UCLA undergrads!

[drpibbplusme]

Hi, i'm going to be a 1st year undergrad at UCLA for the Fall 2006 quarter. My major is going to be biology, however, i decided that the Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (MIMG) major might be more interesting. Can I get some advice from current UCLA or experienced students? I know the difference in terms of requirements for the majors, but my main concern is the difficulty of Biology vs MIMG, because I definately don't want to make the wrong decision and end up getting my GPA mauled.

Here are the requirements for each of them.


Biology

Preparation
Required: Life Sciences 1, 2, 3, 4; Chemistry and Biochemistry 14A, 14B, 14BL, 14C, 14CL, and 14D, or 20A, 20B, 20L, 30A, 30AL, 30B, and 30BL; Mathematics 3A, 3B, and 3C, or 31A, 31B, and 32A; Physics 1A, 1B, 1C, 4AL, and 4BL, or 6A, 6B, and 6C; Statistics 13.


Major

Required: Two morphology and systematics/ecology, behavior, and evolution courses (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 103, 105, 110, 116, 120, 122, 126, 129, 130, C135, 136, Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics 101, 101L); two developmental and molecular biology/physiology courses (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 121, 128, 134A or 134B, 146, M158, 162, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology 138, C141, 144, 171, Physiological Science 166); two additional upper division courses in ecology and evolutionary biology (except Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 192A, 192B) or molecular, cell, and developmental biology (except Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology 192A, 192B); Chemistry and Biochemistry 153A, 153L; three additional upper division courses in atmospheric and oceanic sciences (one course from Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 101, 102, 104, or 130), chemistry, ecology and evolutionary biology (except Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 192A, 192B, 195), mathematics (except Mathematics 106), microbiology, molecular, cell, and developmental biology (except Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology 192A, 192B), physics, physiological science (except Physiological Science 192, 195), or from Biomathematics 110, Biostatistics 100B, Earth and Space Sciences 116, Geography 112, Psychology 115. Courses selected must include two laboratory courses (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 101, 103, 105, 110, 136, M158, 162, 181, Physiological Science 166).

A maximum of 8 units of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 198 series or 4 units of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 199 may be applied toward the major. Credit for 199 courses from other departments may not be applied.





Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics

Preparation
Life Sciences Core Curriculum

Required: Life Sciences 1, 2, 3, 4; Chemistry and Biochemistry 14A, 14B, 14BL, 14C, 14CL, and 14D, or 20A, 20B, 20L, 30A, 30AL, 30B, and 30BL; Mathematics 3A, 3B, and 3C, or 31A, 31B, and 32A; Physics 1A, 1B, 1C, 4AL, and 4BL, or 6A, 6B, and 6C.


Major

Required: Chemistry and Biochemistry 153A, Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics 101, 101L, 185A; two laboratory courses from Chemistry and Biochemistry 153L, Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics 102L, C120, 198C, 199B; one course from Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics 102, C106, C159; and at least six upper division elective courses (22 units minimum) selected from the departmental list (available in the Students Affairs Office and at http://www.mimg.ucla.edu). Sixteen of the 22 elective units must be departmental courses not already taken to fulfill a requirement.

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[Dr. Pepper]

Unfortunately, I cannot answer your question...however, the opportunity is too tempting: please check my avatar.

 

[cHocoBo 118]

I didnt even know such majors existed at UCLA. haha. I was a biochem major so if you have any questions on that, i'll do my best to answer.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Word of warning: MIMG is difficult. I've heard many times that it has the lowest GPA out of all of the majors at UCLA. If you major in biology, you'll still be able to take MIMG classes if you want. You should also look into MCDB (Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology). I majored in biology but took very few classes from the EBE department. I just wasn't interested in most of the EBE classes (animal morphology, evolution, plants, etc.). I took lots of MCDB classes, though. Might as well have majored in it. 🙂 There's also the physiological science major, which seems to attract a lot of pre-meds.

