Neuroscience or Psych?

[cupcake2]

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Okay I'm a long time lurker first time poster. I'm a freshman at the University of Florida. I've hit up the search button a bunch of times but I still have some questions I need answered (even though I found a thread that had a guy from UF who was in between Neuro and Psych👍).

I know for sure without a doubt I'm pre-med (thinking Internal med or Endocrinology) and my dream school is NYU (or something SUNY, whatever gets me in the city, I love that place) but my major is something I question every day.

Originally I was thinking Neuroscience with a minor in Communications (I figured those classes would be good for publishing research, and I loved the Neuro system chapters in anatomy) but now I'm thinking Pysch with a minor in a program called UFTeach because I really enjoy teaching kids (although I could never see that as my profession, just something I really enjoy when I'm volunteering).

I plan on volunteering at the campus hospital, shadowing over the summer back home, joining the UF Premed AMSA, and finding a service organization to get into (I figured something like UFTeach would fulfill this since I'll be getting out into the community through some of these classes?)

And I'm also looking into "Teach For America" which would get me into a city teaching for kids from low income backgrounds. I know TFA has ties with the NYU Med school, does that mean I could get scholarships from them? Or would it make more sense in the grand scheme of things to just go to Med school straight out of Ugrad?

SOOO I guess I'm pretty much asking if my proposed plan would make me a competitive applicant on the side of being "well rounded", I know that of course GPA and MCAT scores are the main parts of being competitive. Would something like a Psych major/Education minor stand out more to adcoms or would something more science "intense" like Neuroscience?

And thanks for anyone who got through this monster post... Life is just confusing sometimes

 

[mystifire]

First off, I hope you do know that the Neuroscience major at UF is an interdisciplinary major.

The way it was designed, you are STRONGLY encouraged (basically required) to take the pre-med basic science curriculum, Stats 1 and 2, and Behavioral Neuroscience or Physiological Psychology. You should have many of these classes done before APPLYING to this major your sophomore or junior year (until then you should be majoring in something else, most people were Biology or Psychology). So those classes are the very lowest foundation for the major. Then you have to design (choose) courses for your own curriculum of study in whatever area of neuroscience interests you and whatever area is relevant to your research (you will choose research mentors and propose your Senior Thesis as part of applying to the major).

So be aware that this isn't just some.. "what flavor do I like" decision… you can take the Neuro classes as your upper level psych requirements, take premed requirements on the side, and be a psych major. The IDS majors at UF are designed to meet your needs and you will defend the reasons you elect to join one in your application. Most people choose to have one because they do not like feeling constrained by critical tracking courses and the required upper level classes that do not interest them in the departmental majors. Do not just choose ANY major at any college just because of how it might "look" to adcoms. But this is especially relevant towards THIS descision at THIS school ( I am a 3rd year Neurobiological Sciences and Psychology double major at UF ) take my word. The IDS committee can see who is applying because neuroscience looks "cool" or whatever. Also be aware that the IDS committee is NOT keen on "Degree collectors"… people who want to double/triple major and have a bunch of minors and be in the IDS program. They prefer students who will be an IDS major and focus all their energies into that major. Double majoring and carrying minors outside of your IDS major is considered case by case.

The good thing is that the program is extremely flexible for electives because, like the nature of neuroscience, it is an interdisciplinary curriculum you design yourself. You absolutely have to talk to the director of the program before applying. You have time though… the earliest you can apply is 2nd semester of sophomore year.

Okay, the Teach for America question. The only ties TFA has with any medical school would be their deferment program. If you applied to med school in your senior year of college, got into the med school and also got accepted to TFA and choose to do TFA, the med school will defer your acceptance (spot in class) until you are done with TFA if they have that "connection". Scholarships I am not sure about… I THINK that TFA does do the Americorps level stipend though at the end of it… about 5000 for applying/transitioning to the next phase of your life after your 2 year TFA commitment is done.

As far as UFTeach goes… sounds like a good program. If teaching is what you have some level of passion for then go for it. That would be a great back up in case TFA does not work out (TFA is competitive). I also heard it doesn't take a lot of credits for the classes so I don't see a problem there. I am personally just neutral on this because I do not want to do TFA and *personally* do not think it would help your soft factors as much as other Post-bac/recent college grad fellowships/opportunities/short-term jobs that are out there.

