why not biology major?

[mun2513]

Hi~
I understand that majoring in Biology is not necessary
to get into medical school...I have read many threads
recommending majors fun and exciting..
med school is my goal but I would like to major in theater...

however...

my family is worried that when I do get into Med school
..I'll fall behind.
They think biology major students would have
more advantage because they have already learned
some materials taught in medical school.
...Is that true? It sounds reasonable..but is that true?

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[Depakote]

very little of what you learn in medical school is covered in undergrad...

There are pre-requisite classes that give you the foundation to help you understand the material, but being a biology major is not going to give you a huge edge over someone else assuming you're both smart enough to have been admitted into medical school.

 

[Eno]

try to avoid Bio. There are way to many bio majors. almost all bio want to go to med. I know many people who have changed to biochem (which is a lot harder) or microbio. At least that makes them a little different from the 16 thousand students who are bio.
chose the major that you like the most, and make the most of it, and absolutely do good on sciences.

 

[itsover26]

try to avoid Bio. There are way to many bio majors. almost all bio want to go to med. I know many people who have changed to biochem (which is a lot harder) or microbio. At least that makes them a little different from the 16 thousand students who are bio.
chose the major that you like the most, and make the most of it, and absolutely do good on sciences.

are you joking? bio is definitely harder than biochem. biochem is all conceptual and doesn't require as much studying. bio is all memorization, thus requires more hours of studying. biochem is more useful, though. you should gauge difficulty on the # of studying hours required to do well in a major. bio is definitely more time consuming than biochem. you MAY have to be smarter to handle biochem than bio, though. biochem probably has a harder learning curve, but the amount of time you put into that major is definitely less than a major that requires you to memorize everything.

 

[dienekes88]

Anyway. If you end up at a school that's P/F in the non-clinical years, then there's no pressure for you to compete against your bio major classmates for high grades. You study as much as you can and catch up as much as you want. Either way it's a pass (unless something goes horribly wrong...).

Also, perusing the Allopathic class threads, even the material that is covered in an undergraduate course is blown through so quickly that everyone's out of his/her depth by the second month anyway.

 

[gasdf1234567]

Because its boring. And no, biology majors have no advantage in med school. Major in theater.

 

[itsover26]

Because its boring. And no, biology majors have no advantage in med school. Major in theater.

...says the psychology and econ major, the easiest majors of all.

we need someone on here who majored in bio that is now in med school to answer this.

 

[SirGecko]

I'd like to represent for engineering!

Go engineering!

 

[TehDoc]

Don't you mean dental school?

 

[175961]

...says the psychology and econ major, the easiest majors of all.

we need someone on here who majored in bio that is now in med school to answer this.

to answer what?? Its not really that difficult to figure out. Just read what the med schools say, practically every school will say that it does not matter what your major is, just as long as you complete the pre reqs. Just do what interests you while in undergrad and get the pre reqs done and you will be fine

 

[lildave2586]

Different people are going to tell you different things. One of my med school interviewers specifically asked me what classes I was going to take/have already taken that will help prepare me for medical school. He then went on to comment that he thought students these days were less prepared because they were not majoring in the sciences.

Since I was a Biochem major, I was able to tell him that I already had been exposed to Histology, Immunology, Biochemistry/Metabolism, Physiology and Comparitive Anatomy. I can't promise you that your interviewers or Adcoms at the schools you apply to will feel the same way, but the school I am going to finds it very important to major in the sciences.

Majoring in the sciences will help you IF the classes you took as an undergraduate were well taught and apply to med school curriculum. Example: My undergraduate Histology class went into WAY more depth than med school Histology. Obviously advanced Ecology or Icthyology are not going to help you at all in medical school. Immunology, Comparative Anatomy and Micro probably will.

To the OP, how about you double major in Theatre and Biology. That will give you the background you need and you can enjoy theatre at the same time.

 

[Begaster]

...says the psychology and econ major, the easiest majors of all.

we need someone on here who majored in bio that is now in med school to answer this.

That wouldn't tell you much of anything at all.

 

[mk8]

try to avoid Bio. There are way to many bio majors. almost all bio want to go to med. I know many people who have changed to biochem (which is a lot harder) or microbio. At least that makes them a little different from the 16 thousand students who are bio.
chose the major that you like the most, and make the most of it, and absolutely do good on sciences.

i was a bio major and somehow got into medical school.

