Biology and History Majors? (too much?)

[ctaborda]

Well guys, I am decided that I will go for either one of these majors BUT, I am a little confused if I should do both or one...

I mean woudnt 2 be tooo much work load and hurt my GPA? 😕

and wouldnt Biology be too simple? or history by itself be to simple?.

I also kind of worry when it comes to ADCOMS because I have a feeling that them seeing 2 majors is like a better thing.

Well

Thanks

Carlos.

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[jmtanes]

Well guys, I am decided that I will go for either one of these majors BUT, I am a little confused if I should do both or one...

I mean woudnt 2 be tooo much work load and hurt my GPA? 😕

and wouldnt Biology be too simple? or history by itself be to simple?.

I also kind of worry when it comes to ADCOMS because I have a feeling that them seeing 2 majors is like a better thing.

Well

Thanks

Carlos.

If you really want to do both, then by all means. I think the most important thing for you to realize is that your mcat score and gpa are what get you looked at. it's the other things that keep you in the game, like ec's, etc. if i were in your shoes, i would stick with just one major. neither will be looked at as if you are just trying to get by easily. good luck

 

[!dr_nick!]

and wouldnt Biology be too simple? or history by itself be to simple?.

LOL, not at my school. It might be at first, but after a molecular genetics class or organic chem II i doubt youd think so.

 

[fullefect1]

I dont think either one would be to simple. Well maybe history, I find that to be easy. But have you considered maybe majoring in History and minor in bio? Not like it really matters, the word on the board is that adcoms don't care if you double major. So i would just pick the one you like most.

 

[Ames980]

one major over the other wont help your application to med schools... from what ive heard - do what youre interested in and do well in it! if you dont want to double major, who's to say that you cant minor in one? and if thats not avail [i know my school didnt offer a minor in history or biology] then who's to say you cant just take a bunch of history classes if you choose bio, and vice versa?

 

[ctaborda]

Something else that concerns me is that I dunno what they would think of as better for medschool, humanities or bio!?

I know majority of applicants are bio and stuff, but there are those who get in with humanities...

I would love Humanities, I love history, and I like biology aswell, but I dont know which would favor me.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Yep, had trouble deciding between a degree in the humanities and one in the sciences, and I eventually chose Biol Major with a Religious Studies Minor (Some schools even reported to me during my interview that the Humanities minor showing up, allowed me to stand out from all the other Science only Majors 👍 ). Worked well to keep my interest when the sciences became monotonous. It did end up turning my 4year degree into a 5year one, but made the whole process a lot more enjoyable. Also made for some good subject matter during the interviews.

Good luck in your choice. 👍 I'm particularly for the Major plus minor choice. 👍

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Also, regarding the adding of a minor, see if you can satisfy part of the minor with some of your GE units as well. It will help in cutting down the redundancy of your overall class load. 👍

i.e. some classes will fulfill both minor and ge requirements at the same time. (This of course is dependent on your institution).

 

[ctaborda]

Sorry for the stupid question but what the hell is a minor!? 😛 an Associate?

Carlos.

 

[Ames980]

Sorry for the stupid question but what the hell is a minor!? 😛 an Associate?

Carlos.

it changes with the school, but say for a major you have to take 10 classes in that subject, for a minor you need to take, say, 6

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Sorry for the stupid question but what the hell is a minor!? 😛 an Associate?

Carlos.

The specifics depend on the institution's definition or in that regards, what the department at your college/Univ considers it to be.

For me, getting the Religious Studies Minor, required me to take 21 extra units of RS classes/seminars from various RS subcategories.

My Chem minor required me to take ~28units.

It is different than an A.S. in the regard that a Minor is Topical, whereas (in my opinion) an A.S. is usually vocational.

👍

 

[xanthines]

I agree with the others about majoring in a subject you like. The important thing is to DO WELL!

I don't agree with "It doesn't matter what your major is." Here's why: Admissions committees are full of people with different opinions. Some are very likely to be more professional and objective without an axe to grind. However, I'm sure there will be someone who will pick the Bio majors all things being equal. Some members will do the opposite. I don't think majoring in History bars from you any medical (I hope not, since I'm one too!), but in the crusty old adcom member's eyes, you might not be better than you Bio major counterpart.

If you really like your biology and history programs, I'd say go ahead and major in both. I wish I had, because I didn't really have too many classes to go until I fulfilled the Bio major. Oh well.

Good luck!

-X

 

[dmk724]

I dont think either one would be to simple. Well maybe history, I find that to be easy.

