Better Major ? Biochemistry or Physiology ?

[NeverStopMeEver]

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I am considering majoring in either biochemistry or physiology ( yep... my school actually has a major in physiology). Which do you think would be better preparation for the MCAt and/or med school ?

 

[~~premed82~~]

UUUuuuuuum, I'm gonna go with biochemistry (at least in preparation for med-school).


😉

 

[AStudent]

I say physiology because you'll be taking anatomy/physiology/biochemistry/histology/plus all your prereqs....you'll be well prepared for medical school. Biochemistry just has a bunch of boring labs and a PChem requirement (have fun with that!).

 

[criminallyinane]

physio for sure

 

[crys20]

physio for sure because your GPA will almost undoubtedly be better unless you're really good at math, hard science, etc. forget preparation, you want as a high a GPA as you can to make getting into med school easy...MOST of my biochem major friends struggle through hard math and chemistry which while some of it may be preparatory just lowers their GPA. a 3.6 in physio will look better than a 3.4 in biochem anyday...plus i LOVE physio 🙂

 

[Darth Asclepius]

Which do you think would be better preparation for the MCAt and/or med school ?

I think it's unwise to choose your major to prep for the MCAT or med school only. I think you should pick the major that you find the most interesting. Biochem is a very challenging major and taking it solely for the purpose of MCAT prep would probably be hell. On the other hand, I am a bio and biochem double major. My biochem major was 10x harder than the bio (and the bio major wasn't exactly easy). More important than the biochemistry I learned, is the fact that I actually had to learn how to study. I took biochem and pchem at the same time and learning to balance them with my other classes, MCAT prep, my job, and extracurriculars was probably the most important thing I learned that year. Also, before I took those classes, I never had to study a whole lot (I'm not saying ochem was easy, but my biochem courses made the time commitment for any class I took before seem minimal). If you become a biochem major, you will learn to be a good student or you will do poorly. I think that is what will help you the most in med school, but then, you should probably ask me that next year 🙂

PS- physical chemistry is not nearly as evil as everyone makes it out to be (in my opinion). My biochem classes were harder than pchem. You just have to keep up. If you get behind, you're screwed.

 

[OSUdoc08]

UUUuuuuuum, I'm gonna go with biochemistry (at least in preparation for med-school).


😉

On the contrary, physiology will prepare you for medical school much better than biochemistry.

 

[gbiz]

BIOCHEMISTRY ROCKS!

Well, my school doesnt really have biochem; im doing chemistry, however its chemistry option 2, emphasis in biochemistry.

Alas, I didnt choose chem for biochem, i chose it for chem 🙂

 

[sunnyjohn]

Major in what you enjoy. Pick the one with the group of classes you like.
Everyone is gonna be different. I majored in History



(Out of the 2 choice you gave, I would have chosen physiology, but would have not given up my History major entirely!!)

 

[illiniTJ]

My pick is Physio!

my experiences....

Physio = neurotransmitter experiments w/ fresh killed frogs/rats - made body parts twitch = totally excellent

Biochem = long boring lectures that reminded me of how much I hated orgo = horrible semester

 

[Medikit]

Both of those subjects are awesome. I say do both. I was both a Biology and a Chemistry major and I really like the way the two majors complement eachother.

 

[dr.z]

Physiology for me, but if biochem interests you more go with biochem.

 

[sick of waiting]

I personally liked Physiology much, much better than Biochem. But, I wouldn't major in either. I know its cliche but my advice is too major in what you are actually interested in, whether its accounting or zoology. Some majors may be less preparatory for med school/MCAT, but you can still find a way to get ready. I know a handful of people that picked Biochem for the same reason--to get prep for med school. They hated it so much they switched off the pre-med track. I am not saying that will happen to you...just sharing information. Good luck.

 

[PostalWookie]

If you want to be a biochem major, you better really be into the chem part of it. Otherwise PChem will make your life miserable

 

[adoggie]

depends on the prereqs of schools you're thinking about, but i'd choose biochemistry.

 

[Ambs]

I love physiology, so I would choose that. Biochem isn't my cup of tea.

But in the end what matters is what interests you more. And I'm inclined to say a physio major would help you more in med school.

 

[werd]

speaking as a biochem graduate in med school... it's an advantage over most other preparations, at least for MS1. but if you aren't actually interested in it, it will make you miserable during undergrad. in the end, all majors get thru medical school without too huge a difference in how "prepared" you are... maybe biochems get thru with a slight advantage over history majors, for instance, but it's not as much as you'd guess. good luck.

 

[osjx-82]

I would say physiology

 

[Thundrstorm]

Biochem because Biochem majors are dead sexy.


How about you pick based on which classes you like better? In fact, take a few classes and THEN worry about declaring a major.

 

[sunnyjohn]

The OP was banned? How the deuce does someone get banned in 10+ posts???? 😕