Post-Bacc vs. Double Major

[dmission]

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So, I'm an engineering major and I've decided I probably need to do a post-bacc to increase my bcpm GPA.

Since I've already taken organic chemistry and the other basic science classes, I'd just need to spend a year taking upper division bio classes, right?

If this is the case, would it be advisable to declare a second major in biology, and then I'd have a "postbacc" that results in me getting a second degree?

Thanks for any input!

 

[generator]

I guess it depends... I'm sure others on here will have better input, but here's my take:

How much more do you need to bring up your gpa/sgpa? If its a big leap, then I'd go ahead and get the second major, take my time and ace everything. Get a gpa calculator and do the math on it - figure out how many credits of A you need. I don't think a second degree in bio could possibly hurt you, although it may take time if anything. However if you only need to improve it a little, I would only take the science classes that interest me.

good luck 🙂

 

[alexrgross]

Doing a bio major means completing the pre-reqs for the major. I don't know what your interests are, but engineering is already a science degree, for medical schools.If you are interested in subjects other than bio, like chemistry or other science classes, going for no degree is best. Like my school had a good human physiology programs and I took a lot of classes from there. Look into the school catalog, plan out your bio pre-reqs, and see if that fits with the upper divs and other courses that interest you. Okay?

 

[dmission]

I guess it depends... I'm sure others on here will have better input, but here's my take:

How much more do you need to bring up your gpa/sgpa? If its a big leap, then I'd go ahead and get the second major, take my time and ace everything. Get a gpa calculator and do the math on it - figure out how many credits of A you need. I don't think a second degree in bio could possibly hurt you, although it may take time if anything. However if you only need to improve it a little, I would only take the science classes that interest me.

good luck

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I need to bring it up quite a bit, and lately I've actually gotten pretty interested in biology, so I was thinking about just doing the post-bacc in the from of 1 more year of bio classes to get the double major. Does that sound like it'd work?

Doing a bio major means completing the pre-reqs for the major. I don't know what your interests are, but engineering is already a science degree, for medical schools.If you are interested in subjects other than bio, like chemistry or other science classes, going for no degree is best. Like my school had a good human physiology programs and I took a lot of classes from there. Look into the school catalog, plan out your bio pre-reqs, and see if that fits with the upper divs and other courses that interest you. Okay?

Thanks for the reply. Well, I don't think any of my engineering classes count in my BCPM GPA. My thought was though, since I've already completed the basic science classes, I could take a whole year and do upper division bio/biochem courses and get a 2nd major at the same time. Is that feasible?

 

[generator]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I need to bring it up quite a bit, and lately I've actually gotten pretty interested in biology, so I was thinking about just doing the post-bacc in the from of 1 more year of bio classes to get the double major. Does that sound like it'd work?

I think this is a great plan 🙂 Don't overload on the upper level bio courses, remember you want A's. If you need to take a second year, its ok. Don't kill yourself trying to finish in 1 year although I think 1 year may be manageable depending on if your working or what your extracurriculars are. Look into some easy classes too. Take your time, get A's, rock the MCAT, get into med school!

 

[alexrgross]

Thanks for the reply. Well, I don't think any of my engineering classes count in my BCPM GPA. My thought was though, since I've already completed the basic science classes, I could take a whole year and do upper division bio/biochem courses and get a 2nd major at the same time. Is that feasible?

If you have the whole basic bio sequence finished you could do this easily, for sure. Like generator said, make getting A's your number one priority - that is more important than getting a second degree. If you want to do that in a year, take one class each summer session, too....sure you didnt take any math that might be included in your BCPM, and no physics? What kind of engineering?

 

[dmission]

Thanks for both of the replies. Does 3 or maybe 4 bio classes per semester sound manageable, or would that be too much? That would be the path that leads to a second degree.

And year, as far as I know I've factored all the math and physics into the GPA. It's unfortunately the Chemistry classes that killed me. I'm a computer engineering major currently.

Thanks again!

 

[kpcrew]

3 or 4 bio
Is that with other classes or labs? If not, that sounds very manageable.

 

[dmission]

It would be three or four bio classes, labs included. For example 3 lectures and 1 lab class.

 

[plumhill]

I'd say its worth a shot, but if you have to pull up your GPA a lot, then you'll most likely need more than one year to do so, especially for your sGPA (considering you're an engineering major, I'm guessing that you took a couple of hits in your engineering classes, which would have hurt your sGPA?) That being said, and upward trend would be good, but don't think that bio classes are easier than what you have taken as an engineering major. Some of the upper-level bio classes can be very tricky without much of a curve,

 

[dmission]

Thanks for the reply. Well, my GPA will be about 3.3 by the end of this year. Would 1 year of doing well in upper-division bio classes still not be enough?

 

[CaribbeanBlue]

If a 3.3 is your overall, straight A's would only pull it up for a 3.45 or a 3.5 IF you got straight A's, wouldn't it?

 

[plumhill]

It depends on how many credits you take, as well as how many credits you have, in addition to how your school grades. Since you've probably accumulated so many credits by now, you'll have to take a larger number of credit hours in order to pull up your GPA. IF you can get straight A's (and we all know that's extremely difficult to do) then your GPA probably won't go above a 3.45...and that's straight A's, not even A-'s. If you can get in another two years with at or near straight A's, you might be able to break the 3.5 mark, which will put you in a much safer position when you apply. Plus, if you take two years you might be able to spread out your bio courses more evenly, allowing you to perform better. In addition, you can take on other projects during your extra year, such as a thesis, or a more substantial volunteering/research role.

 

[dmission]

Would a good plan be to definitely take another year of bio (at least), and then if needed do more post-bacc?

 

[dmission]

Bumping thread

 

[dmission]

One last bump attempt!