How did you choose your major?

[jojocola]

What did you guys major in? Or are currently majoring in?

I'm having a hard time picking one. I'm just not sure at the moment what I should do. Everyone says choose a major I would like. Although that sounds dandy, what about a major that would help me in the future? I can't think of anything right now so please tell me what you guys plan to do and tell me some majors that might intrigue me!


Could you apply to med school without a major but with pre-reqs? heh... heh

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[DropkickMurphy]

I'm an odd case....I'm working on associates in respiratory therapy and mortuary science, and I'm transferring to a college to be closer to my girlfriend so I can finish up my bachelors degrees in psychology and French (minor in German). I am doing RT because it will allow me to sit for my Registered Respiratory Therapist credential (which will boost my pay to over $25 an hour), mortuary science because I can do trade embalmings while in school ($300-500 per case, for anywhere from two-five hours of work) psychology because it's interesting and relatively easy, and French and German because they interest me.

 

[MossPoh]

I'm an odd case....I'm working on associates in respiratory therapy and mortuary science, and I'm transferring to a college to be closer to my girlfriend so I can finish up my bachelors degrees in psychology and French (minor in German). I am doing RT because it will allow me to sit for my Registered Respiratory Therapist credential (which will boost my pay to over $25 an hour), mortuary science because I can do trade embalmings while in school ($300-500 per case, for anywhere from two-five hours of work) psychology because it's interesting and relatively easy, and French and German because they interest me.

You're right. You are an odd case. I'm doing Information Science Technology because it is what I got stranded in, and German because it keeps me halfway sane and I actually learn something.

 

[kevster2001]

I went into college thinking i was going to be a chem major. Then I realized I hated gen chem and pchem wasn't that exciting of a prospect (amazingly enough i didn't mind organic). I went wit ha bio major because it was the only other science major that interested me. I then added a Chinese major after taking a few Chinese classes: Buddhism in China and CHinese philosophy. My school is technically liberal arts because it requires a lot of random reqs and the classes i had interest in to fulfill those reqs all involved china in some way so it was one of those why not deals.

 

[jojocola]

I'm an odd case....I'm working on associates in respiratory therapy and mortuary science, and I'm transferring to a college to be closer to my girlfriend so I can finish up my bachelors degrees in psychology and French (minor in German). I am doing RT because it will allow me to sit for my Registered Respiratory Therapist credential (which will boost my pay to over $25 an hour), mortuary science because I can do trade embalmings while in school ($300-500 per case, for anywhere from two-five hours of work) psychology because it's interesting and relatively easy, and French and German because they interest me.

EMBALMING? How the heck did you even get into that in the first place! haha

Why do so many people have majors in german or french?

And... Are you finishing your psychology and french BEFORE pre-reqs or after? Or at the "same" time?

 

[Zuerst]

I chose electrical engineering because EE classes are just filled with them sexy ladies... oh yes... yes sir...

 

[DropkickMurphy]

EMBALMING? How the heck did you even get into that in the first place! haha

Long story.....well, I can give the Cliff Notes version of it.....basically I got tired of respiratory therapy and needed a break (mainly from the people I worked with, not the patients), so I went to work at a radio station. One of the DJ's was also a funeral director/embalmer and he asked if I wanted to make more money doing body removals. I said sure and kind of became interested in the science behind it, so I figured that the one year it would take me to get my degree in it would be worthwhile so here I am. Actually working with families at the funeral home for less than a year has done more for my "bedside" manner than almost 10 years of involvement with health care.

By the way, I don't like the term "embalmer"....I prefer "vascular and reconstructive surgeon to the dead"

Why do so many people have majors in german or french?

Probably because they didn't want to be one of the 50,000 Spanish majors.

Are you finishing your psychology and french BEFORE pre-reqs or after? Or at the "same" time?

Sort of ahead, but not really...I still have two and a half years to go on my undergrad, so I'm in no big hurry. I really don't understand the rush so many people get to blow through their classes. But then again I don't understand why so many premeds stress so much...like they will have to commit suicide if they don't get in.