 

[53948]

I am a physiological science major at UCLA. Like UCLAStudent said, the major has ALOT of pre-med students... in fact pre-health in general. If you really like learning about human stuff, you can't go wrong with phy sci. The stuff you learn is definitely applicable to daily life and many former phy sci students currently in med school say I will have an advantage in med school (you take anatomy and obviously, alot of physiology). If you want to get a chance to learn about other stuff before being strapped down to medical related stuff, go with something else.

My suggestion if you're going to stay in the life sciences for sure: don't even worry about picking a major until 3rd year. They all require the same lower divison classes (the ones you listed as "preparation") and their G.E.'s overlap, so you can explore a bit before taking major-specific classes. I started off as bio and switched over to phy sci my 3rd year. Obviously, there may be some differences so you have to check to be sure.

Good luck!

 

[Pewl]

I am a physiological science major at UCLA. Like UCLAStudent said, the major has ALOT of pre-med students... in fact pre-health in general. If you really like learning about human stuff, you can't go wrong with phy sci. The stuff you learn is definitely applicable to daily life and many former phy sci students currently in med school say I will have an advantage in med school (you take anatomy and obviously, alot of physiology). If you want to get a chance to learn about other stuff before being strapped down to medical related stuff, go with something else.

My suggestion if you're going to stay in the life sciences for sure: don't even worry about picking a major until 3rd year. They all require the same lower divison classes (the ones you listed as "preparation") and their G.E.'s overlap, so you can explore a bit before taking major-specific classes. I started off as bio and switched over to phy sci my 3rd year. Obviously, there may be some differences so you have to check to be sure.

Good luck!

jnguyen0815,

Please give me the name of the doctor who attempted to sabotage your dreams. I will carry on your unfinished battle. I have a fair share of connections within the UCLA medical faculty and a taste for cold, calculated vengeance.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Sorry to sabotage the thread, but could you guys talk a little bit about what you thought about your pre-med experience in UCLA?

I'm deciding between SLU guaranteed med and UCLA and I'm leaning toward SLU simply because UCLA's pre-meds seem pretty intense.

And it is pretty ironic (or maybe a sign 😀 )that I'm choosing between these places and Pewl is going to UCLA undergraduate and SLU med school.

Anyway, any help is much appreciated.
-Dr. P.

 

[DrBorisCA]

I was also a Phy Sci junkie and loved it even though it might get the best of you... MIMG is pretty difficult and tends to drive your GPA down, but if you have the drive for it and specific interest in it, I would say go for it. MCDB is also pretty interesting and is probably slightly better on GPA, possibly on par with Phy Sci...

Any science at UCLA will have pretty competitive premeds so either steer clear or keep perspective in your classes. It is very easy to fall behind if you let yourself. In core classes with 200 to 300 people, remember the big picture...

 

[SQUIX06]

what're the curves like in the required premed courses at UCLA? (ex. 10% A's...)

Thanks

 

[xxbruinxx]

dr. pibb---

i recently finished ucla...just this past december in fact
i majored in MIMG after having transferred...
I LOVED IT... the prof. are great (for the most part) and i think (but can't say for sure i haven't experienced the other life sci. majors here at ucla) that it really prepares you in the way you should be thinking - both as a dr. and/or researcher.
i absolutely loved immunology...virology and bacterial pathogenesis were awesome too...
is it hard? sure.....but i don't think it's as hard as most people make it out to be...i don't think it's harder than neuro, or physci or some of the others...
i did very well my senior year - taking all upperdiv. micro classes
couple of things though:
the intro weeder class - mimg 101 - will/might turn you off....and many don't do well, but it's b/c of them..not the class. i know so many, including myself when i took that class, who ignored office hours and the extra help available to students...i learned that the only way to do well, whether it's 101 or immunology, is to really dive into the material..go to prof. office hours, take advantage of TA's, etc, etc. - the same applies for any major any where
the second thing is the labs....i don't like how some of them are run - especially in terms of grading...the 2 main ones are MIMG 101L and MIMG 102L (micro lab and virology lab respectively...the labs themselves are great...just when it comes down to lab midterms/finals...but again, if you give yourself to the course, it should be fine
I really did enjoy this major and i had the chance to take a lot of upperdiv. grad. stuff....such as mouse genetics (very cool) and advance micro. lab (which is really fun. (and kinda easy) since it teaches you to be a researcher and how to enter the real world)

