For High Schoolers: What major do you plan to pursue? And Why?

[El Nino]

I plan to major in Philosophy because, it's interesting enough to spend four years studying, and I am inspired by my role model Cornel West.

Class of 2010!

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[Crazyday]

I'm also planning to major in philosophy, and considering a double major in philosophy/biology or latin, maybe double major and minor in latin. I'll have to see.

I really like studying ancient ideaologies and philosophical texts, so I think I'd dig it.

 

[broken tibula]

Double major in biology and computer science--biology, because it's fascinating, and comp sci because I'm good with computers and it'll give me something to fall back on if med school doesn't work out.

But who knows?

 

[yanorglu]

Although it might make me look cookie-cutter, I do have a genuine interest in Biology so I'll probably go for that. My interest in Physics is almost as high, though, so I might change my mind further down the line.

 

[El Nino]

I'm also planning to major in philosophy, and considering a double major in philosophy/biology or latin, maybe double major and minor in latin. I'll have to see.

I really like studying ancient ideaologies and philosophical texts, so I think I'd dig it.

I wished the colleges I am interested in offered Latin. Otherwise, I would double major or minor in Philosophy/Latin as well lol

 

[xnfs93hy]

Chemistry, with a minor in...hmm...I don't know. I am considering doing a double major in another hard science or related field of study but I am worried that that may be too much. Chem is a difficult major.

 

[Terpskins99]

Double major in biology and computer science--biology, because it's fascinating, and comp sci because I'm good with computers and it'll give me something to fall back on if med school doesn't work out.

Thats really wise. EVERYONE should have a backup in place, just in case. Mine was law school. Even took the LSAT's and everything.

 

[bigwill11205]

I plan on either majoring in Biology or Math. I know Biology is a chiché major, but I love the subject. Also, I just always enjoyed Math because it's easy. Once you know the formula, you can apply it to anything.

 

[RySerr21]

Although it might make me look cookie-cutter, I do have a genuine interest in Biology so I'll probably go for that. My interest in Physics is almost as high, though, so I might change my mind further down the line.

Somebody who is going to major in psychology should study the people that choose to major in physics........ i'm sure they are some pretty interesting/unique people cuz i honestly dont understand how somoene can be passionate about physics...seirously, its PHYSICS. yuck.

Im just teasing b/c i absolutley despise physics...its good that you all know what it is that you are passionate about and are looking to pursue those interests. Oh, and if you dont know yet what you wanna major in, its not a big deal. You'll figure it out along the way.

You are all on the right track. Keep it up.

 

[Brandqn]

redacted

 

[bigwill11205]

As of now, I plan on majoring in either psychology or psychobiology. I also liked physiology but I'm pretty sure my university doesn't offer it as a major.




I don't know about that. I know quite a lot of people who are very good at math and are majoring in it, but I've heard it's a bit of a GPA killer.

I might have been overexaggerating about the easy thing, but I just pretty much enjoy Math.

 

[yanorglu]

i honestly dont understand how somoene can be passionate about physics...seirously, its PHYSICS. yuck.

They say physics is to math as sex is to masturbation

 

[coldkatanagirl]

I'd really like to major in Music History, but I really don't like the idea of having to continue performing too... I wish I could just study it. =/

 

[tennisball80]

They say physics is to math as sex is to masturbation

Lmao

I am planning to major Health and Physical Education or Mutimedia design with minor in Chem.

 

[Crazyday]

They say physics is to math as sex is to masturbation

Then sex must be the devil.

 

[niblet]

Microbiology.

 

[Nantes]

probably major in psych, minor in sociology.

 

[Silverman780]

I'm planning on Bioengineering - Gives you everything you need for the MCAT and more, and is also a great fall back.
Also planning on minoring in psych

 

[El Nino]

I'm planning on Bioengineering - Gives you everything you need for the MCAT and more, and is also a great fall back.
Also planning on minoring in psych

I thought the pre med requirements was everything you needed for the MCAT? Interesting, you spend four years of your life studying just for the MCAT, that's fun.

 

[yanorglu]

Let's not knock eachother's choices. A student who's motivated enough can use engineering as a great pre-med track, just look at all the biomedical engineering majors at Johns Hopkins who go to very prestigious medical schools.

