Is being a biology major easier than being a chem major?

[yellowbird12]

So currently I have not been doing well in any of my classes this semester.

I am taking
a french class
Biochem 1
Calc 2
Physics ( with calculus) course. ( at my school physics is a three semesters but I am only required to take the second one)

More particularly the classes I think may be the most challenging is calc and physics.

I honestly just want to go to med school and am not planning to to actually do much of anything with a chem degree.
I had thought by being a bio major I , I would be technically just be memorizing( I know sorry that may sound offensive to bio majors) and be maybe cheating my self of getting to really learn how to think and understand analytically(?), and of developing great problem solving skills ...
I also that a chem degree would help me get some kind of better jon than if I came out with a bio degree( someone said something like wiith a bachelors you can only really get a job working in a lab , something like that .They just made it sound bad)
I really think I am supposed to be a doctor.

To be honest, I guess I thought having chem degree would make me look more better or honorable ( yeah bad motive).However if I keep getting the same grades I'm getting now instead of honor, I',m going to end up looking stupid.

I'm really leaning toward being a bio major but is it necessarily going to be easier? I
mean, I know that I need to manage my time more better and spend less time on facebook and youtube. But on the other hand i is well know how paticularly challenging a course like calc-based physics can be and being a premed I need to keep my GPA high.

choices,choices..

I actually took calc 1 an d 2 before and have credit for them, but I had been out of school for awhile....I ended up taking calc 1 at the school I'm at and got a D,( yeah really bad...don't even get me started on what my GPA was last semester..)

this semester I'm taking calc 2 and have not been doing well either

Also Right now bio seems like it would be more interesting for me to do also than chem...
BTW I am a junior

Can any bio majors on here weigh on, on what its like and takes to successfully get a biochem degree? And do you know if its easier? Has anyone else on here switched from a chem to bio degree and noticed a difference.?

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[mcloaf]

Might be easier, might not. Depends on how hard you try and on your professors/classes. Bio isn't usually as quantitative, so if you think that will be easier for you then go for it. I was a biochem major from the biology side but did chemistry research for credit. Personally I found bio to be more conceptually interesting, and I got the impression that a lot of the non-ochem chemistry stuff was mostly being a calculator monkey, though I'm sure some chem majors would disagree. I think chemistry could be considered "harder" than bio in that if you really just can't do calculations etc well you are screwed, whereas you might be able to get by more on elbow grease and hard work in bio.

If you are at a good school you should be learning how to think analytically and problem solve in any major, chemistry or even the hard sciences don't have a monopoly on that. And FYI, your post-grad opportunities with a bio vs chem major are more or less identical. You will be a research tech until you go to graduate school or you look in another field.

As for what it takes to succeed as a biochem major, the answer is a lot ****ing work. You will be in the library late, and you will be memorizing a lot of stuff. If you find it interesting it is awesome, if not it will be hell.

TBH, it sounds like the issue is more your study habits than your major. Bringing me to my next question: if you can't hack it now, what are you planning to do in medical school?

 

[Chip Chipperson]

From what I understand, chemistry is much harder than biology as a major. You'll have to take advanced courses such as physical chemistry, and at my school a more rigorous version of organic chemistry. These classes would look great on a med school application as it proves you can handle difficult science classes, but you must do well. It can potentially be a GPA killer if you're not equipped for this.

If your goal is to get into medical school, and you say that you're not the strongest when it comes to mathematically based classes, then majoring in chemistry could be shooting yourself in the foot. I think the potential disadvantages outweigh the advantages if your goal is to get into medical school.

 

[yellowbird12]

Seriously I also commute which takes a chunk out of my time. Though I can use the time spent on the bus or train to go over some stuff.
It s a tough situation which by the looks of it if I don't drop one of those classes will require a lot of my time meaning .Like I will seriously have to cut out all time spent on site that have nothing to do with important urgent matter, of which my education is.


