Is biology an easy major?

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studentdoctor08

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And will being a biology major be a disadvantage when applying to med school?
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easy? its not like super easy.. but not as hard as others ie engineering. of course it depends what school you're at. bio also prepares you pretty well in that many of the classes required/recommended for med school are included in the major.
 
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According to the AAMC, in 2010 the average biology major matriculant had a GPA 0.02 higher than the average matriculant, so yes you will be at a disadvantage.
 
To determine if it is easy or hard depends on the individual's own innate learning abilities and topic interest.
 
studentdoctor08 said:
And will being a biology major be a disadvantage when applying to med school?
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Is biology an easy major?
-Not really. There were plenty of people who did bad/failed my gen bio I and II class. Not to mention the labs (and practicals!!!!) were killers. Also, there are multiple bio courses at my school that have been labeled "most difficult classes to take". This is my school though, and we are known for our difficult sciences so it's not the case for every school.

Is being a biology major a disadvantage?
-No. All of my friends who are premed and bio majors got into school this year.

I think that maybe you're approaching this wrong. You should pick a major because you enjoy it, not because you think it'll give you an advantage during the application cycle. I picked a non-science major b/c it's something I'm very interested in and I do not believe it hurt my chances of acceptance so it doesn't matter what you pick. Just make sure you'll be able to explain to interviewers why you picked it and how you think it will help you become a better physician.
 
studentdoctor08 said:
And will being a biology major be a disadvantage when applying to med school?
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I don't think anyone can really answer how easy the major will be. It depends on the school and how interested in the subject you are. For instance doing a bio major at my school is not hard from what i have heard. but at a different school it could be one of the harder majors.
 
No way. My introductory biology classes were way tougher than the 300s or even 400s I took in our humanities courses. Maybe I'm just more of a humanities person, but I think generally hard science majors tend to have more homework and need to put more time into studying, etc.
 
Tapepsi said:
Is being a biology major a disadvantage?
-No. All of my friends who are premed and bio majors got into school this year.
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Nice anecdotal evidence. According to AAMC there is no significant difference between major and acceptance rates. Take home message: do what you want and get a good GPA/MCAT.
 
Monocles said:
No way. My introductory biology classes were way tougher than the 300s or even 400s I took in our humanities courses. Maybe I'm just more of a humanities person, but I think generally hard science majors tend to have more homework and need to put more time into studying, etc.
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Ah, this stereotype.
 
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Monocles said:
No way. My introductory biology classes were way tougher than the 300s or even 400s I took in our humanities courses. Maybe I'm just more of a humanities person, but I think generally hard science majors tend to have more homework and need to put more time into studying, etc.
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Only thing I can say is my Intro Religion class vs. my intro bio class. Bio ws waaaaaaay harder than religion. I would say chemistry is harder depending on the type of learner you are (memorizing vs. problem solving).
 
Frazier said:
To determine if it is easy or hard depends on the individual's own innate learning abilities and topic interest.
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This. If I was interested enough in history, it would've been easy for me to do. If chemistry didn't bore me to tears, it might've been easy for me to do. As it was, I was most interested in biology (particularly human biology), and it came easily to me.

As far as whether it will put you at a disadvantage.... no. But it won't give you much of an advantage in the admissions process either.
 
Not as hard as chemistry or physics, but definitely harder than majors such as sociology and psychology (at my school at least). That being said, try and take classes that are interesting, when biology is interesting (immunology + physiology), it can be a really good experience, however, when it's really boring (ecology + histology classes) it can get REALLY tedious.

If you like it, go for it. :luck:
 
Pretty sure all the bio majors here will disagree but level of difficuty: All other majors > Biology > Business
 
NickNaylor said:
Ah, this stereotype.
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Well, not necessarily a stereotype, to be honest. I'm a double major so I've had upper level psych courses, and honestly psychology is a breeze compared to bio. On average, usually for psych tests I can cram the day before and ace it, whereas I have to review my notes every few days or so and do study guides several days beforehand to usually get a high B/low A on biology tests.
 
I feel like its pretty neutral in terms of being accepted to medical school. I'm sure there are stats about these sorts of things as other posters alluded to. As for how hard it is, I don't really think you can get a good answer for yourself personally. It depends on you and your likes/learning style. For the most part, most biology related majors will prepare you well for the medical school coursework. A number of students in my class are non-traditional majors, and some had (more) trouble with biochem and the like because they had little previous exposure to it.
 
studentdoctor08 said:
And will being a biology major be a disadvantage when applying to med school?
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Ya its and easy major. Known for having high GPA (thats why 99.999999999% of premeds are Bio majors). No you wont be at a disadvantage when applying to med school.
 
Biology = memorizing things

Isn't a lot of quantitative analysis in biology compared to the other BCPM classes (look at BS and PS sections of the MCAT). Bio is mostly qualitative which is usually a good thing since math tends to scare people for some reason. Also, memorizing lots of info is what you do in the pre-clinical years so I guess it 'prepares' you for med school in that way too.
 
Just pick a major that you are truly interested in, all you need for med school is just the prereqs courses, the actual major doesn't -/+ you.
 
