If you are NOT a biology major..post here!!

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BerkeleyPremed

BerkeleyPremed

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Please post your major and why you decided to major in that field. I'm lumping biochem majors in with bio majors so please don't post here if you're in biology, molecular biology, or biochemistry.

I'll start off. I'm declaring political science and I choose this field after taking comparitive politics and realizing that I really would not mind attending a school of foreign service after undergrad to earn a Master's in International Relations or Foreign Affairs. I enjoy studying international relations and I actively read (and have a subscription to) Foreign Affairs and I'll probably purchase a subscription to The Economist as well. I enjoy writing papers in poli sci and don't really consider it "work" at all.

I haven't checked the MSAR...but I heard that humanities majors have a HIGHER rate of admission to medical school than biology majors. I think Nutmeg mentioned this in one of his posts. Is this true? Also, does anyone know the MCAT average for humanities/social science majors? My advisor in the college of letters and science told me that medical schools will look favorably on applicants who didn't follow the cookie-cutter, traditional path to med school. I'm defining the "cookie-cutter" path as declaring biology as your major, doing hospital volunteering, and lab research. I'm not trying to knock people who volunteer in hospitals or do research, I'm just stating that it's become far too common among applicants.
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political science major
history minor
spanish minor

you are not alone my friend.
 
Psychology, English minor. Have always loved pop psychology and literature; did not realize I would grow to hate neuroscience (anticipated loving it).

Incidentally--I came thisclose to switching to at least a poli sci minor, if not major, last december, but our three best profs are leaving. I might still take some classes just for fun but I already had one I loved and might not have a lot of time for more.
 
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kinesiolgy
i loved physiology and would rather study it in relation to humans and sports performance than in relation to plants and animals...more applicable to what i want to do / enjoy :)
 
Religion/Philosophy

Not sure which I'll end up in. I like them both, and they give me opportunities to learn things I won't be able to learn in medical school. I find that the fact that there are no distinct answers to the questions in these fields provides a nice balance to the fact-based curriculum of the pre-med science courses.
 
If you get anything less than an A in any class I'm gonna call you dumb as rocks for the rest of your life.:p
 
BA is in History from Carleton
MA is in International Policy Studies (a.k.a. International Relations) from Stanford
 
these are all wimpy :p

i'm cs.
 
History of Science. Bio is cool and interesting, but we'll be studying it forever, why not try something different?
 
Biochem major. Oops, sorry, I'm not allowed to post here. Maybe if I suddenly change my major to a non-science, I'll be cool enough to start threads like this. :laugh:
 
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Economics and Biochemistry...i will doing a MD/MBA dual degree
 
Aeronautical science. Would love to do search and rescue flights, emergency evac, bay flight etc.
 
English and Econ double major
 
Exercise Science, but it is essentially Human Biology. Brats800 you are so right....why would i study the physiology/anatomy of animals when I can study humans?
 
Biochemistry is a chemistry degree, isn't it? It generally requires like 15 credits of bio and 35+ of chemistry.
 
bio and polisci, and luvin it
 
SOCIOLOGY





:laugh: And I got into medical school! HAHAHAHahahahaha......
 
Originally posted by Luthertaketwo
Biochemistry is a chemistry degree, isn't it? It generally requires like 15 credits of bio and 35+ of chemistry.
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At my school, Biochem has 1 more required chem class compared to bio, but we have the option of taking our upper level electives in either dept., and I am doing most of mine in bio. I think it varies by school, but at mine, it's truly a joint major.
 
H.B.H.S.

Cornellians should know what this is
 
Psychology. At first I just settled into it, but I actually like it and get a lot out of it. However, I really wish I had double majored in Psychology/Religion.

4 credits from a chemistry minor but I'm not going to do it.
 
Originally posted by Thundrstorm
At my school, Biochem has 1 more required chem class compared to bio, but we have the option of taking our upper level electives in either dept., and I am doing most of mine in bio. I think it varies by school, but at mine, it's truly a joint major.
Click to expand...

Strange. Do you only have biology specializations in cell/molecular bio and/or genetics??

All we have for bio majors here is 1 year of general chem and 1 year organic.
 
I'm currently an English major, but I'm thinking about switching to biology. I'll most likely stick with English. If I hear "you can major in English and still be a doctor?" one more time, I think I'll scream.
 
Alright, I am a biochem major, but at my school its just a slightly modified chem major (I've actually consitered switching to straight chem, but I'm too stubborn to do it). I am however, a theatre minor. At one point, I wanted to be a pre-med musical theatre major. If I end up getting early assurance (*fingers crossed*), I will be quite tempted to transfer and be a dacne major my last 2 years!
 
Sociology! Why sociology, you ask. Well, because it's interesting, I get to read lots and lots, and it has helped me hone my writing ability. At first, I considered law school. I soon realized, however, that I don't have that instinct required for being a good lawyer. Hmm...I guess my major has made me more open-minded, if anything.
 
Originally posted by linus
these are all wimpy :p

i'm cs.
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Whoo! CS here too! :clap:

(keeping quiet about neuro double major)
 
Philosophy.... more interesting than memorizing minutia and sitting through labs. Oh, and I got to debate a lot :)
 
Psychology... you get to listen to idiot sorority girls pretend like they know ****...
 
electric engineering computer science

I didn't decide to go for med school until after freshman year. By that time, I'd already done so many classes for EECS that I just decided to stay there. If I could do it again, I'd major in psychology... less time consuming and many more girls.
 