I guess I probably should not do Chem...
At least if I do Biology , a lot of of it will be relevant to what is taught at medical schools,
Also you said that bs in chem is pretty much more or less like getting a bs in biology

I'd also like to add I did not take the first physics based calculus course, but went straight to the second physics with calc ( in the three part sequence)

as a chem major at my school since I already took two physics with algebra courses( at another school, they said if I took and pass this one it would fulfill the requirement.(usually chem majors take a two part calc-based physics diff from the three part calc based physics class engineers at this school have to take. I am taking the 2nd physics class engineers at our school take)

BTW I was thinking of also maybe majoring in biochem but from what you are saying its going to take a lot of work.. Nevertheless do you think it will better prepare for medical school, for becoming a great or medical doctor? Like because it involves thinking more analytically? Maybe it will help you perform better as a doctor?

 

[mcloaf]

Biochem will be better preparation for medical school as you'll cover a lot of the same topics (biomolecules, metabolism, etc.) again during your first years of med school vs. just straight biology (for example plant phys, etc).

 

[yellowbird12]

I also understand what you mean Mcloaf , if I can't handle this, how can I handle med school.
Maybe this mess I'm in is blessing in disguise, a wake-up call.
To make it looks like it will require sacrifice for me that means, sleep and very little free time, pretty much not going to sites that have nothing to do with my education or any other important thing in my life.

But it'll be worth it.
though I just need to be sure I am not doing the wrong thing majoring in chem.
If I am going to work hard I don't want it to be in vain or for something that won't matter much later.
You know suffering when you don't have to

 

[yellowbird12]

thanks for that info about biochem mcloaf

 

[Chip Chipperson]

The classes that will prepare you for medical school are those that are required by the school for admittance. If advanced biochemistry and physical chemistry were very beneficial, well then they'd be part of the prerequisites. Getting your bachelors degree in ANY science major while taking aggressive course-loads and participating in ECs is honorable in itself.

To answer your question directly: Yes, I think those advanced courses in biochemistry would probably better prepare you for medical school than easier classes. However, don't take these sort of classes for the prestige or to get a leg up on the competition.

Here's part of the required classes for a biochemistry degree at my university:

BB490 , BB 491, BB492

BB 481, BB 482, BB483

That's a set of biochemistry and biophysics classes intended for biochemistry majors and pharmacy/veterinary students. You'd be taking classes with professional students, so I guess that says something about the level of difficulty in this major.

 

[mcloaf]

Well don't kill yourself--leave a little time for hobbies or friends. But yeah, it can be a pain. I spent many a night senior spring studying in my room while I listened to my housemates and friends partying downstairs. Just make sure it's what you want to do and it will be worth it.

 

[mcloaf]

If advanced biochemistry and physical chemistry were very beneficial, well then they'd be part of the prerequisites.

Not really. At some point they have to limit the number of prereqs so kids who aren't science majors can still apply.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Yeah, good point. I hope you get the gist of what I'm saying though.

 

[notbobtrustme]

I did both at the same time and Biology is a joke compared to Chemistry.

 

[Dei gratia]

From what I understand, chemistry is much harder than biology as a major. You'll have to take advanced courses such as physical chemistry, and at my school a more rigorous version of organic chemistry. These classes would look great on a med school application as it proves you can handle difficult science classes, but you must do well. It can potentially be a GPA killer if you're not equipped for this.

If your goal is to get into medical school, and you say that you're not the strongest when it comes to mathematically based classes, then majoring in chemistry could be shooting yourself in the foot. I think the potential disadvantages outweigh the advantages if your goal is to get into medical school.

I'll add to this statement by saying that last semester I took physical biochemistry (thermodynamics pertaining to biological systems). I had to complete Organic Chemistry I & II, Introductory Biochemistry, Electromagnetism & Thermophysics, and Honours Calculus as prerequisites. It was a challenging course, which I managed to only get a 3.3 GPA in. Not to say OP couldn't do better than me, but I did get A's in all the prerequisites. Higher level chemistry merges with physics (quantum mechanics, molecular modeling, kinetics), so if physics is challenging for you, I would think hard about majoring in chemistry. Even biochemistry can be a particular challenge at higher levels (physical biochemistry, protein & proteomics, metabolism, enzymology).
Nothing wrong with chemistry/biochemistry, but make sure you'll enjoy it.