Biology majors have the lowest MCAT, cGPA, AND sGPA of the physical sciences, humanities, and maths. Sorry.
 
Espadaleader said:
Biology majors have the lowest MCAT, cGPA, AND sGPA of the physical sciences, humanities, and maths. Sorry.
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Just a guess, but I imagine there is a lot of self-selection among the other majors you listed. All of the bio kids "must" take their shot at applying to med school, since that's all they probably know to do.
 
It depends on your definition of "difficult."

As an MCB major, biology is pretty easy regarding concepts. It's not a humanities or physics/chem/engineering major, where a lot of critical thinking is demanded in order to succeed. For the most part, with the exception of a couple of courses, "memorize and regurgitate" is the mantra to doing well.

It's difficult in the sense that you have to spend time memorizing all the stuff, IMO. While I had a lot of engineering/math major friends, who did conceptually more difficult work than I did, once they were done with the homework problem, project, etc, they were done. Once they got the concept, they didn't need to waste time memorizing it. In my classes, several passes through the material were pretty much required to pull off solid As, so while I didn't really feel challenged by the difficulty, it did kind of suck to be stuck memorizing things over and over again.

So, if you're looking for a major where you really have to think your way through a problem to solve it, bio may not be it. If you're interested in the material and are fine with putting in a fair amount of time memorizing minutiae, go for it.

YMMV.
 
Espadaleader said:
Biology majors have the lowest MCAT, cGPA, AND sGPA of the physical sciences, humanities, and maths. Sorry.
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That doesn't mean its an easy major, or that the students are lower calibur. Its a matter of more biology students trying out for medical school.

Biology isn't at all difficult in the sense that you need to be a genius to do well or understand the concepts involved, but it still time-consuming: You need to learn in detail a very large volume of information, and to do that you do need to put work in.
 
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Kaushik said:
It depends on your definition of "difficult."

As an MCB major, biology is pretty easy regarding concepts. It's not a humanities or physics/chem/engineering major, where a lot of critical thinking is demanded in order to succeed. For the most part, with the exception of a couple of courses, "memorize and regurgitate" is the mantra to doing well.

It's difficult in the sense that you have to spend time memorizing all the stuff, IMO. While I had a lot of engineering/math major friends, who did conceptually more difficult work than I did, once they were done with the homework problem, project, etc, they were done. Once they got the concept, they didn't need to waste time memorizing it. In my classes, several passes through the material were pretty much required to pull off solid As, so while I didn't really feel challenged by the difficulty, it did kind of suck to be stuck memorizing things over and over again.

So, if you're looking for a major where you really have to think your way through a problem to solve it, bio may not be it. If you're interested in the material and are fine with putting in a fair amount of time memorizing minutiae, go for it.

YMMV.
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I second this as a bio major. Completely true.
 
Lots and lots of memorization. Some critical thinking if you search hard enough. To be fair, I think the memorization is beneficial in the end. It's essential in order to have a basic understanding of the processes of life.

Btw, flashcards are your friend.
 
I see a few people mentioning humanities as being harder than bio. What?

Humanities classes are so easy. Literally read material, write paper on material...maybe take test on material. No thinking involved.
 
At my school, Biology can be an easy major or a hard major depending on which elective Biology courses a person takes.

I'd say if a person takes the easy biology route, it is roughly an average major in terms of difficulty.
 
TallScrubs said:
I see a few people mentioning humanities as being harder than bio. What?

Humanities classes are so easy. Literally read material, write paper on material...maybe take test on material. No thinking involved.
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I guess you never took a philosophy class
 
arthur2647 said:
I guess you never took a philosophy class
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Make ambiguous and convoluted sentence so powerful reader cannot begin to grasp idea you are trying to "convey" so they cannot argue otherwise. Repeat X amount of times until essay is answered.


THERE's your philosophy.
 
Biology puts you at a disadvantage????? I do not think so.....Look at ANY school. At least 50 percent of matriculants major in the biological sciences. At some schools, admission committee members feel that a "misc" major will be very unorthodox for someone to pursue a medical education (i.e. Hopkins, Yale, any ivy league in essence). When I took AP biology, it was memorization intensive and maybe drops of critical thinking. The labs were not TOO bad as long as you kept up with the reading. I did not touch the book often, slept in class, argued with other classmates, and mooched off others...and still mustered a B. However, anytime I am bored and pick up an MCAT biology book, I am scared to death. I think that biology is the basic foundation for a lot of things that me will meet in our premedical and medical education.....Good Luck.




.....Oh and flashcards that you have to make yourself suck hard..
 
Biology will not necessarily put you at a disadvantage, but it is also the major that adcoms see by far the most often. It will not make you unique and if you don't do anything but the standard bio major decent gpa, decent mcat, tutoring, volunteering, and other typical pre-med activities you can easily be lost in the crowd.

If you do well and you have other things on your application to make it stand out and be more memorable/interesting a bio major will not be a disadvantage.
 
studentdoctor08 said:
And will being a biology major be a disadvantage when applying to med school?
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Not if u go to john hopkins lol.

okay that wast helpful, if ur good at memorizing stuff ull prob never use then yes, bio would be easy. but if ur a math kind of person, then its going to be the most boring stuff ever.
 
