Psychology major

[xnfs93hy]

Hey. I have been thinking about what I am going to major in once I get into college.

I've thrown business out the window, I have no desire to go into that field at all.

The reason I am posting this is because this Easter was kind of interesting. I just got back from a family party. BUT

One of my cousins' BF's got rejected from med school I think twice. He went to a really tough UG. I do not know his stats but its sounds like he had no clinical experience, no volunteer work, nothing. I'm sure he had decent grades but nothing stellar from the sound of it. I forget what she said his major was but it sounded difficult.

He is now doing research at some prestigious hospital or whatever in NY.

But, after listening to what you guys have to say, I think I am going to play it smart and safe.

The reason I am choosing Psych is because it gives me a really great fallback if medical school doesn't work out (which happens). It is also a subject I really enjoy.

Honestly, I know AP Psych is a joke class (even for me it is a joke) but it is a good class to take and I absolutely love it, it is awesome. It was honestly the only class I've wanted to take in school.

But what I am trying to get at here is, when you study Psych, you aren't taking classes like Calculus III and stuff.

What keeps worrying me is that Psych seems like such an easy major to get a high GPA in. Will med school's care if I chose an easy major?

I mean, to be honest, if you enjoy psych, I cannot see why anyone wouldn't get high marks, Psych really isn't that difficult of a subject to learn.

You guys keep telling me to major in what I enjoy and what will help me get a high GPA.

Psychology seems to be it for me.

What do you think? Here, let me ask it this way:

Would a 4.0 in Psychology (coupled with high marks in the pre reqs, etc, etc) be just as good or even BETTER than someone who took microchemicalneurobiology and got a 3.4 in it?

Does it really just come down to who has the higher GPA?

And if so, why the HELL would someone even study that?

The only answer I can muster up is that "they enjoy it". But that begs the question "If you want to get into professional school, then why the hell did you study such a hard subject?"

This is assuming the applicant does alright (note that I used 3.4 GPA).
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Does anyone else think Psych is easy? IS IT?

It seems way too good to be true. If school, and major do not matter, then why do people fuss over about undergrad schools, pre med programs, and all this crap?

From the way it sounds, med school doesn't seem that hard to get into as long as you have the grades and the necessary extras (volunteer work, research, LOR's, etc.)

Is that all there is to it?

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[yanorglu]

What gave you an idea that a Psychology major gives you something to fall back on? I was under the impression that it's useless unless you outright get a phd...

And to answer your question, yes it would be better. I'd assume your grades in the pre-reqs are most important, but having an easy/enjoyable major definitely means you'd be less distracted.

 

[xnfs93hy]

What gave you an idea that a Psychology major gives you something to fall back on? I was under the impression that it's useless unless you outright get a phd...

And to answer your question, yes it would be better. I'd assume your grades in the pre-reqs are most important, but having an easy/enjoyable major definitely means you'd be less distracted.

If I get rejected then I can continue on the Psych path.

 

[yanorglu]

Sounds good, just keep in mind that getting into a good grad school is no walk in the park either :O

 

[AdmiralChz]

Dude, take a wide variety of classes your first year. You honestly have NO IDEA what you will like - I never could have guessed that I would have majored in Econ 4 years ago. Just go with the flow, if you like a subject then take more of it.

Majors will not - repeat NOT - affect med school apps (not that you should really be thinking about that at all at this stage...........) in any way. Major in something you enjoy - otherwise you'll hate the majority of classes that you take, who would want that?

 

[135892]

Generally, I think psych is considered to be pretty easy, at least when compared to other majors.

Med schools will not care what you major in. A 3.8 in psych beats a 3.4 in engineering

What do you plan on doing with a psych degree as a back-up? If you enjoy psych, and want to go on to grad school in it, then sure, its a good major. But a bachelors in psychology really isn't considered to be a great "plan b" in and of itself.

And most importantly, there's no need to worry about all this now (although it is good that you're thinking about it). After you get in college, and get a few classes under your belt, you'll get more of a feel on your likes and dislikes. And most everyone changes their major at some point, or at least that's what the "how to choose your major" pamphlets say...

 

[Gallix23]

Psych really isn't that difficult of a subject to learn.

Ohh, but you are mistaken. AP Psych may be a joke at your school, like regular psych is at mine, but a few of my friends take AP psych taught by a college professor (who also teaches at my school) and trust me, it is HARD. I mean, I consider myself smart, especially in the science field (I have an A+ in Anatomy, the second hardest course in my school), and even I have trouble keeping up with what they're learning in AP psych.

If you love psych, by all means major in it, but don't do it just because you think it is an easy road. Psych is technically a history major, so you'd probably have to make sure to schedule in all of your other pre-reqs separatley as well.

