Hardest Major?

[shnjb]

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Just FYI (I'm not trying to be a know it all), Freud was a medical doctor and he did research in physiology and neurology.

I see.
I didn't know that.
The more you know.

 

[Person X]

EE was famous in my campus for being the hardest major. People felt sorry for you when you mentioned that you were an EE. Electromagnetic Theory had the most abstract concepts that I have seen. In fact, Professors used to say that if you specialized in this area, there were jobs out there paying as much as 130K for a BS. As for Optics, they had to take some of our classes in their curriculum.

 

[Neelesh]

Chemical Engineering or Optical Engineering

 

[4paw]

and Einstein failed a math class...

**edit - your point is good, though. to each his own strengths, his own path, marks are not always the measure of capabilities. and sometimes they are not directly related to ability, sometimes there are other factors coming in. some of the things that i think make things difficult are workload (seen more in the sciences) and subjectivity (seen more in the arts). beyond that, perhaps culture of the department...

 

[shnjb]

and Einstein failed a math class...

That is a common myth that is simply untrue.
He had a childhood mutism.

 

[MarieMarie]

I've gotta say music performance, just based on the sheer amount of whining they do. 😉

Really, they're almost as bad as engineers.

 

[4paw]

That is a common myth that is simply untrue.
He had a childhood mutism.

right you are! just went to wikipedia after getting corrected. he also had a lot of other things, what I found most exciting was the recalcitrant creativity and argumentativeness. i like that kind of free spirit.

 

[DesignEngineer]

I'd say engineering too. Or Physics.
But then again, my engineering buddy can't make it past General Chemistry without his gf's help and he's in his last year of undergrad so I guess for him, Chemistry?😕

As for your engineering buddy, well, I think once a student spent enough time in engineering, he probably have trouble with chemistry because 1) he forgot about it already and 2) don't want to learn it. Especially in his fourth year, he probably don't even care about his chem requirement and just want to get out and make some money.

I graduated with a EE degree, I have to say it is pretty darn hard. I remembered ditching all my ochem class, and still feel very confident about it. Not to offend anyone, for me at least, ochem is a easy compare with introductory EE course.

 

[DuckHunter]

Chemistry

 

[krazymackbk]

Biomedical Engineering. My major...which me luck

I was thinking of pursuing a second bachelors in BE. But the level of difficulty that I've heard from individuals I've known who majored in it is rather intimidating. I majored in Computer Science for my first undergrad degree. I would vote that major as being among the harder majors as well.

 

[etf]

Caltech and Stanford chemistry would blow anyone out of the water.

berkeley basically invented chemistry, and is regarded perenially as the best program on earth. chem 1a was pretty easy, though.

 

[CoolSpot7Up]

I'd have to say the two hardest are Biomedical and Electrical Engineering. I'm biomedical, and I could never do EE, I think it's confusing as hell. But EE's I've talked to freak out when they think about doing BME, cuz they don't get the physiology behind it.

As for engineers doing worse in basic bio courses or other intros, a lot of it could be due to the workload they get and the time they must commit to their engineering courses, so the easier classes get placed as second priority and they might not do as well.

 

[xucardsfan08]

Engineering majors tend to be the hardest.

I'm a chemistry major at my school, but engineering isn't offered as it's a small liberal arts university (Xavier University).
I do agree with the general order of sciences:
Math>Physics>Chemistry>Biology>Psychology (not order of hardest, but which each is based on).

In the chemistry lounge at my school there is this quote about being a chemist:
"Too cool to be physicists, too smart to be biologists."

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

At JHU, I believe there is a tie between BME and quantum biophysics or something like that. I'd have to say biophysics wins here, because firstly BME at least has over 50-80 students and has a reasonable retention rate. Biophysics on the other hand is lucky to have 10 people. Also I passed BME. I'm pretty sure I'd fail out of biophysics.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

And at JHU there is no straight up BME, unless you want to graduate without a certification mark on your degree, which very few people do. You choose a concentration from any of the traditional engineering (EE, Mech, ChemE, Civil, etc) and take core courses in addition to the BME core.

I was BME with an EE concentration. I died. But I knew this one chick who did BME with an EE concentration, a math minor, a business minor, and a double major in piano at Peabody!!!! NOW THAT IS PURE PWNAGE RIGHT THERE

 

[bretticus]

When you say difficulty, what do you mean? Hardest to get good grades in? I think you'd have to go with engineering hands down there. Even LizzyM said in one thread that she would probably boost an engineering GPA ~.1 or so due to the notorious grading. I mean my freshman intro to EE course had averages in the 40s!

