Not fair to Bio Majors?

[jayjayjayz]

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I'm hearing alot from classmates that are in the Bio major about it's unfairness vs. other majors like finance/business. It's easier to get As for finance/business/others than it is for Biology mainly because biology majors gotta do 5x more work.

Now with this in mind, I'm thinking of majoring in Health Policy & Management then apply to med school rather than Biology because I would have a higher GPA. GOod idea?

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm hearing alot from classmates that are in the Bio major about it's unfairness vs. other majors like finance/business. It's easier to get As for finance/business/others than it is for Biology mainly because biology majors gotta do 5x more work.

Now with this in mind, I'm thinking of majoring in Health Policy & Management then apply to med school rather than Biology because I would have a higher GPA. GOod idea?

Major in whatever you want. Med schools certainly won't care if you are a bio major or not. So if you do it, you are doing it for you. So it's not an issue of fairness, you can major in anything.

 

[MassTransport]

You know, it's always greener on the other side of the fence. I'm an engineering major, and I used to feel the same way about bio majors that your classmates feel about finance and business majors.

In the end, your major matters not. If you're interested in health policy, then major in that. But it seems to me that you're only trying to get a higher GPA, which is poor show. It's your choice, but be forewarned that what you feel is "easy" might not be.

 

[deuce924]

Major in what you are interested in, not what you think you can get the better grades in. It will probably pay off in the long run.

 

[Daydreamer2008]

When I was in grad school, I knew someone who was in the Epidemiology program with me but switched to community health sciences because he wanted "A's" so he could apply to med school. I think that is a TOTAL cop out and it shows a lot about your character. What matters most is that you do whatever you love and are passionate about. 😉 Med schools will see this.

 

[JohnnyQ]

I personally don't find business classes any easier than bio/chem/physics classes. I personally am not a huge fan of writing essays in business classes. Understanding science concepts in bio or chem seems easier for me than business/finance principles.

That's just my opinion. You may be better at business/finance. Certain people are good in some subjects. Business and finance isn't for me.

Good Luck!

 

[Law2Doc]

Med schools will see this.

Probably not. But I agree with you anyway.

 

[burningsky]

I'm hearing alot from classmates that are in the Bio major about it's unfairness vs. other majors like finance/business. It's easier to get As for finance/business/others than it is for Biology mainly because biology majors gotta do 5x more work.

Now with this in mind, I'm thinking of majoring in Health Policy & Management then apply to med school rather than Biology because I would have a higher GPA. GOod idea?

That's why there is a BCPM GPA. Also, non-science majors will probably not have as many advanced science classes, which are usually a plus. In fact, I think Biochem. and Genetics are starting to become requirements at more and more medical schools.

 

[digitlnoize]

This is similar to what I was discussing in my Grade Inflation thread. I agree that some major do seem easier than others. That being said, I also think that everyone is different here. I know alot of people who are pre-med, pre-pharm, etc, but are Psych majors because they think its easier than Bio. I've taken 2 Psych classes in my life and got B's in both, so I obviously don't agree...

But yes, how hard is it to major in say...music? As someone with a strong musical background, I could have aced those classes in my sleep. But, I took the harder road (for me) of biology because I thought it would better prepare me, and I enjoy learning it. I've already learned the music stuff...no need to again!

 

[docbens]

It is not fair to the non science majors in medical school. When you have had anatomy and the guy who studied accounting wants to kill himself. His 3.98 and your 3.85 wont matter at all. If I could do it over again, I would take more science classes such as histo and what not. It sticks better when it is the second time around.

 

[Law2Doc]

It is not fair to the non science majors in medical school. When you have had anatomy and the guy who studied accounting wants to kill himself. His 3.98 and your 3.85 wont matter at all. If I could do it over again, I would take more science classes such as histo and what not. It sticks better when it is the second time around.

Perhaps. But the bottom of med school classes have plenty of science majors too. The value of undergrad sciences in med school is very person dependant and quite often overinflated.