 

[circulus vitios]

If you major in straight up chemistry then you will most likely need to take calculus III, p-chem I, and maybe p-chem II. These are math intensive courses. If you're struggling with calculus based physics and calculus II, then think about biology or biochemistry if you can skirt the classes I listed.

 

[aspiringdoc09]

I don't really know the ranking of my school. I think they considered us Top 20 because of our Polymer Science dept alone (one of few). I received my degree in Chemistry:Biochem Emphasis. It was difficult but I had hardcore teachers. Still managed to get 3.5 gpa in major and 3.46 cgpa with lots of Bs, few Cs and 2 Ds. I had to have trig based physics, P. Chem I, and up to Cal II w/ Descriptive inorganic b/c I didn't do Biochem ACS. Had I done the ACS version, I would have had cal-based physics, p.chem I and II, calc I-III, and the regular 400-level inorganic course (not gen chem) w/lab. Both degree plans included biochem I-III, analytical biochem and a bunch of other chemistry courses and biology courses at various levels. Honestly, biology is easier, and I have a degree in that too w/ micro emphasis (Near 4.0 gpa w/ couple of B's in gen micro and immunlogy/serology). My BCPM of course is a 3.2 but I worked, participated in clubs, research, and premed stuff, so I wasn't a 1-dimensional person.

Go for biochemistry only if you are interested in it and are willing to protect your GPA. If you go with biology take classes relevant to medical school mostly. A 4.0 is manageable because I knew people who graduated w/ it. One girl graduated with molecular bio/biochem/polymer sci w/ 4.0 and is going on 3rd year in dental school. All of these were the top of each department. Molecular bio for Biology dept, biochem for chem dept, and polymers for polymer sci dept.

Also, this is how crazy rigorous my chem/biochem dept was: people were either biochem track, chem licensure track, or chem track. If you were biochem in the biochem III senior class at least half the class had to repeat a year to get a passing grade before graduating. I was unfortunate to get a D the first time and only a C the second time to get my degree. The Biochem degree was that difficult.

Good luck!

 

[ACE Rx]

This hugely depends on what your strengths are and difficulty of the school.

For my school, their biology and chemistry programs are rated within the top 10 in the nation so their emphasis was more towards research. My major was in biochemistry so a good mix of biology and chemistry.

In general...
Biology = requires memorizing a ton of information
Chemistry = less memorization but more analytical and calculations
Biochemistry = only if you are good are both otherwise its going to be a PITA to defending your GPA

 

[Cambino]

I did both at the same time and Biology is a joke compared to Chemistry.

From what I understand, chemistry is much harder than biology as a major. You'll have to take advanced courses such as physical chemistry, and at my school a more rigorous version of organic chemistry. These classes would look great on a med school application as it proves you can handle difficult science classes, but you must do well. It can potentially be a GPA killer if you're not equipped for this.

If your goal is to get into medical school, and you say that you're not the strongest when it comes to mathematically based classes, then majoring in chemistry could be shooting yourself in the foot. I think the potential disadvantages outweigh the advantages if your goal is to get into medical school.

I've found the opposite. I had just recently received my chemistry minor this last term, and my institution is well-known to have a robust biology program. I've taken several chemistry classes in conjunction with upper-division biology courses, and the biology courses prevail to be much, much harder than the weed-out, high drop/fail rate, chemistry sequences for both myself and most other students. So, it'd probably be smartest to stray away from using generalities to say one science core is "harder" than another; it should be obvious that it's your own learning style, interests, and institutions that factor into "rigor" (or lack thereof for some of us; not op) of a science.

 

[hapticity]

As a chem major myself who has taken all the inorganic, advanced organic, physical and quantum chemistry, etc (and going on to medical school in a few months!) I'll put it this way... do you like labs? Do you mind going to 4-6 hour long lab sessions that'll take up your whole morning (from 7:30 or 8 am) or afternoon? The single most defining experience of a chem concentration are really the labs, if you don't like spending a ton of time in the wet lab and writing up a ton of lab reports then chem is probably not a good idea. I know that biology also involves labs, but with chem I'd argue that labs are the central focus because you really can't learn a lot of chemistry without actually having worked with it, which I'd argue is not the same as biology.