Hey!!! I was a history major and it was hardly easy!!

Seriously, though, it doesn't matter what your major is, really. I think that the most important part is to find classes that you enjoy, and no matter what your major is, challenge yourself by taking a good number of upper level courses. I personally became a history major because I liked the faculty in the department at my school and because I really enjoy the subject. Being a history major actually came in handy in unexpected ways, though. For example, the verbal on the MCAT was a breeze compared to the readings that I had to do for some of my history classes. Plus, it gave me a lot of interesting things to talk about during the interview - I had such a good time talking with my interviewer that we went 15 minutes over the limit. The interviewer also mentioned that sometimes she had trouble interviewing bio majors, because there wasn't always a lot to talk about. I guess you could talk about your research, but unless your interviewer does research in the same field, they're not going to understand what you're talking about.

The only trouble with being a history major is that people assumed that I was doing it because it was easy way out (ahem), and the time constraints got really stressful at times. For the upper level history classes, I was doing about 25-30 hours of reading a week (sometimes a lot more, because I had to take time to translate the texts from Spanish or Italian to English), and then several hours every other week writing a 15-20 page paper. That, in conjunction with the 3-5 hours a day that I was spending on biochem/physics work was really difficult.

Find the mix that seems most manageable for you, and that lets you become a well-rounded person.

 

[LoneCoyote]

I did both history and biology and am happy that I did. I did the biology degree post-bac though, so they were not both at once. There were a number of people in my history major who did a history major and a biology minor, which included the minimum requirements for med school. I would agree that history is not an easy major necessarily. It is a very different kind of learning experience that involves a heavy reading load and writing lots of papers. If you like to write, it is a great major. If you do not like writing, I would not do it. I found my interviewers all thought my history degree was interesting and we talked about it in detail. As the other poster said, the preparation you get will also help you with the verbal section of the MCAT and with writing your PS and essays for the secondaries. I think it is doable to double major, but you'll just have to manage your time carefully. Good luck 🙂

 

[myodana]

Major in what you like. Who are you doing this for, anyway? It's not going to hurt you unless you can't handle the workload. If it looks problematic, you can always drop one.
Dana
Biology and Dance Performance double major, Oberlin College ('00)

 

[ctaborda]

All of you guys are completly right.

I think I will start with the double majors, I love both subjects..

I think it will be a little hard with time, as myodana said, I can always drop one if I cant handle it.

keep it comming! its all welcomed.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

All of you guys are completly right.

I think I will start with the double majors, I love both subjects..

I think it will be a little hard with time, as myodana said, I can always drop one if I cant handle it.

keep it comming! its all welcomed.

... and do consider taking an extra year or so to enjoy it, instead of cramming it all down your throat...

 

[Arusak]

I did a social science as well as a life science double. I can't stress enough that it doesn't matter to these adcoms. And only at one interview was I asked about my majors. But I definitely do not regret having done the double...I love both of them...but don't pick a social science that you are not interested in or you are not good at...those classes can hurt the cumulative gpa.

if you think taking extra course work that you may end up not doing well will hurt your cumulative gpa, plan carefully so you are not taking hard science classes with social science classes that have 3 or 4 major papers due per quarter. My social science classes sometimes had a midterm, a final AND a 20-30 page paper on top of that per QUARTER (10 weeks). Plan accordingly.

Good luck. I loved the experience...but definitely don't do it only because you think it will "look good."

Arusak

 

[SaltySqueegee]

I did a social science as well as a life science double. I can't stress enough that it doesn't matter to these adcoms. And only at one interview was I asked about my majors. But I definitely do not regret having done the double...I love both of them...but don't pick a social science that you are not interested in or you are not good at...those classes can hurt the cumulative gpa.

if you think taking extra course work that you may end up not doing well will hurt your cumulative gpa, plan carefully so you are not taking hard science classes with social science classes that have 3 or 4 major papers due per quarter. My social science classes sometimes had a midterm, a final AND a 20-30 page paper on top of that per QUARTER (10 weeks). Plan accordingly.

Good luck. I loved the experience...but definitely don't do it only because you think it will "look good."

Arusak

Very good point. My soon to be wife was a Social Science Major, and the amount of papers she had to churn out each semester was phenomenal. That not being enough, it was like a book of the week club with her for each of her classes. (Crazy) Almost like having a bachelors in Writing Composition, and literature with a focus on History.

Very time consuming and mentally demanding.