 

[TimeResonance]

It is not fair to the non science majors in medical school. When you have had anatomy and the guy who studied accounting wants to kill himself. His 3.98 and your 3.85 wont matter at all. If I could do it over again, I would take more science classes such as histo and what not. It sticks better when it is the second time around.

Ironically, If he wanted to kill himself he would have to have some anatomy knowledge. Classic catch-22 here.

 

[homelesssimpson]

I'm hearing alot from classmates that are in the Bio major about it's unfairness vs. other majors like finance/business. It's easier to get As for finance/business/others than it is for Biology mainly because biology majors gotta do 5x more work.

Now with this in mind, I'm thinking of majoring in Health Policy & Management then apply to med school rather than Biology because I would have a higher GPA. GOod idea?

Sounds like you're hearing from the pre-meds having difficulting maintaining a matriculant GPA. "But my major is so hard omgz". I used to think my school was the hardest, I took the hardest classes, had the hardest tests. You get the idea.

 

[TheRealMD]

*sigh*

The MCAT exists for a reason. If you really were retaining the stuff you learned in your pre-reqs, studying for the MCAT should be easier compared to the person who took the "easy" major and did just the pre-reqs.

Quit whining. Sooner or later your work ethic catches up with you in med school.

 

[ScienceJunkie]

your major doesn't matter...N-O-B-O-D-Y C-A-R-E-S what you majored it. being a bio major doesn't automatically qualify you for a job, nor does it mean that you know biology "better" than a non-bio major (who may understand biology better than biology majors, if he or she is pre-med)

 

[ElisaBailey]

alongside what everyone has said, it's also important to consider what you want as your backup career. i chose biomedical engineering instead of biology because if i don't get into med school, i would enjoy a biomed engineering career (and not a biologist career, no offense to anyone who would love that).

and i love engineering 😳

 

[etf]

the ONLY thing that matters is gpa. i repeat, GPA IS EVERYTHING.

 

[MossPoh]

I hear this whole thing one major is easier than the other all the time. I think it is a pretty blind/ignorant assumption to make. People do well what they are interested in, and some business courses ARE actually tough. I think business majors tend to be a different type of personality which doesn't help, but I have to say as far as difficulty, my non-science courses were much harder and involved a wider variety of work. Science courses are rarely based on group members and teamwork, it is pretty much you and yourself. Yea, it takes a lot of studying, but there is nothing quite like preparing a presentation for a semester long project and getting SLAMMED because your ideas weren't what they anticipated. I've had entire grades based off of group projects, where I was placed in a group of idiots....doesn't seem like a big deal until it happens. I've known engineers to fail liberal arts classes, and I've known english majors to ace biochem and organic. My roommate had a B+ major average in nuclear engineering, but a C- average in his gen eds.... It all depends on the person. Choose what you like and will be motivated by. Science/Engineering majors tend to think very highly of their classes, but I guarentee if they took some of my classes (Turkish German Literature, Literature Science (in German)) they'd get their aholes ripped.

 

[AlexMorph]

While I whole-heartedly agree that in the end, it doesn't matter to med schools what you choose to major in, but multiple red flags are set off in my head when I consistently see people at my university switch out of molecular biology and chemistry and go into community health and psychology. These people admit that they did it solely to give their GPA a boost. So, I can understand where the OP is coming from when someone with a sociology major comes in with a 4.0 and tries to assert that he/she is more studious than the 3.7 electrical engineer.

I, frankly, am sick of their GPA-motivated cop-outs, but I could care less what they do with their lives and the same should be true of everyone else. Why bother ourselves with people like that?

Unless of course, as etf mentioned, their higher GPA beats you out for a medical school seat given that all your ECs are pretty much on the same level.

