<p>I graduated from HS two years ago and will be beginning at a California CC in the upcoming semester. I plan on applying to UC-Berkeley as a junior transfer however I am not sure if I have what it takes to survive as a biololgy major at a school like Berkeley.</p>
<p>I've used <a href="http://www.assist.org%5B/url%5D">www.assist.org</a> to map out what courses I would be able to take before applying as a transfer, which basically consist of physics, biology, chemistry, and calculus. I have been out of school for some time now so my familiarity of these materials is not as fresh as many others. This is one reason I am worried.</p>
<p>I am genuinely interested in the material and study of biology however it is not a subject that comes tremendously "easy" to me, as in the case of more liberl arts related fields such as english and history. Those are 2 majors that I have strongly considered because I have always done exceptionally well in them while in an academic setting. </p>
<p>However, back to biology, I am worried that even if I manage to pull a 3.5-4.0 GPA in the courses at my CC, upon arriving at UC-Berkeley, I will be eaten alive by the academics. I don't have a strong backgroud as of now in the medical/biological science fields. I am openly admitting this, but is this reason enough for me to shy away from pursuing a degree in it? The passion to learn is there. It's just that I fear I will be severly behind upon arriving in a college academic setting in terms of prior knowledge of the field. </p>
<p>I hope this post is not too confusing. I'm just looking for opinions. This site has always helped me out in the past. Thanks</p>
<p>Why are you majoring in biology if you do exceptionally well in English and history? Junior college will be a great opportunity for you to test the waters to see if majoring in biology is right for you.</p>
<p>Because a liberal arts degree is largely useless for employment?</p>
<p>I suggest going to previous websites of classes you're interested in taking (or required to take for the major). Study the test and try to predict how well you would do. Try to contact former gsi's as well and ask them what the curve was like. That will give your a ballpark estimate.</p>
<p>The easiest way is to find someone like you. Maybe someone you knew who made similar grades to you in High School went to Berkeley or someone you feel is about as smart as you majored in Biology at another UC. Ask them how difficult it was and you should get a good idea of what's needed.</p>
<p>To the OP: Are you going to go to graduate school?</p>
<p>If not, biology is one of the worst, and lowest paying undergraduate majors. I read somewhere it pays less than practically all of the liberal arts (or other liberal arts...)You can basically work in a lab for no pay if you only have an undergraduate degree. So unless you are going to graduate school, I'd consider majoring in something else.</p>
<p>Also, biology is basically a lot of rote memorization. It differs from chemistry in this respect in the upper divs, supposedly. I believe that if you put in enough time, you can do well in biology considering it's a lot of memorization.</p>
<p>Just do very well in the CC (say 3.9-4.0 range), and I think you will be okay.</p>