i also think there's a lot to gain from really specializing in a major (meaning going into MIMG, MCDB, phy. sci, neuro, etc.) rather than being straight biology...not to mention that the classes i took in MIMG will really come in handy both for the mcat as well as in med. school....immunology is one class i hear a lot of med. students have issues with and i just feel a bit better knowing that i have a solid foundation already...btw, that class, as i said before, teaches you how to think, interpret data, analyze problems (all tools and skills you can apply to any problem on the mcat or any test for that matter)

let me know if you have more ??'s

 

[Brainsucker]

xxbruinxx obviously really enjoys the science and you need to have that to succeed in that major. MIMG has plenty of pre-meds but it has a rep of being something that people take because they're interested and tending to think about grad school. Interestingly, both it and Biology are not typical pre-med majors. Biology is anti-premed and mostly irrelevant to medicine (I'm not saying it isn't cool, just that MCDB, MIMG, neuro, phy sci, are all more relevant). Premeds typically take those other majors I mentioned, psychobio and biochem. MIMG or bio might be a good way to avoid of few of the typical pre-meds that don't give a crap about the science. Of course, if you don't give a crap about the science (or anything else), you should do psychobio or an easy humanities major. In any case, don't worry too much about it too early because you have to get through the same core classes.

 

[drpibbplusme]

wait, so is MIMG easier than biology, biochem, physiosci, and mcdb? Can you guys rank those in order of difficulty? I think MIMG sounds extremely interesting but I don't really know until I take the classes, which is why I don't have a solid opinion on it yet and need current students to help. XXbruinsXX, what was your bcpm gpa? since u guys are experienced and have taken the classes already, what courses (include teacher) do you think were easy rides? I love science and don't slack off, but quite frankly, I just don't want to get my butt kicked in undergrad. Thanks for the help, i'm getting a lot of good feedback.

 

[dz88]

sorry for changing the subject of the thread, but what major is easiest at UCLA?
(meaning highest average GPA)


Would it be a language or some major like East Asian studies?

Anyone care to answer? 🙂

 

[xxbruinxx]

fyi...the curr. has changed...from what you've posted in your very first post, it seems there are a lot more choices of what to take

you're right...you won't know if it's for you until you actually take the classes....
what you have to remember is this: if you want the easiest way, but not necessarily the most fulfilling or the most helpful in my opinion come med. school, do bio or physchobio...

on the other hand, you could work your butt off a little more with tougher classes and get more out of it...not only your undergrad education but also you'll have advanced skills and ways of thinking which you could apply to med. school. in fact, so many of the schools i'm applying to say they look for those tougher courses and applicants that didn't shy away from the biochems and genetics...you might as well confront them now

now i'm not going to post my bcpm gpa here b/c first of all, i don't think it will help your decision...it includes all 4 years of my undergrad and not just mimg classes...
i will say that i got A's or some version of that, in biochem, immunology, virology, bact. pathogenesis, viral path., genetics, mouse gen, adv. micro lab, parasitology.....this doesn't mean i'm extra smart or anything..believe me, if you knew my bcpm gpa you wouldn't think so. it just means i first of all scheduled my classes properly...for example, during immunology, i only took that, one lower-div. ochem class, and i believe one GE. by doing this, i was able to give my whole time to this class - just about every office hours each week, a lot of independent studying, going to discussion, asking Q's, etc, etc...that's what college is about - in any major..that's how you do well

