Non-Science major: Waste of time?

[GLaDOS]

I'm going back to finish an undergrad degree at Northwestern's "night school" & am flip-flopping between declaring either human biology or psychology as my major.

Obviously if I do bio, most of the pre-reqs out of the way. With psych though, I feel a bit safer with a degree that I could potentially use to work in the social services field if med school doesn't work out for whatever reason.

With the psych degree, I'll have to do some sort of post-bacc to gather all the pre-reqs, which will cost more money & time I also worry that I may have to do an SMP, which is even more money & time.

Should I just get over myself & go for the bio degree or is having the psych safety net worth it?

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[1727]

I wouldn't say any learning is a waste of time, particularly if you enjoy what you are learning. However, you are posting in the nontraditional forum so I assume you are a bit older or have a job, family, etc., but, as a history degree holder myself, I can tell you that finding a job is not easy; psychology, too, is certainly not the "safety net" you speak of. So, I would major in biology to get the courses and, if truly you are passionate about the subject, minor in psychology, or just be a hobbyist.
However, as a psychology major, you will have electives, which you could fill with pre-med coursework, but I would take the path of least resistance, so to say. I would not do anything that would require an SMP or post-bac, if possible.

 

[dudeliness]

I agree with 1727 in that it would be a good idea to major in bio and minor in psych. There are those who would say that having a science major won't make that big of a difference in your pre-clinical classes the first two years, but now that I'm in biochem/genetics I can tell you that those who had human bio as a major are doing a little better than the rest of us.
I was a Spanish major, and while I am passionate about Spanish and would t change my major, I DO wish I had taken more than the bare pre-requisite science classes.

 

[Law2Doc]

Duplicated.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think "waste of time" is the wrong phrase. Honestly doing a major with a lot of coursework you are going to repeat in med school anyway is the only real waste of time because of the redundancy. Learning something new is never a waste. But if your goal is to finish the prereqs faster, I get that. You wouldn't really be avoiding wasting time, but you would be minimizing your needed coursework. Having done the non-science route, I strongly disagree that the science majors had any real advantage. They did have a self perceived advantage. But when I look at the list of people in my med school class who failed things or dropped out, I see mostly science majors...

 

[dismorfik]

I agree with the above comment that there is no "psych safety net" and, in your situation, bio seems like a better investment.

Fill disclosure: I was a non-science major.

 

[Gfliptastic]

When my goddaughter told me she wanted to be a pediatrician (as a high school junior) I strongly encouraged her to NOT be a science major. And that is basically a recommendation I will make to anyone who wants to go to med school.

Granted that goes w/o saying, if you are really keen on something scientific, then go for it. The reason I make the recommendation is a career as a physician is a life-long commitment to (medical) science. And before you get tossed head first into the immersion of med school, it actually makes it worthwhile to do something else, and just fulfill the prereq's.

I graduated (back in '00) w/ a bio sci degree, minor in psych. And being almost done w/ med school, I wish I would have flip flopped that. (I just hated the stat class requirement of my schools psych degree lol) That said, psych isn't necessarily a "safety net", unless you are full well prepared to go all the way thru psych as a plan B. NO ONE really gets a job w/ a Bachelor in psych. You basically need a Doctorate to do anything worth a damn in it. (PsyD or PhD).

And tho I am fully recommending NOT doing a science major, the offshoot of my bio degree did get me employment when I graduated. In food science. And it is a gateway to very many other science-y jobs. So, a bio degree is actually the "safety net". Yet I still recommend not getting a science degree because you'll be so insane in science for med school!

 

[SN12357]

Don't do a post bacc if you don't need to. If the choice is science major getting all the prerequisite done or non science having to do post bacc, do the science major no question.

That being said in general I think it is great for premeds to not be bio majors and strongly encourage it. I am not a bio major and my background has only helped my applications.

Also firmly agree with everyone saying undergrad psych is NOT a backup plan. It is either equal to or worse than a bio degree in that sense.

 

[GLaDOS]

Thanks for all the input.

So, I agree that either would not be a waste of time...maybe misuse of time is more appropriate.

And to clarify regarding the safety-net, I feel pursuing other graduate school options with a degree in Psychology would be more simple than with a degree in Biology. Yes, I am one of those students who wants to become a physician to "help people", so I could see myself maybe pursuing an MSW or maybe even a joint MSW/MPH & I think that the psychology degree could possibly be of more use than biology based on the admissions requirements.

Other than applying to medical school, I'm not sure what I would do with a biology degree. I tend to enjoy the social sciences much more than the natural sciences, which is why pursuing psychology was my first inclination.

