also, be prepared to take some additional requirements if you are getting a BA. I know there are a few courses at my school that you have to take that a lot of pre-meds don't particularly like (for example at UCSD I believe you have to take an extra quarter or two of humanities).

 

[dr.z]

My school only gave out B.A. degrees since I went to a liberal arts college.

 

[Haemulon]

My school only gave out B.A. degrees since I went to a liberal arts college.

Mine too. A bachelors is a bachelors. They are equivalent. Just maybe slightly different emphases.