If you mean difficulty in just wrapping your mind around something though, I think some math/physics are comparable. Class to class, I've definitely had engineering classes that were easier than some of my natural sciences.

Anyway, I know everybody likes to pick at us for whining, but I just have to go with engineering overall. Case in point: both of my English courses I took. I wrote 5-page papers the night before they were due and received A's. I've also heard from numerous other people doing the same thing. Just try that on an engineering project, or even some problem sets -- you'll get murdered. I also don't buy into the "engineering has a concrete answer" mentality. Maybe on problem sets, but not junior/senior level designs. You might get something to work, but if your efficiency is horrible or your code is crap you may still get a bad grade. There's definitely a bit of subjectivity in this regard as well.

Side note: CS really depends on the program. There are definitely some CS grads out there that are complete *****s. I have no clue how a competent CS program let them graduate. Maybe the same could be said with other college grads too, though, so whatever.

 

[akinf]

I'd say Architecture, Engineering, Math/Physics, and Chemistry. Most people can probably see why for all of those except for architecture. However, I assure you, it can be a ridiculous amount of work. I was a biochem major before I switched into Honours Genetcis w/ a biochem focus, and I swear my roommate in architecture worked waaay harder than I did. He was a complete beast when it came to designing his models. He's a McGill graduate school now, so maybe that's why he worked so hard, but every architecture student I know is totally stressed out all the time.

 

[heymanooh1]

This is the basic science ladder in order of importance/difficulty:

Mathematics - physics is based on mathematics
Physics - chemistry is based on physics.
Chemistry- everything we know is based on chemistry and physics, which is based on math

Math is nothing more than one of the tools or "short-hand" methods of describing physical events or natural phenomena. Newton invented The Calculus in order to mathematically annotate physical phenomena in a concise manner and not the other way around. And physics isn't based on math. Physics is based on carefully observating of natural phenomena and asking the right questions, as in any discipline. Einstein, for example, first asked himself the question of what it would be like to travel on a beam of light when he was 4 years old. And only later was he able to develop The Theory Special Relativity, at 26 years old, after learning the mathematical tools, thereby answering his own query.

 

[danielmd06]

I would merely say the same majors that others have already mentioned: Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, and Math.

Biology was stressful from a purely premedical standpoint because so many of us were deathly afraid of making a "B" in a course.

 

[novawildcat]

Math is nothing more than one of the tools or "short-hand" methods of describing physical events or natural phenomena. Newton invented The Calculus in order to mathematically annotate physical phenomena in a concise manner and not the other way around. And physics isn't based on math. Physics is based on carefully observating of natural phenomena and asking the right questions, as in any discipline. Einstein, for example, first asked himself the question of what it would be like to travel on a beam of light when he was 4 years old. And only later was he able to develop The Theory Special Relativity, at 26 years old, after learning the mathematical tools, thereby answering his own query.

Physics not based on math? Much of the research in theoretical physics is just basically all math with little or no experimentation. All of the work being done on string theory is almsot all just math since you can't really create an experiment to test for strings because they are simply too small. you can't test something you can't observe.

 

[szhao]

Math is nothing more than one of the tools or "short-hand" methods of describing physical events or natural phenomena. Newton invented The Calculus in order to mathematically annotate physical phenomena in a concise manner and not the other way around. And physics isn't based on math. Physics is based on carefully observating of natural phenomena and asking the right questions, as in any discipline. Einstein, for example, first asked himself the question of what it would be like to travel on a beam of light when he was 4 years old. And only later was he able to develop The Theory Special Relativity, at 26 years old, after learning the mathematical tools, thereby answering his own query.

i encourage you to take more math courses, math gives a lot more than you think. special relativity FALLS OUT of differential geometry and same with string theory. it is true many mathematical concepts first came from physics, but that does not mean all mathematical advances came that way. for instance, it is a lot easier to study real analysis or in fact topology than to study calculus. Einstein did thought experiments, he used mainly his physics intuition, however, he is one of the few modern physicist without a great mathematical foundations. experimental physics as you suggest is highly dependent on observations, but theoretical physics is still mainly driven by mathematical concencepts. realize i do have PHY AND MTH majors

 

[MahlerROCKS]

I said it earlier, but I'll say it again: classics

Greek>>>>>>engineering>>>>>>>>>>>>Latin and chemistry/biochemistry

 

[szhao]

I said it earlier, but I'll say it again: classics

Greek>>>>>>engineering>>>>>>>>>>>>Latin and chemistry/biochemistry

lol dude, humanities can be mad hard, especially if you choose to make it, but it can also be mad easy (like what most premed tend to do) if you choose to make it.