MossPoh, you're from Vincennes originally right? PM me if you are, because my ex-gf thinks she knows you....

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

I went into college thinking i was going to be a chem major. Then I realized I hated gen chem and pchem wasn't that exciting of a prospect (amazingly enough i didn't mind organic). I went wit ha bio major because it was the only other science major that interested me. I then added a Chinese major after taking a few Chinese classes: Buddhism in China and CHinese philosophy. My school is technically liberal arts because it requires a lot of random reqs and the classes i had interest in to fulfill those reqs all involved china in some way so it was one of those why not deals.

I too started out as a Chemistry major...then the hours of working with test tubes set in. Knowing it would be more challenging to get pre-reqs done, I decided to major in Aerospace Engineering because I was fascinated by the subject matter, and also interested in Aerospace Medicine.

 

[instigata]

What did you guys major in? Or are currently majoring in?

I'm having a hard time picking one. I'm just not sure at the moment what I should do. Everyone says choose a major I would like. Although that sounds dandy, what about a major that would help me in the future? I can't think of anything right now so please tell me what you guys plan to do and tell me some majors that might intrigue me!


Could you apply to med school without a major but with pre-reqs? heh... heh

I started with the overused Human Biology major then realized Animal Physiology and Neuroscience was more fit for me. Plus it sounds cooler

 

[Anastasis]

What did you guys major in? Or are currently majoring in?

I'm having a hard time picking one. I'm just not sure at the moment what I should do. Everyone says choose a major I would like. Although that sounds dandy, what about a major that would help me in the future? I can't think of anything right now so please tell me what you guys plan to do and tell me some majors that might intrigue me!


Could you apply to med school without a major but with pre-reqs? heh... heh

I came in as a Meteorology major but discovered my loathing for math and while I did have the touch for forecasting, I really didn't want to do that the rest of my life. So I changed to Psychology and Religion because I liked the subjects and added English later because I was practically there already.

Actually I just dropped my catalog on the ground and majored in whatever the page turned to.

 

[Doula-2-OB]

I'm an odd case....I'm working on associates in respiratory therapy and mortuary science, and I'm transferring to a college to be closer to my girlfriend so I can finish up my bachelors degrees in psychology and French (minor in German). I am doing RT because it will allow me to sit for my Registered Respiratory Therapist credential (which will boost my pay to over $25 an hour), mortuary science because I can do trade embalmings while in school ($300-500 per case, for anywhere from two-five hours of work) psychology because it's interesting and relatively easy, and French and German because they interest me.

Drop I knew there was something interestingly creepy about you!

You have some foresight, I have to say! (I almost said 'foreskin'... LMAO!)

I want to major probably in non-profit or maybe (gasp) women's studies. I'm an activist by nature but I want to focus my energies in a useful way for change for birthing women in this country. (Ahh... the rosy scent of idealism...) Working in non-profits is something I've done for 8 years and I love it.

 

[ryandote]

Always wanted to go to medical school, but wanted to make a little more of my time at undergrad. I started as a pure economics major (by the way, my school has a "business" major, too, so the actual economics major is very math intensive) because I took my first econ class and realized that it reflected my view of the world (tradeoffs, TANSTAFL, sunk costs, cost/benefit decisions). I've really liked it alot, and if I didn' t like the science of medicine and patient care so much, I'd probably want to teach econ.

Of course, after I finished all the pre-reqs recommended by by pre-health committee I was about 15 credits shy of a biology major, and I needed to space out the rest of my econ credits, too.

 

[DrBowtie]

Physics because of an interest and job prospects if med school didn't work out.
Business minor that I wish I had time to make a major because it teaches you to factor money into decisions.

 

[do-ca]

I majored in Religion because I wanted to know more about it in general and also it lightened the courseload when I was in the thick of O-chem and Bio-chem.

