Is a double major worth all the extra time and energy?

[$haBoy]

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I'm a senior in high school, and this fall I'll be attending Purdue West Lafayette as a biochemistry major. However, I'm also very interested in genetics and am thinking about double majoring. But, I know biochemistry has a very heavy and hard course load, as does genetics. Is it worth the extra time, energy, and stress to major in genetics along with my biochem major? And please only post helpful responses. I have neither a need nor a desire for deconstructive criticism.

P.S. I don't know if it makes a difference to adcoms or not, but if I do major in genetics I will have ample opportunity to take upper 500 level biology classes.

 

[HomeSkool]

No, it is not. Doing a double major doesn't impress adcoms, and the increased workload could actually hurt your application if it drops your GPA. In this game, GPA and MCAT are king.

Put in other words, you don't get extra credit for trying something hard. You only get extra credit for succeeding at it (and even then, only if adcoms don't think you just did something dumb and got lucky).

I have neither a need nor a desire for deconstructive criticism.

I get where you're coming from, but the internet is not a safe space, my dude. If you get crap responses, just let them roll off you or use the "Ignore" function.



Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile

 

[21Rush12]

Beaten to it by @HomeSkool; here’s a Bon Jovi Lizard instead.

 

[Coltuna]

I'm a senior in high school, and this fall I'll be attending Purdue West Lafayette as a biochemistry major. However, I'm also very interested in genetics and am thinking about double majoring. But, I know biochemistry has a very heavy and hard course load, as does genetics. Is it worth the extra time, energy, and stress to major in genetics along with my biochem major? And please only post helpful responses. I have neither a need nor a desire for deconstructive criticism.

P.S. I don't know if it makes a difference to adcoms or not, but if I do major in genetics I will have ample opportunity to take upper 500 level biology classes.

ADCOMs don't care what you major in. Major in Biochem and take a genetics class to help prepare you for the MCAT.

 

[Disciple of Sattar]

You can still take genetics courses and/or work in genetics research as a biochem major, and they will possibly satisfy some requirements for the biochem major as well. If you have to go out of your way to take courses you don't really want to in order to finish that second major, you probably shouldn't. Having the two majors will not help at all in terms of post graduation prospects, be it med school, grad school, or finding a job.

 

[HomeSkool]

Major in whatever will be employable at the bachelor's level in case you don't get into med school on your first try. You need to prepare Plan B right from the start.

 

[Lucca]

Double major if you want. I did it. Dont regret it. I might regret it if it dropped my GPA. It didn't. The important thing is that you are actually interested and motivated to do well in the subject whether its biochem, electrical engineering, or french.

 

[bioboy23]

Major in whatever will be employable at the bachelor's level in case you don't get into med school on your first try. You need to prepare Plan B right from the start.

All the bio majors out there

 

[Nathan17182]

I'm a senior in high school, and this fall I'll be attending Purdue West Lafayette as a biochemistry major. However, I'm also very interested in genetics and am thinking about double majoring. But, I know biochemistry has a very heavy and hard course load, as does genetics. Is it worth the extra time, energy, and stress to major in genetics along with my biochem major? And please only post helpful responses. I have neither a need nor a desire for deconstructive criticism.

P.S. I don't know if it makes a difference to adcoms or not, but if I do major in genetics I will have ample opportunity to take upper 500 level biology classes.

Short answer is it is not worth it.

At Purdue, you can be a biochem major through 2 different departments: biology and chemistry. If you chose biology, you will have the opportunity to take additional genetics classes (beyond the required sophomore year genetics) to fill the requirements for your major, so it'll work out. You could also major in genetics and get a minor in chemistry, if you really enjoy chemistry, as it is only 1 or 2 extra chemistry classes. Remember, the bottom line is to get the best GPA in the major that interests you the most. Doing a double major in those subjects will make getting a strong GPA harder, so my advice is to not do that unless you really have an interest in both those.

I go to Purdue, so PM me if you have any other question.

 

[TypeADissection]

Nah
- Rosa Parks

 

[Doctor-S]

Is it worth the extra time, energy, and stress to major in genetics along with my biochem major?

In general, AdComs are interested in sGPA and MCAT (as well as other meaningful evidence) indicating your ability to succeed as a student in medical school.

When you apply to medical school, you will be competing against a tidal wave of eager medical school applicants who have distinguished themselves in many unique ways (e.g., GPA, MCAT, research, ECs). You are competing for a limited number of coveted seats. Very limited. Lots of competition.

Although admirable, your double major will not guarantee one of those coveted seats for you, but it will guarantee a lot of extra work for you.

[On the other hand, if pursuit of a second major does not sabotage your study time (GPA/MCAT); and you're really interested in the subject matter of the second major (genetics); and you ace your genetics classes ("A" grades) ... okay, have fun.]

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

Minors and double majors have very small to no effect on med school.
Only do it if it’s required for your major or significantly contributes to your career prosepects if you don’t get into med school.

 

[Sir Alanna Trebond]

Is it worth the extra time, energy, and stress to major in genetics along with my biochem major? And please only post helpful responses.