Originally posted by Eraserhead
Psychology... you get to listen to idiot sorority girls pretend like they know ****...
Click to expand...

:laugh: :laugh:
 
Wow...I didn't know there were so many folks here that actually ventured outside of biology. **gasp** I know adcoms will appreciate the fact that we can write well, think critically, read and analyze dense material, and communicate our ideas effectively with others.

I agree with the poster above...biology really does seem like "memorization of minutia." Don't get me wrong...I think neurobiology, human physiology, and molecular genetics are GREAT fields with tons of fascinating research going on within them...but after talking with dozens of MCB (molecular-cell biology) majors here on campus...I just get the feeling like it's just one huge memorization fest.

One of the MCB majors I know even told me his "formula" that he uses for all of his MCB classes...and he has a pretty decent GPA in the major as well. He laid it out as such:
(a)=memorizing the professor's lecture notes..whether those come in the form of Powerpoint slides or handouts...just memorize it
(b)=memorize as much as you can from the material covered in the textbook and do relevant problems (immunology, molecular genetcs, etc)
(c)=starting a few days before the exam, start making flash cards of most important pathways (biochem), structures, and facts..and test yourself to make SURE that you've memorized this stuff

Behold..the formula: a+b+c=d where (d)=at least a B+ on your midterm/final in said biology course

For some reason, I get the feeling that many of these biology robots (hence the term..."biobots"), could never write a decent persuasive essay about anything.
 
Philosophy! definitely agree with quideam that it's oh so much better than the "memorization of minutia"
 
Computer Science
(also a MCB major)
Minor in Mathematics

I was 1.5 semesters from graduating before I made the decision. I added MCB to give myself time to finish the pre-reqs and do some other things. Plus I'm also intereted in bioinformatics.


MCB does seem to have a lot more pure memorization and few critical thinking skills. Biochemistry is all memorization. I like CS a lot more because I have to think to solve the problems. And nothing beats staying up until 6 in the morning trying to figure out the cause of a seg fault.
 
eraserhead, you are one funny ****!

philosophy/biochem. to all those biochem majors who don't have to take p-chem, shame on you. also, chem majors were the only one at my school required to take senior comprehensive exams to graduate.

philosophy has served me well in med school, law school and now getting a masters in bioethics. philosophy teaches one how to think critically and write pursuasively.
 
Psychology, and Neuroscience ( Which technically isn't a major here at UW-Madison, it is a special training program within Biology...so does that mean I should leave it out ? :D )

Basically, I think the point should be made that some people actually like Bio, Biochem, etc, and choose that as their major because they want to do it, not just because it looks good. I know personally that I am doing something that I enjoy because there is no guarantee of anyone getting into med school.

So I think you should major whatever it is that you want, whether it be dance or physics, because you're the only person that is going to live with it for the rest of your life ( and enjoy/suffer through it while in college). Just my two cents.
 
Originally posted by PreMedPoohBear
I'm currently an English major, but I'm thinking about switching to biology. I'll most likely stick with English. If I hear "you can major in English and still be a doctor?" one more time, I think I'll scream.
Click to expand...

:laugh: That's the reply I get when I tell people I'm switching my major!

I love to write. :oops: :rolleyes: I have been hooked on English/Literature since 10th grade when we studied William Blake.
 
MIND CONTROL.

Actually, I got a BA in English in the early 90s.
 
I did physics and chemical engineering as an undergrad and an MS in biomedical engineering. The reasoning is that there are many topics to learn about that I am interested in and there are different perspectives on material that I will not have the opportunity to see in medical school (for the most part). Do whatever you like, but try to work in some breadth into any program of study you take on.
 
jesus tapdancing christ.....
Wow...I didn't know there were so many folks here that actually ventured outside of biology. **gasp** I know adcoms will appreciate the fact that we can write well, think critically, read and analyze dense material, and communicate our ideas effectively with others.
Click to expand...
are you implying that all non-bio majors exhibit these qualities? or are you saying that bio majors lack these skills? in either case, that's ridiculous.

For some reason, I get the feeling that many of these biology robots (hence the term..."biobots"), could never write a decent persuasive essay about anything.
Click to expand...
wow....that's just so....stupid. many bio majors are proficient linguists, pal. whenever i'm tempted to start a thread like this, i usually just grab a bottle of lotion and go to the bathroom.

oh well, gotta go--this "biobot" has to go play basketball with some black people and then go make a withdrawl from First Jewish National Bank. :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by Luthertaketwo
Strange. Do you only have biology specializations in cell/molecular bio and/or genetics??

All we have for bio majors here is 1 year of general chem and 1 year organic.
Click to expand...

We don't have specilized bio majors. It's just bio, biochem, and psychobio.

For BioChem, the required classes are:

Gen Chem
Organic Chem 1
Organic Chem 2
Quantitative Analysis
Thermodynamics & Kinetics
Biochemistry

Gen Bio
Microbiology
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Physics 1
Physics 2
Calculus 1
Calculus 2

Senior Seminar in Bio
Senior Seminar in Chem
Research or internship in either bio or chem
Various electives (which for me were/will be Genetics, Neuro, Developmental, Advanced Biochem, Immunology)
 
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