 

[AdmiralChz]

Ohh, but you are mistaken. AP Psych may be a joke at your school, like regular psych is at mine, but a few of my friends take AP psych taught by a college professor (who also teaches at my school) and trust me, it is HARD. I mean, I consider myself smart, especially in the science field (I have an A+ in Anatomy, the second hardest course in my school), and even I have trouble keeping up with what they're learning in AP psych.

If you love psych, by all means major in it, but don't do it just because you think it is an easy road. Psych is technically a history major, so you'd probably have to make sure to schedule in all of your other pre-reqs separatley as well.

Agreed. It's very easy for a high school student to say "oh that'll be so easy, I blew through it in high school." You'll find out statements like that never hold true in college.

 

[xnfs93hy]

I never said it was easy. I even asked. Apparently it isn't. However, it does not involve math beyond Calculus I which is good.

I did say it seems easy b/c AP Psych in my school and I think generally is considered to be a joke.

 

[yanorglu]

Isn't Calc part of the pre-reqs :O?

 

[135892]

Ohh, but you are mistaken. AP Psych may be a joke at your school, like regular psych is at mine, but a few of my friends take AP psych taught by a college professor (who also teaches at my school) and trust me, it is HARD. I mean, I consider myself smart, especially in the science field (I have an A+ in Anatomy, the second hardest course in my school), and even I have trouble keeping up with what they're learning in AP psych.

If you love psych, by all means major in it, but don't do it just because you think it is an easy road. Psych is technically a history major, so you'd probably have to make sure to schedule in all of your other pre-reqs separatley as well.

Psych may not necessarily be easy, but its all relative. Compared to many other majors, especially all the science ones, psych isn't too bad (although I have no first-hand experience myself... just going by what people say).

 

[135892]

I never said it was easy. I even asked. Apparently it isn't. However, it does not involve math beyond Calculus I which is good.

I did say it seems easy b/c AP Psych in my school and I think generally is considered to be a joke.

Most majors do not require math beyond calc 1. Physics, engineering, math (of course), and chemistry (depending on your school) are the only majors I can think of that require loads of math. If not being required to take math courses is a big criterion for you, you have plenty of choices.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Psych may not necessarily be easy, but its all relative. Compared to many other majors, especially all the science ones, psych isn't too bad (although I have no first-hand experience myself... just going by what people say).

That is what I mean.

 

[nlax30]

You'll be fine with a pysch degree, really any degree, it doesn't matter. Just do well in whatever you choose.

I chose pysch because it was a very flexible major at my undergrad university and closely tied with the neuroscience department, so I was able to focus more on the neuro/psycho-biology side of the field than the counseling side.

I wouldn't necessarily classify any particular major as harder or easy than others, it's all relative. Overall psych may not be the most technically difficult, but it can be different from some of the concrete sciences (chem, bio) and some people may have trouble with some of the more abstract concepts in pysch.

A lot of people take some sort of general psych course, which is usually pretty straight forward, but there is more to it than that. There's cognitive (thinking, memory, etc...), behavioral, counseling, abnormal pysch, developmental, and so forth.

Biggest thing is to just do well in whatever major you choose while doing well in the pre-reqs.

 

[El Nino]

My $0.2

Are you genuinely interested in psychology? If so, then major in it. However, do not do it because you want to "play it smart and safe". Because if you do pursue medicine and offered an interview you do not want to sound superficial when asked why you major in psychology.

From what I've researched majority of the med schools require Cal 1 and another math (Statistics highly recommend). Except for (LOL) Harvard Cal 1 & 2

 

[Gallix23]

Most majors do not require math beyond calc 1. Physics, engineering, math (of course), and chemistry (depending on your school) are the only majors I can think of that require loads of math. If not being required to take math courses is a big criterion for you, you have plenty of choices.

I agree. Those three take rigorous math courses beyond Calc III, and surprisingly, so do music/sound recording majors. Other than that, you really only have to worry about Calc 1 (which is really not that hard if you brush up on algebra and trig).

 

[AdmiralChz]

Econ (my major) can require quite a bit of math, especially if you want it to. A math minor is almost a prereq (because you need so many math classes) for econ grad school. Just FYI

 

[xnfs93hy]

Seems to me that NO medical school requires anything above Calculus II. Good, I'll take I and II at Rutgers then.

Most require a sem. of calc and then Stats.

Some only just need one lone semester of college level math. So I could just take a sem. of Calc I OR stats.

That is good to hear .