Everyone else gave great advice re: GPA and double major. Don't forget that med school admissions also requires good ECs. Even if you can ace all of your classes with a biochem/genetics double major, will you have the time and energy after all that studying for volunteering (clinical and nonclinical) and all the other stuff you need to decorate your application (plus social life and sleep)?

 

[treatem-and-streetem]

Just major in Biochem and take genetics classes like these fine people have said. Biochem is insanely helpful for the MCAT and medicine in general.

 

[BTC0821]

I'm about to finish up a double major and personally didn't think that being a major in only one subject would've been any easier, my schedules just had a greater concentration of 2 subjects as opposed to a more varied courseload. Do it if you're interested in it and have that be your only reason for doing so. I would've taken the route I did again. Also, considering a plan B is always something to keep in mind, I would venture to say that applying to jobs with a double major may have some impact but that is just a guess; as always, heavily research your options. Biochemistry while helpful is not a particularly easy major and doesn't have great job prospects so if you choose that route you'll likely spend a lot more time to get a high GPA than you would as a biology or humanities major

 

[bananafish94]

Is it worth the extra time, energy, and stress to major in genetics along with my biochem major?

Worth it in what sense? It is not worth it for medical school admissions, so in that regard the safer choice would be to do one major and take classes that you will do well in.

However, I will also say this. You get one undergraduate education and not everything has to be about getting into medical school. I was always a little annoyed by the people who tiptoed around anything that sounded even remotely hard just to keep their GPA a little higher. It's okay to challenge yourself even if the reward is intrinsic and not associated with medical school. I did a double major that required me to take some very difficult classes that challenged me on multiple levels and dropped my GPA a little bit. But, I enjoyed it, graduated with a good GPA, and I would do it again.

 

[831929]

I'm a senior in high school, and this fall I'll be attending Purdue West Lafayette as a biochemistry major. However, I'm also very interested in genetics and am thinking about double majoring. But, I know biochemistry has a very heavy and hard course load, as does genetics. Is it worth the extra time, energy, and stress to major in genetics along with my biochem major? And please only post helpful responses. I have neither a need nor a desire for deconstructive criticism.

P.S. I don't know if it makes a difference to adcoms or not, but if I do major in genetics I will have ample opportunity to take upper 500 level biology classes.

Do genetics research if you are that interested in it. That will look a lot better!

 

[Insert Member Name Here]

@$haBoy Depends on what metrics you use to define worth. From a cynical-pragmatic view point doing extra work is always pointless. From an optimistic-humanistic view point doing extra work always has meaning because it is an expression and reflection of self-purpose. Most people view life and the decisions they make as being somewhere in between these two ranges, very rarely do people commit whole hog to either belief.

 

[Eleithyia]

Is it worth it just for the sake of a double major? No. If you are really interested in both topics and don't think you can satisfy your interest with just a few classes and you're willing to put in the work and/or extra time to keep your grades up, sure. It won't win you admissions points, but if doing it will make your life better, go for it.

I chose to do a double major only because my interests were in very different disciplines (social science & bio) and I wanted a more robust knowledge of both. Caveat: it took me six years to get them both finished on top of research, shadowing, & volunteering, but there was no overlap in degree requirements, so ymmv.

 

[aldol16]

No. Do it only if you really want to double major for yourself. It's not going to help you score big points during admissions. Also, you can take grad-level courses in any discipline given that you've satisfied all the undergraduate pre-reqs for it. You don't have to actually major in the field to take a grad course in it. At most, you'll have to show that you've exhausted all undergraduate-level opportunities for that subject and so need to take the grad course.

 

[861843]

I bet that if you took a single bioinformatics class and consequently had some computer science experience during college you'd open hundreds more doors to post-Bachelors positions then you would with a biology and genetics double major. I highly doubt it matters either way to medical schools, but outside of medicine you'd be surprised how much more valuable "B.S. Biology, Python experience" is compared to "B.S. Biology, B.S. Genetics". My point is not to say do bioinformatics, but rather do what you want but with good reasons and there are few for a double major.

 

[begoood95]

"Is double-majoring worth all the extra time and energy?"

IMO, yes. Of course there's the caveat that everyone is quick (and correct) to point out, namely, that you must not let it affect your GPA (as well as other EC's) too much. But then again, you don't need a 4.0 do get into medical school, they're a "dime a dozen" (-@Goro). I had great success with a 3.75 cGPA and 3.70 sGPA. Could it have been better if I didn't take 20+ credit hours per semester? Probably. Would a 0.2 +/- 0.1 increase have benefited my application to an appreciable extent? Probably not.

More significant in terms of application competitiveness, if we're myopically focusing on stats, is your MCAT score. Without my two additional humanities degrees, I don't think I would have performed as well on the CARS section (of which is usually the bane of pre-meds' existence—why? Because they're so hyper-focused on the physical sciences). Don't fall victim to that mode of thought. Other posters' advice here is cogent and practical. However, if you want to and have the concomitant drive to, I say go for the extra major.

Then again, I realized I just based my argument on tacking on a humanities major, and you're thinking of an additional genetics component...oops. Maybe you should think about philosophy😉