UCLA undegrad bio rank in terms of difficulties.

[LaughingGas]

The title is self explanatory. I was curious what were the ranking of different bio majors at UCLA.

Thanks in advance.

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[MDforMee]

Life is pain. Choose the harder one. Just do it.


That is all.

 

[WillburCobb]

Life is pain. Choose the harder one. Just do it.


That is all.

Ignore this.

 

[MDforMee]

Ignore this.

Going to a good school isn't about picking an easy major to inflate your gpa.

This isn't fair to people that majored in difficult subjects when it comes to medical school admissions, and I'm tired of seeing people work the system.

 

[WillburCobb]

Going to a good school isn't about picking an easy major to inflate your gpa.

This isn't fair to people that majored in difficult subjects when it comes to medical school admissions, and I'm tired of seeing people work the system.

Its not working the system. Its about going somewhere you'll be happy, gain good experiences, do well, and studying what interests you.

 

[WillburCobb]

If an applicant covers the prereqs and does well enough in them to gain admission then who cares what their major was? I don't think thats working the system.

If you like the harder major then pick it, but don't go being a martyr afterwards.

MDforMee thinks the world owes him something because his GPA took somewhat of a bite being a biochem major at UCLA.

 

[stars42]

The title is self explanatory. I was curious what were the ranking of different bio majors at UCLA.

Thanks in advance.

The "easiest" major is the one you are most interested in and genuinely enjoy learning more about. If you pick a major that you don't find interesting but is supposedly "easier", you will probably have a harder time excelling because you do not enjoy the content. The "supposed difficulty rankings" that people generally refer to are:

Biochemistry>MIMG>Neuroscience>Phy Sci=MCDB>>>EEB (Biology)>>>>Psychobiology.

Again, these "rankings" are fluid and I highly advise you to take them with a large grain of salt. Don't major in Psychobio because it's supposedly "easy" if you are interested Biochemistry. I know many people who ended up with a 3.9+ in Biochem/MIMG/Neuro because they were genuinely interested in their major.

 

[13132]

The "easiest" major is the one you are most interested in and genuinely enjoy learning more about. If you pick a major that you don't find interesting but is supposedly "easier", you will probably have a harder time excelling because you do not enjoy the content. The "supposed difficulty rankings" that people generally refer to are:

Biochemistry>MIMG>Neuroscience>Phy Sci=MCDB>>>EEB (Biology)>>>>Pscyhobiology.

Again, these "rankings" are fluid and I highly advise you to take them with a large grain of salt. Don't major in Psychobio because it's supposedly "easy" if you are interested Biochemistry. I know many people who ended up with a 3.9+ in Biochem/MIMG/Neuro because they were genuinely interested in their major.

Acronym translation?

At my university I think the hardest majors would have been Math=physics>chemistry=biochemistry>neuroscience>biology=microbiology>human biology (glorified premed major)>psychology. Math and physics were probably harder intellectually but didn't involve as much time/work as chem and biochem so those pairs are pretty even.

 

[MDforMee]

MDforMee thinks the world owes him something because his GPA took somewhat of a bite being a biochem major at UCLA.

I actually did really well in the major courses. Nice try, though.

How about this... When you go to your med school interview, tell them to reject you in favor of someone with a higher gpa in an easier major. That's pretty much what you're doing by condoning this type of behavior from the op and people like him/her.

The op is trying to decide on a major based on difficulty, only... Not interest in the subject or any of the other things mentioned in this post.

 

[MDforMee]

G

Even though I don't think that picking an easier major is "cheating the system", I do think that adcoms realize that people with hard majors may take a few more lumps here and there. Its not going to excuse a significant difference in GPA, but if you get a B in physical chemistry I think they will understand.

I don't think people with easy majors are actively penalized (they shouldn't be), but I think people who took really challenging courses are the only ones who are going to be granted occasionally leniency. If not leniency then adcoms may value the qualities of intellectual curiosity and pursuing interests despite the risks. In summary, I don't think the process is as simple as your bolded statement suggests.

Go ahead and ask the op why he/she is asking this question.

 

[WillburCobb]

When you go to your med school interview, tell them to reject you in favor of someone with a higher gpa in an easier major.

Well, I got in with a sub 3.5 GPA as a music and psych major...so yeah. @OP you should be more concerned about doing something you're truly interested in rather than perceived difficulty. @msquaredb and @stars42 have hit the nail on the head with this.

 

[caffeinemia]

Sorry to channel the Goldman Sachs elevator guy here... but threads like this get me so high on schadenfreude. #NotAnIvyLeagueIssue #StateSchoolProblems #MehWheresMyBlazer #WhoDa****ares

I'm pretty sure Human Reproduction is gonna be a tough major for someone with that much angst.

 

[MDforMee]

Well, I got in with a sub 3.5 GPA as a music and psych major...so yeah. @OP you should be more concerned about doing something you're truly interested in rather than perceived difficulty. @msquaredb and @stars42 have hit the nail on the head with this.

 

[Reckoner]

View attachment 180644

Cool selfie bro

 

[487806]

Going to a good school isn't about picking an easy major to inflate your gpa.

