Changing majors

[silver_eyes]

Do you think it is okay to change majors from a BS in Biology to a BA in Psychology?

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[DrMom]

Why wouldn't it be?

 

[OnMyWayThere]

I think it's okay and I think it's a great decision as well. I did it and I have learned some really great stuff. Good luck.

P.s. your main concern is probably chances of getting into medical school - from statistics I have seen and people I've spoken to. Statistically equivalent in all sections of MCAT and matriculants into Medical school as Biology majors. So do not worry on that end.

 

[Sharkfan]

Yes. Study what you want! You have the rest of your life to delve deep into the realm of biological science...

 

[silver_eyes]

lol. thank you for your comments.

i mean i am the infamous silver)_eyess. ahha. anyway.

i ama bio nerd so i decided to be bio major, btu when i got into it, i had to take these supid classes like vert bio, vert anatomy, california flora...yuck. it took me 2.5 years to realize that i DONT ant to be a bio major.

and for all the stress and stuf fi had to go through with it, it wouldnt have happend if i switched my major into psych.

but hey.

so...it won't look bad if i get a bacehlor of ARTS instead of a bach of SCIENCE??

if i stay in bio, i will just suffer.

 

[DrMom]

It doesn't matter if you have a BA or a BS

 

[DD214_DOC]

I'm getting a BS in Psychology. It doesn't matter, but if you're still uncomfortable see if the psych department offers a BS degree. The only difference is you take more math & statistics. I have had pretty much the same stat course three times

 

[dr.kicia]

i had the same problem, started with bio but got really interested in psych. I think it is only into your advantage to study psych for med school. And hey , at least you will be "different" from majority of other aplicants who are bio majors. My friend is a 2nd year of med in NYU now, and you would never believe what was her major ....art, sculpture(she wants to do reconstructive surg.). She got in to the top schools and chosen to go with NYU...it's also nice that she is getting a full scholarship...i have no idea how that girl did that but she is a good example that major really doesn't matter or maybe it is even to your advantage to do something more "original". Good luck

 

[alleyez]

Originally posted by madga02
i had the same problem, started with bio but got really interested in psych. I think it is only into your advantage to study psych for med school. And hey , at least you will be "different" from majority of other aplicants who are bio majors. My friend is a 2nd year of med in NYU now, and you would never believe what was her major ....art, sculpture(she wants to do reconstructive surg.). She got in to the top schools and chosen to go with NYU...it's also nice that she is getting a full scholarship...i have no idea how that girl did that but she is a good example that major really doesn't matter or maybe it is even to your advantage to do something more "original". Good luck

so did you switch your major to psychology?

I'm currently a bio major..... my grades are suffering.. even from just the intro pre-med courses

 

[dr.kicia]

i am switching next semester...i love psych...my abnormal psych professor is the best teacher i ever had, all psych professors so far were great...unfortunately i cannot say that about bio, right now i am being hypnotized every lecture....there is like 10 people there each time , we all are going dormant, and this boring guy just reads slides to us(that are posted on line by the way)...i mean i can read it by my self really...he acctually made my decission easier, and labs, i hate those...counting legs of 34 fruit flies....i thought i was going to go crazy...

 

[STAC]

Originally posted by OnMyWayThere
I think it's okay and I think it's a great decision as well. I did it and I have learned some really great stuff. Good luck.

P.s. your main concern is probably chances of getting into medical school - from statistics I have seen and people I've spoken to. Statistically equivalent in all sections of MCAT and matriculants into Medical school as Biology majors. So do not worry on that end.

Your mailbox is full. PM be again about the books when you get it cleaned out.

 

[silver_eyes]

Originally posted by madga02
i am switching next semester...i love psych...my abnormal psych professor is the best teacher i ever had, all psych professors so far were great...unfortunately i cannot say that about bio, right now i am being hypnotized every lecture....there is like 10 people there each time , we all are going dormant, and this boring guy just reads slides to us(that are posted on line by the way)...i mean i can read it by my self really...he acctually made my decission easier, and labs, i hate those...counting legs of 34 fruit flies....i thought i was going to go crazy...

ahahah. DUDE EXACTLY! i don't care how trees reproduce or freaking flowers...aahhhh GYMNOSPERMS!!!! NOOOOOOO.

 

[silver_eyes]

Originally posted by madga02
i am switching next semester...i love psych...my abnormal psych professor is the best teacher i ever had, all psych professors so far were great...unfortunately i cannot say that about bio, right now i am being hypnotized every lecture....there is like 10 people there each time , we all are going dormant, and this boring guy just reads slides to us(that are posted on line by the way)...i mean i can read it by my self really...he acctually made my decission easier, and labs, i hate those...counting legs of 34 fruit flies....i thought i was going to go crazy...

the bio department sucks at my school too.

