Should I major in bio?

[Premed90]

Hi I am a pre med student and I have finish all my pre-reqs for Med School except for a year physics. I am transfering to the UC's next year but I dunno what to study. I got accepted to UCI and UCSD as a biology major but am considering changing my major.
Is it best to major in bio? I can finish up the degree easily in the next 2 years and apply. Or is it more practical to major in something else like economics or communications? Which I can finish in 2 years too and learn something new besides biology. Or does studying the advanced biology help you prepare you better for med school and become a better doctor?

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[BlueElmo]

Major in what truly interests you.

 

[COMBAT MEDIC172]

Do you want to major in biology?

 

[Ashers]

If you like bio, it's a fun major. If you don't, it'll suck.

 

[MrAgreeable]

Hi I am a pre med student and I have finish all my pre-reqs for Med School except for a year physics. I am transfering to the UC's next year but I dunno what to study. I got accepted to UCI and UCSD as a biology major but am considering changing my major.
Is it best to major in bio? I can finish up the degree easily in the next 2 years and apply. Or is it more practical to major in something else like economics or communications? Which I can finish in 2 years too and learn something new besides biology. Or does studying the advanced biology help you prepare you better for med school and become a better doctor?

YES!!!!!!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Do not make the same mistake I did (even though it really didn't hurt me). You do not want to be a last semester senior studying for a pchem final when your bio major buddies are at the bar five nights a week with your econ friends.

 

[Appless]

Like others said major in w/e you want it doesnt matter. Having a bio major backround will help you in med school compared to those who only took the pre med reqs but in the end its not going to really matter. If you like bio major in it, if you dont then dont major in bio. I went to a CC then transferred to UCI like you and if you are worried bio might be too hard or something, trust me its not. At UCI the classes are not too hard and if you are interested in bio its pretty easy to do well and still have a life.

 

[seelee]

The standard answer is "do what interests you". I personally think that a Bio major is weak sauce. I prefer more of a challenge. However, if you only lack two years before you finish and you enjoy bio, then stick with it. The major downside to biology is that the job outlook when compared to Chem or Biochem is much worse. I always advise people to pick a major that will serve them well if they don't get into medical school.

 

[MrAgreeable]

Like others said major in w/e you want it doesnt matter. Having a bio major backround will help you in med school compared to those who only took the pre med reqs but in the end its not going to really matter. If you like bio major in it, if you dont then dont major in bio. I went to a CC then transferred to UCI like you and if you are worried bio might be too hard or something, trust me its not. At UCI the classes are not too hard and if you are interested in bio its pretty easy to do well and still have a life.

I agree with what most of what this poster said. Bio isn't a big monster and you should do what you enjoy (If I were you I would still make myself enjoy bio). Although, I have heard the contradictory to what this person said about med school curricula. From my experiences on tours and just asking aboot, college courses help very sparingly at the med school level. Also, depending on how flexible you wish to be in seeking to become a doctor (for me it was get in first time or become a teacher, this isn't the case for most), there are science majors that offer much better "fall-backs" than bio but some of the classes are a major pain in the arse because of excessive abstract math (pchem, quantum, upper-level math, et cetera).

Best idea here, ask a few med students.

 

[Ponger]

Go to UCSD, I hear they have underwater basket weaving classes.

 

[BlueElmo]

Go to UCSD, I hear they have underwater basket weaving classes.

I actually heard it's a tough course.

 

[Ashers]

I agree with what most of what this poster said. Bio isn't a big monster and you should do what you enjoy (If I were you I would still make myself enjoy bio). Although, I have heard the contradictory to what this person said about med school curricula. From my experiences on tours and just asking aboot, college courses help very sparingly at the med school level. Also, depending on how flexible you wish to be in seeking to become a doctor (for me it was get in first time or become a teacher, this isn't the case for most), there are science majors that offer much better "fall-backs" than bio but some of the classes are a major pain in the arse because of excessive abstract math (pchem, quantum, upper-level math, et cetera).

Best idea here, ask a few med students.

I'm a med student. I majored in bio because I intended on doing some sort of biological science PhD when I started. The intensity of the bio major will depend on which school and even the specific major. My roommate had a nearly identical major to mine, but hers was Ecology and Evolutionary Biology while mine was General Biology. Hers included statistics and omitted Ochem. I didn't have to take stats, and I had to take Ochem.

The 2 classes that helped in med school were a grad level immunology class I took for honors and endocrine physiology.

Take fun classes. I had 3 minors in stuff that mostly interested me (I did Spanish since I had 3 classes to get a minor, Chem because I 1 class, and German because I wanted to do it). I almost had minors in Religious Studies and Music. If I took less interesting classes like "Roman Lit, " "Greek Myth" and "Shakespeare" I could've done it. All in all, college was a good time where I learned a bunch of valuable information not for medical school, but to be well rounded and develop interests.

 

[Premed90]

I'm not scared to study any subject. Even p-chem sound interesting to me lol. I just want to know what will prepare me better as a doctor. If I major biology, will the stuff I learn go to a waste or will it actually be useful? If I majored in a foreign language or business wouldn't it be more useful for me career wise?