 

[MahlerROCKS]

lol dude, humanities can be mad hard, especially if you choose to make it, but it can also be mad easy (like what most premed tend to do) if you choose to make it.

As much as I beleive in discourse, I'd have to say you're wrong--English is easy, history is easy, psychology is easy, German is easy, economics is easy, ad nauseam... Classics is hard because you master two seperate languages that have very difficult grammar (more so Greek than Latin), furthermore, what makes classics so hard is that they are both useless languages becasue no one speaks Latin or Greek (attic) anymore, at least in a non-bastardized form, thus making your entire academic pursuit futile (its like salt in your wound). Personally, all I know is that Hesiod is a thousand times more difficult to translate than it is to study for p-chem

 

[bretticus]

All I know is I did more work in engineering than my classics/sociology/religion triple major friend.

 

[MinnyGophers]

berkeley basically invented chemistry, and is regarded perenially as the best program on earth. chem 1a was pretty easy, though.

my bad, forgot to mention good ole Berkeley....

 

[MinnyGophers]

Math is nothing more than one of the tools or "short-hand" methods of describing physical events or natural phenomena. Newton invented The Calculus in order to mathematically annotate physical phenomena in a concise manner and not the other way around. And physics isn't based on math. Physics is based on carefully observating of natural phenomena and asking the right questions, as in any discipline. Einstein, for example, first asked himself the question of what it would be like to travel on a beam of light when he was 4 years old. And only later was he able to develop The Theory Special Relativity, at 26 years old, after learning the mathematical tools, thereby answering his own query.

You do make a good point, however, without math, there wouldn't be any theory of physics. I might have used wrong words, but physics definitely depends on math, this is what i meant when i said "based".
Without math, there wouldn't be physics. Without physics there wouldn't be chemistry. Without chemistry, there wouldn't be biology..etc...

 

[heymanooh1]

i encourage you to take more math courses, math gives a lot more than you think. special relativity FALLS OUT of differential geometry and same with string theory. it is true many mathematical concepts first came from physics, but that does not mean all mathematical advances came that way. for instance, it is a lot easier to study real analysis or in fact topology than to study calculus. Einstein did thought experiments, he used mainly his physics intuition, however, he is one of the few modern physicist without a great mathematical foundations. experimental physics as you suggest is highly dependent on observations, but theoretical physics is still mainly driven by mathematical concencepts. realize i do have PHY AND MTH majors

Oh yeah you're a badass for having a physics and math degree and so humble.

No one care if you have two degrees

Maybe you ought to learn read for comprehension considering that this thread is nothing more than a bunch personal opinions. Or didn't your two degrees teach you that

Let's see you achieve more than Michael Faraday, who had no formal math background, to change the world with your TWO degrees

 

[MinnyGophers]

Oh yeah you're a badass for having a physics and math degree and so humble.

No one care if you have two degrees

Maybe you ought to learn read for comprehension considering that this thread is nothing more than a bunch personal opinions. Or didn't your two degrees teach you that

Let's see you achieve more than Michael Faraday, who had no formal math background, to change the world with your TWO degrees

Maybe you should read the thread for comprehension of what he is talking about and why.
I'll give you a hint: physics and math.

 

[szhao]

Oh yeah you're a badass for having a physics and math degree and so humble.

No one care if you have two degrees

Maybe you ought to learn read for comprehension considering that this thread is nothing more than a bunch personal opinions. Or didn't your two degrees teach you that

Let's see you achieve more than Michael Faraday, who had no formal math background, to change the world with your TWO degrees

... your lame, no offense, i usually wouldn't criticize others in threads, nor was i BRAGGING about my majors, i was merely adding context to JUSTIFY why i have an ability to compare the two and am not giving a partisan. opinions are weak without justifications. stop being offended, and start reading what i said. you should learn how to stick to the topic and not start attacking others because you don't have an argument.

 

[SamaraMorgan]

.

 

[heymanooh1]

... your lame, no offense, i usually wouldn't criticize others in threads, nor was i BRAGGING about my majors, i was merely adding context to JUSTIFY why i have an ability to compare the two and am not giving a partisan. opinions are weak without justifications. stop being offended, and start reading what i said. you should learn how to stick to the topic and not start attacking others because you don't have an argument.

Yeah really, someone like you has to mention having two degrees in order to JUSTIFY their argument. Get over yourself and your overinflated ego

So if math supposedly gave rise to physics, then how come Alfred Nobel didn't form a separate category just for pure math? How come the Nobel committe haven't yet formed a math prize? Oh yeah there's the Fields medal, but that was created as prize 30 some odd years after the Nobel in order to copy it. Yeah mathematicians are real orginal

Actually, I thought this entire thread was personal opinion. Yea, he wasn't so humble about his degrees, but you're just being a jerk. "Achieve more than Michael Faraday," what is that? You think you're going to be historically famous or change the world in whatever field you choose?