Going to med school out of college or taking a year off are your own decisions to realize. There are pros and cons. I am very keen on taking time off to do a research fellowship or work as a research tech for a few years myself so I am a fan of taking a year off. It really depends person by person and is significantly influenced by what kind of standards you want to meet (which for you sound like high ones with this NYU business)

My advice to you is to take a breath and not worry so much about what major you are. Focus on kicking ass in CHM2045 and BSC2010 or whatever you are taking. DO the extra curriculars you mentioned. DO look at the IDS Neuro website and maybe even plan to schedule a meeting with our director. But stay open minded and don't do things for the sake of doing them.

You are in your first year of college… you have NO IDEA what kind of changes the wind brings. Me for instance, I am in a COMPLETELY different state then when I was a freshman. I DISTINCTLY remember hearing about IDS Neuro and telling myself I would never want to do it and only a couple years later here I am doing it. It's funny how things work out like that.

 

[cupcake2]

I've been looking at the IDS major (and website which just got a makeover) now for a while. It was really the reason why I came to UF. The brain/human behavior/chemistry have always fascinated me. I've essentially created a 4 year plan of both Psych and Neruo classes and there are a lot of overlap in them.

I've been thinking of Psych over Neuro because I believe there is a bit more flexibility (as far as the science side goes) as to when I have to have my sciences done. I plan to have them all done by the end of Junior year though so I'll be ready for the MCAT.

Also, I've been thinking about TFA and an EDU minor or something because I can get in state tuition at some other schools I'm interested in if NYU doesn't work out having lived there through TFA. I know UFTeach will give me temporary certification in Florida, but I plan on leaving straight out of Ugrad lol. I do love teaching, and its not just some degree I'd be collecting.

Thanks a lot for your input... Its awesome to hear from someone actually doing IDS at UF. How is it going for you? What are your medical plans?

 

[Emerica]

I've been looking at the IDS major (and website which just got a makeover) now for a while. It was really the reason why I came to UF. The brain/human behavior/chemistry have always fascinated me. I've essentially created a 4 year plan of both Psych and Neruo classes and there are a lot of overlap in them.

I've been thinking of Psych over Neuro because I believe there is a bit more flexibility (as far as the science side goes) as to when I have to have my sciences done. I plan to have them all done by the end of Junior year though so I'll be ready for the MCAT.

Also, I've been thinking about TFA and an EDU minor or something because I can get in state tuition at some other schools I'm interested in if NYU doesn't work out having lived there through TFA. I know UFTeach will give me temporary certification in Florida, but I plan on leaving straight out of Ugrad lol. I do love teaching, and its not just some degree I'd be collecting.

Thanks a lot for your input... Its awesome to hear from someone actually doing IDS at UF. How is it going for you? What are your medical plans?

Hello fellow Gator!

I'm also pre-health and I am currently a psychology major, however, I will be applying to the IDS Neuro in 3 semesters. I talked to the director of the program, Dr. Smith, and he said that you need 4 semesters on campus before you can apply to the major (despite any AP credit you may have...even if you have 60 credits). So like the previous poster said, you will be taking PSB 3003/3340 and probably some psych classes. My reason for doing neuro is because I love psych and I love the biological sciences so it's a perfect match. Moreover, the ability to choose your own cirriculum (obviously you have some requirements) is what is so great; you can do neurobiological sciences with a ton of abnormal/psychopharm classes, or with a ton of sensation classes, or even a mix!

Also, the research opportunities abound. The national magnet center (that researches MRI/fMRI magnets) is at the McKnight Brain Institute to give you an idea of what UF is working with, which I wasn't aware of from the get-go.

One thing I am enjoying about being a psych major before I enter neuro, is that I am going to be able to do psych research before I start focusing solely on neuro. This will give me a little diversity in my research which should keep it interesting.

