Is a Bachelor of Science Really Better Than a Bachelor of Arts?

[KelahRammy]

I am a first year transfer student from a community college who currently attends UCLA. I finished most of my premed and transfer requirements at my community college, Santa Monica College, with a 3.9 GPA.

I transferred as an Psychobiology major (Bachelors of Science), but I really want to switch to a Psychology major (Bachelors of Arts). This past year as a Psychobiology student, I finished half a years of ochem, a year of physics, a bunch of boring psychobio classes and maintained a 3.8

I am taking my MCAT in the summer to apply next Spring and I've been thinking of switching my major so that I can spend less time studying tedious and risky GPA ruining science based psych classes that don't interest me and more time on my extracurriculars / application next year.

I don't know if this is a stupid question, but which option would you prefer:

Option 1:
-Major in Psychobiology and graduating with a 3.7 overall GPA
-Average extracurriculars


or

Option 2:
-Major in a BA and graduating with a 3.9 overall GPA
-Minor
-Great extracurriculars


(Assuming MCAT scores for both options is the same)


I really appreciate your sincere opinion on this.

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[Cytotoxic]

No difference re BS v BA. Major in what you'll enjoy.

 

[kami333]

Option 2.

There's no useful distinction between BA and BS, it just depends on the school which degree you'll get.

 

[JoshUNCW]

I think it's a little odd you could know your GPA would drop .2 just by going with the BS. Anyways, in my personal opinion, I'd MUCH rather have a BS than a BA. If you're getting an art degree, you don't always have a choice. But generally speaking, BSs are a little more strenuous than a BA and I think they count for more. I think either one would probably get you into medical school. So it's more a personal choice. Which will you be happier with as your degree?

 

[JoshUNCW]

Option 2.

There's no useful distinction between BA and BS, it just depends on the school which degree you'll get.

I would like to point out that a lot of schools will offer, for example, a BA and BS in chemistry. The BS in chemistry generally requires a few more upper level classes than the BA. There is a distinction between the two in some cases.

 

[Colonol Forbin]

If you enjoy science, which I would you do since your considering med school, then go with science, it will make your years more enjoyable...furthermore there is no way you can predict what your gpa will be...thats absurd

 

[BlueElmo]

It doesn't matter.

 

[Vvandenn]

2

 

[toot]

I was wondering the same thing about BA or BS. I'm still undecided about my major. Does anyone have any ideas about a major that would make me look good for applying to med school? Thanks

 

[Colonol Forbin]

I was wondering the same thing about BA or BS. I'm still undecided about my major. Does anyone have any ideas about a major that would make me look good for applying to med school? Thanks

None, it's your gpa that makes you look good for med school...choose what you enjoy as you will most likely do better if you enjoy what your studying

 

[KTD]

I really don't think it matters. Just major in what you enjoy. You will do better and be able to talk about your classes and research better during your interviews if you actually like what you study.

 

[jla314]

A better GPA and better extracurriculars trump having the BS versus the BA for med school admissions, IMO. If you were interested in going into industry after college, I would definitely recommend the BS (since many hard-science firms like to see the BS at a minimum). But since med schools readily admit people with BAs (and readily admit people from all types of undergraduate majors), there isn't the same clear cut advantage in your situation.

It seems like what you're really asking is whether your major matters for med school admissions, since you're considering pursuing a major that you don't enjoy so much (psychobiology) in order to impress med schools. I think you should do what you enjoy! If switching to psychology allows you to devote more time to an extracurricular that you're passionate about, or to enrich your life in some other way, I really see no downside to switching. What I've taken away from reading LizzyM's advice on the matter is that your undergraduate major is as close to trivial as something can be for med school admissions. You've already taken hard science classes to fill your pre-reqs and proved that you can handle them. You don't need the BS to show that you can do science.

FWIW, my school doesn't offer the BS degree in anything except engineering. I'm graduating with a BA in chemistry (which is useless). But I still got into 10 medical schools.

 

[toot]

What is your GPA? Congrats

 

[jla314]

haha thanks 🙂 in case you'll find it helpful, my mdapps is here: http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?id=17934

 

[KelahRammy]

Yes, I am basically asking if a BS would look better, thus giving me a better chance at getting into a Medical School.

I really want to focus on some extracurriculars that I am really passionate about, and I know that if I major in psychobio, I won't have time to do them.

The difference between a Psychobio and Psych major at UCLA are the following classes:


1. Molecular Biology (I got an A)

2. Genetics (I am in the class right now. Although I know this is not a legitimate excuse, my teacher is terrible and I really don't need this class for a psych major, so I may drop it and get my first W, what do you think?

3. Biochemistry

4. And 5 non-interesting Psychology classes that are really risky GPA-wise.

I am planning to take Biochem regardless of my major. Do I really need to take Genetics or would a W be fine in my case, if it's my only one in fours years? I really don't want to take this class over again if I don't have to.


Considering that I transferred with a lot of premed classes already done from my community college, how bad is it if I am not taking as many upper div science classes at UCLA?

 

[mordounhas]

Med schools don't always look kindly on all pre-reqs being done at community colleges, but I have no clue if they look at things differently in California (where the community colleges are a sort of feeder program for the state schools). It might be worth it to take a few upper level science courses there that you might enjoy/find somewhat useful for medical school, but that might be a question for the pre-med advisor at your school as I imagine they're used to dealing with that scenario.

As far as which degree, I don't think it typically matters. I'd do something you think you'd want to do if you don't go to medical school- that way you're not stuck with a degree you hate if you decide you don't want to do medicine or don't get in.

 

[NightSwim]

Yes, I am basically asking if a BS would look better, thus giving me a better chance at getting into a Medical School.

I don't get where this is coming from. What makes you think a BS would look better than a BA? Has someone told you this? This makes no sense to me.

 

[apumic]

BAs and BSs are equal in terms of value. The difference is purely in focus. A BA tends to be more focused on breadth, whereas a BS is typically more about depth. Med schools tend to value breadth (i.e., being well-rounded academically) over depth in UG training, so which do you think they might prefer? (I'd actually say they don't really prefer one or the other, TBH.)

 

[Elpenor]

get a BA in math

 

[AH3]

I think you're being a little dramatic with the two options. From just reading those, it sounds like you want to do option 2 for sure. In reality, you could probably get similar ECs and GPAs in either program, one may just require a little more effort. Neither one should prevent you from doing ECs, as they are probably pretty similar in requirements. So just do what you like- I'm assuming option 2- because either one will work for medical school.

 

[mdbound1987]

If you will enjoy the B.A., do it because if you want to increase your chances for getting into med school, that gpa is the only thing that matters in this situation. BA vs. BS means nothing.