So as everyone has said, do it for yourself, not anyone else.

 

[Vandyfox]

I think this must get debated every cycle. So, welcom aboard to you youngins! It's been said before, it's been emphasized before, and here I repeat

IT DOESN"T MATTER WHAT YOU MAJOR IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your undergrad major is what you end up spending most of your time learning about and experiencing. For the love of all things good, spend that time with something you enjoy. For me, it was Creative Writing (yes, seriously). I was asked about it a lot in interviews in a very candid, "What was that like?" kind of way- lead to lots of good convo's. The point is, there will be lots to talk about when you've had a good education in anything you were very interested in: Chem, Bio, History, etc.

For all you humanities majors, we did / do still have to take lots of upper level sciences in preparation. After my junior year, I was 3 classes from a Chem major, and I said, "To hell with that, Senior year is for English class and freshman level requirements." Ask anybody, we Pre-meds earned that Senior year, and the last thing you want is to make it hard. Relax and enjoy that last go round.

Good luck with your decisions and enjoy the ride
-Vandyfox

 

[pushkin]

I was a religion major with more than enough credits for an English major, but I ran out of time to write the English thesis. Those humanities classes can be just as time consuming as any of the premed classes! In my 19th century fiction class, we read Bleak House one week (a gazillion pages) and Middlemarch the next (900 pages). 20-30 page papers every trimester for every class, and 5-7 page papers once every two to three weeks for each class on top of that. The thing that makes the humanities hard is that you don't just have to master a skill or regurgitate material like in a lot of science classes--to get a good grade on a paper you have to say something original and intelligent. The history majors I knew had to write a 75 page senior thesis. Yikes!

Well, I hope you major in whatever subject you think is the most fun. That's what it's all about!

 

[dfleis]

.

 

[Habari]

But there was also another microbio/history major who was on SDN.. 'jot' - haven't seen him in a while. But I guess he's the antithesis of me - he handled it quite well, had a high GPA, high MCAT, high IQ, he'll probably win the Nobel, won the boston marathon while reading guyton's physiology, and is on his to way to save children in his native land of India.

flattering to him, truly, however, it seems that this is the process whereby myths are created. and here i thought an old screename was safely forgotten : - ).

it would be a mistake to do anything for the sake of admissions competitiveness. in fact, constructing a college or post-collegiate experience around the percieved wishes of an admissions committee is a sure way to attain mediocrity, if that.

i happen(ed) to enjoy both history and biology, and took a ba/bs in them, respectively. to say that the combination helped me out would be to ignore a number of confounding factors - the aforementioned strong interest in both being one of them. as an aside, i just realized that many of my md/phd classmates did not major/concentrate in the sciences formally while in college; this clearly didn't make a difference with regards to getting in - and it would certainly not for med admissions.

 

[ctaborda]

I am still undecided between Bio, History or Anthropology

 

[appomattox]

Shouldn't this 'jot' guy come out and speak for himself?

What about the subversive underground connection that exists between History, Biology, and Medicine? What do you say to that, huh?

 

[sportschick]

honestly, just start with taking classes as if youd double major, and then see what you want to do. I started freshman year as a bio and writing sems major, then realized that wasnt possible the way classes get scheduled. Now I'll graduate a bio major and history of science/medicine/technology minor ... id say see what you feel after a couple of semesters on a double major track, then start making decisions. Dont choose a major based on what med schools care about, because you make yourself as a candidate regardless of your major(s). Do what you want and do it well, and youll be fine! 🙂

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Don't just do general biology. That's soooo unoriginal. Plus, you do a boat load of bio in med school itself.

EDIT: Start by taking pre-med courses and a history class or two. You can make your decision your second year of college if you chose.

 

[indianboy]

Shouldn't this 'jot' guy come out and speak for himself?

What about the subversive underground connection that exists between History, Biology, and Medicine? What do you say to that, huh?

Seeing 'jot's name on SDN nearly brought tears to my eyes. I've been tortured whether to post this or not, and though I haven't always been serious on SDN, I felt this was important: I'm afraid that 'jot' won't be posting anytime soon. He was seriously injured in a catamaran accident, and suffered severe brain damage. This happened 6 months ago, during his first year in medical school and though his condition has stabilized, he has been reduced to a near catatonic state. We hope for his full recovery and hope that those of you who read SDN religiously, no matter the faith, will pray for him. Don't take anything for granted, and only go sailing with professionals.

Hope that Helps.

P 'Sincerely' ShankOut