I know someone that is doing UFTeach and I've only heard great things about it, but it really is up to you. If teaching is something you really love then go for it. Personally, I also like to teach, but to satisfy this like I tutor my friends in chem. To give you some persepective, my AP Chem teacher was a bio major at USF and did her pre-health requirements, but then did a similar program to UF Teach at USF and became a teacher for 3-4 years. She saved up some money, and then left teaching and went off to med school. So your proposed plan has worked for others, but you will have to do some research in finding out how to get your FL teaching certificate validated in NY as well. I can't elaborate on TFA because I know nothing about that program.

 

[cupcake2]

Wow it's great to see so many IDS Neuro majors on this site. Im planning on taking the psb3340 my soph year first semester to see how much I like the program. One adviser I visited told me to stay away from UFTeach if I had no desire to teach as a profession, so it's nice to hear other pre med students have been doing something like it. I just want to stay away from the traditional bio Chem and biochem majors most of my pre med friends seem to be choosing. I'll be joining the pre med service fraternity next semester as well as the amsa premed group in hopes of finding more guidance and opportunities.

 

[kiwifruit487]

Ok, this is going to sound a bit generic... but... I would advise you to do whatever makes you happy, whatever floats your boat, whatever you are passionate about, and whatever you enjoy the most. Seriously. You are going to medical school and then it will be grueling. If you have alternate interests, do them. Not just because you want to be a well-rounded applicant, but because you are an interesting person who HAVE interests in something other than medicine.

Personally, I was a Psych major and that was it. I took the most basic pre-med requirements, the bare minimum, although granted, I did do bench research on the side. I also tutored as my extracurricular for the most part because like you, I believe in education. Maybe what I did didn't sound "intense," but it was certainly meaningful and long-term, and my passion and interests actually came out in my essays... anyway, long story short, whatever I did worked for me. And I'm glad I didn't go through college doing crap that I might have hated just to pad my resume.

So, as contrived as it sounds, do what makes you the happiest because then you'll have a reason to talk about it.

 

[cupcake2]

The only things that I know that I love are science and helping others. I'm trying to find my interest in taking classes: Chem, win. Stats, fail. Anthropology, fail. Philosophy, fail. I'm doing well in those classes, I'm just not that interested in them. Next semester I will be taking more Chem, more math, Psych, and some random 1 credit research and education classes. Hopefully I'll love those.

I think I'll be changing from a Bio major to a Psych major. Theres a lot of overlap between Psych and IDS Neuro at UF so even if I don't get the Neuro degree, I'll still have had some awesome Neuro based science classes and get myself introduced to researchers here.

 

[mystifire]

Also, the research opportunities abound. The national magnet center (that researches MRI/fMRI magnets) is at the McKnight Brain Institute to give you an idea of what UF is working with, which I wasn't aware of from the get-go.

There is no "national magnet center" at UF. UF has kind of like a division of The National Mag Lab (ironically located at FSU) called AMRIS which is funded by the same people who run the National Mag Lab. We also have an investment in the National Mag Lab. AMRIS is the thing at McKnight. AMRIS has like, 7 or 8 magnets can't remember, from 3 - 17ish tesla for human and animal imaging, solid state NMR, and solution NMR. Our 11.2T in particular does MRI scans of individual cells. True, it is groundbreaking, but I just wanted to clear up the common misconception.

 

[Emerica]

There is no "national magnet center" at UF. UF has kind of like a division of The National Mag Lab (ironically located at FSU) called AMRIS which is funded by the same people who run the National Mag Lab. We also have an investment in the National Mag Lab. AMRIS is the thing at McKnight. AMRIS has like, 7 or 8 magnets can't remember, from 3 - 17ish tesla for human and animal imaging, solid state NMR, and solution NMR. Our 11.2T in particular does MRI scans of individual cells. True, it is groundbreaking, but I just wanted to clear up the common misconception.

Thank you. I did not research that, I heard it via word-of-mouth. I appreciate you breaking it down though.

 

[DrDrummer]

Teach for America is a great program, but it's not something to do because you want to increase your chances for getting into medical school. You won't make it if that's the reason you're doing it-- probably not through the application process, but more importantly not through the two year commitment.

If, when you get up to being a junior or something, you're still interested, send me a PM and I'll tell you more about the program/my positive experiences/the negative experiences of other people I know. Same applies to anyone who finds this thread after searching for Teach for America.