Unfortunately, having a biology minor with the psychology degree plan isn't an option because of the foreign language requirement, which kind of replaces the potential units for a minor with the language courses. Taking Spanish is dear to me because, for a variety of reasons, I'd really like to be able to serve that population. If I go with psychology, I'm also able to take Spanish for Healthcare Professionals, which would be fantastic.

When I look at the 2 different degree plans according to my advisor, it looks like psychology has a lot more flexibility in terms of electives, so I'd be able to fit in the following natural science courses: The Human Brain (100-level), Intro to Neuroscience (200-level), Intro to Human Physiology (100-level), Human Anatomy (300-level), Human Structure & Function (300) & Microbiology (300). With psychology, I'd also have to take Stats in Research & Research Methods in Psych, which may be helpful since I really don't have much experience with research.

With the biology degree plan, it's all biology, chemistry, physics & math & the only electives I could take would be 300-level biology or anthropology courses & apparently, taking a foreign language is not an option, but I could potentially petition to do so. Minors are also strongly discouraged.

Does that help clarify my situation? If it helps, I also have a boat-load of GPA repair to do, so taking more credits isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[SN12357]

None of the science electives you listed are actually medical school prerequisites. If it's not a problem to fit in the REQUIRED prerequisites (bio, chem, orgo, physics, math, possibly a writing course or two) and you'd rather do psych, then do psych! With your new post I don't really see what the problem is.

Those bio electives you listed are not required for medical school and plenty of people matriculate without them (I will be one next year).

 

[GLaDOS]

So, yeah. I know none of those courses are prerequisites, but they'd still count towards my sGPA, which could use a little bit of repair.

I think I am just going to go with psych. I was just having a moment of panic. This really helped solidify my decision for me, so thanks a lot, everyone!

 

[QofQuimica]

Assuming you can afford the extra time and money to do the postbac, it sounds like psych is the clear winner for you.

 

[Quik]

With the biology degree plan, it's all biology, chemistry, physics & math & the only electives I could take would be 300-level biology or anthropology courses & apparently, taking a foreign language is not an option, but I could potentially petition to do so. Minors are also strongly discouraged.

Does that help clarify my situation? If it helps, I also have a boat-load of GPA repair to do, so taking more credits isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Another subtle strategy that I didn't see mentioned was, wait to graduate until your pre-reqs are all fulfilled and your GPA is competitive. Unless your university explicitly tells you differently, you don't graduate until YOU DECIDE to. What this means is, that you don't have to do a post-bacc unless you choose to apply for graduation before your pre-reqs are complete. If you're sure you want to become a physician, us this to your advantage. Complete all of your pre-reqs, ensure you've done enough grade repair as an undergrad, take advantage of all the financial aid benefits as a degree seeking candidate. Undergrads have enormous financial advantages over those doing a post-bacc or SMP, and it's much cheaper than an SMP.

 

[AkGrown84]

OR....you just do an informal post-bac to fulfill your med school prereqs. If you are not able to fit it into electives of your major, then graduate, and take the specific classes you need afterward. I graduated with a degree in History and then went back for ALL my science prereqs. Worked out fabulously, as I've had 4 interviews already, and one scheduled for February. I'd highly encourage a major in something other than Bio/Chem. I believe it's been an added bonus to my applications, and something that my interviewers seemed intrigued about.

 

[Gauss44]

I'm going back to finish an undergrad degree at Northwestern's "night school" & am flip-flopping between declaring either human biology or psychology as my major.

Obviously if I do bio, most of the pre-reqs out of the way. With psych though, I feel a bit safer with a degree that I could potentially use to work in the social services field if med school doesn't work out for whatever reason.

With the psych degree, I'll have to do some sort of post-bacc to gather all the pre-reqs, which will cost more money & time I also worry that I may have to do an SMP, which is even more money & time.

Should I just get over myself & go for the bio degree or is having the psych safety net worth it?

1. Undergrad is often the best chance (or ONLY chance) in one's lifetime to study something you love in depth. No major precludes you from getting into medical school as long as you complete the medical school prerequisites (which I took as electives).

2. A biology degree will qualify you to apply for research positions that are closed to all other majors. Sure there are research positions available to people from any major; there are also research positions that specifically require applicants to have a BS in "a field related to medicine;" and guess what, there are also some research positions that only consider candidates with a BS in Biology. A biology major might give you an edge in medical school as well - since the required classes might overlap. That's also true of psychology, but to much less of an extent.

3. I don't know anything about psychology degrees except that many people with them get into medical school.