Starting at UCLA (3rd year)

[gibson777]

Hey everyone,

I haven't posted on here in ages, but I figured it was the right time to. I will be entering as a junior at UCLA as a transfer as a Business Economics major (things might change a little bit). I held off taking any of the required classes for med school at CC, I took the full Calc series and Diff EQ/Linear Algebra instead. I took chem but it doesn't articulate.

So essentially, I'll have to finish off my Business degree (it is my "backup" if things don't work out) and then top on the pre med requirements. What is the best way to approach this? I have considered either taking the classes at CC after I graduate (I heard this is looked down upon), maybe doing a post bacc program, or just take them at UCLA and spend a little extra time there.

Any advice or general UCLA info I should consider?

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[mysdnhandle]

Football will be doing well this year. Go to the games.

 

[TheBossDoctor]

Football will be doing well this year. Go to the games.

Go to the basketball games too!

 

[neekzg]

The Biz/Econ major route really isn't too stressful so taking some pre-med classes on top of it shouldn't be hard. Are you going to be looking into business internships or pre-med activities during your time at UCLA? I honestly don't know that you'll be able to finish all of your pre-med reqs in the time you have unless you plan on taking like 5-6 classes a quarter. You could possibly finish them if you took an extra year though.

 

[gibson777]

Yeah I'll definitely be going to games!

The Biz/Econ major route really isn't too stressful so taking some pre-med classes on top of it shouldn't be hard. Are you going to be looking into business internships or pre-med activities during your time at UCLA? I honestly don't know that you'll be able to finish all of your pre-med reqs in the time you have unless you plan on taking like 5-6 classes a quarter. You could possibly finish them if you took an extra year though.

Getting the business experience won't be too hard honestly, so I can either focus on that during the summer or during the school year.

I know there is probably no way I can get it done in two years, but I wouldn't mind staying 3. I would rather just take them at my CC after but like I said I don't think that looks the best and would get me a bit off track. On the upside, the Chem series is condensed at UCLA.

I might get a work study job working at the hospital so that might help out. At this point I think I might need to strengthen my application.

 

[Gabreezy]

I think you're in a little over your head. Biz-Econ at UCLA is actually pretty tough, there are some extremely competitive weeder classes that you're going to have to take.

Since you haven't taken any pre-reqs yet, you're hands are tied. You can't transfer into a science major such as phy sci, neurosci, or MCDB. It doesn't really sound like you've put much thought, or committed to a pre-med track.

My recommendation: Change your major to something easy (i.e. sociology), come out of UCLA with a 4.0 GPA and graduate summa cum laude. In the meantime, take the required pre-requisite classes for med school at a local CC. Since they aren't required for your major you can take them concurrently. Take LS3 and LS4 at UCLA, take inorganic, and physics series at a CC. Spend the extra time you have beefing up those ECs and getting a great MCAT score. There are some bomb programs you can take advantage of at UCLA (Stroke Team/Stroke Force are two that come to mind. UCLA Care Extenders is a good place to get some clinical experience). Start emailing professors for research in an area that interests you. Make sure you don't wait until your 4th year to start research, a lot of PIs aren't going to want to waste a year training someone who is going to bounce right after.

GL

 

[gibson777]

Thanks for your insight!

I will admit I have been all over the place and haven't committed to anything, but when I was at community college, I hastily picked my major and then put this stuff on the back burner. I know the accounting classes are weeder city, but luckily I have the worst ones behind me (Management 1A/1B). I tried taking Gen Chem 1/2 but my school had a weird policy and I ran out of time. I could always go back though after I graduate.

For Biz Econ, I have the prereqs done, but I need to declare with the final two classes. I might just switch to straight up Econ because it is more flexible. I will take your advice though and try to construct a plan of action.

EDIT: I was considering maybe picking up a BioChem major or BioPhysics.

