I applied to Pre-Medical but people have been telling me that Lyman Briggs is better. Should I switch? I don’t really understand the difference between the two. Which is better? And what are the distinct differences between them?
No one has replied but I’ll try to help. I don’t know too much about the differences between each college but an MSU admissions counselor who visited my school told us that Lyman Briggs is slightly smaller and offers a slightly more individualized approach. I don’t think there’s a major difference however, you should be fine.
Hi, I am a Freshmen in Lyman Briggs and I will try to help you (although its been a few months since you asked)
Lyman Briggs is a residential college within MSU. There are about three residential colleges, the other major one is James Madison, which is a lot students who are pre-law and that general area. Lyman Briggs is a residential college in the sciences. The majority of Lyman Briggs students are pre-med which is sort of why people will tell you that Lyman Briggs is better than just being in (probably) the college of natural science.
You are asking what the difference is between being pre-med and lyman briggs, which is an interesting question.
First of all, Pre-Medical is NOT a major, it is a path. Pre-Med students have majors ranging all over the place, some science related/ some not at all science related. To apply to medical school, there are certain classes you have to take to apply (biology, genetics, chemistry, some writing) so when you meet with an advisor and tell them you are pre-med, they will help you navigate your degree along with pre med requirements (classes, volunteering, preparing for the MCAT, etc). If you are pre-med, you will probably end up with some science major that would put you in the College of Natural Science.
Lyman Briggs is a separate college. The majority of students are pre-med, and there are a lot of majors offered that overlap with the College of Natural Science.
For example, Human biology is a popular major for many pre-med, Briggs students. A senior in high school may apply to MSU, list human biology as their major, and be accepted. They would be in the College of Natural Science and would complete a list of classes and graduate from that particular college within MSU, all while being pre-med. If someone applied to MSU, listed their major as Lyman Briggs, and was accepted, then they would start out in Lyman Briggs. Within Lyman Briggs, there is also a human biology major. So this student would live in Holmes Hall their first year, along with almost all the other freshmen lyman briggs students, most likely taking chem I and II, and lab, calc I and II, along with HPS, and whatever else the advisor tells them they should take. They would have to complete all of the Lyman Briggs major requirements, (chem I and II, and lab, calc I and II, physics I and II, bio I and II, HPS, and upper level HPS, and senior seminar) and the requirements for the human bio major for Briggs would be almost identical to the human bio major requirement for the College of Natural Science, except you would also have to do all of the Briggs requirements. The Briggs requirements are not bad, and they are what most pre-med students are going to have to take anyway since they are pre-reqs for most of the upper level classes, or they fulfill university requirements (the HPS classes in particular).
Now the question is why would someone want to be in Lyman Briggs college over any other college. Lyman Briggs allows you to make a huge university, small. You have all of the advantages of a large, research university, while living in a small residential college. This has its own advantages that I don’t know how to really articulate well, except through personal example. So, Monday mornings I head down to breakfast where I have breakfast with my friend, while eating breakfast I see a few of the same groups of students and I know most of their names. After breakfast, my friend and I walk down to the classrooms and wait for chem to start, while waiting we see some of the same groups of students since they are also in our chem lecture. Following chem, I walk across the road to Akers where my calc class is. There are a couple students in there who are also in my chem lecture. (I should probably mention that both my Chem and calc professors know my name, unlike any university class i have had) After calc I walk back across the street to Holmes Hall, and head downstairs to the basement where I study in one of the study lounges. Both my chem and calc professors offices are down that hall, so while I’m studying, if I have any questions, I can go down and ask any questions I have. Later, I meet my roommate for dinner in the caf, we generally see the same people in the caf. After dinner, I get ready and head to my evening lab, which is in the basement near where I was studying earlier. In my lab, there are about 3 groups of 3, and 1 group of 4, and there are a few students from the same chem lecture there.
To summarize, Lyman Briggs makes a large university, small. I have classes with a lot of the same people, it is easy to find people to study with. Professors are easily accessible. It is almost like being in a college where everyone is pre-med, but you still have all the resources of a large university.
I hope this helps!
1 Like