 

[silver_eyes]

Originally posted by madga02
i am switching next semester...i love psych...my abnormal psych professor is the best teacher i ever had, all psych professors so far were great...unfortunately i cannot say that about bio, right now i am being hypnotized every lecture....there is like 10 people there each time , we all are going dormant, and this boring guy just reads slides to us(that are posted on line by the way)...i mean i can read it by my self really...he acctually made my decission easier, and labs, i hate those...counting legs of 34 fruit flies....i thought i was going to go crazy...

the bio department sucks at my school too.

and its like they make the class purposely hard, as if they WANT you to fail.

 

[silver_eyes]

Originally posted by alleyez
so did you switch your major to psychology?

I'm currently a bio major..... my grades are suffering.. even from just the intro pre-med courses

dude. im in the exact same boat. my bio class grades suck.

 

[dr.kicia]

Originally posted by silver_eyes
the bio department sucks at my school too.

and its like they make the class purposely hard, as if they WANT you to fail.

i sometimes feel like they want to make it harder on purpose...like lab reports...what is the goddamn educational purpose for writing that you have been counting fruit flies' legs? I do not get it, as i do not get chem lab reports which are basicly based on copying word for word the procedure from lab manual.. what is the point of this...i know how to read and write by this time...psych is much more interesting to me...although one of my bio professors is the coolest guy, we even took him out to lunch with my friend one day Anyway, i think one should just go for what is most interesting for him/her, that way your gpa will not have to suffer and you will enjoy what you learn

 

[silver_eyes]

ok i have a question now for the people who switched from bio to psych.

i took genetics (required for bio majors) but got an F
took chem 27 got a D (required for bio and pre-med)
physics got D in both (required for bio and pre-med)

i still have ochem to take (required for bio and pre-med)

since i am NOt a bio major anymore, should i Retake genetics?

for pre-med i have the following left:
retaking gchem second part and will retake physics. ihaven't taken ochem yet.

for psychology we need 47 units for the major.

so...what should i do?

also: my current advisor is the head of the bio department...i should change him to a psych teacher correct or shopuld i keep both: one for pre-med stuff one for psychology major stuff?

thanks!

 

[dr.kicia]

i really don't know what you should do. Your science gpa so far seems a little in the trouble. What i want to do and that is also why i am switching is that just in case i do not get into med school or if i figure out that science classes are really not my area i would go for the ph.d in clinical psychology. If i were you i would probobly took all those clases over to get at least B in them but genetics i wouldn't botter since you do not need that. And it would make life easier for you to get the psych advasor since you don't need bio one anymore...good luck

 

[DD214_DOC]

Originally posted by silver_eyes
ok i have a question now for the people who switched from bio to psych.

i took genetics (required for bio majors) but got an F
took chem 27 got a D (required for bio and pre-med)
physics got D in both (required for bio and pre-med)

Not to be mean, but I think you need a reality check. None of those classes will count, you will have to retake them all. Your science GPA has been murdered almost beyond repair. You're posting this in pre-allo, so I won't consider what AACOMAS would do with your classes.

Even if you retook all of your classes and made A's, your science GPA would still be below a 3.0. At the least, you will need to take upper-division science courses and consequently, probably a post-bacc program if you're not going to double major.

If I were you, I would be more worried about why I screwed up all of my core and important science courses more than making sure I have the right advisor.

Why on earth did you move on to physics II if you received a "D" for physics I? That doesn't make any sense.

Sorry if this is harsh, but you seriously need to evaluate yourself and what your goals are and how to get there.

But regardless, you'll enjoy psych -- it's a great major and one of those courses of study that is useful regardless of what field you enter. Unless you want a career in psych, then it's grad school for you!

 

[silver_eyes]

well obviously i am not ging to settle with a D and F. of course i am goingto retake them.

just FYI, those grades were due to circumstances beyond my control aka death.

whata bout genetics though. i know it isnt required since i am gonna change to psych but i have that F on my transcript.

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by silver_eyes

whata bout genetics though. i know it isnt required since i am gonna change to psych but i have that F on my transcript.

What about it? You still have the F whether you change or not. Are you debating whether or not to retake it?

 

[silver_eyes]

Originally posted by DrMom
What about it? You still have the F whether you change or not. Are you debating whether or not to retake it?

yes.

i can take it at state or something.

 

[DrMom]

It would look better for you to retake it and do well than to not retake it. But it also wouldn't look good for you to retake it and do poorly. In other words, if you retake it, be sure you do well.

 

[silver_eyes]

well yes duh, but where should i take it? at my home school or a state/jc? My home school is hellllllllllllla expensive though...~500 bucks a unit over the summer. genetics is 4 units.

anyway yes. thanks.

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by silver_eyes
well yes duh, but where should i take it?

I'm not sure why I bother trying to help you. You have a history of being appreciative like this Keep in mind that you did answer my question of whether you were debating whether or not to take it with a "yes."

 

[silver_eyes]

Originally posted by DrMom
I'm not sure why I bother trying to help you.

wait. i didn't say anything wrong. i knew i had to take it but i was unsure of where. sorry if i offended you. i guess i could have said it better than "duh."

 

[Beagle]

Silver
What happened, did you switch majors???
how are things at school?????
How are you doing?

 

[liverotcod]

Well, the F will be on your transcript whether or not you retake it. At least as far as allopathic med school applications go. So, while it might look good to retake and get an A, it won't wipe out the F - it'll just average to a C.

