What To Major In

[bor0101]

I NEED TO CHOOSE: honours math or honours bio. Which is more likely to get me into med school?

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[Fermata]

Doesn't matter.

The real question is: Which curriculum would be the easiest for me to tolerate for four years?

 

[bor0101]

i heard that having research is really good. in bio, or better yet if i major in "anatomy & cell biology" there are 12 credits in research... And they encourage you to publish an article. Also the med school where i go says it recommends that you take biochem in undergrad. obviously i wont be doing that in math. also my parents recommend bio!

 

[bor0101]

Fermata thanks. I have no idea though. I can tolerate 1st yr courses in both math and bio, though i hate my labs and math doesnt have any of them. But then i heard the med schools like those labs..

 

[bor0101]

i looked at mdapplicants.com and there everyone has "biological science" as undergrad major.

 

[Fermata]

Most of the med students I've talked to agree: undergrad science has very little carry-over into med school.

If I were you I'd pick whatever is easiest, most interesting, AND has a decent job market incase you don't get in(atleast the first time you try). Best wishes.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

As an old rap group once said, "DO WHAT YOU LIKE"

 

[Fermata]

"Do want you want. Do all you can...."

 

[bor0101]

Thanks, but i also dont care about the job market. Because my 2nd choice is military aviation or something, so they dont care.

Please tell me what you think of these programs:
http://mbsu.sus.mcgill.ca/survival_guide.htm
in math there is an exam archive
http://sums.math.mcgill.ca/

 

[bor0101]

onmywaythere, and the old rap group goes to jail?

 

[bor0101]

How do i know where i will do better, if the weeder class in math is mat242 which i would take next fall or in bio, bio201(or possibly some higher course that doesnt have m.c. final exams), which i would take next spring! The classes i take now tell me nothing about how i would do in those more advanced courses.

 

[bor0101]

How do i know where i will do better, if the weeder class in math is mat242 which i would take next fall or in bio, bio201(or possibly some higher course that doesnt have m.c. final exams), which i would take next spring! The classes i take now tell me nothing about how i would do in those more advanced courses.

 

[jetjulia]

Think about what you would want to do if aviation and med school don't work out for some reason, and pick that route. It's always best to have another back up plan. Also, maybe you should go to the departments and chat with some of the teachers and/or ask around about teachers in both departments. A great teacher or two can make a huge difference.

I'm a math major and having a math background really helped me to not freeze up on the physical sciences section of the MCAT. In fact, the only non-required bio class I took was biochem thinking it would help on the MCAT, but it proved to be a big waste of time. Except for the fact that one of my biochem classmates hooked me up with an awesome clinical research position.

 

[bor0101]

heh, aviation would work out. since they only need a 3.0gpa and good health, which i have. And if i didnt have a high enough gpa to be a doctor, it's not like my gpa would be enough to be a banker on wall street either...

So as a math major, how many credits in your program were electives? At my school the honours math program starts in sophomore year, and it should be about 70math credits and the rest electives(out of 90)...
And honours cell&anatomy biology is 80! out of 90 biological science courses. But 12 of those are research credits, which get you a paper published.

I think about talking to professors, but dont know where to start. i.e. what questions should i ask them? Since i am worried about things such as gpa and they're more interested in students that plan to do a ph.d... From my freshman classes, i like the way that all my professors are teaching, much better than in high school.

I asked my parents, and they told me straight away that it is easier to get a higher gpa in biology.... I wonder what other students think, because i dont agree with my parents.

thanks