 

[sassykru]

I majored in Economics which wasn't what I was planning on doing at first, cause I was going in as a bio major but then I took an econ class and loved it and decided to major in it. The great thing was my school (Baylor) had a great economics degree where pre-med kids could kinda mix healthcare stuff with the econ, so we took classes like econ of healthcare. Surprisingly there were a lot of pre-meds students at my school who were econ. But in all sincerity, you should major in what you find interesting. People talk about how medical schools sometimes get tired of the same old generic strictly science students, but I say major in whatever you please whether it's biochem or sociology. You also have to consider too, that once you enter med school you will be pretty much be bombarded with science for the rest of your life, so maybe you might want to take this time to learn something other than science...but it's your choice.

 

[TexPre-Med]

Physics because of an interest and job prospects if med school didn't work out.
Business minor that I wish I had time to make a major because it teaches you to factor money into decisions.

I second both of these; however, the first for a different reason. In my opinion physics majors have an advantage on the MCAT. The physical sciences section of the MCAT is the hardest to quickly learn/review. Biology is memorizeable and has much fewer theories behind it. The verbal section only requires practice. Physical sciences requires practice, memorizing formulas, working with formulas, and knowing many theories.

If you want applicable to med school, biology would be the closest. Definitely upper divisioin courses like embryology, biochemistry, histology, etc.

Business could never hurt in this country.

 

[JRJ26]

I started out as a psych major. Then I realized that it bored me out of my mind I discovered that my school had an international health major that I didn't even know about when I applied(mostly b/c when I applied, I saw "school of nursing" and stopped before I saw the "and health studies" part, haha). I've always been interested in public health, what the WHO does, a vague interest in epidemiology, and the health status of developing countries. Also, if I don't get into med school, the i-health major opens up many work opportunities, especially in the DC area, while I continue studies to reapply. I've also thought about being a Human Science major, which is basically a bio major but focusing specifically on humans, but it's so intensive that I wouldn't be able to switch to that and graduate on time. It's the most popular pre-health major in my school, b/c you can take pathophysiology, pharmacology, immunology, genetics of health and disease, biotech, microbio, human bio, etc.

 

[Hopeful_Doc]

currently im biotech (community college though) not sure if i will stick with the same at 4 year, most likely will because it has some job growth worst case scenario

 

[Bluntman]

I majored in Bioengineering because:

1. It's a huge strength at my undergrad
2. Math comes easy to me
3. I'm better at problem solving and critical thinking than I am at memorizing
4. Pay is good
5. Job outlook is solid
6. Getting paid to design solutions to problems in medicine is just a pretty damn cool job

Then somewhere in there I got a hard-on for DNA, so I did Molecular Bio as well.

 

[LJoo83]

i'm too far along in my major to change. i chose biotechnology because

1) I'm 23 and ready to graduate. i want a decent paying job if med school doesn't work out.
2) Biotech fits in well with the premed prereqs.
3) hot job market right now. i can do research, go to graduate school, or do peace corps (since they require a bachelor's)
4) my liberal arts interests are too vast to narrow down to one
5) i have an interest in biology but hate plant classes.

 

[Hopeful_Doc]

i'm too far along in my major to change. i chose biotechnology because

1) I'm 23 and ready to graduate. i want a decent paying job if med school doesn't work out.
2) Biotech fits in well with the premed prereqs.
3) hot job market right now. i can do research, go to graduate school, or do peace corps (since they require a bachelor's)
4) my liberal arts interests are too vast to narrow down to one
5) i have an interest in biology but hate plant classes.

im not the only biotech major! woohoo

I agree on all the points above, however i worry that because biotechnology is an allied science area that my score will be lower on the MCAT (as has been said on SDN alot). Also I do not know where the homebase for biotech is incase i dont end up in medical school (like silicon valley is for computing) so I am not sure how far i will have to move from NY.

 

[jojocola]

Thanks for the reply guys.

Regular bio plant classes sound SO BORING, but bio in regards to the human body is . Can you give me some reasons why you would choose bio tech or bio eng? Whats the difference between those? They sound cool.

What do you learn in sociology and psych? Whats the difference?

Man I feel like crap not knowing what I want to major in. I was really interested in physics, especially physics in relation to the body, but I know my grades will suffer.

RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

[jojocola]

In fact, this thread has helped me a lot. Now I know im interested in things dealing with the human body. Is there a major, other than biology, that has a main focus on the body?