with regard to what prof's to take - i don't know...i'm sure they vary and in some of the upper divs, there's only one prof. teaching. some classes are "easier though" - for example, cell bio of the nucleus - you're given 30 questions that could potentially be on the midterm (same is done for the final). Your job is to research each one (using the textbook - quite simple), come up with an answer, and basically just write that answer down next to the appropriate question on the actual test. what surprises me is that not everyone in that class gets As - why? b/c they don't go to office hours, don't get their answers checked by the prof (which he is more than willing to do (dr. burke i think)) and write something that is either wrong or incomplete, and lose points

anyway, if mimg sounds interesting, go for it. i know many who did that, and then switched out...that's okay. I chose it and decided to stick with it...i had no idea what micro. was all about when i started...and didn't even do all that well in mimg. 101...
sorry for the long posts....just saying what comes to mind...

 

[Brainsucker]

wait, so is MIMG easier than biology, biochem, physiosci, and mcdb? Can you guys rank those in order of difficulty? I think MIMG sounds extremely interesting but I don't really know until I take the classes, which is why I don't have a solid opinion on it yet and need current students to help. XXbruinsXX, what was your bcpm gpa? since u guys are experienced and have taken the classes already, what courses (include teacher) do you think were easy rides? I love science and don't slack off, but quite frankly, I just don't want to get my butt kicked in undergrad. Thanks for the help, i'm getting a lot of good feedback.

Order of difficulty:

1. MIMG
2. Biochem (could be considered harder because you need thermodynamics, but I'm under the impression, which might be wrong, that there's more opportunity to take whatever upper div electives you want)
3. Phy Sci
4. Bio
5. MCDB

To the other poster, the easiest major at UCLA (by GPA) is WAC (World Arts and Cultures) it's got a (ridiculous, ridiculous!) average grade of 3.8 something. (That's the average grade of classes in that major. Man, some (most?) North Campus things are such a joke.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Good advice, xxbruinxx. I just want to add there are actually a lot of pre-meds who major in biology. One advantage is that it offers a lot of flexibility with the classes you can take. However, unless you have some sort of passion for plants or fish, I'd major in something else. That is the one thing I regret about my time at UCLA --- if I had known how much I would enjoy genetics/molecular bio/biochem, I would have majored in something else. I declared my major as soon as I got to UCLA, so I never really had the chance to explore other interests. (I didn't consider changing majors until it was too late.) There's no need to rush into anything! 🙂

One more thing: any of the majors listed in this thread will prepare you well for med. school. I never took any anatomy classes, physiology classes, etc. (besides LS2), and I'm chugging along just fine. None of them will really give you a huge advantage once you get to medical school. Many of my classmates did not even major in a science.

 

[beffers8888]

I've heard that WAC and Music have the highest GPAs (but all of the people who get into music are amazing so I wouldnt recommend it unless you are too). I was Phy Sci and for some of the upper div classes they gave out less than 10% A's and few A-'s. If I could do it all again I would do psychobiology. I hear it's interesting and a lot easier. I've realized the hard way that medical schools dont care if you've taken the harder series of math/physics/chemistry or the harder major, mostly because they dont know the difference! I was stubborn and wanted to challenge myself: this is reflected in my science MCAT scores but I'd trade that for a better GPA.

 

[DrZee]

Graduated from UCLA in Fall 05
Majored in MCDB. I started out as general Bio (OBEE or EBE whatever its called) but then I was too interested in molecular bio./genetics so I immediately changed majors to MCDB. It was a pretty close call between MIMG and MCDB. To this day, If they would have just let me double major, I would have done so in MIMG and MCDB since they so nicely complement each other in a premed education
I was MCDB but took more than a few MIMG classes including virology, virology lab and immunology and parasitology. I seriously considered micro but didnt like the content of the class sylabus so I dropped it in the first week. I was more interested in Microbial pathogenesis and that stuff was basically the last 2 or 3 lectures in the course.