 

[xnfs93hy]

I'm planning on Bioengineering - Gives you everything you need for the MCAT and more, and is also a great fall back.
Also planning on minoring in psych

This is actually a nice choice .

 

[bailey42]

Biochem for me all the way ...minor in probably Spanish. But hey, I'm 16...I really have no clue what I am going to major/minor in.

 

[malfee]

Exercise Physiology /w minor in Nutrition

 

[Silverman780]

I thought the pre med requirements was everything you needed for the MCAT? Interesting, you spend four years of your life studying just for the MCAT, that's fun.

The pre med requirements do give you a somewhat good basis but this goes takes all of that to the next level, such as the difference between just taking biology I and being able to do Biochemistry, Plus the four year of Bioengineering gets you a starting salary in the neighborhood of $45,000 and a whole lotta research opportunity through college and summer internship.

 

[Silverman780]

Biochem for me all the way ...minor in probably Spanish. But hey, I'm 16...I really have no clue what I am going to major/minor in.

I considered doing biochemistry but I finally talked myself out of it with the help of my adv chemistry/biology teacher. It is a hard major but really does make you standout from the rest of the applicants. Another plus is that the first two years are the same for most science majors. ( year of Bio, year of Chem) So you can decide latter if you you wish to pursue it But as I learned you have to be enthralled with both biology, chemistry and physics.
Good Luck!!!!

 

[Cass]

Biology or Chemistry. Both are really interesting to me. But I've got lots of time to decide.

 

[glowworm]

still deciding. probably chemistry, but maybe business or economics.

 

[shishka32]

.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Neuroscience Major w/ Astronomy and Math Minors.

The brain, space, and math are sickkkkkk.

I agree completely bro .

 

[Sttebbs]

Future biochem major here, because I love chem and think everything in the body basically breaks down into chemistry...

 

[MilkmanAl]

Neuroscience Major w/ Astronomy and Math Minors.

The brain, space, and math are sickkkkkk.

I'm with ya, but take it from a bio/astrophysics double major: you're in for a rough ride. Keeping a high GPA is not going to be fun at all.

 

[bailey42]

I'm with ya, but take it from a bio/astrophysics double major: you're in for a rough ride. Keeping a high GPA is not going to be fun at all.

You double majored in bio/astrophysics? Astrophysics sounds like it would be fascinating...did you enjoy it? I don't think it would ever be something I would major/minor in but it has always interested me...

 

[MilkmanAl]

I loved it. My astro classes were easily the most interesting ones I took in college. However, it was definitely very difficult and helped crush my GPA. I wouldn't go back and change anything, but the GPA hit is definitely something to consider before picking up that engineering/physics/math degree.

 

[tennisball80]

Wow so many hard core science major pre-meds

 

[135892]

Future biochem major here, because I love chem and think everything in the body basically breaks down into chemistry...

...which basically breaks down into physics

I loved it. My astro classes were easily the most interesting ones I took in college. However, it was definitely very difficult and helped crush my GPA. I wouldn't go back and change anything, but the GPA hit is definitely something to consider before picking up that engineering/physics/math degree.

Yeah, if med school is the ultimate goal, you guys should really consider if it will be worth the gpa, as well as time hit to major in one of those fields. But of course, at the end of the day, you have to do what interests you.

 

[CScull]

Wow so many hard core science major pre-meds

It's because science is the coolest subject ever.

I'm thinking Major in Biology and a minor in Chemistry.

 

[OrdinaryOne]

Microbiology.

I'm interested in majoring in microbiology too. Hey, mind if I ask were are you going to attend college? I ask because only a few schools in the US offer microbiology as a major (unless it's a concentration for a bio major). We could end up going to the same school and we could be study buddies! lol

 

[RySerr21]

I considered doing biochemistry but I finally talked myself out of it with the help of my adv chemistry/biology teacher. It is a hard major but really does make you standout from the rest of the applicants. Another plus is that the first two years are the same for most science majors. ( year of Bio, year of Chem) So you can decide latter if you you wish to pursue it But as I learned you have to be enthralled with both biology, chemistry and physics.
Good Luck!!!!

combining the two of the most popular majors (biology and chemistry) does not make you stand out .