Thanks for the helpizzle.

 

[Anastasis]

In my opinion, Sociology is crap. Major in sociology if you're mainly interested in studying large groups of people, psyc is more about the individual and how individuals perceive and think about the world around them.

 

[rajad10]

biochemistry, because my research focused on it and because i love molecules

 

[Hopeful_Doc]

In fact, this thread has helped me a lot. Now I know im interested in things dealing with the human body. Is there a major, other than biology, that has a main focus on the body?

Thanks for the helpizzle.

biomedical technology , nutritional science, anatomy,cell bio....

 

[NonTradMed]

I would pick a major based on a few factors:

1. Marketability. Most premeds don't end up going to med school. I didn't want to wait until senior year to figure out I didn't want to do medicine and would need to do another major all over again.

2. Interest. College is the only time you're gonna do what interests YOU and learn and grow yadda yadda. Don't do something you hate. That's a waste of your time and money.

3. Ability to incorporate into your premed program. Premd programs require alot of time and energy. Make sure the classes you take for your major won't interfere too much with the premed program.

I wish I had taken my advice #3 myself, as it was, I got burned out trying to outdo everyone with #1 and #2 and had to take a sabbatical from school after college, then I had to take refresher courses because of my haitus for med school. Although everything worked out in the end, my one regret in life is that I had made myself so miserable in college that I ended up wasting time and money to finally get back to where I was back as a college junior.

Whatever major you pick with your premed program, don't overload yourself.

 

[JRJ26]

Thanks for the reply guys.

Regular bio plant classes sound SO BORING, but bio in regards to the human body is . Can you give me some reasons why you would choose bio tech or bio eng? Whats the difference between those? They sound cool.

What do you learn in sociology and psych? Whats the difference?

Man I feel like crap not knowing what I want to major in. I was really interested in physics, especially physics in relation to the body, but I know my grades will suffer.

RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I was a psych major. You basically learn about the various theories of the mind, how it works, how we react to various situations, etc. It includes topics from all areas of academia, whether it's biology, sociology, art, etc. You take courses such as general psychology, history of psych, cognition/cognitive psych, abnormal psych, physiological psych, behavioral neuroscience, learning, child psych, psych of memory, psych of emotion, etc.

 

[ermeyfan]

What did you guys major in? Or are currently majoring in?

I'm having a hard time picking one. I'm just not sure at the moment what I should do. Everyone says choose a major I would like. Although that sounds dandy, what about a major that would help me in the future? I can't think of anything right now so please tell me what you guys plan to do and tell me some majors that might intrigue me!


Could you apply to med school without a major but with pre-reqs? heh... heh

I was a chemistry major, which I thought was a blast... you can see from what other posters have said that it's not for everyone, but I wound up having to make the difficult choice to do medicine over graduate work in chemistry. If you love organic (which you have to take anyway) it might not be a bad idea to run with it. I thank my lucky stars every day that I was trained to "see" phenomena at the molecular level. It's pretty satisfying.

I also got a math degree, which actually turned out to be pretty boring. But interviewers seemed pretty impressed by it, so it might not be a bad idea either if you've got the patience for it and your school has a strong program.

If you do something like those, I do recommend electing for a couple of upper-division bio courses.

 

[Scotty_G]

I majored in music, how about that! I was raised coming from music (mom = music teacher) so it was always at the back of my mind. A lot of people tell me it will help me on my app, so we shall see soon enough.

 

[shantster]

I started as a straight bio major and was not sure what my second major would be. I have always loved biology and had decided that I'd study that in college before I thought about being a doctor so that's why I chose that one. I added psych at the end of my sophomore year as a major rather than the minor I planned because I enjoyed the classes, especially physiological psych.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I majored in music, how about that! I was raised coming from music (mom = music teacher) so it was always at the back of my mind. A lot of people tell me it will help me on my app, so we shall see soon enough.

I'm also trained as a concert violinist because my mother decided that having an IQ above any of my classmates was sufficient to guarantee I would get picked on (at least until I learned how to fight). I love to write music.....I intend on mentioning that on my application.