<p>I'm in between schools, and just have some questions for all the people in pre-med. I am a high school senior and got into CAS. I applied as a Bio major and got in, but what from I've been reading, being a science major will lower your GPA. So I guess my questions are:</p>
<p>Will being a Bio major lower my GPA (assuming I'm just average at Bio)? If so, what should I major in while following Premed to make my life easier?</p>
<p>What classes should I take as a Freshman and what teacher's are the combination of best/easiest? I checked Ratemyprofessor and there all over the place, the only solid review I found was John Haplin for Genchem. </p>
<p>How difficult is it to keep a 3.6+ at NYU?</p>
<p>Thanks you. If there's anything else you think is helpful that I forgot, well, double thanks!</p>
<p>haha make that three of us in the same boat ;]
ive also heard that med school likes well rounded people, and was recommended not to major in a science but just do pre-med and major in something else, but idk how true this is.
but then again, theres nothing on nyu’s list of majors that catches my attention besides bio…and nutrition, but thats just a minor :[
id also like a few pointers from people in bio now and stuff, but id say the best bet is to ask an adviser at the school who knows about this stuff.</p>
<p>my dad used to conduct interviews for NYU school of med. it is true, that people can NOT major in bio/chem/biochem and still go to med school. as long as you fulfill the requirements and do well on your MCATs, you’ll be fine. the thought process is that liberal arts majors know how to express themselves and think about arguments and that those thought processes lend themselves well to becoming a doctor.</p>
<p>no one can tell you what classes to take as a freshman. it largely depends on what’s being offered. when you come for orientation, there will be students that will help you put your schedule together. fulfill your liberal arts requirements as soon as you can. and DO NOT TAKE ORGANIC CHEM AS A FRESHMAN!</p>
<p>im taking organic now as a high school senior. its confusing, but its possible to get thru with some extra studying and tutoring and stuff. in college i heard its a lot more complicated and u walk out of ur final crying lol :/</p>
<p>missamericanpie, ur NOT scared me. what wud happen if i majored in bio? thats honestly the only thing that caught my eye on the list of majors, and id be at a loss if i didnt major in it and minor in nutrition.
i mean…i think if i do some research things and various clubs, etc. i shud be fine? MCATS requirements and research are all that really matter, no?</p>
<p>who do u recommend i talk to this about? i got an email from the head of the bio dep. about majoring in bio, but idk if shes the right person to ask haha. shud i start worrying about this now, or shud i wait until im ready to declare my major?</p>
<p>sorry one more question…what are liberal arts requirements? is that part of morse or something completely different?</p>
<p>yeah. MAP, Morse Academic Plan and liberal arts requirements are all the same. i only said liberal arts requirements because i didn’t know if you would know what MAP is. </p>
<p>just wait. you’re going to have to wait until a certain number of credits to declare your major anyway. so chillax! fulfill your MAP requirements. when you get here, there’s a “pre-professional advisement” office you can go to, which has special counselors for this sort of thing. but please, enjoy the last few months of FREEDOM you have before you come here!</p>
<p>yeah, it’s MCATs and research and your GPA.</p>
<p>Hey shades! should I major in the sciences or not? I heard it drops your GPA compared to other majors… also at NYU was it hard for you to keep your GPA up or is it not as competitive as its made out to be? also any teacher advice would be faaaaaaaan-tastic :D</p>
<p>Major in something that you like and that you’re good at. Nothing drops your GPA quite like hating your major, no matter what other people think of it.</p>
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<p>The difficulty will depend on how hard and how efficiently you work. At the time I applied to medical school with six semesters under my belt, I had a 3.7 GPA, but I worked that up to a 3.8 by graduation.</p>
<p>The MAP courses I took early on as a freshman and sophomore did not help my GPA, but I got better at writing, so the MAP courses I took as a junior and senior (well, pretty much all my junior and senior courses) boosted my GPA. Going abroad to the UK also boosted my GPA.</p>
<p>I just have a couple of questions since i’m in final considerations between nyu and another school.</p>
<p>How are the research opportunities there, is it relatively possible to work in a field you’d like to?</p>