Sorry about rant. My head is spinning right now at the amount of money I have dished out on secondaries. 😡

 

[AlexMorph]

I hear this whole thing one major is easier than the other all the time. I think it is a pretty blind/ignorant assumption to make. People do well what they are interested in, and some business courses ARE actually tough. I think business majors tend to be a different type of personality which doesn't help, but I have to say as far as difficulty, my non-science courses were much harder and involved a wider variety of work. Science courses are rarely based on group members and teamwork, it is pretty much you and yourself. Yea, it takes a lot of studying, but there is nothing quite like preparing a presentation for a semester long project and getting SLAMMED because your ideas weren't what they anticipated. I've had entire grades based off of group projects, where I was placed in a group of idiots....doesn't seem like a big deal until it happens. I've known engineers to fail liberal arts classes, and I've known english majors to ace biochem and organic. My roommate had a B+ major average in nuclear engineering, but a C- average in his gen eds.... It all depends on the person. Choose what you like and will be motivated by. Science/Engineering majors tend to think very highly of their classes, but I guarentee if they took some of my classes (Turkish German Literature, Literature Science (in German)) they'd get their aholes ripped.

While I agree that some people are better suited for business as opposed to engineering or whatever, but maybe the OP was trying to get at the fact that people switch majors or decide majors solely to get a higher GPA and gain that edge on others.

 

[Law2Doc]

While I agree that some people are better suited for business as opposed to engineering or whatever, but maybe the OP was trying to get at the fact that people switch majors or decide majors solely to get a higher GPA and gain that edge on others.

If you have no real interest in any subject more than any other, then I suppose it makes sense to take whatever you will do best in, because it will help your med school efforts. If you do have an interest in something, however, by all means you should take it, because you often won't get another chance, and if you like it you can usually still do well enough to get into med school.

But certainly don't worry about what is fair/unfair. The choice is totally yours -- it never gets any more fair than that.

 

[Chuckwalla]

I think bio majors should be given preference actually. Majoring in biology shows that you are willing to go all the way to become a doctor because your major isn't that useful otherwise. Other majors show that being a doctor would be cool but you don't mind doing something else. Seems like a level of commitment.

But that is not the way it is. A finance major who will have a pretty nice job if they don't get in has the same chance as a biology major who is SOL otherwise.

Some majors are harder than others. Things like engineering, chemistry, and physics seem to be harder than biology. But biology is not an easy major and many people drop out of it due to difficulty. I can assure you that the people at the business school couldn't party like they did if they had a difficult major.

 

[Surferboy]

I'm choosing a Classics major instead of Biochem because I think it will make me a better doctor and more interesting person. Don't just believe that people who choose non-science majors are doing it to raise their GPA. I think my GPA would actually be higher if I did science because it requires less work. If you understand the concepts and have good memorization skills, then science majors will always be easier than a hard non-science class that requires deep abstract thought in papers and exams.

Just don't whine. Do what you want. Life is more than a stupid GPA.

 

[Quix]

I think bio majors should be given preference actually. Majoring in biology shows that you are willing to go all the way to become a doctor because your major isn't that useful otherwise.

By this logic, every doctor should have a degree in philosophy.

 

[cofcemt]

the ONLY thing that matters is gpa. i repeat, GPA IS EVERYTHING.

This is so true. Too bad the AMCAS does not consider advanced sports med classes as science classes. A&P were considered, but exercise physiology, kinesiology, biomechanics, are all not considered science classes...

Oh well, at least I love my major...even though I'm a slave to the athletics department.

 

[ChiDoc27]

All these threads on "its not fair that I'm a bio major, that I've saved the world, that I've walked on Pluto, that I mapped the location to Atlantis, etc etc, so I should get into med school before someone else!" are ridiculous. Guys, life isn't fair. Suck it up, do well in your classes no matter what they are. 🙂

 

[Bacchus]

Can I scoff at the bio-majors then since I am bio-chem and have to take upper divs of both?

 

[Chuckwalla]

I think bio majors should be given preference actually. Majoring in biology shows that you are willing to go all the way to become a doctor because your major isn't that useful otherwise.

By this logic, every doctor should have a degree in philosophy.

Not like being a bio major prepares you for med school or anything.

 

[mvenus929]

I would personally die if I was a comm major. Public speaking is definitely NOT my forte (though I did make it through a 2 1/2 minute speech without almost passing out, as I had with my two previous speeches, making me wonder WHY I took 2 classes that required oral presentations this semester).

Can I scoff at the bio-majors then since I am bio-chem and have to take upper divs of both?

