Biology vs. Biochemistry Majors

[Albo]

Ok, here is the deal. I am a sophomore and i am undecided about my major which would be either Biochemistry or Biology. I spoke with my pre-med adviser and he told me that a major in Biochemistry is very impressive when u apply to med school. Biology is easy and Biochem is more challenging because of Pchem and analytical chemistry. I was wondering if it is better to have a little bit of lower gpa and a biochem major or a higher gpa and a Biology major.

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[ssquared]

"Biology is easy"? What school do you go to?

But in all seriousness, pick the major you want, not what you think that ADCOMS want to see. Because if (um, when?) you don't get in, you could be stuck with a major that you didn't particularly like and don't know what to do with.

 

[TheAmazingGOB]

I think Biochem is probably more impressive as it is more challenging than bio, but so many applicants are either biology or biochemistry majors these days that it probably doesn't matter either way. Pick whichever you think you will enjoy more. The question is, do you want the useless knowledge portion of your brain to be full of quantum mechanics or evolutionary diversity?
Of course, I'm biased because I did biochem.

 

[Albo]

"Biology is easy"? What school do you go to?

But in all seriousness, pick the major you want, not what you think that ADCOMS want to see. Because if (um, when?) you don't get in, you could be stuck with a major that you didn't particularly like and don't know what to do with.

Hey, i go to UMich but i find Biology easier since it is all memorization, biochem makes you use your brain and think. Just my opinion, i want to do Biology but what bothers me is that this major is not worth nothing if i dont get accepted into med school.

 

[LMarie_MD2b]

Make things *so much* easier on yourself. Do Biology/Biological Sciences, get your 3.9+, and sail off to the Top Tier.

Graduates of the Biochemistry department at my UG (about 10 applicants, including myself) is getting very little 'love' from adcoms this year. We are all qualified applicants (GPA > 3.5, BCPM > 3.5, almost all with research/pubs, ECs, etc.), and all but one of us got completely snubbed by our state school--where we've spent the last four years! I have since been accepted elsewhere, but my friends are scrambling to get in the door anywhere they can. I'd say if I had to do it over again, I would have taken the biology train. But, that's just my Lincoln twins.

 

[Jack Daniel]

...But, that's just my Lincoln twins.

Well, I have to say...first time I've heard this phrase used

 

[HumbleMD]

Ok, here is the deal. I am a sophomore and i am undecided about my major which would be either Biochemistry or Biology. I spoke with my pre-med adviser and he told me that a major in Biochemistry is very impressive when u apply to med school. Biology is easy and Biochem is more challenging because of Pchem and analytical chemistry. I was wondering if it is better to have a little bit of lower gpa and a biochem major or a higher gpa and a Biology major.

Did you like chemistry? Do you like proteins and studying how they fold (which is what you'll be doing for 2 years unendingly)? If so, then go biochem. Otherwise, they're quite similar. I suppose some may say or think that biochem is more difficult, but in the question of whether or not a biochem major with a lower GPA is better than a biology major with a higher GPA, the answer is almost always the higher GPA (and the best answer is option c) a biochem major with a higher GPA). If you're trying to be a little more original, go Biochem, but even then the vast majority of applicants are bio or biochem majors with somewhat more biology majors. One thing to note, should you change your mind (or desire a nice internship down the road), is that the closer you get to chemistry, the more employable you are in a lab.

(caveat - I'm a biochem major myself)

 

[yeeseng]

Do Biology. Biochemistry at Umich is ridiculously harder than biology. I know friends who had 3.8 and above getting their first C+ in Chem 451 (Biochem 1) and then C-(Biochem 2) in Chem 452. You think its a lot of brain power? Its actually A LOT more memorization than Biology classes.

 

[HumbleMD]

Do Biology. Biochemistry at Umich is ridiculously harder than biology. I know friends who had 3.8 and above getting their first C+ in Chem 451 (Biochem 1) and then C-(Biochem 2) in Chem 452. You think its a lot of brain power? Its actually A LOT more memorization than Biology classes.

It's a challenge, but a rewarding challenge (I'm a biochem major at UMich). A 3.8 or higher is definitely higher, even in biochem...

 

[Law2Doc]

I spoke with my pre-med adviser and he told me that a major in Biochemistry is very impressive when u apply to med school.

ROFL. Biochem is perhaps a good major because you have to take the prereqs anyway, and they are a good chunk of it. But if you really want to look "very impressive" when you apply to med school, you are far better off majoring in etruscan pottery or tibetan dance or some other subject that separates you from the pack and makes you seem more well rounded and interesting in interviews, rather than the same old premed clone. The days of bio and biochem majors being the ideal majors for a premed basically ended in the 80s. So did your pre-med adviser's credibility, apparently. Non-sci majors who successfully did just the prereqs actually do quite well in the application process. Moral of the story, as a prior poster indicated, major in whatever interests you, because adcoms aren't going to care that much, and when they do take notice, it is likely not going to be because of the reasons you think.