And as i'm sure you already know, bioengineering is not going to be much easier than biochemistry. Good luck tho! As long as you are majoring in something you are passionate about, it doesnt matter what it is, you are going to have a blast.

 

[oran berry]

I'm probably going to end up doing a double major in Neuroscience and History-Political Science. I absolutely LOVE these subjects.

 

[bailey42]

I loved it. My astro classes were easily the most interesting ones I took in college. However, it was definitely very difficult and helped crush my GPA. I wouldn't go back and change anything, but the GPA hit is definitely something to consider before picking up that engineering/physics/math degree.

What makes physics/math majors such GPA-killers? Is the subject matter just more difficult?

 

[MilkmanAl]

The subject matter is many times more difficult, yes. Most biology classes just involve memorization, whereas physics, engineering, and math tend to require a decent amount of memorization (albeit quite a bit less than bio) combined with a thorough conceptual understanding of the material to work through a few very complex problems.

The standards for the subjects are also very different. At UNC, passing physics and math classes was considered good work, and an A showed that you had truly mastered the material. Very few people got A's. Bio classes were a different story. I'd say that "good" range that a C constituted in physics/engineering/math was a B+ or A-. For most people, the difference is that your physics/math/engineering degree is extremely marketable; I have numerous friends who are already making $50-70k a year with only their BS's and 2 years of experience. A bio degree is just a gateway to graduate study, more or less. It should make sense that the degree that prepares you directly for a career is going to be the more rigorous one.

When you're applying to med school, taking classes that impose the "passing is good" standard is generally not smart. You want to pad your GPA as much as you possibly can, for you'll be up against tens of thousands of other people who did just that. You may have taken far more difficult classes than they did, but your 3.3 is still going to look worse than their 3.7's by quite some margin. Just something to think about.

 

[tennisball80]

The subject matter is many times more difficult, yes. Most biology classes just involve memorization, whereas physics, engineering, and math tend to require a decent amount of memorization (albeit quite a bit less than bio) combined with a thorough conceptual understanding of the material to work through a few very complex problems.

The standards for the subjects are also very different. At UNC, passing physics and math classes was considered good work, and an A showed that you had truly mastered the material. Very few people got A's. Bio classes were a different story. I'd say that "good" range that a C constituted in physics/engineering/math was a B+ or A-. For most people, the difference is that your physics/math/engineering degree is extremely marketable; I have numerous friends who are already making $50-70k a year with only their BS's and 2 years of experience. A bio degree is just a gateway to graduate study, more or less. It should make sense that the degree that prepares you directly for a career is going to be the more rigorous one.

When you're applying to med school, taking classes that impose the "passing is good" standard is generally not smart. You want to pad your GPA as much as you possibly can, for you'll be up against tens of thousands of other people who did just that. You may have taken far more difficult classes than they did, but your 3.3 is still going to look worse than their 3.7's by quite some margin. Just something to think about.

There should be a cake wall major in every university.

 

[Pepipanda]

I'm thinking Zoology or Bio, but I also want to study Chinese(possibly as a minor).

 

[engineeredout]

The subject matter is many times more difficult, yes. Most biology classes just involve memorization, whereas physics, engineering, and math tend to require a decent amount of memorization (albeit quite a bit less than bio) combined with a thorough conceptual understanding of the material to work through a few very complex problems.

The standards for the subjects are also very different. At UNC, passing physics and math classes was considered good work, and an A showed that you had truly mastered the material. Very few people got A's. Bio classes were a different story. I'd say that "good" range that a C constituted in physics/engineering/math was a B+ or A-. For most people, the difference is that your physics/math/engineering degree is extremely marketable; I have numerous friends who are already making $50-70k a year with only their BS's and 2 years of experience. A bio degree is just a gateway to graduate study, more or less. It should make sense that the degree that prepares you directly for a career is going to be the more rigorous one.

When you're applying to med school, taking classes that impose the "passing is good" standard is generally not smart. You want to pad your GPA as much as you possibly can, for you'll be up against tens of thousands of other people who did just that. You may have taken far more difficult classes than they did, but your 3.3 is still going to look worse than their 3.7's by quite some margin. Just something to think about.

Everything he said is absolutely correct, however I just wanted to toss in to not be afraid of doing an engineering or math major.