One of my best friends is a chem major, and she gives me grief ALL the time for not doing the double major, and just going with bio instead. Which makes it interesting, because I'm in the Chemistry club, instead of the biology club (since I started as a chem major, then wanted to double major, then decided I'd just stick with bio).

 

[mave]

Not like being a bio major prepares you for med school or anything.

I was a biochemistry major in undergrad, which, at my university was arguably much harder than the biology major. The only advantage that majoring in science gives you (and this doesn't apply across the board) is that you're used to getting slammed with nothing but science classes for several hours a day. You might have some exposure to some of the material, but nothing you did in UG is going to go into nearly the depth that you'll cover in any given topic in med school.

 

[Chuckwalla]

I was a biochemistry major in undergrad, which, at my university was arguably much harder than the biology major. The only advantage that majoring in science gives you (and this doesn't apply across the board) is that you're used to getting slammed with nothing but science classes for several hours a day. You might have some exposure to some of the material, but nothing you did in UG is going to go into nearly the depth that you'll cover in any given topic in med school.

I have a hard time believing a finance major can catch up to the knowledge of biology a bio major has in a matter of weeks in med school. You don't see engineering graduate programs accepting non-engineering majors. Same goes with most science graduate programs.

 

[mave]

I have a hard time believing a finance major can catch up to the knowledge of biology a bio major has in a matter of weeks in med school. You don't see engineering graduate programs accepting non-engineering majors. Same goes with most science graduate programs.

It doesn't matter whether total knowledge is matched, though - what matters is your ability to absorb the information being taught in your medical school classes. Everybody receives the same lecture material, chooses whether or not to buy the textbooks, and goes to the same lab. The only difference between biology and finance major is that you might have seen a pretty peripheral view of some of the material. My classmates who didn't major in biology or biochem are studying just as hard as I am, and understanding the concepts just as well.

Plus, a lot of what's tough about medical education is the sheer volume of it, which is something that English majors might be good at, since they read massive novels in the space of a week and then have to retain enough to write a decent paper.

 

[novawildcat]

you know what they say about bio majors..................they are just the ones who failed chemistry 😀










wwwwwhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa "but bio is so hard"



take some pchem or some upper level inorganic chemistry and then get back to me



everyone knows that med schools don't care about major, just GPA. this is common knowledge. nothing is stopping you from choosing an easier major. you will regret later on in life though pissing away your undergrad years studying something you hate just to impress adcoms.

(btw economics easily owns bio in difficulty)

 

[Law2Doc]

I think bio majors should be given preference actually. Majoring in biology shows that you are willing to go all the way to become a doctor because your major isn't that useful otherwise. Other majors show that being a doctor would be cool but you don't mind doing something else. Seems like a level of commitment.

Actually what it could show is you are stuck in the 80s. Back then everyone who went to med school was a bio major. Time to put away those Billy Idol studs or Madonna bling. Medicine is changing, and the new mantra is "well roundedness". That a bio major wasn't aware of this trend might actually suggest a lack of commitment to medicine-- s/he perhaps didn't bother to research the current trends.

I would suggest that if you are really committed to medicine, you would major in Spanish or business management or accounting or something else potentially useful to a future medical practice that they aren't going to just teach you in med school anyway. There is nothing you will cover in bio/biochem that schools will want you to know that they aren't going to teach you from scratch, and then some.

 

[digitlnoize]

Medicine is changing, and the new mantra is "well roundedness"..

I just wanted to point out that being a bio major does not mean that you aren't well rounded. I am a bio major because I switched careers and needed the background, as well as being the fastest way to a B.S., while completing my pre-reqs. But, I am a very accomplished musician who could have completed a music degree, had I desired to...I am also a husband and father.

I have many other interests besides medicine...medicine just trumps them all.

 

[Law2Doc]

I just wanted to point out that being a bio major does not mean that you aren't well rounded.

Of course it doesn't. There are many ways to become well rounded. But the prior poster was actually suggesting that making yourself not well rounded should be seen as a 'committment to medicine and only medicine', because you weren't doing a major that was useful for anything else. I was disputing this. Didn't mean to bash the extra-curricularly well rounded crowd.