This isn't fair to people that majored in difficult subjects when it comes to medical school admissions, and I'm tired of seeing people work the system.

Yes because you were forced to pursue a difficult major. Your decision. Your choice. You deal with it. End of story.

 

[Lucca]

View attachment 180644

Wait did you preemptively buy a diploma frame.

 

[WillburCobb]

Wait did you preemptively buy a diploma frame.

Nope they sent it to him accidentally. Remember the scathing diatribe he was going to send with it when he returned it?

 

[Lucca]

Nope they sent it to him accidentally. Remember the scathing diatribe he was going to send with it when he returned it?

Right that foaming pile of entitled horse ****.

 

[MDforMee]

Right that foaming pile of entitled horse ****.

 

[Lucca]

The only one that's mad here is you, I think your posting history agrees.

 

[neekzg]

Acronym translation?

At my university I think the hardest majors would have been Math=physics>chemistry=biochemistry>neuroscience>biology=microbiology>human biology (glorified premed major)>psychology. Math and physics were probably harder intellectually but didn't involve as much time/work as chem and biochem so those pairs are pretty even.

MIMG - microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics
MCDB - molecular and cellular developmental biology
EEB - ecological and evolutionary biology (I think.. lol)


Anyway, I would want to second the poster that said that you should really do whichever major you think you'll be most interested in. You would get a lot more out of your education, would enjoy your classes and probably get better grades as a result. There's certainly a loose hierarchy of how hard the majors are (particularly if you have to take the harder pre-req series) but in the end you'll do best in the classes you find most interesting.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

The "easiest" major is the one you are most interested in and genuinely enjoy learning more about. If you pick a major that you don't find interesting but is supposedly "easier", you will probably have a harder time excelling because you do not enjoy the content. The "supposed difficulty rankings" that people generally refer to are:

Biochemistry>MIMG>Neuroscience>Phy Sci=MCDB>>>EEB (Biology)>>>>Pscyhobiology.

Again, these "rankings" are fluid and I highly advise you to take them with a large grain of salt. Don't major in Psychobio because it's supposedly "easy" if you are interested Biochemistry. I know many people who ended up with a 3.9+ in Biochem/MIMG/Neuro because they were genuinely interested in their major.

I took an accounting class and it was the most miserable academic experience of my life (and it wasn't very time consuming). But when I took organic, I happily spent the countless hours learning the material.

 

[13132]

I took an accounting class and it was the most miserable academic experience of my life (and it wasn't very time consuming). But when I took organic, I happily spent the countless hours learning the material.

Similar story here. I took business law and thought I was going to die.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[stars42]

Acronym translation?

At my university I think the hardest majors would have been Math=physics>chemistry=biochemistry>neuroscience>biology=microbiology>human biology (glorified premed major)>psychology. Math and physics were probably harder intellectually but didn't involve as much time/work as chem and biochem so those pairs are pretty even.

MIMG=Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
MCDB=Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
EEB=Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

I also agree that Math/Physics/Engineering are generally more difficult objectively, but individuals who have an interest in those subjects enjoy learning the material more and consequently do better than someone who does not enjoy the subject.

 

[487806]

Lol. Speak. For. Yourself.

 

[WillburCobb]

My Jimmies are rustled at the fact that you didn't even use a meme with the Gorilla Munchie gorilla. You fail at the internetz.

 

[shaybaybay91]

Bio is pretty easy at UCLA especially if you're taking the 14 series chem and 6 series physics. Also, using the test bank helps a lot and having a lot of athletes in the class does too. Upper division courses aren't too bad either.

 

[kevin2400]

The "easiest" major is the one you are most interested in and genuinely enjoy learning more about. If you pick a major that you don't find interesting but is supposedly "easier", you will probably have a harder time excelling because you do not enjoy the content. The "supposed difficulty rankings" that people generally refer to are:

Biochemistry>MIMG>Neuroscience>Phy Sci=MCDB>>>EEB (Biology)>>>>Psychobiology.

Again, these "rankings" are fluid and I highly advise you to take them with a large grain of salt. Don't major in Psychobio because it's supposedly "easy" if you are interested Biochemistry. I know many people who ended up with a 3.9+ in Biochem/MIMG/Neuro because they were genuinely interested in their major.

Psychobiology major here. Can confirm. The only reason why I switched to psychobio was because it was supposedly easy but damn, was it boring. I wish I did a different major in retrospect.

 

[MaybeDr]

I totally agree with m*mb. So far I've had a pretty decently rough road in my current major. I did probably understand a lot more things on my MCAT due to my major, words like glycosylation, VSV, etc.. That helped take down my fear factor on the BS section. I think it's most important to pick a major that you're comfortable with in terms of difficulty. I posted recently stating that one should pick the easiest major and open up your free time. Thinking about it if you look at MCAT statistics the biomedical engineering majors have a very high score average and their major is EXTREMELY hard. It depends on your goals. An easy major will allow you to be a more well-rounded applicant and live a less stressful life. Physicians don't avoid stress though.
Whatever you decide I think it's more important to be at the top of every single one of your classes. This will open a serious amount of doors for you. Being at the top of your classes networks for you, innately.