But if you liked intro chem (and the labs!) then do chem. Chem gets far more interesting down the road and intro gen chem (and even intro org chem I and II) were pretty bland and boring in comparison.

 

[Morsetlis]

Chem gets far more interesting down the road

I don't believe this!

 

[ACE Rx]

Chem gets far more interesting down the road...

I would have to say this is quite the opposite. My experience with chemistry is this...

General Chemistry = oh, so that's why that happens
Organic Chemistry = ok, so that's how it happens
Inorganic Chemistry = what the heck is this non-sense?
Physical and Analytical Chemistry = please kill me now.

 

[yellowbird12]

yeah I think for the most part I've decided not to do chem any more
now its either biochem or biology

 

[yellowbird12]

I would have to say this is quite the opposite. My experience with chemistry is this...

General Chemistry = oh, so that's why that happens
Organic Chemistry = ok, so that's how it happens
Inorganic Chemistry = what the heck is this non-sense?
Physical and Analytical Chemistry = please kill me now.

lol

heck I've felt like so stressed with Physics, I don't think its necessary for me to put my self through the phys. chem and other chem classes if I won't need or practically implement later down the road in my life or as med. doctor.

 

[yellowbird12]

Also in addition, I agree that at different schools sometimes the rigor is different..
The calculus here is def more rigorous to me than at other schools.
I guess though also I need to like work with other people on the WebAssign prob which can be hard... and take a long time to do.

 

[drshoes]

It depends on the school. At my school, the biology major is around 70 credits whereas the chemistry major is only around 32-40 credits so it's a lot less classes.

 

[Gigantron]

It depends on the school. At my school, the biology major is around 70 credits whereas the chemistry major is only around 32-40 credits so it's a lot less classes.

What a coincidence. It's around 32-40 credits for a biology major and 60-70 credits for a chemistry major concentrating on Biochemistry. So yeah, I'll reiterate what drshoes said and that it really depends on the school.

For me, personally, I find chemistry much more interesting and biology to be slightly harder though.

 

[druggeek]

lol yes a biology major is easier ....

 

[Chrome19]

Bio is a joke compared to chemistry. If physical chemistry were a pre-med requirement ...

 

[Desensitized]

Pick a major you enjoy doing. Personally, I chose chemistry because I feel like it challenges me and allows me to think critically. As with biology, there are some things that make you think critically but I think chemistry does surpass biology in terms of toughness. Critical thinking is important and I feel that chemistry provides a lot of that, but that's just me

 

[Hotshy]

Bio I would say is easier, this is of course school dependent, but in general I think bio is easier for most people. That being said don't do something based on difficulty, pick a major based on interest, you're more likely to do well in a major you actually like (at least a little).

 

[chemhead123]

Depends on your strengths... I couldn't stand my upper division biology courses, where some Bio-majors can't stand Chemistry. Generally speaking though... I would think Chem majors on average would score higher on the MCAT or GRE than Bio majors.. at least from my experience and small sample size.

But what does that really tell you anyway?

 

[littlefaster]

I couldn't imagine biology being harder than chemistry or biochemistry at any school.

Biochemistry is a lot more chemistry than biology. As biochemists, we're trained to understand the lab techniques and analytical methods of chemistry in addition to biology. Biochemistry provides solid explanations for why biology works, which allows you to reason through biological problems more efficiently.

Biology is a lot of factoids. It'll save your GPA, but I don't think it will train your brain to be as analytical as chem/biochem will. It's just not as mentally taxing. I attribute my high MCAT to the biochem major. It allowed me to take only 2 weeks of studying because my brain already had been using the thought processes that the MCAT requires. Biochem is certainly challenging, but it will provide a strong scientific foundation on which to learn medicine. As much as I hated the workload, I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to pursue medicine.

 

[kpcrew]

I would have to say this is quite the opposite. My experience with chemistry is this...

General Chemistry = oh, so that's why that happens
Organic Chemistry = ok, so that's how it happens
Inorganic Chemistry = what the heck is this non-sense?
Physical and Analytical Chemistry = please kill me now.

surprisingly accurate