Is it possible to become a Bio major during second year at UCI?

<p>I'm a Psychology major right now and I am just finishing up my first year with all of my GEs but science and math done. Could I change my major to Bio for next year and start taking all those requirements for med school? Are there any reasons why it might already be too late for me?</p>

<p>The bio sci program has a highly structured curriculum in the first two years. You need to take two years worth of lower division bio courses as follows (with no deviation, since each course is quarter-specific)</p>

<p>First year: (Chem 1A-B-C) 1LB, 1LC
Fall - Bio 93 (only offered in Fall and summer)
Winter - Bio 94 (only offered in Winter and summer)
Spring - No required bio courses offered</p>

<p>Second year: Chem 51A-B-C, 51LA, LB
Fall - Bio 97 (only offered in Fall and summer)
Winter - Bio 98 (etc)
Spring - Bio 99 (etc)</p>

<p>You need to take all of these courses in order since they are designed as pre-requesites of one another, ie you can’t become a bio major second year and expect to take Bio 97 without having taken the previous courses.</p>

<p>Options:

  1. Take Bio 93/94 and Chem 1A-B-C Chem 1LB-LC during the summer (since summer offers all courses and they do not check your pre-requisites).
  2. Talk to the counselor and if you can change majors, maybe they’ll let you take Bio 93 + 97 during fall of second year, and so on.</p>

<p>Problem is if you switch now, you’ll basically be starting as a Freshman Bio student, which they may not allow due to their strict (or becoming more strict) policy of graduating in 4-years. If you wish to take bio courses as a pre-req for med school only, you do not need to be a bio major to do this (although it facilitates the process because it’s difficult to enroll in bio courses since the bio majors have priority registration), and you would not be too late finishing up the pre-reqs for med school. BUT it will be hard getting into classes since lots of courses have course pre-reqs and the enrollment priority issue.</p>

<p>Best bet: Talk to your counselor for options.</p>

<p>It is possible. As of now it will determine whether you will be doing a 5th year. As long you took bio 93 and bio 94 and chem 1a-b-c, then you can finish in four years, if you didnt then you’ll have to take a fifth year unless you signed up summer classes to catch up, then your good.</p>

<p>Just stick with psychology. Take your chem and physics here at UCI (over the summer if you can’t get into them). </p>

<p>Take the bio classes at a nearby CC because bio labs at UCI require you to have a least 2 years of bio before taking em and med school only requires 1 year of general bio with lab as pre-reqs.</p>

<p>word around the bend is the bio department isnt a huge fan of 5th years…
if you do change, you’ll probably be doing summer school this summer and possibly next to finish within 4 years.</p>

<p>Wow…it sounds like it’s going to be really hard to change :(</p>

<p>I haven’t done any of the Bio or Chem classes yet…is it possible to get caught up over one summer?</p>

<p>Anything is possible! Except getting people to take me seriously… The sci lib really has gone down hill!!</p>

<p>No but really, it’s possible but improbable.</p>

<p>I don’t know if my advisor was just trying to scare me, but she told me that any Bio Sci major who doesn’t graduate in four years gets kicked out, end of story. I highly doubt that’s true though, but I would say that, if you’re not taking Bio Sci 93 and 94 over the summer (as well as Chem 1A-B-C if you haven’t completed those yet) between freshman and sophomore year, it’s too late. The Biological Sciences curriculum is kind of stupid with almost no leeway whatsoever, so everyone really has to maintain his or her pace all the way through. It’s probably a better idea to look for a different major to switch into.</p>

<p>Uhh, I don’t know why I replied to this, haha. The second poster pretty much hit all the targets.</p>