 

[Jack Daniel]

...you are far better off majoring in etruscan pottery or tibetan dance or some other subject that separates you from the pack ...

Good advice, but seriously,
I think I'd rather listen to someone drone about metabolic pathways than etruscan pottery!

 

[Jack Daniel]

I'm pretty sure that as soon as they opened their mouth and said, "let me tell you about etruscan....", I'd be

 

[kelvin81]

It's a challenge, but a rewarding challenge (I'm a biochem major at UMich). A 3.8 or higher is definitely higher, even in biochem...

Who cares if it's a challenge. The whole point is to get into medical school. I was a biochem major at UCI then switched back to regular Bio. Only 1 or 2 A's are given in those advanced Biochem courses at my school. In fact, as a Bio major, I had more options to take medicine-related courses that I loved to study such as Virology, Molecular Biology of Cancer, Pharmacology, Immunology with Hematology, etc.

 

[ssquared]

Hey, i go to UMich but i find Biology easier since it is all memorization, biochem makes you use your brain and think. Just my opinion, i want to do Biology but what bothers me is that this major is not worth nothing if i dont get accepted into med school.

I'm not understanding what you mean. Are you trying to say that a biology major is worthless, and that is what concerns you?

I'm a biology major and I would have to say that it's hardly worthless. I would also disagree with the idea that it's "all memorization," but that's another topic for another day...

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm pretty sure that as soon as they opened their mouth and said, "let me tell you about etruscan....", I'd be

Don't knock it until you've tried it. Those estruscans were pretty happening dudes.

 

[FFwannabeMD]

Pick the major that you like the most. Honestly, I'm way better in biology than chemistry, but I love chemistry. So I did a biochemistry major. My GPA is lower than it would be if I were a bio major since the material clicks with me far less naturally, but in the end it's worth it to me and I can back up my decision to any interviewer. I think if you pick a major based solely on what an Adcom thinks, you may be disappointed in the end.

 

[Writer1985]

Biochem major here. Talk to some fourth-years in each department; they'll be able to tell you what the upper-division classes are. For example, bio at my school is pretty elective-based after you get through the weedout required classes, whereas biochem is a lot more regimental (everyone takes the same classes at the same time). I like the structure and camaraderie that comes out of that, but be forewarned that pchem is the most frustrating subject imaginable. (Unless you are a physics genius, in which case just major in that.)

Bottom line: choose your major for you, not for some anonymous adcom two years or more in the future.

 

[Jack Daniel]

Don't knock it until you've tried it. Those estruscans were pretty happening dudes.

Hey, I'm all for learning about ancient Tyrrhenian cultures, but for some reason, everytime I hear talk of the Etruscan people...

 

[jaydoc07]

I say be a business major. After all, medicine is ultimately a business venture and I sure wish I knew more about that aspect. This is coming from the guy with the bio BS.

 

[MahlerROCKS]

Or do what I'm doing: I'm double majoring in biochemistry and classics (my focus is actually Etruscan bronze work--its not pottery, but its close enough)

 

[4whom]

Biochem's difficulty viersus biology is completely tied to what courses are required at your uni. At my current uni, a biochem major is pretty much a chem major with a biology minor. Heh. Some schools, however, do not require the high math levels and p-chem for biochem majors. More or less it's a pure biology degree with a full year of biochem instead of a semester.

edit: oh, and biology is hardly less "employable" than biochemistry.

 

[Cirrus83]

Well, an undergrad bio degree tends to get you lower paying jobs than a chemistry related degree, although I'm not sure about how biochem fits in that picture.

Still, if you want to go to med school, that kinda stuff wouldn't really matter, and to be honest I'd rather have a 3.6 GPA and be a biology major than someone who's barely keeping a 3.3 and has a biochemistry major...it won't do you any good if you can't get a high GPA in biochem.

At the end of the day, do a major in what you like and screw the other stuff. I mean my own major is about as low wage paying as possible, and I still don't regret it, so take that for what it's worth. And lord knows plenty of people just get liberal arts degrees, and I don't think they're any worse off for it in the long run.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Hey now. No Etruscans no Rome. No Rome no names for a majority of our muscles. What would we do?

 

[baylormed]

Hey, i go to UMich but i find Biology easier since it is all memorization, biochem makes you use your brain and think. Just my opinion, i want to do Biology but what bothers me is that this major is not worth nothing if i dont get accepted into med school.

A few English courses couldn't hurt you, either.

Choose a major you like, not what you "think" will be impressive. I'm a bio major and I had no problems getting in.

 

[Mayday]

I'm going with bio-chem simply because by the time I get all of the med school pre-reqs out of the way, I've got the majority of the degree finished anyways.