 

[pakbabydoll]

you can major in what ever you like. The only advantage of being a biology major is that you would be used to sitting in science class for hours at a time. Also it might help you in MCAT ( as in you would not have to study as hard as some other non- science majors )

There are a lot of biology majors. I think that now a days it is better for people to NOT major in biology and if you do then have a little something extra like a minor in Chemistry or something because there are a lot of UG students coming out with biology degrees with as high GPA's then every one else.
So do what you like, then your GPA would automatically be good.
For Example ME: I hated science classes in HS then I took them in college and I love them. I have 3 science classes this semester. Sure I have to study for them but I like enjoying that stuff more then I like spending one night a week in my composition class. However in HS I was a total English person. I was on the school newspaper, magazine and everything. I was in AP Language and AP Lit in my senior year. I had originally planned on majoring in History ( I still love history) but I changed it to Microbiology with a minor in Chem.

 

[BoilerWolverine]

It's easier to get As for finance/business/others than it is for Biology mainly because biology majors gotta do 5x more work.

Don't be so arrogant and presumptive. You say, "others" yet have no idea what you're talking about. All those engineers out there are sitting around thinking, "wow, those bio majors do SO much more work than we do!" Get a clue.

Find something you enjoy and do it, but don't think that everything else will be easy. English would have been hard for me because I would have HATED it.

 

[Law2Doc]

Also it might help you in MCAT ( as in you would not have to study as hard as some other non- science majors )

Actually, statistically bio majors as a group don't do as well on the MCAT. http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2006/mcatgpabymaj1.htm
The lower MCAT scores probably suggest that there is less self selection amongst bio majors than others who take the test, but certainly don't suggest they needn't study as hard.

 

[postbacker]

Actually what it could show is you are stuck in the 80s. Back then everyone who went to med school was a bio major. Time to put away those Billy Idol studs or Madonna bling. Medicine is changing, and the new mantra is "well roundedness". That a bio major wasn't aware of this trend might actually suggest a lack of commitment to medicine-- s/he perhaps didn't bother to research the current trends.

I would suggest that if you are really committed to medicine, you would major in Spanish or business management or accounting or something else potentially useful to a future medical practice that they aren't going to just teach you in med school anyway. There is nothing you will cover in bio/biochem that schools will want you to know that they aren't going to teach you from scratch, and then some.

This post nails it...

It is not as if a non science major skates into med school with inflated grades and no background in science - depending on your school, the pre-reqs are a minimum of a year's worth of credits (or at least 25 percent of the courses taken to earn a bachelors degree), and the MCAT is the equalizer...

Anybody who is just now "discovering" this "unfair trend" is a couple of decades behind the effort to expand admissions to med school to more well rounded folks from diverse educational and experiential backgrounds...even if as a liberal artist myself I wasn't trying to get into med school, I would support this trend as a very positive thing...

 

[Chuckwalla]

Actually what it could show is you are stuck in the 80s. Back then everyone who went to med school was a bio major. Time to put away those Billy Idol studs or Madonna bling. Medicine is changing, and the new mantra is "well roundedness". That a bio major wasn't aware of this trend might actually suggest a lack of commitment to medicine-- s/he perhaps didn't bother to research the current trends.

I would suggest that if you are really committed to medicine, you would major in Spanish or business management or accounting or something else potentially useful to a future medical practice that they aren't going to just teach you in med school anyway. There is nothing you will cover in bio/biochem that schools will want you to know that they aren't going to teach you from scratch, and then some.

You're doing a complete career 180 and you are telling me about researching things in advance?

 

[Polynikes]

I'm a public health major within the health science department.

In all of my bio classes, upper level and lower level, I've outscored 95% of my bio major classmates.

Also, public health policy and law is not easy. Trust me, those classes, and I've sat for a few, are not easy.

I would say that health policy and law is one of the hardest classes I've taken.

 

[Law2Doc]

You're doing a complete career 180 and you are telling me about researching things in advance?

