Majoring in Psychology

[tifflove13]

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I'm a freshman and I was thinking about majoring in Psychology and then double minoring in African American Studies and "Integrated Science". Is this an okay route or should I just major in Biological Sciences?


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[carrots28]

I know people who have done psych and gone on to med school. You don't need to restrict yourself in choosing a major. I met someone who did anthropology as a major and went to med school so long as you complete your requirements and do well you should be fine.

 

[tifflove13]

Thank you!


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[doctorleospaceman]

Your major doesn't matter. I majored in psych, but I probably know more bio/chem/physics than psych though (all my additional electives were in those fields). I just finished up the psych major after deciding to pursue medicine after my sophomore year since it was easier.

Do whatever major interests you, just know that if med school doesnt work out, a graduate degree for psych is basically a requirement nowadays so it's not a great fallback degree.

 

[21Rush12]

Major is of minimal importance as long as prerequisites for medical school are completed. Nobody will ever care what you minored in, I promise.

The poster above makes a very good point: consider what backup options you would have that aren't medical school when choosing your degree. Less than half of medical school applicants in a given year get accepted at all if I'm not mistaken, and you need to be prepared for that possibility.


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[DiscusKeeper]

I personally did a double major in Bio/Psych and absolutely loved it. I also found that it really helped with the MCAT. I had a pretty decent score overall (nothing super crazy though), but I actually ended up with a perfect score in P/S. I attribute it entirely to my psych major. I had forgotten all of the material after each class ended lol, but relearning it for the MCAT was super easy after having majored in it.

Like others are saying, your major doesn't really matter, just do what you enjoy. I personally loved both biology and psychology, and the overlap between them, so I found it a good combination.

 

[_ Aquarius _]

Psych is fun.

 

[raiderette]

I am so glad I majored in psych. At my college, bio was heavy on plants, not people. The bio majors don't seem to be doing better than the psych majors at my med school.

 

[psychgirl95]

Psychology/Neuroscience double major here, so obviously I'm a bit biased, but I personally think psychology is a great major for a pre-med student. I can honestly say that I've enjoyed every psychology class that I've taken so far (even those that I didn't think I'd find interesting). I also feel like my psychology classes will help me (both personally and professionally) much more than biology classes would've, because having a basic understanding of human development and behavior is, IMO, essential for anyone who hopes to work with people.

Seriously though, like everyone else has already said, just major in what interests you - whatever that may be. You're more likely to get good grades if you actually enjoy your major.

 

[P0ke]

Do whatever you can get the highest GPA in (which is most likely whatever interests you the most). Adcoms won't care what your major is, but they WILL care about your GPA.

 

[sat0ri]

I'd say do psych, as a Chemistry and Psych (Neuroscience) major and Philosophy minor. Psych classes are very easy (n=1) and you're likely to be able to attain a high GPA without much effort or trouble, freeing you up for other involvements.

The only thing I would consider is what you will do if med school (or pre-health in general) doesn't pan out. Unless you want to be a counselor or go into a few other specific/limited fields, you won't have a great amount of latitude in your career. African American studies even more so, but I'm assuming you're doing this for personal enrichment anyways and not with the intent of landing a job later.

EDIT: have you taken a psych class yet? The one other thing I'd say is that I found many psych students insufferable (many of them at least), which seemed fairly particular to that major. Partly I think this is because it tends to be a fall back major, so it's an odd bunch of "college for the sake of college" students and people who think they are quirky and smart because they're studying the ~~mind~~. You can probably tell I didn't have a great time with my psych cohort.

 

[tifflove13]

I have taken a few psychology classes and I love it! I think it would be great to major in. It's not a great fall back major but I know I will do well in it. I'm African-American and I'd love to learn more about my culture so that's why I would like to minor in African-American studies, it sounds interesting and undergrad should be fun. Right?


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[tifflove13]

I guess another thing I should mention is that I will fulfill all of the basic pre reqs but I won't have any "upper level biology" coursework. Is that a major hinderance?


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[doctorleospaceman]

I'd say do psych, as a Chemistry and Psych (Neuroscience) major and Philosophy minor. Psych classes are very easy (n=1) and you're likely to be able to attain a high GPA without much effort or trouble, freeing you up for other involvements.

The only thing I would consider is what you will do if med school (or pre-health in general) doesn't pan out. Unless you want to be a counselor or go into a few other specific/limited fields, you won't have a great amount of latitude in your career. African American studies even more so, but I'm assuming you're doing this for personal enrichment anyways and not with the intent of landing a job later.

