Should I major in Psychology or Biology?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Bianca422

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Hi guys I'm really confused on my major I love psychology it's something that really interest me but almost everyone I talk to tells me to major in biology because it "looks good on med school applications". I know if I major in some sort of science I'll get all of my prereqs done but I won't be happy because that's not what I want to do, now me and my counselor made a plan where if I do decide to pursue psychology I'll be able to take all my prereqs and my psychology classes but I'm wondering if I'm doing the wrong thing by not majoring in biology. I'm really confused on what to do if I do psychology I'll be doing something I love and get all of my med school prereqs done but if I do biology I'll..... 😕 I don't know.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Hi guys I'm really confused on my major I love psychology it's something that really interest me but almost everyone I talk to tells me to major in biology because it "looks good on med school applications". I know if I major in some sort of science I'll get all of my prereqs done but I won't be happy because that's not what I want to do, now me and my counselor made a plan where if I do decide to pursue psychology I'll be able to take all my prereqs and my psychology classes but I'm wondering if I'm doing the wrong thing by not majoring in biology. I'm really confused on what to do if I do psychology I'll be doing something I love and get all of my med school prereqs done but if I do biology I'll..... 😕 I don't know.

Undergrad major doesn't matter. Major in whatever you like as long as you are also fulfilling med school requirements (1 year bio, 1 year chem, etc.)
 
Whoever tells you that majoring in biology looks good in medical school admissions probably doesn't have much familiarity with the admissions process. So many pre-meds are biology majors that your major won't stand out at all. Major in what you're interested in, if it's psychology, pursue that. There are people who are really passionate about biology/microbio/biochem, and for those people, a bio major makes sense. But you shouldn't choose bio just because it's the typical pre-med major. People major in English, history, etc., still get all their pre-reqs done, and do perfectly well in applying to medical school.

tl;dr Pick psychology.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
If psych is what really interests you, then major in it. Psych is a fairly relevant major and a lot of psych-related research is very relevant in medical school (addiction studies, neuropharmacology research, etc).
 
I agree with everyone else on this thread. I actually started out as a Psych major and was in your same exact position. I ended up double-majoring and it turned out well because I really liked the upper level bio classes/electives I got to take!

One thing I might add is that I saw the B.S. in Bio as kind of an insurance policy... I don't think there's much you can do with a bachelor's degree in psyc as compared to a bachelor's degree in bio. So I figured in the event I had to find a job before going to med school or if for some reason I decided not to go to med school, a bio degree might come in handy.

I have no idea what your class load is like, however, so I would also warn against risking your GPA just for the extra degree!
 
As has been said on this forum 1000000292 times, undergrad major doesn't matter.


I'm a psych major because I took AP Psych in high school and loved it. I have no problem plugging in my prereqs with my psych requirements, it actually gives my schedule a little diversity.
 
Top