For current science majors..

[TTSD]

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If you had to do it over again, would you go through the humanities route and take science courses intermittently, probably get a much higher GPA and be in good shape? Or would you do everything the same?

Personally, I would go through this pain again. If I never had my @$$ handed to me on a silver platter through crazy courses.. I feel as if I would fail medical school. While I do not enjoy have a crappy @$$ GPA.. I do enjoy the fact that now no amount of work, concepts, committment really scare me.

I'm NOT.. repeat, NOT saying this to say that science courses are HARDER than humanities. But just to justify my position, in my off-time when I could not take further science courses until I fulfilled my pre-reqs (at my school, pre-reqs are generally biochem, genetics and molecular).. I took a load of upper-division humanities as well.

 

[jlee9531]

hmmm....

i still think i would have done the same thing.

major in science and multiple minors in humanities.

as long as i get to take those hum classes will prolly never get to take again once i enter med school, then im happy.

at times i even sacrificed some of my science grades to do well in my minors..ie pchem vs. lit?? lit all the way 😉

 

[Gleevec]

I majored in a natural science and a social science, pretty good balance, and no regrets. Multiple minors in the humanities works out well too.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I wouldn't change my decision to become a bio major. It's stressful at times, but I enjoy the material a lot and it's a convenient way to fulfill all of the pre-med pre-reqs.

 

[Rendar5]

Probably not. I was a chemistry major and I took a ton of humanities courses. Usually 2 electives a semester.

Physical Chemistry Lab is complete hell and I would never wish it on anybody, but I think I came out a lot better for the wear because of it. It forced me to learn to work hard.

The only problem was orgo (which I hated all except 1/2 of my 5th class), but I had to do that for pre-med anyway.

Yeah, my GPA would've been higher if I had picked something like Biology or one of the humanities I concentrated on, but it would not have been high enough to make a difference. Especially since schools are well aware of the fact that humanities majors have higher GPAs than science majors.

 

[chameleonknight]

I probably would've gone English Lit major with Bio and Chem minors. Instead of a Bio major with Eng. and Chem. minors (which I'm just now finishing up)

The Lit is just more fun, plus I think it would've helped me focus more on my science classes by not distracting me with Quant., Ecology, etc., i.e. stuff I didn't care about, nor will help me in med school!

 

[evines]

I would stay science. I'm a microbiology major, so most of my classes directly relate to medicine (parasitology, pathogens, eukaryotic cell, immunology, virology, genetics, etc).
I guess I am a science geek. I don't enjoy taking classes in most humanities subjects. I DO like theology, philosophy, sociology, psychology, but don't like the classes. I'd rather read about it on my own time.

 

[elias514]

A fellow microbiology major! Only the cool people major in microbiology.

 

[2badr]

Originally posted by elias514
A fellow microbiology major! Only the cool people major in microbiology.

I wish. 🙁 The school I am transferring to offers the Micro course in specific semesters only. It appears that I could be waiting an entire year to finish just 2 more classes. I'm not sure I'm willing to do that.

I still want to major in Micro, but with the Biology major some of the Bio classes are offered during the summer (another plus). I doubt if I will major in Micro. A good thing about the Bio major is I have an opportunity to pick up a few Micro course as well. Maybe it will even out for me in the end, hopefully.

I agree with the poster who said it is more convenient to major in the sciences (when it comes to pre-reqs for med school.) I would also like to minor in English. I wouldn't be too interested in any other humanities tho.

 

[logos]

A fellow microbiology major! Only the cool people major in microbiology.

So true...


Science rocks....i'd probably shoot myself before i could ever complete a humanities major...

 

[PreMedPoohBear]

Just curious, what exactly is it about having a science major that all of you like, and would you recommend it for current premed students. I'm currently a sophomore majoring in english with a chemistry and biology minor. I've been contemplating majoring in biology with a minor in english because I could easily get all my prereqs out of the way, if medical school doesn't work out, I still want to work in healthcare, and it'll probably be a lot easier for a biology major to get research activities than an english major would. Also, one of the schools I'm thinking about transferring too offers gross anatomy for biology majors, and I'm very interested in taking that. Just want to know what everyone thinks.

 

[Cerberus]

I would be a communications/psysch/polisci major and have graduated in 3 years with nearly a 4.0 GPA. All of us who are science majors are *****S!

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

no🙂
althought my bio grades are short of awesome i wouldnt be anything but a biology major...biology is basically the study of life...i want to know how my body and the living world around me works..now only if i was better at taking "standardized" tests!

in the past year i have seen 3 of my "bio major " friends switch from biology to english and many of them want to follow.
i dont get it ..maybe UM is just having a strange flux of bilogy (major) students switching to english majors at the start of their junior yr.


then again my english lit professor told us that our english department suffers from grade inflation..followed by the art department. ..... he.... may i add, did not follow the trend...eh brit lits still pretty awesome

me: bio major, eng and chm minors 🙂

 

[Nanon]

Originally posted by Cerberus
I would be a communications/psysch/polisci major and have graduated in 3 years with nearly a 4.0 GPA. All of us who are science majors are *****S!