EDIT: have you taken a psych class yet? The one other thing I'd say is that I found many psych students insufferable (many of them at least), which seemed fairly particular to that major. Partly I think this is because it tends to be a fall back major, so it's an odd bunch of "college for the sake of college" students and people who think they are quirky and smart because they're studying the ~~mind~~. You can probably tell I didn't have a great time with my psych cohort.

N=1 but I found most premed students more insufferable than those who were just psych majors. I liked having classes in my day that were free of cutthroat brown nosing. That's why I could never imagine majoring in something like bio or neuroscience unless you have a serious passion for it.

And I'd say don't expect easy As. Gen psych is usually easy (though some professors will make it living hell due to that general assumption) but higher level classes can break you if you don't take them seriously. My physiological psych lecture and lab were harder than all my premed courses (which included two semesters of full anatomy&phys)

 

[mwsapphire]

Psych is a great major because it can get you it's own job ( being a therapist). I'd say go for it! I wish I'd chosen a major that can actually get me a job ( *glares at Biomajor degree option on SiS*)

 

[cactusman]

Psych is a great major because it can get you it's own job ( being a therapist). I'd say go for it! I wish I'd chosen a major that can actually get me a job ( *glares at Biomajor degree option on SiS*)

Therapists need graduate degrees and most do not get paid very much. All job prospects are maybe just a little awful unless you get an engineering or CS degree, or a grad/professional degree.

 

[mwsapphire]

Well, if OP doesnt get med school they can go to grad school and make ~70k a year

For bio majors...maybe work in a lab for 50 k...if you can get a job....

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[sat0ri]

N=1 but I found most premed students more insufferable than those who were just psych majors. I liked having classes in my day that were free of cutthroat brown nosing. That's why I could never imagine majoring in something like bio or neuroscience unless you have a serious passion for it.

And I'd say don't expect easy As. Gen psych is usually easy (though some professors will make it living hell due to that general assumption) but higher level classes can break you if you don't take them seriously. My physiological psych lecture and lab were harder than all my premed courses (which included two semesters of full anatomy&phys)

Good point about pre-meds, but I guess that just adds to my argument in that it could end up being a double whammy. It obviously depends on the school for both the pre-med culture and psych undergrad culture. My undergrad institution was large so there was fierce competition for pre-med resources (shadowing, scribing, volunteering) and similarly owing to being a large school the was a large amount of undecided's and "college for the sake of college" types that funneled into the psych major. And the most insufferable, those that conflate studying the mind and intelligence with actually being intelligent...

I'd say the vast majority of psych classes are easy and though I've had a hard class here or there but, generally speaking, these "psych" classes start becoming harder when they become less about psychology and more about the underlying biology or physics. There were plenty of upper-division psych classes to choose from such that you could avoid the hard, more bio-focused classes and thereby maintain high grades. Also, I'm not raising this point to be contentious; the wisdom (here at least) is that your major/minor doesn't matter, but your GPA does.

Also, since the pre-med path has such a high attrition rate, it's responsible to consider what it would be like working in the field you're majoring in, including employment rates, salary, etc

 

[sat0ri]

Well, if OP doesnt get med school they can go to grad school and make ~70k a year

For bio majors...maybe work in a lab for 50 k...if you can get a job....

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Is that salary based on the people that actually find jobs as counselors? Also, is it difficult to find a job? That is, could it be one of those careers where you can make decent money but actually landing a job is no trivial task. I've heard from someone is in a graduate counseling program that they expect to make closer to 40-50K a year.

 

[Goro]

Adcoms do not care what your major is, or if you double major, or your minor.

We only care that you do well.

I'm a freshman and I was thinking about majoring in Psychology and then double minoring in African American Studies and "Integrated Science". Is this an okay route or should I just major in Biological Sciences?


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[numbersloth]

Not a major hindrance but may be nice if you can squeeze one or two in. Call it a slight bonus but it wont be a negative impact if you dont.

What classes in particular would you recommend?

 

[berenstein]

TIL @Winged Scapula was a Psych Grad. Maybe she could shed some light on this! 🙂

 

[Winged Scapula]

TIL @Winged Scapula was a Psych Grad. Maybe she could shed some light on this! 🙂

About a million years ago, but yes I was a Psych major (after PT, Bio, Social Work and a few others).

It doesn't matter what you major in as long as you do well and take the required courses.

NB: how does a poster who registered about 5 minutes ago know I was a psych major?

 

[berenstein]

About a million years ago, but yes I was a Psych major (after PT, Bio, Social Work and a few others).

It doesn't matter what you major in as long as you do well and take the required courses.

NB: how does a poster who registered about 5 minutes ago know I was a psych major?

Been lurking on the boards as a pre-med before and got curious about the quote on your sig! ...TIL wasn't accurate I suppose since i didn't really learn that bit of trivia today