Boston University— BU Sargent or BU CAS?

[geolamp]

Hi! I’m a pre med who is 100% sure that I want to become a doctor. I was wondering if it’s better to be a human physiology Major in Sargent college at BU or a biology major at college of arts and sciences? Is it easier (meaning less intense) to be a human physiology major at Sargent college than to be a biology major at college of arts and science? Can I have a better gpa? Does being a human physiology decrease my chance for med school? Either major, I plan on doing a psychology minor.
Thank you!

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[692019]

Hi! I had pre-med friends from Sargent and CAS (more from Sargent though) and it really does come to where your interests lie.
Being a human physiology major is as close to being a pre-med major as one can get because most of the required classes for the degree are pre-med requisites mixed in with some anatomy, nutrition, and other electives. Plus you're required to do an internship which can help you get needed clinical exposure for med school applications.
BUT be warned that the anatomy classes are not easy! every human physiology major I know said that the classes are very extensive as if you are an MS-1 🙁
All of the other Sargent classes are very chill and virtually all the teachers are super friendly and helpful which is good for LOR.
Also, it puts pressure on you to do well overall in your major because if you leave with BU a low GPA as a human physiology major, you're pretty much screwed when applying to med school.
But if you have a good GPA, it can definitely help you.

For biology, the classes vary in terms of difficulty and scope especially since you can specialize as a biology major. So I know a lot of bio majors with good GPAs but also low ones. But being a bio major tends to make it easier for people to get bench research opportunities so that's something to consider.

Overall, though, it doesn't really matter what your major is for med school so long as you have the solid work ethic needed to do well in your classes.
I majored in philosophy which is different from all my other friends but I liked my classes and profs a lot and did well in them so it worked out

Hope this was helpful!

 

[Medschoolripperoo]

I was a Human Physiology major at BU, so if you have any specific questions, let me know. I loved the program and all of the unique classes that were offered by Sargent and so I would highly recommend that over CAS. That being said, the classes were very difficult and a lot of my pre-med buddies struggled to maintain a solid GPA and many were not able to apply because of that reason.

 

[geolamp]

I was a Human Physiology major at BU, so if you have any specific questions, let me know. I loved the program and all of the unique classes that were offered by Sargent and so I would highly recommend that over CAS. That being said, the classes were very difficult and a lot of my pre-med buddies struggled to maintain a solid GPA and many were not able to apply because of that reason.

Thank you for your input. So, do you think that Sargent isn't really easy compared to CAS? I was going to do a Biology major at CAS. And do you think I can get into med school with human phys major, minor in psychology, and a (hopefully higher) 3.5+ gpa and good research/clinical experience/etc?

 

[geolamp]

Hi! I had pre-med friends from Sargent and CAS (more from Sargent though) and it really does come to where your interests lie.
Being a human physiology major is as close to being a pre-med major as one can get because most of the required classes for the degree are pre-med requisites mixed in with some anatomy, nutrition, and other electives. Plus you're required to do an internship which can help you get needed clinical exposure for med school applications.
BUT be warned that the anatomy classes are not easy! every human physiology major I know said that the classes are very extensive as if you are an MS-1 🙁
All of the other Sargent classes are very chill and virtually all the teachers are super friendly and helpful which is good for LOR.
Also, it puts pressure on you to do well overall in your major because if you leave with BU a low GPA as a human physiology major, you're pretty much screwed when applying to med school.
But if you have a good GPA, it can definitely help you.

For biology, the classes vary in terms of difficulty and scope especially since you can specialize as a biology major. So I know a lot of bio majors with good GPAs but also low ones. But being a bio major tends to make it easier for people to get bench research opportunities so that's something to consider.

Overall, though, it doesn't really matter what your major is for med school so long as you have the solid work ethic needed to do well in your classes.
I majored in philosophy which is different from all my other friends but I liked my classes and profs a lot and did well in them so it worked out

Hope this was helpful!

Thank you! This was really helpful. Just one more question- would it be more difficult to get into med school with a human physiology major and minor in psychology compared to a major in biology and minor in psychology? Thanks again!!!

 

[Medschoolripperoo]

Thank you for your input. So, do you think that Sargent isn't really easy compared to CAS? I was going to do a Biology major at CAS. And do you think I can get into med school with human phys major, minor in psychology, and a (hopefully higher) 3.5+ gpa and good research/clinical experience/etc?

There weren't any science courses that were easy at BU by any means, with such a big school, the grading was pretty rough in order to separate the top students from the crowd, and as a human physiology major, you are required to complete quite a few high level science courses for the major. I'm not sure about the Biology major requirements, but I think you get some more leeway in what courses you choose.

All my friends that took upper-level psych courses said they were pretty easy, so you should be fine with the minor.

 

[692019]

Thank you! This was really helpful. Just one more question- would it be more difficult to get into med school with a human physiology major and minor in psychology compared to a major in biology and minor in psychology? Thanks again!!!

Personally, I don't think that it would be harder with a human physiology major/psych minor because med schools, in general, don't give much weight to majors and minors. If anything, not having a typical bio major might work in your favor because I know a lot of people that got into med school and didn't major in bio and claim its because it made them more well rounded. But I'm sure its because it was easier to get a high GPA.

 

[berntoast]

BU Sargent college Alum here (with a few med school acceptances). Your major really does not matter at all. Take the classes you enjoy, do well in them, and make sure you do extracurricular you are passionate about, so you can learn and grow from them. Biology, and human phys, are practically the same thing. Also if you study hard the classes will be fine. I tutored kids in Human Phys and Bio the level of difficulty of classes is marginally the same, and really depends on you and your strengths. The nice thing about Sargent tho is that the faculty is nice, the students sometimes aren't but just avoid them. It seems like everyone is cutthroat at first, and then you realize that there really aren't that many competitive kids, its just that they stick out alot.