<p>So I'm debating whether I should make French or Biology my major as I enter college this fall. I've always been good with the sciences but foreign languages (4 years of HS french) have been plain easy for me. I want to go to medical school and I know that I have to keep a VERY high GPA if I want to enter the top ones. I've heard that foreign language majors have a MUCH easier time keeping straight A GPAs even at the Ivies whereas Biology and Chemistry major have to truly struggle to get through all of those required science major weeder courses with a 3.75-3.8 GPA.</p>
<p>I've also heard that medical schools like humanities majors who have completed the pre-med requirements while maintaining a good GPA. Becoming a french major while completing the pre-med requirements just sounds less stressful so that I'll actually have SOME time to enjoy college a little bit rather than studying all the time. </p>
<p>Does anyone with more experience have anything to add?</p>
<p>Could someone also comment on the difficulty of HS French vs. College-level French classes?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>You are perfectly able to enter medical school as a non-science major. I suspect that the top schools know it is easier to keep a 4.0 GPA in French than Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry so I’m not sure that will give you an additional boost over a 3.8 GPA B.S. major with distinction in the major. If you enjoy the French and will enjoy college more with your free time, go for it.</p>
<p>Way back when I used AP credits to place out of all the intro math and science classes and used upper level science classes to meet pre-med requirements. By the time I was done with those, a science major wasn’t that difficult and it gave me much more freedom in my schedule to take a variety of humanities classes compared with a humanities major fulfilling pre-med requirements. You’ll get all the science you need (and then some) in medical school so it is nice to have a chance to study humanities in college.</p>
<p>I’m not going to try to place out of the intro math and science classes because I feel like I need the review. Don’t you feel WAY behind in the upper-level classes if you’ve had your intro classes in High School?</p>
<p>I started with Freshman Organic and never took Intro Bio or Chem with those labs. Those two courses and labs took up 6 of your 36 credits required to graduate. I took Physical Chemistry and Cell Biology/other upper level genetics class with labs to fullfill “pre-med” requirements but also significantly covered the coursework for an MB&B major. I had to petition with a roomate to take Biochem as a sophomore but they let us do it and it was easier for others to do that in the future we were told. I did not feel behind in upper level classes but ymmv. I’m not saying that a Yale science class is necessarily redundant compared to a high school AP class but 36 credits go by before you know it. By doing it my way I took a load of humanities classes while getting a B.S. in MB&B.</p>
<p>Do the professors in upper-level classes expect you to have the intro coursework completely learned and done with when you enter Freshman organic or do they expect to have students who use AP credit and might be a little slower than the sophomores with college intro experience?</p>
<p>Freshman Organic is for … freshmen. It is designed for freshmen with a strong AP science background.</p>
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<p>Another alum of Professor McBride’s legendary class?</p>
<p>^ :). Can’t believe he is still teaching it.</p>
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<p>Incredible, right? I heard he is retiring after this year though.</p>
<p>I’m honestly struggling with his exam style and lack of regular practice … but I really love everything I’ve learned so far. Just afraid it might affect me if I decide to be pre-med or a chem major since my grades in that class aren’t the best ;)</p>
<p>^ and that is the reason why I won’t skip my intros…</p>
<p>^ I would argue that to essentially retake courses you got 5’s on AP exams so that you can get easy A’s is a waste of an incredible opportunity to be at a place like Yale. There are 2000+ courses in the “blue book” and you don’t even get a chance to take 2% of them. I don’t know what Yale’s current med school placement statistics are but B’s in Freshman Organic are not going to matter as to whether you get into one.</p>
<p>Yale expects you to take the most challenging coursework to gain acceptance. A higher GPA taking Honors classes won’t cut it when you could be taking AP classes. I don’t know why you would assume medical schools would prefer A’s in intro chemistry to a hard earned grade in Freshman Organic when they have to assume the majority of Yale freshman have taken AP science classes already. I suspect the curve in Freshman Organic may be even more lenient that intro Chem which was a notorious pre-med weeder course too.</p>
<p>In my case, it’s worth it to retake the science intros (at least chemistry) because even though I got a 5 on my AP Chem exam, that was a year ago. I don’t remember chemistry properly, and I don’t see how you could have either unless you took AP chem senior year?</p>