Life Science Major Question.. UCLA students?!

[pinkmedicine]

Hello so I am a pre-pharmacy student who is currently in physiological science major. I decided to pick this major becuase in high school I really enjoyed learning about physiology. But after I took L.S 2 this quarter, which is supposed to be similar to physiological science, I was really "surprised" by the competitive pre-med students and also I really really enjoyed the material but because of the curves and how I couldn't really keep up with them I didn't do as well as I thought I could have.

Also, my friends were telling me that if I'm not even going to apply for med school, why put myself into a pre-med environment..? (I thought they had some few good points there)

I understand that you choose your major based on what you like. I really enjoyed the Ls2 but my grades just were not reflecting it. I thought I was the only one who had this type of problem but many people also told me that they like what they study but because of the pressure and just the environment in general your grades/gpa doesn't reflect that sometimes...

So I guess now my goal is to explore each life science as much as possible before making my final decision.

For current UCLA students or those who graduated with any life science majors... can you guys tell me about (how the classes were, your interest, what you learn (based on pure memorizing or concept), the level of pre-med environment and also how hard is it to maintain a pretty good gpa)

Some of the majors I was looking into was MIMG, Neuro science, Physiological Science (one that I'm in), EEBio, psychbio and I think that's most of the life science majors...

I'm really just confused what I should do/study right now. One of my friend who is in her third year was in physiological science and she is also pre pharmacy. But she later dropped the major because she told me that "even though i really loved the materials, the class itself was literally too much to handle and everyone is different so everyone has their limits even though how long or how hard you study"

And I got scared after she told me that because I just experienced that in my LS2 class. I loved the class but I didn't do so well...

Can you guys tell me about different life science majors?

(how the classes were, your interest, what you learn (based on pure memorizing or concept), the level of pre-med environment and also how hard is it to maintain a pretty good gpa)

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[Jackie B]

It doens't matter what your major is because all your classes are going to be more or less the same in different majors, and ALL of those majors are going to have competitive pre-meds in it.

I didn't go to UCLA but I went to UCSD where it is a similar set up - about 10-15 different options for bio/chem majors.

All of those majors are going to have at least 80% of the same classes - 1 yr physics, 1 yr bio, 1 yr general chem, 1 yr ochem, 1 yr biochem, genetics, etc etc. And since there is no such thing as "Chem 101 for psychbio majors" vs "Chem 101 vs neuroscience majors" you're just going to have to deal with competition.

I recommend you major in something "easier" (like a social science) and take the pre-pharm requirements on the side. However, you still need to get at least 3.2-3.3 science GPA for those pre-req classes, esp. if you want to go to a CA pharm school. So if you can't handle those science classes, drop out now and go to an easier school. I'm not kidding, you're wasting your time if you can't get A's and B's in the science classes there. I wasted time at UCSD and now I'm at CSUN taking pharmacy pre-reqs. Something I've learned over the years - a degree from a UC isn't prestigious unless you have a high science GPA!

 

[owlegrad]

Why is this URGENT?!

 

[Project2015]

Yeah, it is stereotypical that pre-meds go overboard on these things. However, for any major worth pursuing and the possibility of other motivations, there will always be people that strive to be the best.

Curves generally only help, not hurt. It tends to make it easier to obtain a particular grade compared to the standard (A=90+, B=80+, and so forth) by removing irregularities in teaching and examination.

"even though i really loved the materials, the class itself was literally too much to handle and everyone is different so everyone has their limits even though how long or how hard you study"

Right everyone has a limit. So then is LS2 really your limit? If so, then you are in a world of hurt if that is just an introductory course that students from many majors take.

There really aren't any real differences in terms of thought process between the various life science majors as they are increasingly interdisciplinary. The particular topic may be different and thus appeals to different people.

So ultimately, the advice is this: worry about fixing the problem rather than finding an easy way out. If it's "pre-med" heavy, then be "pre-med" and go all out.

 

[30Percent]

It's not going to get easier in pharmacy school.