<p>So, I am finishing up my junior year with a major in molecular cellular bio. I plan on applying to biomedical grad programs in the fall and have a few questions. Mainly about planning my classes for senior year. There are a few bio classes I want to take to advance my training, and I am 1 class out of a chem minor. Also I'm two classes out of a math minor ( I don't plan on finishing). I need to take two humanity type classes for graduation requirements.</p>
<p>For the chem minor, the most logical class for me to take is Medicinal chem, however this conflicts with a bio class, Immunology. I really want to take the immunology class as it's a field I'm seriously considering for grad work. So all logic points to taking that class and ditching medicinal chemistry. However, with one class away from my chem minor, it seems dumb not to finish it.</p>
<p>The remainder of the chem classes I could take require Physical chemistry, and I'm not quite sure I hate myself enough to take that. Plus if I took P chem to finish the minor, I'd have Genetics of Disease, Cancer Bio, P chem, and immunology in one semester, which sounds just dreadful along with full time research (18hours). I'm pretty sure a semester like that would hurt my GPA, thus negating my efforts to HELP my chances of getting into grad school :P. Alternatively I could take P chem II in the spring as it is completely unrelated to P chem I at my uni. </p>
<p>So, is a chem minor going to do me any good? Or will taking the extra Bio class help me more. If a chem minor isn't going to have an impact, than I'd prefer to just drop it.</p>
<p>My intuition tells me to take the bio class, I guess I'm just looking for alittle validation haha. Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>Minors and double majors are worth a lot less than people think they are. If it were me, I’d take the course in immunology in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>Incidentally, although you’ll have to list your classes in progress at the time you apply for grad school, most bio PhD programs don’t require you to send in your first semester grades after you complete the semester. So while your class choices matter somewhat, your grades don’t (as long as you end up graduating).</p>
<p>Anyone who gets a biology BS at my school will be one class away from a chemistry minor. This is probably a common occurrence, and adcoms are not blind to this fact. They care more about the classes you’ve taken than the title of the degrees those classes comprise. Take immunology, and don’t bother with pchem. It is the opposite of the “dumb” decision, which would be to sign up for a class that will be a drain of your time and energy just because it gets you an extra line of ink on the diploma.</p>
<p>I wound up with a minor in physics to compliment my materials science & engineering degree, and was told during a number of graduate school visits it was seen as a definite bonus. I think it highlighted the extra work I did in thermo, quantum, and solid state physics that most engineers won’t have done. I don’t think a double major would have helped me any more than my minor, since all the additional classes I would have had to take wouldn’t have related to what I want to study.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input everyone. I’ve talked to a few people here at school, and it seems everyone agrees that the immunology class is the way to go and to hell with the chem minor haha.</p>
<p>If anyone else has some insight feel free to add in.</p>
<p>I think the message, to phrase it in one sentence, is that minors are “useful” if and only if they somehow complement your major choice, else they are merely out of academic interest.</p>
<p>I think a math minor could supplement many courses of study – I’d recommend it to basically any engineer, physicist, or CS major.</p>
<p>I agree that a chem minor on top of MCB is pretty useless if you’re heading into biomedical sciences. Unless you’re really into chemistry (which it doesn’t sound like), it won’t do you a whole lot of good to take any additional classes. Focus on really learning the relevant things!</p>