<p>Is it virtually impossible for science majors/premeds to study abroad and not screw themselves over? b/c i heard london is the only place that offers science courses abroad, and maybe abu dhabi. </p>
<p>And finally, is it really hard to maintain a 3.7+ gpa if you plan to major in a nonscience, or double major with one science, and fulfill all the premed requirements?</p>
<p>It’s hard for me to compare research opportunities at NYU with another college since I have no experience as a undergrad at other institutions. But if you search the NYU website for professors whose work interests you, look up their labs’ recent publications, and send emails or call to make appointments, it’s not hard to find a spot. Of course, like anything else at NYU, you have to put in the time and effort - nothing will just fall into your lap.</p>
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<p>It’s possible to study abroad as a pre-med, but you have to go to London if you want to do it during the regular academic year. It is a fantastic experience - I got a 3.9 GPA that semester, saw all sorts of things in person that I’d only seen before in picture books, and made some excellent friends. I highly recommend it. </p>
<p>If you want to go elsewhere, you’ll either have to stay on for another semester or two or do it during the summer. I can’t say I recommend either.</p>
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<p>No one here can answer this. It depends on you - how effectively do you work? How efficient are you? How much do you want to work for that 3.7 GPA? Only you know the answers to those questions.</p>
<p>A double major will be more difficult than a single major because of the increased number of requirements. It will not get you brownie points come time to apply to medical schools - adcoms do not significantly care about your major, your minor, or how many of them you had.</p>
<p>Hey squirts (everyone not in college is now to be officially nicknamed as "squirt)- I’m a junior NYU pre-med so I’m going stick my head into this conversation.</p>
<p>First of all, you DO NOT have to major in the sciences to apply to med school- I’m an English major and I’m fulfilling all my science/math requirements on top of it. I know everyone’s going to tell you to “pick the major you love”, but honestly, you should also consider how difficult the major’s going to be; after all, if your eventual goal is med school, you’re going to want to stay on top of your GPA. But do not, under any circumstances, major in something you hate! Obvious, but seriously, there’s nothing more annoying than studying for something that you know is worthless. And if you’re not very good at it, don’t major in it, even if you think it’s going to be “easy”. For some reason, everyone thinks that Philosophy is an easy major, but take a class and your head will be spinning.</p>
<p>Majoring in a science has its advantages and disadvantages- you don’t have to decide right away, but if you think you want to major in bio, you’re going to want to take Principles of Biology I and II in your freshman year (and Gen Chem I and II too, if you’re pre-med), because the major is highly sequential and doesn’t allow for much wiggle room. If you know already you don’t want to major in science but want to be pre-med, you’ll probably only take Gen Chem II and II, and wait to take the rest of your courses later in your sophomore and junior years. </p>
<p>One more piece of advice for you incoming NYU freshies: you probably won’t have much choices on classes because you’re all competing against each other for registration times, but pick your courses based on PROFESSORS. No matter how “interesting” the course sounds, who’s teaching it is the only thing that matters. Use Rate My Professors. </p>
<p>Oh, and when you’re pre-med, don’t listen to anyone else who isn’t specifically a pre-med advisor, because chances are, they don’t know what they’re talking about.</p>
<p>I just realized I didn’t even answer the OP’s questions.</p>
<p>All the big intro courses are only offered once per semester, so they’ll all have the same professor (unless you take the honors track, then you may or may not have a different professor). </p>
<p>And I work like a dog to keep my 3.6+ GPA. You’ll notice that when you come here, there’s not much difference between a C and a B, but there’s a big difference between a B+ and an A-, and a HUGE difference between an A- and an A. All the kids who are serious about their grades spend a lot of their time at the library; all the slacker so-called pre-med kids (ie, the kids who end up dropping pre-med in their sophomore/junior year) stand around and make annoyingly immature jokes during bio lab.</p>