Through my three years as a Biology major, I have met and interacted with people from a variety of majors, including my own. However, I never considered what other majors, interdisciplinary majors, and minors I had to choose from in my earlier years. After going through scheduling, academic catalogs and classes for three years, I share with you what I wish I knew sooner.
Truth being said, when you first arrive as a freshman in college, you’re still getting a hang of the way of your school and what it has to offer. I believe that Sophomore year is the year to look at other academic interests outside of your own and the typical ones. No, this does not mean that you need to have your life and future completely figured out, but after a year of choosing and taking classes, I recommend looking into your schools’ majors and minors since there, you could find something new that might interest you. Moreover, sometimes, minor classes count towards your school’s core classes!
Core classes are there to teach you or give you experiences that you normally wouldn’t have with your regular major classes. Thanks to these, I discovered my interest in writing and declared my Writing minor. However, I was still left out of some other minors that I would have been interested in taking if I were told sooner. As a Junior with, and two/three semesters left, I don’t have time to take the extra classes for other minors that I am interested in. This is why I invite you to look at things outside of your plans that you can maybe consider and give a thought before junior year. As a Hispanic student, I would have loved to take Latin American and Latino Studies Minor at my school and the Health and Human Experience Minor as a future healthcare professional.
For future healthcare professionals, that’s another thing. If you go into college aspiring to a career within the healthcare field but aren’t set 100% in med school, dental school, nursing school, etc., look into alternative ways of having a degree aside from a bachelor’s in biology! I came to school as a biology major aspiring to go into a pre-med track, but not completely sure. Getting involved in clubs, classmates, and extracurriculars, allowed me to realize it wasn’t for me, and that’s completely fine! However, I was unaware that I could be an Interdisciplinary major in Biology/ Psychology, and still get the credits necessary for Physicians Assistant school which is what I want to do now. Additionally, you could major in something else of your interest and be a Natural Science minor and a biology minor and get the credits you need for different health care-related schools.
In a nutshell, there’s a world of academic opportunities to benefit from if you do your research and are open to them. Never say no to an opportunity that calls out your attention in some way, even if it’s outside your normal interest. College is the time to not only have fun but discover who you are and what you want in life. Don’t let it be over without getting the most out of it!