Eno, there are so many things that will distinguish you from other applicants besides your MAJOR that this shouldn't even be a consideration. and do you really think an adcom is going to think a biochem or microbio major is any more unique than a straight bio major? hahahahahahaha (condescending laugh)

OP, the majority of parents don't know what they are talking about when it comes to medschool--admissions, classes, or otherwise.

if you pick a major that doesn't interest you, you will lose focus and your sense of curiosity, and your grades may suffer. don't treat undergrad solely as tool for getting into medschool--it's your last chance to do a lot of things, don't waste it.

 

[RySerr21]

are you joking? bio is definitely harder than biochem. biochem is all conceptual and doesn't require as much studying. bio is all memorization, thus requires more hours of studying. biochem is more useful, though. you should gauge difficulty on the # of studying hours required to do well in a major. bio is definitely more time consuming than biochem. you MAY have to be smarter to handle biochem than bio, though. biochem probably has a harder learning curve, but the amount of time you put into that major is definitely less than a major that requires you to memorize everything.

dude, biology is not hard. memorizing something is not hard, it just takes time. if you put in the time, there is no reason you shouldnt ace the test, especially in undergrad. you can easily memorize something and not have ANY clue about the concepts behind it. if you have to memorize something AND solve conceptual problems, then that IS difficult. Why do you think ochem is so hard for most people? That's all ochem is...memorizing a whole bunch of crap and being able to conceptualize and apply the stuff you memorized to stuff you have never seen before. The same goes for biochem, like another poster said you have to memorize tons of crap for biochem...molecues in patheways, enzymes, etc. You ALSO go beyond the rote memorization (which anyone could do if you gave them enough time) and ask yourself: What does that all mean??? I konw every step of the Krebs cyce, okay, now how does it interact with glycolysis? lipogenesis? why is the krebs cycle even important? What steps are important in determining the fate of this molecule..... sorry dude, biochem KILLS bio by a long shot....not even close.

your gauge for difficulty doesnt really make any sense either. If it takes person A 5 hours to study for a bio test it might take person B only half an hour. So according to person B bio is a joke of a major, but to person A it is ruining his/her world.

just in case you think i'm biased, i'm not a biochem major. I dont even like biochem, but i respect the peopel that choose to make it their major cuz i know I would never wanna do it.

 

[fastdude400]

I can tell that you have not taken a real biochemistry course. Learning every step of lipid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism is not conceptual. Learning how the active sites catalyze each reaction in metabolism is not a concept. Maybe you are a troll, but if you are not, find me a biology program that requires one to have an understanding of physical chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and multi-dimensional calculus.

Biochemistry is harder than biology.

I agree 100%. The biochemistry degree at my undergraduate university required almost all of the biology in the standard bio degree, along with a lot more upper level chemistry, graduate courses in biochem, a near minor in math, and calculus versions of physics 1 & 2. The advisors in the bio department flat out told students that biochemistry was a more difficult major than biology.

Sorry, that was off the main topic. Just had to say it though.

 

[icarus8]

I can tell that you have not taken a real biochemistry course. Learning every step of lipid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism is not conceptual. Learning how the active sites catalyze each reaction in metabolism is not a concept. Maybe you are a troll, but if you are not, find me a biology program that requires one to have an understanding of physical chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and multi-dimensional calculus.

Biochemistry is harder than biology.

Absolutely 100% entirely true.

 

[gasdf1234567]

...says the psychology and econ major, the easiest majors of all.

we need someone on here who majored in bio that is now in med school to answer this.

Haha yep I had (what the great itsover considers) the easiest majors of all time and pulled a good GPA without having to work hard and am glad of my decision. Now I am giving advice to do a major the OP is interested in rather than one which parents think will help in med school. Your'e probably a bio or other science major who is bitter because of a low gpa and now hanging onto false hope that you're decision to be a bio major will help in med school. Sorry to break it to you..it won't.

