Could you please help me help my daughter decide on colleges and majors? She definitely wants to go into genetics, but unsure yet if she wants to pursue medical carrier (become Genetics Counselor/ Geneticist) or go into science…
Where should we start our search? What major/university will allow her to do that? Do we look for genetics major or just regular bio? We are located in MA but i don’t see any universities that would offer genetics (although there are plenty of bio majors)
She is a first generation to attend American university and things are very different here… So we are confused and don’t really know what our first steps should be.
ps Her grades are good but PSAT was just OK, she’ll keep preparing for SAT but i wouldn’t expect her scores to be amazing, she has ADD and testing is always a struggle for her.
Add see if she qualifies for accommodations for the test… FYI.
Have her call a local hospital or email the genetic counselor and geneticists and ask questions. People will respond and might give her insight in which direction makes most sense for her. Google each field and university and you will come up with a list. Your on Mass… There should be plenty of hospitals like Maas general that do this.
For example, here is UMass’ biology major checklist:
Note that while four of five general areas (one of which is genetics) must be taken among the upper level courses, the student has five additional upper level biology electives. So a student who wants to concentrate on genetics can do so with the selection of genetics courses available:
My son also wants to study genetics and he’s hoping for a career in research. We found that some universities have a genetics major, but many others will have biochemistry, biological sciences, or it may fall under biology. We spent a lot of time browsing websites of universities and reading through the degree plans. A great resource also would be emailing the departments directly at any universities you are exploring. I’ve found faculty advisors to be very responsive and don’t think anyone we have emailed failed to respond. Good luck to your daughter!
A strong biology program will offer specialized courses in genetics, as well as in botany, anatomy, invertebrate biology, microbiology, developmental biology, neuroscience, cell biology, molecular biology, physiology, endocrinology, ecology, evolution and other sub-areas. As an opinion, while prospective students should review programs for a sufficient variety of courses in their particular area of interest, curricular breadth may, nonetheless, be highly relevant to most undergraduates with an interest in biology.