1) Choose a major that is useful to your future career interests. Because I like knowing everything and love research, I'm BME.

2) If that doesn't work for you, then choose what you actually enjoy studying. For me, that overlaps with 1). For some people, this means anthro or something like that.

3) If 1 and 2 don't work out for you, and you are just looking for the easy way out, I can't give advice while maintaining any semblance of courtesy or respect. Others will likely mock you as well for the failure to choose a major based on intellectual interest or utility over potential assistance to your GPA.

That aside, you tend to do MUCH better in subjects you enjoy. Start with that.
 
Make ambiguous and convoluted sentence so powerful reader cannot begin to grasp idea you are trying to "convey" so they cannot argue otherwise. Repeat X amount of times until essay is answered.


THERE's your philosophy.
Click to expand...

Seriously...half the people in a philosophy class don't even know how to take a position on an argument. Plus, philosophy is such a theoretical thing that you can basically take ANY position you want and, as long as you can support it with some decent argument, you can really never be told you're "wrong". Somebody will just come along with a more convoluted and ambiguous essay to tell why they think you're wrong. That's why so many ancient philosophers with competing ideas are all still quoted today.

Its always said that philosophy teaches you "how to argue" but lots of arguments in philosophy aren't even based off of actual facts...they're just thought experiments testing how many times you can get your brain to loop-de-loop. Sorry, but I like my arguments based on things that are actually happening in the world.
 
studentdoctor08 said:
And will being a biology major be a disadvantage when applying to med school?
Click to expand...

med schools don't care what your major is as long as you do well. that's what they say - i'll take their word. just pick the major that you enjoy studying for the sake of studying it. don't worry about "use in the real world" or what strangers think about. if the major wasn't legit then your legit school wouldn't be offering it. study something you love to study. do well. do well on the 32 credits of premed reqs. 3.7 cgpa and performing well on the pre-reqs is tough enough by itself and will more than enough show that you are academically competitive. unless you luv LOVE biology - don't do it. you'll get plenty of it in medical school.
 
Kaustikos said:
Make ambiguous and convoluted sentence so powerful reader cannot begin to grasp idea you are trying to "convey" so they cannot argue otherwise. Repeat X amount of times until essay is answered.


THERE's your philosophy.
Click to expand...

lol'd :thumbup:
 
a step harder than psych. far easier than all other sciences/engineering/math.
 
Kaustikos said:
Make ambiguous and convoluted sentence so powerful reader cannot begin to grasp idea you are trying to "convey" so they cannot argue otherwise. Repeat X amount of times until essay is answered.


THERE's your philosophy.
Click to expand...

And then the professor gives you a C on your essay with no justification, just because he can. Humanities/liberal arts = subjective grading = getting randomly owned by professors who hate you for reasons that you don't quite understand.

At least with the hard sciences, there's generally a single correct answer, so there's none of that subjective nonsense. On the other hand, professors can take off for things like "not showing work," which can be a pretty subjective thing as well.

Hmm.
 
Kaustikos said:
Make ambiguous and convoluted sentence so powerful reader cannot begin to grasp idea you are trying to "convey" so they cannot argue otherwise. Repeat X amount of times until essay is answered.


THERE's your philosophy.
Click to expand...
Eh, it could also be that people tend to major in things that they're good at rather than things that they find difficult. I can tell you that biochemistry, immuno, physio, genetics, etc, were all a joke compared to reading Kant or compared to spending hours each day practicing music. At least to me. It could easily be different for others.

It's not all about answering questions, whether MCQ or essay format. The better thing to look at (and the thing we can't look at) is how well the student understands the material and how easy/difficult it is for him/her to understand. There's no standardized way to look at that, so it's a waste to try to. Ultimately, all we can say is that you'll likely do better when you're working on things you're really interested in. Whether it's bio or engineering or math or physics or whatever. :shrug:
 
calvnandhobbs68 said:
Seriously...half the people in a philosophy class don't even know how to take a position on an argument. Plus, philosophy is such a theoretical thing that you can basically take ANY position you want and, as long as you can support it with some decent argument, you can really never be told you're "wrong". Somebody will just come along with a more convoluted and ambiguous essay to tell why they think you're wrong. That's why so many ancient philosophers with competing ideas are all still quoted today.

Its always said that philosophy teaches you "how to argue" but lots of arguments in philosophy aren't even based off of actual facts...they're just thought experiments testing how many times you can get your brain to loop-de-loop. Sorry, but I like my arguments based on things that are actually happening in the world.
Click to expand...

actually, philosophers do sometimes actually resolve things :laugh:
 
Nobody cares. Just pick a major you will like and do well in. You will get into a medical school with a 3.8 GPA in biology. You won't get in with a 2.8 GPA in biomedical engineering.

For anyone who says being a biology major puts you at a disadvantage, countless applicants get accepted who majored in biology. I do have to agree that there isn't too much to do with a biology degree if you don't go to medical school. I guess you can work in a lab, become a teacher, go on to physician assistant school, or do a 1 year nursing program and become an RN.
 
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