 

[itsover69]

they're gonna ban me as soon as i post this, so this'll be my last post lol.

anyways, i wasn't trying to troll. i'm a bio major but my GPA isn't that bad lol...3.7.

i've taken biochem, organic, engineering/calc-based physics 1+2, calc 1, 2, 3, etc. so i've taken all those harder classes that are required for biochem. i already said biochem is MORE useful, but it's not harder. i wish i majored in biochem but didn't know the difference way back when i started college.

biochem does not require almost as much bio as a bio major...biochem requires 2 upper-level bio courses without labs (6 bio upperlevel credits). a bio major requires 56 upperlevel bio credits.

yes, i know all those examples you are referring to about the krebs cycle, referring it back to glycolysis, etc. but that isn't hard to conceptualize.

since, on my own, i took all the harder courses required in biochem but not in bio, i know biochem would have been easier for me. i would have saved myself lot of time with a biochem over a bio major. i don't like straight memorization, but nonetheless, it takes time no matter how smart you are.

don't try to say i don't know what i'm talking about...i'm only 2 classes shy of a biochem major. pchem was the easiest class in the world. analytical is the reason i didn't finish a doublemajor in biochem, though, b/c i don't want to take that crap when i don't need it lol.

so anyways, for me, biochem would have saved me time. i took all the harder courses required for it anyway, and i would have had more free time because i could have substituted more chem classes, which comes fairly easy for me, for many of those bio ones.

don't even get me started on the usefulness of a bio vs. biochem major. you can't do anything with a bio major. you can get way more research jobs with a biochem major, but beyond that, it's still not too useful if you don't want to do research or teach.

anyways, don't think being a biochem premed will make you unique for med schools if that's what you are thinking. at my school, there are definitely more premed biochem majors than premed bio majors. i will tell you it seems the biochem majors have more success in getting into med school than the bio majors. but honestly, i think that's more b/c of the gpa differences. at my school, there tends to be more smart ppl in biochem than bio. i'll definitely admit that haha.

anyways, i'll be banned soon. so nice talking to ya!

 

[GreenShirt]

Bio major, here, currently finishing up my MS-I. At the beginning of the year a lot of students had trouble and the administration decided that this was likely due to a weakness in the science background of the class. They held workshops covering bio concepts and will change the curriculum next year to help catch the incoming class up to speed. I don't know if their assessment is accurate but I can see how non-science majors might have a bit of trouble getting in the swing of things if they haven't had a biology class in 2+ years.

That being said, don't major in biology if you're not terribly interested in the subject. I would, however, recommend that you take a few upper level bio classes that are medical school related (ie, not plant bio) at some point just to keep the ideas fresh. In the end biology>>>>>chemistry & physics>other in terms of relevance to medical school.

 

[Sullaria]

I'm a math major. I tried to be a bio major, but I hate plants. I really couldn't stand taking two semesters of plant physiology and botany. On the other hand, I love math and physics, so majoring in math and minoring in physics seemed like a good idea. Now, I just hope the research I do in math actually means something when applying to med school.

 

[roseglass6370]

...says the psychology and econ major, the easiest majors of all.

...I'll pretend I'm not offended by this and give my honest opinion to the OP

Major in what you love or in a field that you could see yourself pursuing if at sometime during you college career you change your mind and decide that you don't want to go to med school. I picked Psych because I've always love Psychology and could see myself becoming a psychologist if I don't go to med school. (It's my "Plan B").

I'm going to OSU and when I met with an academic advisor he showed me a list of the various majors that current med students at OSU's medical school chose for their undergrad. There were tons of random ones (even one trumpet major!! ) Biology was by far the most common major but most med schools like to have a little bit of diversity...they want to see that you put your all into something you were passionate about. If that's theatre...so be it!

The only downside to majoring in theatre is that once you graduate, if you decide med school is not your best option, there isn't a whole lot you can do with a theatre degree...unless you are just a phenomenal performer, which you may be.

 

[cbrons]

...I'll pretend I'm not offended by this and give my honest opinion to the OP

Major in what you love or in a field that you could see yourself pursuing if at sometime during you college career you change your mind and decide that you don't want to go to med school. I picked Psych because I've always love Psychology and could see myself becoming a psychologist if I don't go to med school. (It's my "Plan B").

