Major vs. GPA

Started by jpkb24
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jpkb24

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10+ Year Member
Okay, i don't want anyone here saying "Do what you love." You and me both know that what I love (or looking forward to love) is medical school.

So...which is more important: doing a hard science major (i.e. phy sci/ biochem/ etc...) and getting a good GPA? or doing an easier science major and getting a stellar GPA?
 
well what are you considering easier sciences? its different for everyone...for example i think physics is an easier major then biology at least for me
 
jpkb24 said:
doing a hard science major (i.e. phy sci/ biochem/ etc...) and getting a good GPA? or doing an easier science major and getting a stellar GPA?
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I don't understand (or think wise) how people can supposedly predict their GPA given such and such future criteria. "I'm going to get a 4.0 the next two semesters", "If I major in ___ I'll get a 3.9 but if I major in ___ I'll get a 3.4".

If you are in high school, college is not as simple as that. You may have been a big fish in a small pond, but college is an ocean.

A better bet would be, as the cliche goes, do something you would like to do for the rest of your life if you can't go to med school. Because med school is not guaranteed for anybody.

With this said...if you don't like the material, you'll never be motivated to do well in it. So, while physics might be a "hard" major, a motivated physics student might not have done so hot as an English major if he hated the material but majored because it was "easier"
 
the chances are you will do better at a hard major that u like compared to an easier major that you took for just the gpa
 
Well it is true that...

A) 3.8+ GPA in an easy major (assuming you rock your sciences)

is better than

B) ~3.5 GPA in a hard major

I personally fall in the category of option (A), but I am still working my ass off to get A's in pre-reqs. However, after this quarter...I am on easy-streak b/c my pre-reqs are finished!
 
GPA by all means. Possible majors: I wont list any, but I am sure you can find some fairly easy majors for yourself.

One question: What do you mean by Hard Science Vs. Easy Science?

Hard Science is a term applied to basically all sciences that are not social/behavior sciences. My understanding is that there is no such thing as easy sciences/ Clarify?
 
Confused2626 said:
I don't understand (or think wise) how people can supposedly predict their GPA given such and such future criteria. "I'm going to get a 4.0 the next two semesters", "If I major in ___ I'll get a 3.9 but if I major in ___ I'll get a 3.4".

If you are in high school, college is not as simple as that. You may have been a big fish in a small pond, but college is an ocean.

A better bet would be, as the cliche goes, do something you would like to do for the rest of your life if you can't go to med school. Because med school is not guaranteed for anybody.

With this said...if you don't like the material, you'll never be motivated to do well in it. So, while physics might be a "hard" major, a motivated physics student might not have done so hot as an English major if he hated the material but majored because it was "easier"
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I disagree with the bolded paragraph b/c I personally DO NOT have a plan B. I ONLY want to become a physician and NOTHING else. These are the times in our lives when it is okay to shoot for the stars. Also, what will a person do with a science degree? Work as a lab rat making $20/hr? The truth is, it is really hard to become successful w/o higher education. Needless to say, higher education requires a strong G.P.A.

To the OP, I completely understand what you are saying because I am in a similar situation. I want to become a doctor and nothing else! Do everything you can to make sure you get into a medical school. Do not think about failing because that can only harm you. Worry about plan B when and if you do not make it. However, if you are anything like me, studying countless hours will pretty much guarantee a good GPA.
 
When I tell people I'm a Chemistry major, I often get responses like "Oh wow, that sounds difficult!". The truth is, I don't have very much trouble with it.
On the other hand, if I were to major in something other people consider "easy" (history, psych, etc.) I would have a terrible GPA.

The truth is, if you really enjoy a certain major, that one is the one you will do well in. Don't worry about others' opinions of the major - just choose the one that suits you best.
 
Global Warming said:
I disagree with the bolded paragraph b/c I personally DO NOT have a plan B. I ONLY want to become a physician and NOTHING else. These are the times in our lives when it is okay to shoot for the stars. Also, what will a person do with a science degree? Work as a lab rat making $20/hr? The truth is, it is really hard to become successful w/o higher education. Needless to say, higher education requires a strong G.P.A.

To the OP, I completely understand what you are saying because I am in a similar situation. I want to become a doctor and nothing else! Do everything you can to make sure you get into a medical school. Do not think about failing because that can only harm you. Worry about plan B when and if you do not make it. However, if you are anything like me, studying countless hours will pretty much guarantee a good GPA.
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I don't understand how you disagree with the statement because you don't have a plan B. Just because you want one thing and only one thing, doesn't mean the statement is wrong. You should always pick something you enjoy. You don't have to be stuck in a lab doing menial work. You can pursue a phd, you can go my route and do Information sciences with systems integration and German lit...it doesn't matter. The undergrad major means jack when it comes to your med school aspirations, so do something you enjoy. Something that can offer you a job if you don't get accepted the first round is also good.

We have philosphy majors, music majors, art majors, biochem, biology, microbiology, neuroscience, psychology and damn near every other kind of major you can imagine in my class.
 
GPA is way more important than major. If you don't make the school's cutoff for GPA and MCAT you wont even get an interview so it really wouldn't matter if you had a hard major (which would only help you in interviews.) Better safe than sorry
 
Medwell said:
When I tell people I'm a Chemistry major, I often get responses like "Oh wow, that sounds difficult!". The truth is, I don't have very much trouble with it.
On the other hand, if I were to major in something other people consider "easy" (history, psych, etc.) I would have a terrible GPA.
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Ditto, but for electrical engineering. I'm going to go make a thread about this, or search for an old one.
 
circulus vitios said:
Not everyone is a genius. Some people might be able to rock a 3.8 as a physics major. I'm not that smart or lucky (especially with terrible professors).
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First of all, GPA is the most important thing. Second, the prediction of your GPA varies between colleges and your study skills.

I guess it really depends on your college. Some colleges may have it easy in some departments and others may be pretty killer. You just have to know your college very well and calculate it for yourself.

For me, every professor is excellent, which means they expect a lot from you. So, there is no such thing as an easy A.
 
Global Warming said:
I disagree with the bolded paragraph b/c I personally DO NOT have a plan B. I ONLY want to become a physician and NOTHING else. These are the times in our lives when it is okay to shoot for the stars. Also, what will a person do with a science degree? Work as a lab rat making $20/hr? The truth is, it is really hard to become successful w/o higher education. Needless to say, higher education requires a strong G.P.A.

To the OP, I completely understand what you are saying because I am in a similar situation. I want to become a doctor and nothing else! Do everything you can to make sure you get into a medical school. Do not think about failing because that can only harm you. Worry about plan B when and if you do not make it. However, if you are anything like me, studying countless hours will pretty much guarantee a good GPA.
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Umm, college is higher education..
 
I had a hard major and I crushed it. I dropped a nuclear bomb on it. But if you lack self confidence or motivation, or if you aren't very smart, choose for the easier major.
 
mmmcdowe said:
So if college is an ocean, what does that make medical school? Waterworld?
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Haha... I've always thought it was an ocean as well. But, if you can make it through the Bermuda triangle without getting lost, then you are deemed ready for medical school🙂.
 
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