I need some Advice Options

[Raijinili]

Normally I wouldn't ask this online, but I'm having a lot of trouble deciding what degree I want to major in, so I need all the advice I can get. I want to go into a medical profession, so I applied for (and got accepted to) :

-Biomedical Engineering: Premedical

-Pharmacy Accelerated Program (that'll get me out in 5 years if I satisfy all the requirements and pass all the tests)

-A regular degree in Biology

I don't know much about Biomedical Engineering, except for the fact that it'll prepare me for medical school, and I have no idea what kind of career a degree in just Biology will lead me to.

If anyone knows anything about any of this, I'd appreciate your advice. I've also talked to a lot of people in real life, including counselors but the only thing they've said to me was do whatever you like best, which helped a lot. -_-

[Raijinili]

So, my older sister is also going to do something with medicine, and I was for a while, so i can try to give some advice. As for the bio major, I advise...well, I don't want to say against it, but try to reconsider it. Everyone in premed has a bio major, and so it's a lot more competitive for medical school entrance. If you just want to go through college regularly (the four plus the four plus the residency), it may be a good idea to look toward a different major. Something bio related could be nice, like biochemistry.

Unfortunately, I'm not too certain about the other two, but again, it really depends on what you want to do with medicine later in life. A practitioner may want to take a different path than that of a researcher. As for pharmacy...well...call it a bit shallow, but I feel that if you're going to do the hard work and go to school and take a lot of tough courses, you may as well get some prestige from it, and i just don't see it in pharmacy.

Again, I really am unsure of the first one, so...

This post has been edited by Buddhu23: Apr 12 2007, 03:46 AM

[Raijinili]

I like the word "accelerated", but we'd need more information about you as a student.

[Raijinili]

Try different things and decide for yourself. That's the only way you'll end up happy with what you do.

Don't let us dictate what you do with your life.

[Raijinili]

Or better yet, don't and you won't waste you or your parents' money. Feral obviously hasn't a clue what she's talking about.

Premed requires a humongous amount of effort is you want to get into med school, and even if you have a 4.0 you might not get in. It's a bit of a gamble.

A normal Biology major will suck when you're out lookig for a job; I've heard way too many horror stories about people graduating from that field not being to find any jobs.

I'd go with the accelerated pharmacy myself. I'm assuming it'll get you out real quicklike, and assuming you have decent grades you won't be desperate looking for jobs.

[Raijinili]

Try different things and decide for yourself. That's the only way you'll end up happy with what you do.

Don't let us dictate what you do with your life.

Like I said, I normally wouldn't ask this online but I keep flip flopping and I need all the advice I can get.

As I student, the last time I checked my GPA (in 11th grade), I had a 4.6, my SAT scores were around 1880, and I've taken 9 APs in total including the ones this year, and I've passed 3 so far (I didn't take Computer Science AP A, there was no way I was going to pass that test with the way my teacher was teaching and the way I was acting in that class)

The accelerated Pharmacy Program consists of a 2 year Pre-Pharmacy Undergraduate study and then a 3 year Graduate study for your PharmD, it's separated into 3 trimesters (3 semesters?), so instead of an 8 year path its only 5. I do see Buddhu's point about the whole prestige thing though, but the 5 year thing is kind of appealing.

For those who go to college, is it really hard to get a good grade, learn and get the most out of a professor in an impacted (very crowded) classes?

And thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it.

This post has been edited by aerozero: Apr 12 2007, 05:18 PM

[Raijinili]

In very crowded classes, it can be. But there are discussion groups and stuff for you to ask questions about the stuff you don't understand. Colleges and universities are very different from high school; you'll spend a HUGE amount of time studying if you want a decent GPA, even moreso if you're taking an accelerated course. Don't ever slack in a university, not even on day one, or you WILL regret it.

Considering your outstanding GPA, I would go for the accelerated course. Biomechanical engineering would be a close second, but you'd not only have to maintain a strictly high GPA level (I note your SAT is rather low though, surprising considering your high GPA) but also have other achievements if you want to go on to med school, so the Pharmacy major is the most practical choice if you want to get out in a good amount of time and have the skills to find a decent job.

And pfft... prestige? If you're going to university, you're not going to it for prestige, you're going to it so you can get a job and have a stable income in the future. Remember your priorities, practicality first, vanity second.

[Raijinili]

Yeah...I was never good at the SAT Reasoning tests and I'm not sure how I'd do on the MCAT, which is one of the reasons why I haven't decided on a straight clear course.

But I've narrowed my choices down to Biomedical and Pharmacy, what you guys said about the Biology Major made sense, and I was already wondering what I could do with just a major in Biology.

[Raijinili]

Don't let us dictate what you do with your life.

DON'T LISTEN TO HER! SHE'S MAKING LOGIC ERRORS! YOU CAN'T LISTEN TO HER WITHOUT NOT LISTENING TO HER!

Er...

He's not asking for us to choose for him. The decision is still his. We can't make the decision for him, although we can try and push him towards a decision. Listening to and even asking for the opinion of others doesn't suddenly erase your own opinion from existence.

I note your SAT is rather low though, surprising considering your high GPA

Ha, I graduated with a one point something GPA from high school and my SAT score is nothing like that. Grades test hard work more than tests, and you can get by with hard work even if you're not a genius.

This post has been edited by Raijinili: Apr 13 2007, 05:57 PM