I'm going to OSU and when I met with an academic advisor he showed me a list of the various majors that current med students at OSU's medical school chose for their undergrad. There were tons of random ones (even one trumpet major!! ) Biology was by far the most common major but most med schools like to have a little bit of diversity...they want to see that you put your all into something you were passionate about. If that's theatre...so be it!

The only downside to majoring in theatre is that once you graduate, if you decide med school is not your best option, there isn't a whole lot you can do with a theatre degree...unless you are just a phenomenal performer, which you may be.

I do psychology as well... and a minor in law enforcement...

 

[CHAINCHOMPER]

I think it is weird when people say "Major in what you love", but for 90% of people, academics is not really what they love. I would love to major in Sexology, Video Games, or Muscle appreciation, but they don't have those. So, like a lot of people, you chose a major which is easy to do all of the medicine requirements without all the extra fluff. And there you go

 

[Begaster]

They don't teach sexology at your school?

Man, ****ty school.

 

[175961]

I think it is weird when people say "Major in what you love", but for 90% of people, academics is not really what they love. I would love to major in Sexology, Video Games, or Muscle appreciation, but they don't have those. So, like a lot of people, you chose a major which is easy to do all of the medicine requirements without all the extra fluff. And there you go

My school had video games as a major....I tried it out my freshman year too. Unfortunately it consumed so much of my time that I was not able to achieve the grades I wanted in my other classes so I had to switch to something else. One of my roommates stuck with all 4 years and now hes got a great job working from his parents basement

 

[Biophilic]

To the people who are arguing whether Biology or Biochem is harder! Let me tell you something you may not know, biochem is a branch of biology so biochem = biology. If by saying biochem is harder than biology, you mean that biochem is harder than introductory biology then i agree otherwise comparing biology and biochem does not make sense.

To the OP, if you love theater then you should definitely major in it. But in addition to taking the required premed courses make sure you also take some advanced biology courses such as Biochem, Genetics, Physiology etcs.

 

[RySerr21]

To the people who are arguing whether Biology or Biochem is harder! Let me tell you something you may not know, biochem is a branch of biology so biochem = biology. If by saying biochem is harder than biology, you mean that biochem is harder than introductory biology then i agree otherwise comparing biology and biochem does not make sense.

To the OP, if you love theater then you should definitely major in it. But in addition to taking the required premed courses make sure you also take some advanced biology courses such as Biochem, Genetics, Physiology etcs.

yes it does make sense if you are comparing majors (which many people were doing). is biochem a harder major or is biology a harder major? that is a legitimate question.

 

[footballrules]

There isn't anything wrong with having a major in Biology IF you get admitted to medical school, PA school, or some other allied health career right out of college. The problems you would have with a degree in Biology will come IF you don't get admitted into medical school right out of college. The thing is, a biology degree is not very useful for getting a job in a medical related field while you re-apply for medical school or some other allied health career. You can still major in Biology if you want, but if you want the chance to work in a medical related job after you graduate from college until you DO get admitted into medical school, you are better off taking a semester or year off during undergraduate studies to get some sort of certification or tech degree that you can use to get a job during and after college where you can work in a clinical or hospital setting.

As far as the biology degree itself, it really isn't that hard of a major. The majority of it is memorization. I took histology, immuno, pathology, medical terminology (not a biology specific course), pharmacology, genetics, A&P, biochemistry, organic chemistry, general chemistry and biology, and a few other biology courses. None of these classes go into great detail.

You will learn what you need to know to pratice medicine when you are in medical school. No undergraduate course goes into as much detail as a medical school course.

I work as a research associate and I spend 8 hours a day reading the science and medical literature and putting together a database and writing articles. No class that I took as an undergraduate student prepared me for how indepth the subjects really are.

 

[cornpops21]

Why was itsover69 banned?

 

[EpiPEN]

I'd like to represent for engineering!

Go engineering!

Word to my homie

peace

 

[Biophilic]

yes it does make sense if you are comparing majors (which many people were doing). is biochem a harder major or is biology a harder major? that is a legitimate question.

Without knowing the requirements for each major, it still does not make sense to campare them because in many schools the requirements are almost the same which include taking classes such as Biochem, Physiology, Microbio, Histology, Genetics etc. If you really want to campare the two then you should compare the two majors from your own college.

