<p>As of right now I believe I want to major in biochemistry. I am also considering being pre med, so I was wondering if it would be very difficult to get good grades in many of the classes for this major at Penn since I could be competing against many of the students in the Vagelos program, who are very strong/competitive</p>
<p>The biochemistry major (and especially Vagelos MLS) is definitely a more rigorous route to med school than what is required. You also don’t get a very liberal education because of all the required classes. Having said that, you don’t need to decide on a major right away. Take chemistry, calculus, physics and biology (all required for premed) to see how you do and how you like it. If your GPA really takes a hit, then you might have your answer. Remember, about half of all students do not end up majoring in what they thought they would when they applied to Penn.</p>
<p>thanks 212DAD! anyone else know anything?</p>
<p>I’m also thinking about majoring in biochem, and found the major’s website pretty helpful. You can still take many courses outside of the sciences and math if you want to, and you’ll still need a bunch because of the general requirements.</p>
<p>One special thing about Penn’s biochem major is that you must do at least 1 year of research in a bio/biochem lab.</p>
<p>[The</a> Biochemistry Major Program](<a href=“http://www.sas.upenn.edu/biochem/biochem.html]The”>Biochemistry | Penn Arts & Sciences)</p>
<p>I hear the Biochem major is great at Penn, a senior in Vagelos (who is actually going to grad school for physics) said he has really enjoyed it. However, I think something many high school students may not understand is that biochemistry takes a much different approach than say molecular biology. It is essentially the physical science of biological molecules and uses the ideas of chemistry to analyze biological systems. For this reason it is much more mathematical than biology and you are also required to take physical chemistry. To major in biochemistry you may not ever need to take a biology class. The purpose of the Vagelos program is actually in response to what many scientists view as the “oversimplification” in biology.
That being said, if you like math and science and put in the work, you should be fine. However, if you are not as fond of math and chemistry you may want to consider biology.</p>
<p>thanks Poeme! Considering I love math and chem and am not a big fan of biology, that sounds perfect for me!</p>