Biology vs. Biomedical Sciences

[Samin23]

Hello everyone,

I am currently in my second semester at Texas A&M as a biology major. Recently, I made my degree plan with all my future classes planned out, including my biology upper-level courses. However, when looking over it, I noticed that there were a vast amount of ecology and botany classes to choose from that I have zero interest in learning about. Because of this, I have been thinking about changing my major to Biomedical Sciences, as their lower-level courses are fairly similar to Biology but have upper-level courses that focus much more on the human body and the medical and dental field.
Can someone that is currently in Biomedical Sciences or in a similar major at another school give me some advice as to what you think about your major? And do you think it is worth transferring in?

Thank you.

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[ajj70]

Sounds like a good plan to me. Your major really doesn't matter for med/dental school so pick something that interests you that you can do well in. A straight bio major makes it harder to find work after graduation if you don't go to med/dental school too.

 

[Tikidude19]

I don't know if you are speaking from experience, but I did my undergrad in bio and masters in bio/microbio and secured a >70k job in R&D for a major company right after. A degree in BMS is 100% harder to get a GOOD job in than straight bio because it tells most employers that you are likely on the way out to go to dental/med/pharm school. The majority of BMS majors who aren't in professional school end up working in already saturated hospital/healthcare labs for low compensation. Bio degree opens the door to R&D, compliance, quality control, and more in many more industries other than just hospitals or healthcare.

So if you are thinking plan B options, I say go Bio/Chem or some other core science.

 

[ajj70]

I don't know if you are speaking from experience, but I did my undergrad in bio and masters in bio/microbio and secured a >70k job in R&D for a major company right after. A degree in BMS is 100% harder to get a GOOD job in than straight bio because it tells most employers that you are likely on the way out to go to dental/med/pharm school. The majority of BMS majors who aren't in professional school end up working in already saturated hospital/healthcare labs for low compensation. Bio degree opens the door to R&D, compliance, quality control, and more in many more industries other than just hospitals or healthcare.

So if you are thinking plan B options, I say go Bio/Chem or some other core science.

Your UG degree in Bio, however, would not have landed you that job. Bio/Chem would be a good option vs just Bio though too.

 

[babowc]

I'd avoid BMS, unless you're sure of going into health profession.

 

[dds2b219]

Biomed science all the way! So worth it- avoid all the plants and ecology..

 

[Hannah Banana]

High five OP, I think human bodies are more interesting than plants, too. Pick the one that you want to study and do well!

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

High five OP, I think human bodies are more interesting than plants, too. Pick the one that you want to study and do well!

There is nothing worse than to study plants and ecology stuff...lol

 

[TourdeTeeth]

I almost switched from BIO to BMS at my school because I thought plants were dumb. The best decision I ever made was sticking with BIO because I learned how to be a scientist, the BMS department at my school teaches students how to take tests. They don't understand how science works, they just know how to choose the correct answers on multiple choice tests. I ended up doing both my undergrad and master's in Biology before applying to dental school.

It seems like there are a lot of plant courses you have to take, but I've been in my biology department for 5 years and think I've had about one test on plants. If you look again, you can probably choose if you want to do a cell biology, molecular biology, or microbiology path in your BIO major and then you'll have to take even less plant courses. I'm biased towards biology though, cause most of the BMS kids at my school are super arrogant, have "God" complexes, and don't understand science.

 

[MolarEclipse]

Samin,
I also go to TAMU, and I am a bio major. I feel like the new degree plan that freshman have gives a lot more freedom than the older plans. For instance, you guys dont have directed electives anymore which forced you to take certain types of bio courses. I believe for your upper level bio electives you can choose any upper level bio course which would include immunology, embryology, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology (1,2).

Everyone of those classes would help prepare you for dental school, and those classes combined exceed the number of hours you have to take for upper level bio electives (18). My advice, speak with our department's advisors, specifically Clint. He's the best one. Ask them about these classes and how they might fit into your plan for the next 3 years.
Good luck

 

[Samin23]

Samin,
I also go to TAMU, and I am a bio major. I feel like the new degree plan that freshman have gives a lot more freedom than the older plans. For instance, you guys dont have directed electives anymore which forced you to take certain types of bio courses. I believe for your upper level bio electives you can choose any upper level bio course which would include immunology, embryology, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology (1,2).

Everyone of those classes would help prepare you for dental school, and those classes combined exceed the number of hours you have to take for upper level bio electives (18). My advice, speak with our department's advisors, specifically Clint. He's the best one. Ask them about these classes and how they might fit into your plan for the next 3 years.
Good luck

Clint is my favorite advisor too! Lol. Unfortunately, he will be out of office until tomorrow, and my advising appointment with BIMS is at 3:30 today and they already told me I can switch in immediately due to my GPA. However, after doing some research and taking the advise of the other people on this thread, I think I am just going to stick to going for a Biology degree and try my best to avoid as many classes based around ecology as possible.

I appreciate everyone' feedback.