 

[footballrules]

To the people who are arguing whether Biology or Biochem is harder! Let me tell you something you may not know, biochem is a branch of biology so biochem = biology. If by saying biochem is harder than biology, you mean that biochem is harder than introductory biology then i agree otherwise comparing biology and biochem does not make sense.

To the OP, if you love theater then you should definitely major in it. But in addition to taking the required premed courses make sure you also take some advanced biology courses such as Biochem, Genetics, Physiology etcs.

We know that biochem is a branch of biology. The thing is, we are talking about which DEGREE is harder, not which branch of biology is harder. Biochemistry is more complex than biology because of the concepts of biochemistry are specific. As many of us college graduates know, it is the professor that makes a class hard, not the major. Life science degrees are much easier then engineering degrees.....that is why they make more after college.

When a biology graduate is applying for jobs, they are applying for jobs that botany, zoology, neuroscience, chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and other life science degree students apply to.

 

[footballrules]

Without knowing the requirements for each major, it still does not make sense to campare them because in many schools the requirements are almost the same which include taking classes such as Biochem, Physiology, Microbio, Histology, Genetics etc. If you really want to campare the two then you should compare the two majors from your own college.

Correct.

 

[deleted74029]

I'm a bio major, I wish I was a philosophy major.

 

[WWXstand]

Being a biology major can actually be a slight disadvantage because you are "more of the same." I'm not sure on the exact figures, but there is a slightly lower acceptance rate of bio students than non-bio students (also much higher number of bio students, so who really knows)

 

[AlternateSome1]

Major in whatever you want to major in. Take Biochem and Microbiology intro courses. Any difference in majors fades away in the first couple of weeks in medical school. The best thing you can do for yourself as an undergrad is to be happy, enjoy your time, learn about yourself and your goals, and round yourself out as a person. Nothing you are going to face is half as difficult as it is time consuming, so use the time that you have wisely.

 

[copingmethods]

Being a biology major can actually be a slight disadvantage because you are "more of the same." I'm not sure on the exact figures, but there is a slightly lower acceptance rate of bio students than non-bio students (also much higher number of bio students, so who really knows)

That's not necessarily causal - i.e. their acceptance rate is lower because they're bio majors.

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

are you joking? bio is definitely harder than biochem. biochem is all conceptual and doesn't require as much studying. bio is all memorization, thus requires more hours of studying. biochem is more useful, though. you should gauge difficulty on the # of studying hours required to do well in a major. bio is definitely more time consuming than biochem. you MAY have to be smarter to handle biochem than bio, though. biochem probably has a harder learning curve, but the amount of time you put into that major is definitely less than a major that requires you to memorize everything.

Hahaha, Biology is amongst the easiest science degrees you could earn. It's a bunch of memorization, ridiculously easy, you rarely have to apply anything. Majoring in Biochem, Chemistry, Microbio or Physics is much more work than plain old Biology. That's why i'm skating through a Biology degree. Well that, and I dont have time to complete all of the requirements for any of those other degrees.

 

[mun2513]

Different people are going to tell you different things. One of my med school interviewers specifically asked me what classes I was going to take/have already taken that will help prepare me for medical school. He then went on to comment that he thought students these days were less prepared because they were not majoring in the sciences.

Since I was a Biochem major, I was able to tell him that I already had been exposed to Histology, Immunology, Biochemistry/Metabolism, Physiology and Comparitive Anatomy. I can't promise you that your interviewers or Adcoms at the schools you apply to will feel the same way, but the school I am going to finds it very important to major in the sciences.

Majoring in the sciences will help you IF the classes you took as an undergraduate were well taught and apply to med school curriculum. Example: My undergraduate Histology class went into WAY more depth than med school Histology. Obviously advanced Ecology or Icthyology are not going to help you at all in medical school. Immunology, Comparative Anatomy and Micro probably will.

To the OP, how about you double major in Theatre and Biology. That will give you the background you need and you can enjoy theatre at the same time.

Thank you !!

 

[Artimacia]

As said throughout the post, it doesn't matter what you major in as long as you A) enjoy it, B) Keep your grades up, MCAT, ECs, etc..., and C) Get your required general classes.

I'm a biology major but I love biology. I love all the aspects of it and can't think of another major I'd like more.