In terms of ranking which UCLA major is harder, I would say probably biochem just because of the extra requirements to graduate, meaning more sheer effort not necessarily more brains. Next would be a tie between MIMG and MCDB. Next would be Biology and Phy sci. and Neurosci.
All of these majors are not really that hard compared to each other, the only thing of importance in chosing a major is finding what interests you, and how much do you like your GPA, because honestly some majors like MIMG grade terribly and I think thats why MIMG students are reported to have the lowest GPA among life science majors.

I have learned two things as a UCLA student: 1) Always be aware of your options and deadlines (ex. majors and when is the last possible time to change majors) 2) whatever you major in, chances are they will cover it all in the first 2-3 weeks of medical school, so there is no high road/easy way/shortcut.

Good luck
PS If I understood the OP correctly, he/she is a freshman and I would suggest this to all freshman premeds: be a general Bio major for the first two years and take all the general pre-reqs. When you have taken the LS 1-4 series, then you will know what aspect of the field you like and then you can "specialize" in that major. There is no rush now. Do well and Good luck

 

[53948]

Yes, being pre-med at UCLA is pretty intense. You're competing with 100's of other people for A's, so you get the picture. MCDB and Bio are definitely one of the "easier" majors, due to the material difficulty and volume. MIMG and biochem are difficult due to both the material difficulty and volume. IMO, Phy Sci and Neurosci are the hardest of them all. The difficulty is about the same or maybe a little easier than MIMG or biochem, but the volume I think is more. I'm Phy Sci at UCLA and we don't have cumulative tests due to the amount of material. We have three exams per class for each of the three modules of each class. This is for the core classes, at least. I'm not sure about how it is for other majors though. But what I think makes those two majors most difficult is the level of competition. A very large fraction of both majors are pre-meds; not sure what the values are but if only 15% A's go out and the class is 50% pre-meds... you get the picture. I've heard stories about cheating rings, but I can't confirm them. Besides, there will be cheating anywhere you are though, unfortunately.

My advice to those who are still deciding: PICK WHAT YOU LIKE. If you're doing what you like, you'll do well in it... period. I was bio initially and switched to Phy Sci scared ****less cause I heard about the difficulty of the major. I liked it and as a result I didn't think the material was that difficult at all. I agree with other suggestions on the thread. Start of as any life science major cause your first 2 years will be the same anyways. After getting a taste of what different sciences are like... you can make the best decision then. Good luck!

 

[dz88]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but have any of you UCLA students taken the AP calc BC test only to come to UCLA and take the 3ABC math series? Would medical schools frown upon it? Would 3ABC be significantly easier than 31AB32A for someone who received a 5 on Calc BC?

 

[53948]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but have any of you UCLA students taken the AP calc BC test only to come to UCLA and take the 3ABC math series? Would medical schools frown upon it? Would 3ABC be significantly easier than 31AB32A for someone who received a 5 on Calc BC?

The 3 series is significantly easier than the 31/32 series.

I took calc BC in high school and could have skipped out of 3A and 3B. However, I opted to take 3B anyways because most med schools require 3 quarters of math... so with 3B, 3C, and stats 10, I fulfilled that requirement. If you start from 3C or skip out of 3C, you'll end up having to take harder math classes anyways to fulfill this 3 quarter requirement.

 

[dz88]

The 3 series is significantly easier than the 31/32 series.

I took calc BC in high school and could have skipped out of 3A and 3B. However, I opted to take 3B anyways because most med schools require 3 quarters of math... so with 3B, 3C, and stats 10, I fulfilled that requirement. If you start from 3C or skip out of 3C, you'll end up having to take harder math classes anyways to fulfill this 3 quarter requirement.

thanks, I was looking at the course description online for the 3 series and the material seemed very different from my AP calc course (I assume my course covered more topics). Would I be fine in the 3 series?

And would medical schools (especially UCLA) look down upon me taking the easier route?

 

[53948]

thanks, I was looking at the course description online for the 3 series and the material seemed very different from my AP calc course (I assume my course covered more topics). Would I be fine in the 3 series?