I concur. I recently advised a friend of mine to do what she does best in college (she's a natural English major), and then if she wants to do something else later (like MD, or PhD in some science), go do your post-bacc. I wish that's what I would have done.

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by PreMedPoohBear
Just curious, what exactly is it about having a science major that all of you like, and would you recommend it for current premed students. I'm currently a sophomore majoring in english with a chemistry and biology minor. I've been contemplating majoring in biology with a minor in english because I could easily get all my prereqs out of the way, if medical school doesn't work out, I still want to work in healthcare, and it'll probably be a lot easier for a biology major to get research activities than an english major would. Also, one of the schools I'm thinking about transferring too offers gross anatomy for biology majors, and I'm very interested in taking that. Just want to know what everyone thinks.

Well..

a) It will expose you early on to science. And depending on how far you go.. I think a lot of the advanced courses will go far more in depth into the actual mechanics of the subject than medical school will.

b) It will teach you the value of sleepless nights. Coming from High School I was the guy you loved to hate. I could sleep through my AP and CC courses and rock them. Then I got into one of those combined programs and promptly had my ass handed to me. I spent the next few years learning to study.

c) Anatomy is fun. Comparative anatomy is not (especially taken from a molecular basis). Physiology is fun. 80 question tests every two weeks.. not fun. It all depends on your school and your interests.. but yeah.. they're great classes where you can learn a lot about the body and how it works. Then when you're taking a dump.. you start quoting the enzymes and mechanistics of what you're doing.

 

[PianoGirl04]

I'm majoring in biology and psychology, and I'd do the same over again. Humanities are fine, but nothing interests me as much as what I chose to major in.

 

[optimal_risk]

Well,

I AM doing it all over again. I have a B.S. in Psychology. After, turning down an acceptance to a Ph.D. Psych. program, I thought about med school.
I started my Chemistry major! [ Apparently, Uncle Sam won't give me a loan for a post-bac.] I started in the degree with Org chem am now taking a year off to help my ill mother (hardship withdrawal from Org chem ) Anyway. . .
I would have started with a psudoscience (psy, anthro, soc) and minor in a hard science (bio, chem). But my advice is do what you like.
Do a major you like and minor in a hard science, if the major is non-science. Because ... you will want a LOR from a science prof and a large gen chem/ o chem/ gen bio class might not do. I know many people who have a TA for those and can't get a good rapport with prof.

 

[flaming_gypsy]

I feel powerful when I do science.

 

[etoile]

Ok, I'm not a current science major...but I think this question pre-supposes that one is also naturally inclined toward the humanities. I know lots of people who are science inclined, but who could not write an essay to save their lives!! In this case, going for the perceived "easier" humanities degree would not help them.

Perhaps I am a bit biased...I have a BA in French Language and Literature and a minor in business. I'm now working on my med school pre-reqs. I find each challenging in their own way. At my school, my English and French profs were extremely hard! The humanities come easily for me, and I like the challenge of the sciences because it is not what comes most easily to me.

I'm glad that I took the time to major in French and to live in Paris for a year. That is an experience that wouldn't have been possible had I majored in the sciences at my school. I think the best advice is to do what you enjoy...

 

[Gleevec]

What Ive noticed though (I major in one science and one humanities) is that once you know how to write a paper, you can do well in ANY humanities class without knowing whats going on. Writing ability masks lack of knowledge in humanities, while this is not the case in sciences. But I do agree that some science people can't write to save their life. But equally, I know of some humanities majors that cant do basic math or logic.

 

[UDbiochem]

I wouldn't trade. I love my biochem major here. It's really hard, but I figure I'm building up endurance for medical school. I switched into biochem actually from an "easier" major for a challenge. I sure didn't have a clue what I was getting into.

Biochem/chem is rough here. But there are only 30 people in my class/major, and we all know each other. English majors don't have the comraderie that me and my biochem peeps have.

 

[musiclink213]

Originally posted by etoile
I'm glad that I took the time to major in French and to live in Paris for a year. That is an experience that wouldn't have been possible had I majored in the sciences at my school. I think the best advice is to do what you enjoy...

i'm a biochem major, french minor, and i'm going to paris for the summer. i could go for a year, but it's too much money, and my parent's would kill me. but i looked into it, i would have had no problem getting everything done in time. it's definitly doable, even as a science major.


as far as the camradierie that UDbiochem was talking about (the quote button stopped working), i know exactly what you're saying. on average, 10 students a year graduate as biochem majors. in my year, i think there's 3 or 4 majors, i was the first one to become one. throughout my freshman year, i was the only biochem major, then everyone else transferred. but it's nice, it's like your own personal support system, we do everything together.