 

[WinterLights]

Hahaha, Biology is amongst the easiest science degrees you could earn. It's a bunch of memorization, ridiculously easy, you rarely have to apply anything. Majoring in Biochem, Chemistry, Microbio or Physics is much more work than plain old Biology. That's why i'm skating through a Biology degree. Well that, and I dont have time to complete all of the requirements for any of those other degrees.

Are you referring to to general biology? If your schools offers such a degree, then you may want to avoid it.

 

[Marcus Brody]

I say "major in what you love." And if you don't love anything that can be studied academically, maybe you should reconsider spending 8 years of your life buried in textbooks.

 

[flip26]

Different people are going to tell you different things. One of my med school interviewers specifically asked me what classes I was going to take/have already taken that will help prepare me for medical school. He then went on to comment that he thought students these days were less prepared because they were not majoring in the sciences.

Since I was a Biochem major, I was able to tell him that I already had been exposed to Histology, Immunology, Biochemistry/Metabolism, Physiology and Comparitive Anatomy. I can't promise you that your interviewers or Adcoms at the schools you apply to will feel the same way, but the school I am going to finds it very important to major in the sciences.

Majoring in the sciences will help you IF the classes you took as an undergraduate were well taught and apply to med school curriculum. Example: My undergraduate Histology class went into WAY more depth than med school Histology. Obviously advanced Ecology or Icthyology are not going to help you at all in medical school. Immunology, Comparative Anatomy and Micro probably will.

To the OP, how about you double major in Theatre and Biology. That will give you the background you need and you can enjoy theatre at the same time.

You realize that was the opinion of one interviewer and in all likelihood not the collective opinion of the adcom at your med school, right?

Otherwise, med schools would increase the pre-reqs to include more science classes.

To the OP: major in anything you want, and take the basic pre-reqs. Do very well in all of your classes (shoot for a 3.8+ across the board) and do well on the MCAT (30+) and nobody will question your preparedness for med school.

 

[shiftingmirage]

I wish I would have been a math major that bio and biochem double major.

 

[Chemist0157]

I'm a chem major w/ a biology minor, and I'll receive a BS in Chemistry before I go to med school. I did it this way because personally I believe there are more jobs available for a chem degree than for a biology degree. Most people who get biology degrees go to grad school, med school, etc. It was a backup for me and is working out just fine because I get all the biology I need from my minor.

But I don't think it means a thing once you get to medical school.

 

[Sullaria]

My school had video games as a major....I tried it out my freshman year too. Unfortunately it consumed so much of my time that I was not able to achieve the grades I wanted in my other classes so I had to switch to something else. One of my roommates stuck with all 4 years and now hes got a great job working from his parents basement

Rutgers has a Computer Science program, and I think one of the tracks is video games and computer graphics or something like that. I have no idea what it entails, I just think it looks funny to see "Video Games" in a major title.

 

[aster]

It's a video game design/programming class...very tough stuff that involves a lot of math depending on what type of game you deal with. You'll either have you build your own engine, or base your game upon another pre-established engine like UT or HL. If you deal with FPS games, you're going to have to implement a lot of physics into the engine. It may sound like a "bs" major, (not Bachelor of Science), but it's a tough one that involves a lot of dedication and work.

 

[ICanDreamRight]

Are you referring to to general biology? If your schools offers such a degree, then you may want to avoid it.

Is there a reason for this....because I was thinking of majoring in it?
I'm an incoming freshy.

 

[Biophilic]

Is there a reason for this....because I was thinking of majoring in it?
I'm an incoming freshy.

There is nothing wrong with General Biology. General Biology major has different requirements at different colleges. Although i was not a general Biology major at my college, i realized that one of the benefits of general biology at my college was that it didn't have specific course requirements which meant that you got to choose whatever classes you were interested on taking.

 

[ICanDreamRight]

There is nothing wrong with General Biology. General Biology major has different requirements at different colleges. Although i was not a general Biology major at my college, i realized that one of the benefits of general biology at my college was that it didn't have specific course requirements which meant that you got to choose whatever classes you were interested on taking.

Yea, that's the reason why I wanted to major in it opposed to something like biochemistry, but the above post scared me...