I hate bio classes.. is pre-med for me?

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koercive

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I'll be honest here. I really hate bio classes especially bio chem. My BCPM gpa is around ~3.45-3.5 and my overall is 3.66. Is Med school full of bio classes or is it well rounded? I don't mind chemistry or organic chemistry though.

I'm a 3rd year, and I got only 2 more classes left for bio reqs and physics. Any advice?

Is pharmacy geared away from bio more so than med school?
 
I was a bio major, and I was disappointed when I realized that undergraduate biology classes really have little to do with what you'll learn in medical school. At my school, the closest major to a medical school curriculum was called 'health and exercise science'. You have to take the prerequisite bio classes, but there's no reason why you should feel compelled to take any more biology than what is obligatory.
 
yes if you have an aversion to biology, medicine is definitely the career for you.

You are aware of what a doctor does right?
 
Everything in Med school is related to Biology one way or another. Personally I find Biology to be one of the more interesting Sciences. It's Calculus that I can't stand!
 
Everything in Med school is related to Biology. Personally I find Biology to be one of the more interesting Sciences. It's Calculus that I can't stand!

👍

exactly the way I feel. life sciences >>> physical sciences>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> math
 
wait what?

biology doesn't have anything to do with medicine?

I was under the impression that it was one of the fundamental pillars of medicine (if not the most) out of all the sciences.
 
I think if you truly despise biology (and of all things bio chem) then you're going to have a hard time in med school.

And since Pharmacology is pretty much pure bio chem - that would be worse.
 
Ouch, I feel very out of place here being a mathophile!
 
I used to really like math, but over the years I got really freakin AJSDLFGDJSALGD TIRED of math hw. I never did the hw on time, and I always had to cramlike chapters of problems the day before each exam.

I started enjoying calc, and towards the end of calc 1 i thought calc was kinda lame, not much thinking involved as geometry or algebra, just following formulas. Then this thought continued through calc 2 and calc 3. And after calc 3 I promised myself no more math....... lol

oh, and I used to really like math problems on the SAT I and SAT II, they were fun at least...
 
I used to really like math, but over the years I got really freakin AJSDLFGDJSALGD TIRED of math hw. I never did the hw on time, and I always had to cramlike chapters of problems the day before each exam.

I started enjoying calc, and towards the end of calc 1 i thought calc was kinda lame, not much thinking involved as geometry or algebra, just following formulas. Then this thought continued through calc 2 and calc 3. And after calc 3 I promised myself no more math....... lol

oh, and I used to really like math problems on the SAT I and SAT II, they were fun at least...

I heard the Best way to kill your GPA was to Major in Math.:laugh: :meanie:
 
Major in anything the you like and can do well in for "pre-med". If you hate biology, don't major in biology. If you love math, major in math. The courses tested by the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) are General Biology with lab, General Chemistry with lab, General Physics with lab and Organic Chemistry with lab. You can major in any subject, take those four courses (and any pre-recs for those courses) do well in them and your major, and get into medical school.

I was extremely hardcore when it came to science. I had no intention of becoming a physician but loved (LOVED) science. Ended up with a double major in biology and chemistry plus double minor in math and physics. Headed off to graduate school (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) but ended up in medical school after a career as a research scientist (medicine can grow on you especially if your research is purely applicable to medicine).

If I had it to do over again, and I knew for sure that I wanted to enter medical school, I would major in American Studies, minor in Spanish, take the pre-med courses and never look back. In terms of usefulness, my science background is nice but day to day, as a surgeon, American studies would be more interesting and Spanish would be more useful.

The subject matter of your major is not going to impress (or not impress) an admissions committee. Your performance in your major is going to impress (or not impress) an admissions committee. A solid GPA plus a good performance on the MCAT coupled with strong extracurricular experiences, LORs and a well-written personal statement will get you into medical school provided you don't ruin your interview.

There is no particular major that is directly applicable to your coursework in medical school. You need to have an interest in medicine and good study skills. Anything else, including what you ultimately choose for an undergraduate major, is just one of the many hoops that you will be jumping in the medical school admissions process. You might as well major in something that you love, are interested in and can do well in.
 
I'll be honest here. I really hate bio classes especially bio chem. My BCPM gpa is around ~3.45-3.5 and my overall is 3.66. Is Med school full of bio classes or is it well rounded? I don't mind chemistry or organic chemistry though.

I'm a 3rd year, and I got only 2 more classes left for bio reqs and physics. Any advice?

Is pharmacy geared away from bio more so than med school?

I think you should try and pinpoint the reasons why you hated Bio class.

Was it too competitive? Was the teacher monotonous? Did you not enjoy the material?

Furthermore, did you hate ALL of biology?

I hate plants and I especially especially hate phylogeny. If I ever meet a phylogenist, I'm not sure whether I'd vomit on them or start crying in pity.

However, I still like Biology in general.

If you hate Biochemistry, then you should question your decision to go to med school or pharmacology school. Med school has a lot of physiology and a lot of biochemistry.

I'm no expert though. Try asking your pre-med advisor.
-Dr. P.

P.S.: Phylogeny: The one field where you can spend 40 years debating whether or not a species is a plant or an animal only to be told on your deathbed that DNA-based phylogenies have proven that it's actually a fungus.
 
In my lowly premed opinion, I think that a certain distaste for biology - but interest in medicine - is okay. This idea is supported by every doctor I've asked about it (albeit just a few, but we're talking about people that have been in the field for quite a few years).

I hated my freshman bio course, but for a number of reasons (goddamn pointless lab "experiment," the usual college transition hardships, lack of friends, etc.). I don't particularly enjoy much of biology, either. I told all of this to a gentleman that has been a doctor for over a decade, and it didn't seem to be a big issue.

However, we're talking about straight biology. I think it's a different ballgame when you start talking about how biology applies to various bodily systems, because that is getting into medicine. I just didn't have the least bit of f*cking interest in the plant life stuff and all that other introductory biology crap I dealt with.

$.02, ymmv.
 
I guess (General) Biology major sucks though. They learn animal evolution and morpholohy and stuff - nothing much related to humans. still...
 
Just major in sociology and you will be fine.
 
i have a general distaste for bio and i've considered the op's question myself... as a physical sciences major i enjoy being given a problem and having to tackle it with critical thinking - using previous knowledge in a new but related way. you don't really get that in bio... and i find learning biology and biochem a lot more tedious because i have to remember a lot more and its not rewarding because there isn't much critical thinking - any attempt to introduce critical thinking into an intro bio class falls laughably short (at least when compared to physical science). however, in medicine, critical thinking is a big part of the job - so i think its healthy to have a distaste for bio tedious coursework where you don't get to apply it because its not very representative of the future job.
 
i have a general distaste for bio and i've considered the op's question myself... as a physical sciences major i enjoy being given a problem and having to tackle it with critical thinking - using previous knowledge in a new but related way. you don't really get that in bio... and i find learning biology and biochem a lot more tedious because i have to remember a lot more and its not rewarding because there isn't much critical thinking - any attempt to introduce critical thinking into an intro bio class falls laughably short (at least when compared to physical science). however, in medicine, critical thinking is a big part of the job - so i think its healthy to have a distaste for bio tedious coursework where you don't get to apply it because its not very representative of the future job.

The Undergrad degree is just a preparation for Med Schoold and Med school for Residencies. From what I've heard from Doctors most of what the learn is at Residency.

Critical thinking is useful in just about anything.

Heck deciding what toilet paper to buy requires critical thinking. I think what you mean is cut and dry formulaic reasoning. Personally I find Biology more interesting because it's more abstract in nature.
 
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