And would medical schools (especially UCLA) look down upon me taking the easier route?

The material is very different, in the 3C class at least. 3B was pretty much the same. 3C covered matrices and how they can be applied to biological systems... something like that. Either way, I'm sure you'll do fine if you're strong in math.

It may be the easier way out, but it is the way that life science majors are supposed to take. The series is called Calc for Life Science Majors. The 31 series is for Physical Science majors I believe.

 

[dz88]

cool, thanks, what year are you by the way?

 

[53948]

cool, thanks, what year are you by the way?

You are very welcome. I'm a 4.79th year. I'm graduating in June so I'm counting down. Only 0.21 of the academic year to go! =)

 

[dz88]

best of luck, do you volunteer in the ER? I think I might have met someone there who shares your last name.

 

[53948]

best of luck, do you volunteer in the ER? I think I might have met someone there who shares your last name.

Nope, I don't volunteer in the ER (although that is what I am looking at for specialization in the future). I'm sure you've met 2325234524525 people with my last name. Oh... only about 50% of the Vietnamese population have this last name haha.

 

[xnm11]

just fyi,

for the biochemistry major, there is a lot of flexibility built into the major just because 5 of your upper division classes can come from pretty much any other department (mimg, physci, mcdb, etc.), so you can take just the most interesting classes from the other departments if you're not interested in the entire major.

 

[UCLAstudent]

thanks, I was looking at the course description online for the 3 series and the material seemed very different from my AP calc course (I assume my course covered more topics). Would I be fine in the 3 series?

And would medical schools (especially UCLA) look down upon me taking the easier route?

They won't care. In fact, they probably won't know the difference. I actually had a rather bizarre progression of math courses and it was never mentioned (31A at UCLA, 9B at UC Riverside over the summer, and 3C at UCLA).

 

[dz88]

UCLA student, since you took both 31 and 3, you would agree that the 3 series is much easier?

 

[UCLAstudent]

Hey dz88, I'm not sure. 3C is really weird --- there is barely any calculus involved. It's mostly statistics and matrices. It was way easy, especially with the professor I had. 31A was not bad at all, though, and I had a terrible instructor. Overall, I'd say to go with the 3 series if you want to have an easier time. Keep in mind, though, that most of the pre-meds will also be taking the 3 series, so that might step up the competition a bit. I'm sure you'll be fine with whatever you choose. 🙂

 

[dz88]

thanks, could you tell me what teacher you had for 3C?

 

[temmie]

wait, so is MIMG easier than biology, biochem, physiosci, and mcdb? Can you guys rank those in order of difficulty? I think MIMG sounds extremely interesting but I don't really know until I take the classes, which is why I don't have a solid opinion on it yet and need current students to help. XXbruinsXX, what was your bcpm gpa? since u guys are experienced and have taken the classes already, what courses (include teacher) do you think were easy rides? I love science and don't slack off, but quite frankly, I just don't want to get my butt kicked in undergrad. Thanks for the help, i'm getting a lot of good feedback.

I am MIMG major and i love it. It's tough but i would not change my major for anything in the world, except for maybe dance.

 

[UCLAstudent]

thanks, could you tell me what teacher you had for 3C?

I don't think he's at UCLA anymore, unfortunately.

 

[dz88]

I have another question about the AP credit policy at UCLA. Is it true that UCLA forces its premeds to take 32A or 3C to begin with if they get a 4 or 5 on AP calc BC?

 

[Pewl]

I have another question about the AP credit policy at UCLA. Is it true that UCLA forces its premeds to take 32A or 3C to begin with if they get a 4 or 5 on AP calc BC?

AP units mean NOTHING at ucla. Forget that you got any AP credit at all in high school.

And I took both 3C and 32A. To this day I still have no idea what 3C was all about. We learned about vectors and probability. 32A was all multivariable calculus stuff.

