<p>I am currently about to enter my freshman year at Stanford and I will be on a premed track. Of course, I've also been deliberating over which major would best suit me (premed reqs don't give me much time/room to explore) and would be bearable given the rigor of premed. This is complicated by my interest in programming at Stanford, which naturally deals with a major (Computer Science) that typically seems to be considered hellish (and relatively grade deflated) as it is. However, I've stumbled upon what appears to be a designed "biomedical computation" major and I was wondering how it differs from computer science ( other than its research component) and in general would be more doable (read as not GPA killing) in conjunction with premed. I am no genius by any means if that means anything. </p>
<p>On a more unrelated note, I have also been considering a major in humbio (I like humanities too)/bio with a possible minor in CS (though I could exclusively do humbio as well X_X), though I doubt the overall practicality with regard to this as a contingency option in case medicine falls through. It should be obvious by now that I am rather lost with regards to this issue so I would really appreciate any help on this matter.</p>
<p>Umm… CS is not hellish. Anything but actually. Your premed requirements are going to be a lot more hellish sometimes than a lot of your CS classes. </p>
<p>At first I was a premed, just like you. Then I took some CS classes, found out I really liked it, and I switched. And I just so happen to like Biology, so I’m probably going to do Biocomp track.</p>
<p>What you need to know:
-CS is not grade deflated in any means relative to other majors. My grades have actually steadily improved since I switched to CS.
-The BMC major vs. CS-Biocomp is almost indistinguishable. The main difference are the BMC tracks. Overall, the classes you have to take between the two will be similar enough that you can postpone making this decision until later (sophomore year). And it really comes down to do I want to take more advanced CS (which leads to CS) or more advanced Bio (which leads to more BMC). Regardless, the difference is only in a handful of classes that you will take. </p>
<p>To me, the hard part came in when you had to take Organic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry while trying to balance Bio and CS. But if you are set on Premed, this is just something you have to face and get done with. </p>
<p>I personally have a beef with HumBio (especially some of the people who take it simply to boost GPAs for Med School admissions), but many HumBio majors have successful careers outside of medicine. And you can’t go wrong with Bio.</p>
<p>In the mean time, I recommend the following:
-Take CS106A fall quarter
-Take Chem 31X over Chem31 A/B. It will save you a lot of hardship.
-Keep following the intro sequences throughout the year. By even Spring quarter, you’ll have a better idea of what you want to go toward and what you want to do with your life.</p>
<p>Also feel free to PM me with more questions about Biocomp, premed reqs, or anything Stanford-related in general.</p>