Absolutely. In some ways there is no one better, because I've not only mulled other options, I've lived them. I don't consider my prior path a misstep (unlike a few of the folks on here who jumped right from law school to med school). I learned a ton, and am now a very different person than I was back when. I would have made a terrible med student at 21, so it's just as well I didn't really have that interest back then. But before I launched down this road I spent years researching it.
Additionally, unlike medicine, law is pretty easy to get disentangled from. You don't have to wait 3-7 years to start paying down your 4 years of debt. So it's a better first career because you still have the realistic option of starting a second.

Not sure how any of this relates to the thread you quoted though. I was just saying the current model of a physician is well rounded.

 

[kronickm]

Just enjoying the rediculousness of all these threads claiming that "Bio majors should have a monoply on med school admissions" "Letting in non-bio majors is ruining the medical career" "Bio is so much harder than anything else my 2.9 should be equal to a 3.7 in any other subject" and any other whiney crap. Blah, blah, blah, keep your arogance and ignorance to yourself.

 

[littlealex]

I'm hearing alot from classmates that are in the Bio major about it's unfairness vs. other majors like finance/business. It's easier to get As for finance/business/others than it is for Biology mainly because biology majors gotta do 5x more work.

Now with this in mind, I'm thinking of majoring in Health Policy & Management then apply to med school rather than Biology because I would have a higher GPA. GOod idea?

Did you SERIOUSLY just type that? Oh my god. Biology is the slacker major. Get that through your head. Biology is one of the very few majors in college where you are rewarded for studying and memorizing.

Want a difficult major? Try biomedical engineering, theoretical physics, chemistry, mathematics, biophysics, etc, etc.

It's just crazy that you think biology is hard because off the top of my head I can think of about 20 majors harder than biology and only about 3 that is easier.

 

[Blade28]

alongside what everyone has said, it's also important to consider what you want as your backup career. i chose biomedical engineering instead of biology because if i don't get into med school, i would enjoy a biomed engineering career (and not a biologist career, no offense to anyone who would love that).

and i love engineering 😳

👍 👍 Exactly why I chose bioengineering!

But damn, those were some hard classes. 🙁

 

[Blade28]

Actually, statistically bio majors as a group don't do as well on the MCAT. http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2006/mcatgpabymaj1.htm
The lower MCAT scores probably suggest that there is less self selection amongst bio majors than others who take the test, but certainly don't suggest they needn't study as hard.

Perhaps it's because virtually everyone who's a bio major wants to be pre-med, and so they ALL take the MCAT, regardless of actual aptitude...

Whereas those from other majors who take the MCAT (especially the non-biological-science majors) are pretty damn serious, having had to fulfill their major's requirements AND the pre-med reqs.

I mean, when you see Philosophy, or Econ, or History, or Math majors at med school interviews, you know they've got to be pretty damn impressive! 👍

 

[Law2Doc]

Perhaps it's because virtually everyone who's a bio major wants to be pre-med, and so they ALL take the MCAT, regardless of actual aptitude...

Whereas those from other majors who take the MCAT (especially the non-biological-science majors) are pretty damn serious, having had to fulfill their major's requirements AND the pre-med reqs.

I mean, when you see Philosophy, or Econ, or History, or Math majors at med school interviews, you know they've got to be pretty damn impressive! 👍

I think that's right, which is why I suggested above that there is an issue of self selection (or lack thereof) inherent in that stat. But it certainly questions the prior poster's suggestion that bio majors don't need to study as hard; folks in that major on average didn't crush that test.

 

[Quix]

Perhaps it's because virtually everyone who's a bio major wants to be pre-med, and so they ALL take the MCAT, regardless of actual aptitude...

Whereas those from other majors who take the MCAT (especially the non-biological-science majors) are pretty damn serious, having had to fulfill their major's requirements AND the pre-med reqs.

I mean, when you see Philosophy, or Econ, or History, or Math majors at med school interviews, you know they've got to be pretty damn impressive! 👍

😀

Athens represent!

 

[kronickm]

😀

Athens represent!

Second that.