 

[135892]

Econ (my major) can require quite a bit of math, especially if you want it to. A math minor is almost a prereq (because you need so many math classes) for econ grad school. Just FYI

Yeah, surprisingly, my school's economics degree requires very little math. I don't know if this is the norm or not. But if you actually want to go on to grad school or get a decent job in economics, I'm sure upper-level math would be very useful/necessary.

 

[135892]

I agree. Those three take rigorous math courses beyond Calc III, and surprisingly, so do music/sound recording majors. Other than that, you really only have to worry about Calc 1 (which is really not that hard if you brush up on algebra and trig).

sound recording - is that like audio engineering? If it isn't, why else would you need a lot of math for that?

 

[ButImLETired]

A few points.

1) Difficulty of majors, as many have said, is relative. I love hearing how easy English majors or foreign language majors or philosophy majors have it from people who can't write, think critically, or learn another language to save their lives. People who major is insane-sounding science stuff tend to arrogantly lord it over liberal arts majors, and then they weep at the sight of a 20-page paper assignment and they can barely get through the verbal reasoning of the MCAT cause they've never read anything but textbooks. Anyway, point is, it's all relative.

2) It is generally true that your major and school of attendance are irrelevant. Notice I said generally. It is all well and good to have a 3.9 in a liberal arts major from a no-name school, but you'll definitely have more pressure to get a high MCAT if you're aiming for a top-tier, and even then, you'll be competing with the ivy-leaguer 3.9/38 crowd. If you're going to go to a no-name institution and do a generally underestimated major, then be smart about it. Do some important research, be really involved in your school, earn fantastic letters of recommendation by showing that you'd be an excellent student anywhere. Be proactive, get to know your professors, do things that get you noticed. Look for resources even when they're more limited that they would be at a higher-tier school. The people I know who got into really high-ranked med schools from average or low-tier schools were pretty amazingly impressive people. If you're aiming for A med school (especially if you're not from CA) then it's true that major and school don't matter at all. For the top-tier schools, things get iffier.

3) Doing a major you love is always better than doing a major you "think you should do". You'll get more involved, get to know more people, and in general seem a lot more enthusiastic, which will help your LORs.

4) If you ARE doing a liberal arts or social science major, make sure your grades in the pre-requisites are spotless. You won't have high-level sciences to pad your science gpa or prove that you're capable of grad-level work. There's definitely a lot more pressure to do well in your pre-reqs, cause that's the only real way med schools can compare you to someone else with a different major.

 

[xnfs93hy]

A few points.

1) Difficulty of majors, as many have said, is relative. I love hearing how easy English majors or foreign language majors or philosophy majors have it from people who can't write, think critically, or learn another language to save their lives. People who major is insane-sounding science stuff tend to arrogantly lord it over liberal arts majors, and then they weep at the sight of a 20-page paper assignment and they can barely get through the verbal reasoning of the MCAT cause they've never read anything but textbooks. Anyway, point is, it's all relative.

2) It is generally true that your major and school of attendance are irrelevant. Notice I said generally. It is all well and good to have a 3.9 in a liberal arts major from a no-name school, but you'll definitely have more pressure to get a high MCAT if you're aiming for a top-tier, and even then, you'll be competing with the ivy-leaguer 3.9/38 crowd. If you're going to go to a no-name institution and do a generally underestimated major, then be smart about it. Do some important research, be really involved in your school, earn fantastic letters of recommendation by showing that you'd be an excellent student anywhere. Be proactive, get to know your professors, do things that get you noticed. Look for resources even when they're more limited that they would be at a higher-tier school. The people I know who got into really high-ranked med schools from average or low-tier schools were pretty amazingly impressive people. If you're aiming for A med school (especially if you're not from CA) then it's true that major and school don't matter at all. For the top-tier schools, things get iffier.

3) Doing a major you love is always better than doing a major you "think you should do". You'll get more involved, get to know more people, and in general seem a lot more enthusiastic, which will help your LORs.

4) If you ARE doing a liberal arts or social science major, make sure your grades in the pre-requisites are spotless. You won't have high-level sciences to pad your science gpa or prove that you're capable of grad-level work. There's definitely a lot more pressure to do well in your pre-reqs, cause that's the only real way med schools can compare you to someone else with a different major.

Psych wouldn't fall under that, right?

And when you say no name, I hope you mean no name. Like, not Rutgers or Penn State or something.

So..you are saying that there is more pressure to do well in my pre reqs then correct?

When should I get involved in research? How long should I do it?

And how to I get publications?

And I also hope that Psych doesn't fall under the "Easy major" category. I doubt it does, just clarifying here.

To be honest, and I know my "favorites" may change, I think I could care less about where I get accepted, as long as I still have a shot at competitive specialties, in which case, I would just attend my states' med school.

The only top school I would even want would be Hopkins which is pretty much impossible.