 

[thekaratekim]

not a science major..
if i had to do it over again
i would start off as a sociology major
as i am now.
that way i could finish early
and be able to take a bunch of fun classes
my senior year.
but im taking fun classes now anyway so i guess that doesnt matter much.

 

[Giving My .02]

Science all the way baby! I do well in a lot of classes, but the science classes are the only ones I feel motivated in. I would have majored in the sciences even if I didn't go to medical school. Personally, I feel most people only major in sciences to go to professional school. That is why they are so dang hard the first two years when everyone is being weeded out, at least that is how it is at my school. I think my Freshman year was the worst, when I average about 3-4 hours a night. But now, since I have a solid foundation, I go to bed by at least midnight! 🙂 So, it ain't all bad...

 

[2badr]

Originally posted by Giving My .02
Science all the way baby! I do well in a lot of classes, but the science classes are the only ones I feel motivated in. I would have majored in the sciences even if I didn't go to medical school. Personally, I feel most people only major in sciences to go to professional school. That is why they are so dang hard the first two years when everyone is being weeded out, at least that is how it is at my school. I think my Freshman year was the worst, when I average about 3-4 hours a night. But now, since I have a solid foundation, I go to bed by at least midnight! 🙂 So, it ain't all bad...

That's what I'm hoping for: that the knowledge in one class builds upon the other previously taken class(es).

Besides I just love science. I like the courses offered for most science majors. I can't imagine not learning about something that has held my curiosity since I was 10 years old. I always wanted to know "more".

When I first joined SDN, it seemed as if everyone was saying
not to major in Science because everyone was a science major and one needed to stand out from among the bunch. If you wind up majoring in something you hate, you'll just be miserable for 4 years. I don't want to take that chance.

From what I hear, this is the time to take classes -ie your major- that you really enjoy. (I also like Enghlish Lit. and Theater, so we'll see.)

😉

 

[chocolate-e]

If I could do it over again ... I'd still be a biochem major. Because the things I've learned are the things I've always wanted to know ... whether or not I go to medical school. I love some of the humanities, too, but I feel more competent to pursue those on my own: it's easier to get a book out of the library than to find an NMR or plate reader for rent. 🙂

 

[superdevil]

What Ive noticed though (I major in one science and one humanities) is that once you know how to write a paper, you can do well in ANY humanities class without knowing whats going on. Writing ability masks lack of knowledge in humanities, while this is not the case in sciences. But I do agree that some science people can't write to save their life. But equally, I know of some humanities majors that cant do basic math or logic.

i couldn't agree more (from my experience, anyway).

if i had to do it all over again...well, i'm a bio major now, and as a wide-eyed freshman, i wasn't sure i would be up for the challenge. turns out, i vastly overestimated the difficulty of college (my parents didn't go, no older siblings--i had NO IDEA of what to expect). looking back, i wish i would have done something a tad more ambitious; biomedical engineering, bioinformatics, etc.

oh well. so far, so good anyway.

 

[Thundrstorm]

I'm glad I chose to major in Biochem. I love science and there's nothing else I'd rather study every day. I've also taken many electives to get my fill of philosophy, foreign languages, history, and writing. I only wish I had more time for literature classes and art. I feel that my coursework has been just as well-rounded as your typical humanities major and I get to take all of the really interesting upper-level science classes.

 

[uniqueseraph]

I would still be a science major because I love science and learning it. I get pretty excited when I learn something from my science classes versus English or Humanities. I am pretty stellar at English and Humanities, and know I could get a much higher GPA if I were majoring in one of them. But I still love upper-level science classes more, so it's a trade-off.

 

[CH3CH2OH]

i would totally major in cell and molecular bio again
i actually love biology😍 , and decided that this is what i want to major in before i even considered the possibility of becoming a doctor

 

[UDbiochem]

Lots of love for being a biochem major in this thread...

Bio majors don't know what they're missing.... jk

 

[DrJ2B]

I would have gone back and done a double major in Biology and French and a minor in psychology instead of a just a minor in French and a few psych classes. Psych is so cool and I love French so much. I would have liked to take a philosophy class or 2 as well. Such is life, but if I get into UPenn, I will be able to take one class in any of the schools each semester until clinical rotations start, so it is all good! Now, I just have to be accepted at my dream school! 😉

 

[medhopeful08]

Yay for biochem majors 🙂

although p-chem is kicking my butt right now, i don't regret my major at all. learning about bio from a quanitative/physical science approach has been great.