<p>Hey --- I'm going to be a freshman at Smith next school year. I've been firmly declaring "I have NO IDEA what I want to major in!" for a while now. However, I've decided that I should at the very least have a foggy idea of a few possible majors so I know what classes I want to take 1st semester. One major I've become increasingly interested in is Neuroscience; I checked out the neuroscience website, read about it, etc. and I think it may be a good fit for me. I've heard great things about Smith's bio/biochem/chem departments, but I haven't heard much about the neuroscience department. What have people heard about it? Good or bad reviews? Advice?</p>
<p>I have 2 friends who are/have been neuro majors at Smith and I haven't heard any bad things out of either. My '06 friend spent some summer time in addition to the school year working in Mary Harrington's lab. If you want to hear more from a current student (incoming senior), let me know and I am sure my friend will be happy to talk to you!</p>
<p>I've heard the neuroscience is a pretty good, the people that I've met who are in it seem to like it. But as a gov major I have no idea personally.</p>
<p>My D, who will be a sophomore, is thinking about a neuroscience major after being initially interested in cognitive psychology. She'll be getting a late start, but, after talking to some students at Smith about it, she decided it would be well worth a brutal schedule to catch up.</p>
<p>I recommend that you take bio and chem your first semester, just in case you stick with this idea. Even if you later decide that it's not for you, those courses would be excellent additions to any education.</p>
<p>D has a friend who graduated in Neuroscience this last May. She says the 4/5 in AP Bio definitely counts for Bio 111, maybe Bio 112 as well...she doesn't recall.</p>
<p>Neuroscience is an interdepartmental major and there's some flexibility on particular focus, etc.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how flexible the focus is at this point. My D went over the requirements with me, and at most there were a couple of choices for a few of the requirements -- for example, you could take course X or course Y to fulfill an "elective." The focus itself seemed pretty consistent.
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<p>The example that D used was neuroscience with a focus in marine biology...now, mind you, her knowledge is second hand, which makes mine third-hand.... Some data bits are probably being dropped with each successive transmission.</p>