 

[yanorglu]

Has anyone told you you're awfully ahead of yourself?

Oh yeah. They have. :V

 

[BloodySurgeon]

Some schools are different. My school had psychobiology, cognitive psychology, and regular psychology. The requirements could range from computer science classes to neurobiology. Some schools are science heavy while others do not incorporate any science at all. It is even possible to obtain a bachelor's of science with psychology. Yes, psychology can be easy at times but so can science classes. I've had psychology classes with a paper, midterm, and final where 92% was a B+ and 96% was an A-. On the other hand, I had science classes when a 80% was an A+. Medical schools won't care what major you are, so why not take classes you will enjoy. I don't know about you, but I tend to do better in classes I enjoy rather than those that I despise (even when those classes are even harder).

Coming from a top UG does have its merits as well. To list a few, research opportunity, alumni connections, and school resources. Although medical schools make only a little consideration to what school you came from, for almost any other purposes it will most definitely help you in your future endeavors.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Some schools are different. My school had psychobiology, cognitive psychology, and regular psychology. The requirements could range from computer science classes to neurobiology. Some schools are science heavy while others do not incorporate any science at all. It is even possible to obtain a bachelor's of science with psychology. Yes, psychology can be easy at times but so can science classes. I've had psychology classes with a paper, midterm, and final where 92% was a B+ and 96% was an A-. On the other hand, I had science classes when a 80% was an A+. Medical schools won't care what major you are, so why not take classes you will enjoy. I don't know about you, but I tend to do better in classes I enjoy rather than those that I despise (even when those classes are even harder).

Coming from a top UG does have its merits as well. To list a few, research opportunity, alumni connections, and school resources. Although medical schools make only a little consideration to what school you came from, for almost any other purposes it will most definitely help you in your future endeavors.

Major Requirements

The following requirements must be met before declaring the major in psychology:
1. Completion of 01:830:101 General Psychology with a grade of C or better.
2. Completion of 01:830:200 Quantitative Methods in Psychology with a grade of C or better.
The following requirements must be met to complete a major in psychology:
1. Completion of six of the seven core courses in psychology. The seven core courses are 01:830:301 Sensation and Perception, 01:830:305 Cognition, 01:830:311 Conditioning and Learning, 01:830:313 Physiological Psychology, 01:830:321 Social Psychology, 01:830:331 Infant and Child Development, and 01:830:340 Abnormal Psychology.
2. Completion of one course designated as a laboratory course.
3. Completion of four additional 3- or 4-credit elective courses at the 200 level or higher. No more than one of these four additional courses may be a nonclassroom course such as fieldwork, internship, or research. No college honors courses (except those with 830 subject index) may count toward this requirement.
4. Completion of precalculus (01:640:112 or 115) or tested placement into calculus. All laboratory courses in psychology have precalculus as a prerequisite.
5. A cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.0 in all psychology (01:830) courses including, if available, up to 6 credits of Honors Research in Psychology or up to 3 credits of other nonclassroom credits in psychology.
6. A minimum of 38 credits in psychology (830 subject index) must be completed.
7. At least seven of the 3- or 4-credit courses counting toward the major must be taken at Rutgers-New Brunswick/Piscataway.
Membership in the Psychology Club is open to all majors. Information and applications may be obtained online at http://www.psychology.rutgers.edu.

 

[TheMagicCookie]

Jeff, have you been accepted to Rutgers yet? I know recently you've been undecided about where to go, I was just wondering if you had settled on anything/ received an acceptance.

 

[236116]

And when you say no name, I hope you mean no name. Like, not Rutgers or Penn State or something.

Rutgers is in NJ, it's automatically no-name.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Rutgers is in NJ, it's automatically no-name.

I don't know if you were kidding or not.

To the other poster, no I have not even applied yet, but I think that is where I am going to go. I am visiting it in a couple weeks.

 

[Maygyver]

Has anyone told you you're awfully ahead of yourself?

Oh yeah. They have. :V

Jeff, I agree. Seriously, just focus on your highschool subjects and finding out what you really enjoy. Once you find something that you don't have to ask for verification of on the forums, you will have found something you love. Stop relying on personal opinions for things that you need to do some soul-searching for.

 

[tennisball80]

I would spend the first year to figure out what is the easier major in my university based on easiness of courses, quality of professors and other stuff.

 

[mai mai]

I would spend the first year to figure out what is the easier major in my university based on easiness of courses, quality of professors and other stuff.

I partially agree... Yes, spend your first year taking as many classes as possible to see which one interests you the most. However, some times the easiest classes aren't necessarily the best way to go when it comes to choosing a major.
When I started college I went with what was easy (Math), then figured out that it was just too boring.