Very true, it is not the easy way to a high GPA by any means. Classical physics I and II at my school for engineering majors (not the same ones as the premeds take) was and still is one of the toughest classes I've ever taken.

The advantage of the engineering major is that you have other options besides medical school if you choose not to go there. Even in this terrible economy, the engineering job market is still doing a lot better than most. The engineering company that I'm currently working for is doing very well, as a result of many contracts being from overseas, and the nature of the petroleum industry, performing their overdue maintenance now when demand is down.

Engineering opens up doors for you with a bachlors degree which a BS in biology simply isn't going to provide.

Its certainly possible to be an engineering or math major and have a high GPA. I'm both, but my GPA isn't great, mainly due to my freshman/sophmore years. I wasn't premed then, I didn't care about having a 4.0. I was getting around a 3.0 and happy with that. Plus I had no idea how to study or how to get As anyway. Took until my junior year to figure that out. Thats not a reflection on the engineering/math fields in general as it is in my own personal ability (or lack thereof) to study effectively. If you can do it straight off the bat, you'll get a high GPA in whatever major you want.




Just offering the alternative point of view...

 

[Silverman780]

combining the two of the most popular majors (biology and chemistry) does not make you stand out .

It does if you do a Triple major with Biology, Chem and Biochemistry! That's what I was first planning on doing.

 

[Eisley]

probably bio or psych, with a minor in business.

 

[huskerdye]

Human Biology, because the program I'm in makes me..

 

[strv04]

Former bio major here

If I could do it again I would have definitely done business along with the prereqs possibly minoring in biology.

Its not that i don't like biology now its just that everything past mcat level stuff (the prereqs) has a very big theoretical research type flavor to it. In reality I have always been more interested in applying the science rather then discovering it hence why i was drawn to medicine rather then research.

Upper level bio courses are not fun. The most annoying classes in medical school are in the first year and include biochem and genetics (basically what you get as a junior/senior bio major). Everything past those two courses is much more enjoyable because it is all clinically relevant (physiology, pharm, path). Since you can't major in these things in college many pre-meds are drawn to biology and other hard sciences when in reality most of them are not actually interested in these fields. So instead of chasing after science ask yourself what your second choice in life would be if you could not be a physician. Don't just ask yourself what I am interested in studying right now but what you see yourself doing for the next 30-40 years. Major in that and minor in a science to keep that side of you happy.

(and don't double major in something you'll just look like a tool and never get to have a social life)

 

[Crazyday]

Now that I'm back in a biology course for the first time in 2 years (a chemistry course too), I find that I really love the stuff now. Knowing how the chemistry works between all the molecules and everything and then going to apply it to biology and physiology is just awesome.

I'm definitely going for a Philosophy/Biology double major now (considering a triple major Philosophy/Biology/Biochem), not out of hopes of any practical use but because I really love the stuff.

 

[niblet]

Former bio major here

If I could do it again I would have definitely done business along with the prereqs possibly minoring in biology.

Its not that i don't like biology now its just that everything past mcat level stuff (the prereqs) has a very big theoretical research type flavor to it. In reality I have always been more interested in applying the science rather then discovering it hence why i was drawn to medicine rather then research.

Upper level bio courses are not fun. The most annoying classes in medical school are in the first year and include biochem and genetics (basically what you get as a junior/senior bio major). Everything past those two courses is much more enjoyable because it is all clinically relevant (physiology, pharm, path). Since you can't major in these things in college many pre-meds are drawn to biology and other hard sciences when in reality most of them are not actually interested in these fields. So instead of chasing after science ask yourself what your second choice in life would be if you could not be a physician. Don't just ask yourself what I am interested in studying right now but what you see yourself doing for the next 30-40 years. Major in that and minor in a science to keep that side of you happy.

(and don't double major in something you'll just look like a tool and never get to have a social life)

Most students that enter college declaring themselves pre-med (at least those serious about it) are more likely to be interested in the hard sciences. There's a much greater resemblance between medicine and these "hard, theoretical, research-oriented" sciences than there is between medicine and such fields as business, law, journalism, computer science, english, and so on. As such, these students could more easily see themselves working in a lab than in an alternative setting corresponding to a completely different field of study. I'm sure there're pre-medical students who'd rather work in something like business, but I'd estimate they're in the minority.