Oh noes, someone called me a jerk over the internets. I must mention what degrees I have so that people will think more of me over the internets. Maybe mentioning my degrees will JUSTIFY it

 

[MinnyGophers]

Yeah really, someone like you has to mention having two degrees in order to JUSTIFY their argument. Get over yourself and your overinflated ego

So if math supposedly gave rise to physics, then how come Alfred Nobel didn't form a separate category just for pure math? How come the Nobel committe haven't yet formed a math prize? Oh yeah there's the Fields medal, but that was created as prize 30 some odd years after the Nobel in order to copy it. Yeah mathematicians are real orginal

Gee, someone got bullied by a mathematician or what....

Pure Mathematics as a field in itself is useless. Like you said earlier, mathematics is a tool that helps other fields such as physics, computer sciences etc.... However, without it, even basic advances made in those fields would not exist either.

In Szhao's defense, he mentioned his degrees to show that he has experience in both fields and thus should know the dependence of physics on math. Get over yourself.

 

[szhao]

your lame, that is all i have to say, see you wonder from one argument to another, you never stick with the same argument. like i have said yet again and again, i was merely saying because i have both major i am not trying to say one major is better than the other, and you know if i do have an inflated ego, you or any other SDNer approving of me really means NOTHING. NEVER did i try to claim i was smarter or more achieved than anyone, you simply preceived it as such because you have a low self confidence level. i am done arguing with you and robbing this thread.

to the OP: my final response is as i have said many times there is no such thing as a hard major, if you want to make it easy take all the easy classes. if you want to make it hard get a master in 4 years. the bottom line, do something you want to do, and it can be both easy or hard.

 

[heymanooh1]

you have a low self confidence level. i am done arguing with you and robbing this thread.

Sez the pot calling the kettle black. Awww, giving up so soon....buh bye Mr. "I have degrees in Math & Physics"

Gee, someone got bullied by a mathematician or what....

Who knows maybe I have an advanced degree in the field, or one closely related. Or maybe I don't. Should I mention what degrees I have in order to JUSTIFY it

This forum should make it a requirement of mentioning what degrees a person has to JUSTIFY an argument

 

[MinnyGophers]

Sez the pot calling the kettle black. Awww, giving up so soon....buh bye Mr. "I have degrees in Math & Physics"

Who knows maybe I have an advanced degree in the field, or one closely related. Or maybe I don't. Should I mention what degrees I have in order to JUSTIFY it

This forum should make it a requirement of mentioning what degrees a person has to JUSTIFY an argument

Obviously, you don't have a degree in reading comprehension.

Also, i don't see what the big deal is to mention your degree in order to justify an argument, in this case.
I sure as hell take someone's argument more seriously if that person knows something about the field than someone who doesn't.
There is a difference between mentioning it in a related argument rather than just throwing out there that you are an MD when talking about how you make a sandwich.

 

[novawildcat]

LOl @ nerds arguing over math.




Actually Newton only came up with a lot of the fundamental ideas of calculus. calculus in very basic forms was actually around since the time of the greeks. Calculus was never actually invented until it was rigorously proven when the idea of an epsilon delta proof came along which you can thank mathematicians like cauchy and riemann for.

 

[MinnyGophers]

LOl @ nerds arguing over math.




Actually Newton only came up with a lot of the fundamental ideas of calculus. calculus in very basic forms was actually around since the time of the greeks. Calculus was never actually invented until it was rigorously proven when the idea of an epsilon delta proof came along which you can thank mathematicians like cauchy and riemann for.

Lol, who is the nerd here?

 

[SamaraMorgan]

.

 

[novawildcat]

Lol, who is the nerd here?

i know i am a huge nerd, but it is till hilarious to see people fight over math and physics. godbless sdn. merry christmas and happy new year.

 

[streetlight]

Actually, I do have a quick question regarding majors and minors. Currently I'm a neuroscience major at MIT, however I've been considering adding/switching to physics with a biological focus (which might rip me a new one). If I'm looking at both MD and MD/PhD programs, would the physics degree from MIT over a neuroscience one be worth the risk of the lower GPA?

I also can easily pursue a minor in biomedical engineering, but I've heard med schools look for a breadth of humanities in a student's education (esp from a technical school). So should I look into a humanities minor? Eh..i'm at that point where I need to make a decision...quickly. Any help?