 

[beanbean]

For those that are new to the wacky world of SDN, do a search on Silver-eyes threads and you will see why she refers to herself as 'infamous'. I must warn you it is a long saga...

 

[TwoLegacies]

i changed from bio to psych... i don't regret the decision. now i am taking prereqs at a community college (alright, so i changed my mind back to going to med school). i think you should do what makes you happy, because if you aren't happy, you're going to get more bad grades. after switching to psych, i took a few more science courses at the same university and did MUCH better.
retake genetics even though you don't "need" it. with a BA in psych you pretty much need to go to grad school-- there are pretty few jobs out there that will be satisfied with this degree. even if you decide later on that you don't want to go to med school, you want to keep your options open for other kinds of post-ugrad work, and they won't be open unless you reconcile that F. (and the D's, of course).
as for med school... i don't think your gpa has been screwed "beyond repair", per se. people have life crises. you're (probably) not going to go to XXX top med school, but if you really can pull good grades in the rest of your prereqs, you have a chance. you just need to focus on other things that will make your app strong as well. if you really want to be a doctor it is worth the effort.

 

[synapse lapse]

I'm sorry and I don't intend on being rude either, but I have to agree with JKDmed. You would have to retake all of your pre-reqs and make A's on top of numerous other UD science classes to even bring your GPA up to an acceptable level. I think you shoulda retake all of those classes (not at a JC) and make A's. If you don't make straight A's in them you should probably considor another career path. And I am sorry for you death in the family, but med school will not be any easier, you will have patients you are very close to pass away, and you will have to learn to keep working whilest dealing with personal tragedies, I have had some as well. And to answer your orginal question, yes it is ok to switch, but you should retake all those courses before anything if you want to be a doctor for sure. I switched my junior year from a Biochem major to Philosophy major, won't cause any problems, study what you love. Good luck.

 

[silver_eyes]

For those that are new to the wacky world of SDN, do a search on Silver-eyes threads and you will see why she refers to herself as 'infamous'. I must warn you it is a long saga...

i just hope i don't become an insensitive doctor like you.

 

[silver_eyes]

i changed from bio to psych... i don't regret the decision. now i am taking prereqs at a community college (alright, so i changed my mind back to going to med school). i think you should do what makes you happy, because if you aren't happy, you're going to get more bad grades. after switching to psych, i took a few more science courses at the same university and did MUCH better.
retake genetics even though you don't "need" it. with a BA in psych you pretty much need to go to grad school-- there are pretty few jobs out there that will be satisfied with this degree. even if you decide later on that you don't want to go to med school, you want to keep your options open for other kinds of post-ugrad work, and they won't be open unless you reconcile that F. (and the D's, of course).
as for med school... i don't think your gpa has been screwed "beyond repair", per se. people have life crises. you're (probably) not going to go to top med school, but if you really can pull good grades in the rest of your prereqs, you have a chance. you just need to focus on other things that will make your app strong as well. if you really want to be a doctor it is worth the effort.

oh yea ill take genetics even though i don't need it....grad school? who ever said i wasn't going to be a doctor???

your exactly right....if you don't like something that your studying or doing, your never going to prosper and be miserable.

 

[silver_eyes]

I'm sorry and I don't intend on being rude either, but I have to agree with JKDmed. You would have to retake all of your pre-reqs and make A's on top of numerous other UD science classes to even bring your GPA up to an acceptable level. I think you shoulda retake all of those classes (not at a JC) and make A's. If you don't make straight A's in them you should probably considor another career path. And I am sorry for you in the family, but med school will not be any easier, you will have patients you are very close to pass away, and you will have to learn to keep working whilest dealing with personal tragedies, I have had some as well. And to answer your orginal question, yes it is ok to switch, but you should retake all those courses before anything if you want to be a doctor for sure. I switched my junior year from a Biochem major to Philosophy major, won't cause any problems, study what you love. Good luck.

having a patient die is very disturbing and sad, i bet...but having a patient die and having your grandma die is a TOTALLY different story....i mean i am only 20 years old and i have seen so much stuff (cadavers, dissections, morgues) that most of the people in teh world will never come across, that is if they don't become a coroner, a mourturer (i dont know what u call those people...sorry) or a doctor among other things. In my junior year in high scholl, i took a gross human anatomy class at ucsf, specially designed for high school students who are interested in medicine. I took it cause i wanted to know if i could handle all that dissecting and bodies....and i passed that with flying colors. we have to learn all the nerves, veins, arteries, bones, muscles, etc....to an extent....it wasn't as thorough as it would be in med school, but it was tough as hell, but i passed it....with An "A-."

whoa... biochem to philosphy??? dang....i'm glad your happy though. wish u the best.

 

[mellantro]

silver_eyes, how come you can get an A- in that class but you can't do well in your other science-related classes?

 

[silver_eyes]

silver_eyes, how come you can get an A- in that class but you can't do well in your other science-related classes?

dunno...maybe i wasn't that stressed out when i was in high school than now....