 

[neekzg]

Hopefully you're not going to try to balance a serious business internship along with pre-med related ECs. It would be fine to stay as a Biz-Econ major if you have those weeder classes out of the way (I know Mgmt 1A/1B are bad but idk if there's any others) but if you really want to go into medicine you should be doing more to show that you're interested in helping other people and have an interest in medicine. As Gabreezy mentioned, one of the great things about UCLA is that there are SO many opportunities to get involved with to give you great insight into medicine and make you a better applicant. (Just know that all these student groups require applications/interviews, some more intense than others)

Unless you're doing it purely out of intense interest for Biochem/Biophysics, a double major is not worth it. You're going to have a hard enough time getting a handful of the pre-reqs done at UCLA on top of your BizEcon classes and I don't see any benefits to stressing yourself out with those intense majors. Keep your coursework as easy as you can (balancing BizEcon+pre reqs would involve taking at least 4 classes a quarter--which is a tough feat if you aren't used to the rigor of UCLA classes) and devote more time to enriching ECs and enjoying your years at UCLA.

 

[mysdnhandle]

Hopefully you're not going to try to balance a serious business internship along with pre-med related ECs. It would be fine to stay as a Biz-Econ major if you have those weeder classes out of the way (I know Mgmt 1A/1B are bad but idk if there's any others) but if you really want to go into medicine you should be doing more to show that you're interested in helping other people and have an interest in medicine. As Gabreezy mentioned, one of the great things about UCLA is that there are SO many opportunities to get involved with to give you great insight into medicine and make you a better applicant. (Just know that all these student groups require applications/interviews, some more intense than others)

Unless you're doing it purely out of intense interest for Biochem/Biophysics, a double major is not worth it. You're going to have a hard enough time getting a handful of the pre-reqs done at UCLA on top of your BizEcon classes and I don't see any benefits to stressing yourself out with those intense majors. Keep your coursework as easy as you can (balancing BizEcon+pre reqs would involve taking at least 4 classes a quarter--which is a tough feat if you aren't used to the rigor of UCLA classes) and devote more time to enriching ECs and enjoying your years at UCLA.

Yeah...I would pick one major and stick to it. I wouldnt do biz econ because there are majors like phy sci or biochem or even psychobio whose pre reqs are premed requirements. If youre really passionate about a north campus major then do it but by all means plan it out and make sure its do-able. The nice thing about south campus bio majors is that they are what you will be doing in medical school so you'll get good prep. If you are premed I highly recommend you do not do unnecessary WORK. Because, you are only an undergrad once and there are so many things you can only do as an undergrad. No need to take extra courses. Take a normal course load and destroy your classes. Also would highly recommend picking up a club sport or if its your thing the greek system as an EC and joining a research lab early in what interests you. Besides that, enjoy your time at UCLA.

 

[gibson777]

Thanks everyone for the tips.

I think my only disadvantage is that I'm going into year 3, not starting as a freshman, so I think time is my biggest constraint, not so much difficulty. The upper division Biz Econ classes are not too bad. I actually intended on being a math major originally, so I am not really worried about rigor (I've taken a lot of math so far and I took Real Analysis, which is sometimes considered the hardest undergraduate class at UCLA, last summer). But I burned out.

I guess I'll try and plan things out better at orientation. I already have business experience so I'll probably focus my time on my pre med stuff during the school to strengthen my app, and then when summer comes around, I can better assess where I am at. I wish I would've planned this out earlier but it is too late now. Keep moving forward I guess

 

[mysdnhandle]

Thanks everyone for the tips.

I think my only disadvantage is that I'm going into year 3, not starting as a freshman, so I think time is my biggest constraint, not so much difficulty. The upper division Biz Econ classes are not too bad. I actually intended on being a math major originally, so I am not really worried about rigor (I've taken a lot of math so far and I took Real Analysis, which is sometimes considered the hardest undergraduate class at UCLA, last summer). But I burned out.

I guess I'll try and plan things out better at orientation. I already have business experience so I'll probably focus my time on my pre med stuff during the school to strengthen my app, and then when summer comes around, I can better assess where I am at. I wish I would've planned this out earlier but it is too late now. Keep moving forward I guess

Sounds like a plan brudda