 

[heymanooh1]

Obviously, you don't have a degree in reading comprehension.

Oh noes, more little insults from minnieme...little insults from little mind

LOl @ nerds arguing over math. Actually Newton only came up with a lot of the fundamental ideas of calculus. calculus in very basic forms was actually around since the time of the greeks. Calculus was never actually invented until it was rigorously proven when the idea of an epsilon delta proof came along which you can thank mathematicians like cauchy and riemann for.

Yummm, Fig Newtons. Mention your degree(s) to JUSTIFY it

 

[heymanooh1]

why haven't you posted your degrees, heymanooh1? you must be super cool in the internetz. go back to selling your comic books.

Why don't you S&M...or are you one of the insecure people that has to mention your degree over a forum in order to feel validated

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Oh yeah you're a badass for having a physics and math degree and so humble.

No one care if you have two degrees

Maybe you ought to learn read for comprehension considering that this thread is nothing more than a bunch personal opinions. Or didn't your two degrees teach you that

Let's see you achieve more than Michael Faraday, who had no formal math background, to change the world with your TWO degrees

Ugh. If you don't like this thread or what's been said in it, there is a solution for you. In the top right hand corner of your internet browser window, there are 3 small boxes. The one all the way to the right has an X in it. Take your mouse, and scroll the arrow over this X. Using your index finger, press down on the left mouse button.

Also the smiley face functions are not periods, unless you are under the age of 6.

 

[MinnyGophers]

Oh noes, more little insults from minnieme...little insults from little mind

Yummm, Fig Newtons. Mention your degree(s) to JUSTIFY it

Rofl,
At least, try to come back with good arguments or you're going to be making yourself look like even more of a tool. I'm sure you don't care, but it is still painful to see such a display.

 

[SamaraMorgan]

.

 

[heymanooh1]

Ugh. If you don't like this thread or what's been said in it, there is a solution for you. In the top right hand corner of your internet browser window, there are 3 small boxes. The one all the way to the right has an X in it. Take your mouse, and scroll the arrow over this X. Using your index finger, press down on the left mouse button.

Also the smiley face functions are not periods, unless you are under the age of 6.

Yeah OK anal "I like to post pics to make a point" rage. so if you don't like what I'm saying but feel it necessary to retort, doesn't that make you a hypocrite much like Genetics on this thread http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=351350.

?? whoa man "cocaine is a powerful drug"

Try it until you OD

Rofl,
At least, try to come back with good arguments or you're going to be making yourself look like even more of a tool. I'm sure you don't care, but it is still painful to see such a display.

No pain , no gain

Hail Hail for mob mentality

 

[SamaraMorgan]

.

 

[MinnyGophers]

Hail Hail for mob mentality

Well, since you have a degree in an "advanced field" related to math/physics, your logical mind should tell you there must be a good reason that no one in this thread is taking anything you say seriously.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Yeah OK anal "I like to post pics to make a point" rage. so if you don't like what I'm saying but feel it necessary to retort, doesn't that make you a hypocrite much like Genetics on this thread http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=351350.

I never said I didn't like anything you posted hence I'm not a hypocrite. Just seems like you don't wanna be in this thread or be reading any of these people's posts, just outlining a way out for you.

I can type a manual and post it for you on how to exit your internet browser if you wish. Because clearly you seem to be lost on the subject, since you are still here.

Here this might help, I took it out of the help section for IE:

Internet Explorer keyboard shortcuts
You can use shortcut keys to view and explore Web pages, preview pages before printing, use the Address bar, work with favorites, and edit.

Click a heading, or press the TAB key to highlight a heading, and then press ENTER.

Viewing and exploring Web pages

To do this Press this
Display Internet Explorer Help, or when in a dialog box, display context Help on an item. F1
Toggle between full-screen and regular views of the browser window. F11
Move forward through the items on a Web page, the Address bar, and the Links bar. TAB
Move back through the items on a Web page, the Address bar, and the Links bar. SHIFT+TAB
Go to your Home page. ALT+HOME
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Go to the previous page. ALT+LEFT ARROW or
BACKSPACE
Display a shortcut menu for a link. SHIFT+F10
Move forward between frames. CTRL+TAB or
F6
Move back between frames. SHIFT+CTRL+TAB
Scroll toward the beginning of a document. UP ARROW
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Move to the end of a document. END
Find on this page. CTRL+F
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CTRL+R
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CTRL+L
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Open the Search bar. CTRL+E
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In the History or Favorites bars, open multiple folders. CTRL+click

Now that you are fully armed with basic explorer commands, you don't have to stick around in threads that you don't want to be in!