 

[Dr. Don]

Psychobio is the way to go! Besides remember that all med schools care about is just 1 year of bio, chem, ochem, physics, and calc, which you can easily take care of with lower div/pre-req courses.

So if you finish those classes, and got a 3.5 or above GPA, then just do something else, like history, take it easy, concentrate on the MCAT and apply to med school, and get in! Good luck!

Don
MS II
Western/COMP
UCLA CLASS OF 2001!

 

[53948]

I have another question about the AP credit policy at UCLA. Is it true that UCLA forces its premeds to take 32A or 3C to begin with if they get a 4 or 5 on AP calc BC?

I took Calc BC... and got a 4 on the AB part and a 3 on the BC part. I started at 3B even though I was supposed to start at 3C.

Ummm... I don't think AP units mean nothing though. Starting my year (entering 2002), they no longer counter for AP classes. However, the more incoming units you have, the higher your class status (freshman, sophomore, etc.), the earlier your enrollment time. And at UCLA, enrollment time makes THE WORLD of a difference, especially for pre-med classes (seriously, 30 minutes can make the difference between if you get in a class or not).

 

[dz88]

is physcobio much easier than bio? I know I just have to finish the requirements, but I can't decide on which major I would like and would excel in. What the the typically easier majors?

I dislike history by the way.

 

[Dr. Don]

well psychobio is not necessarily easier, but I just found it more interesting, because of the psycho-social issues you learn about, as well as the neurophysiology involved. But quite honestly just do something that you like, because if you like it, you will tend to do well in it, regardless if the overall public says that "it's a hard major".

Looking back, if I had to do it all over again, I would probably do a Neuroscience major first, then a psychobio major second, but back then (wow I sound old!), they didn't have the neuroscience major established. Good luck!

 

[TonyLTH12]

when's a good time to start participating in research?

 

[MahSpoon]

when's a good time to start participating in research?

As soon as you get there. The researchers don't expect you to know anything so they will train you. Look into SRP and you'll see how competitive it is though, the positions can fill within a matter of HOURS of the listings being posted.

 

[DrHuang]

take mcdb 30 and 40 as well as psychbio 15 and psych 115 i think - those wont count toward anything but are kick ass BCPM boosters.

 

[PsychEpathic]

To the other poster, the easiest major at UCLA (by GPA) is WAC (World Arts and Cultures) it's got a (ridiculous, ridiculous!) average grade of 3.8 something. (That's the average grade of classes in that major. Man, some (most?) North Campus things are such a joke.

. I agree. I was a sociology major .

 

[PsychEpathic]

take mcdb 30 and 40 as well as psychbio 15 and psych 115 i think - those wont count toward anything but are kick ass BCPM boosters.

I got a B in MCD Bio 40 😡! I don't know how that happened . [Actually, I never went to class, and guessed on the tests!] Dr. Bowman is a nut, by the way.

 

[cm1285]

for the love of god, do not take 32A. Why study multivariable calculus when you can be doing matrices/statistics. Also my 32A teacher spoke very quickly with a german accent and i gave up on lectures.

btw, MCDB 104: 6 unit class (8 hrs lab a week) and 100+ pages of scientific writing... consider that first

 

[MeBeans]

I'll keep it brief
MIMG:
More work and more useful (though specific)

Biology:
Less work, but kind of a meh degree

If you want med school afterwards, go for the biology major if you're willing to take a bunch of other classes to make up for the fact that it's easier to get.

 

[TonyLTH12]

Just out of curiosity, although the gpa for MIMGs are lower, if one decides to pursue grad school rather than Med school, then that lower GPA would be okay huh? But how low is too low?

I'm a Phy. Sci major who's a pre-med by the way. I'm simply just curious about how it would work for ppl who are MIMG majors

 

[starfishbear]

][;

 

[TonyLTH12]

Hey, I have one more question. In regards to the 1 yr. English requirement, if you already have credit for Eng Comp 3, would a GE Cluster for the whole year satisfy the other part of the yr since it provides Writing II credit?