Hey,

So far I have 5 of the 8 required courses for a biochem minor. I have to take orgo II and two 3rd/4th year biochem courses in order to minor in in biochem.

To be honest, biochem isn't my favourite subject in the world. I'm just really close to getting a minor and was wondering if I should take this or take courses that I like instead...ie: is it worth it for me to get a minor? Does it look better when you graduate??

I'm also absolutely terrified of orgo. I did orgo I in the summer, and I literally don't remember anything. I'm sure that, with review, I'll catch on the content pretty quick. But, I'm really really scared of the labs. That's another reason why I'm not sure if I should go through with this.

Any input on this is greatly appreciated

Originally Posted by Qadd

Hey,

So far I have 5 of the 8 required courses for a biochem minor. I have to take orgo II and two 3rd/4th year biochem courses in order to minor in in biochem.

To be honest, biochem isn't my favourite subject in the world. I'm just really close to getting a minor and was wondering if I should take this or take courses that I like instead...ie: is it worth it for me to get a minor? Does it look better when you graduate??

I'm also absolutely terrified of orgo. I did orgo I in the summer, and I literally don't remember anything. I'm sure that, with review, I'll catch on the content pretty quick. But, I'm really really scared of the labs. That's another reason why I'm not sure if I should go through with this.

Any input on this is greatly appreciated

Haha until I read the part about orgo, I was going to say that you should take the second orgo, but if none of the biochem courses interest you then don't bother with those
I don't think the minor is worth it but it depends what you want to do. If you want to go to grad school or something, then yeah, the minor in biochem is probably valuable. If you want to go to med school, less so.
Don't be scared of orgo labs...they're super chill and marked pretty leniently. Think first year chem--they're a way of bringing your mark up
Personally I found the second orgo to be easier, because it's all the same types of reactions--the material flows a lot better and seemed less like random reactions.

Originally Posted by nerual

Haha until I read the part about orgo, I was going to say that you should take the second orgo, but if none of the biochem courses interest you then don't bother with those
I don't think the minor is worth it but it depends what you want to do. If you want to go to grad school or something, then yeah, the minor in biochem is probably valuable. If you want to go to med school, less so.
Don't be scared of orgo labs...they're super chill and marked pretty leniently. Think first year chem--they're a way of bringing your mark up
Personally I found the second orgo to be easier, because it's all the same types of reactions--the material flows a lot better and seemed less like random reactions.

Thank you for the advice. Yes, I remember 2OA3 labs being chill too. But some of the TAs were really picky as to how we performed in the lab (I forgot how to do the techniques of distillation, chromotography, etc). They also introduced a new textbook, so they could have taught different material (although I doubt this will vary too much).

I am also interested in doing a minor in Math (ofc, if i do one in math, no way will i do one in biochem). I have 3 courses so far (all first year), but I heard upper year math courses were extremely challenging (based on one person's statement, so not sure if this is true hahaha). I actually enjoy math courses a lot, and it is by far my favourite subject (although I am not always very good at it). Lots of my friends told me that, for some reason, employers like to see someone with a strong math background. If anyone shares this opinion, or has a dispute, I'd love to hear it.

It's just so difficult to make decisions...

I don't think a minor in a field that you're already majoring in will be that useful (Science major, science minor).
But since you're already so close, you might as well try for it. But make sure that you meet all the requirements. Any courses that count towards your major can't also count towards your minor.
If you were to major in another field, that would probably be more beneficial.

Originally Posted by Rayine

I don't think a minor in a field that you're already majoring in will be that useful (Science major, science minor).
But since you're already so close, you might as well try for it. But make sure that you meet all the requirements. Any courses that count towards your major can't also count towards your minor.
If you were to major in another field, that would probably be more beneficial.

Oh I see. Well I have two mandatory chemistries and one mandatory biochem as part of my major. Does that mean they will not count towards my minor? You need those two first year chems for anyone who is doing a minor in biochemistry. If that's the case, then no one in my program will be able to get a biochem minor.

Originally Posted by Qadd

Oh I see. Well I have two mandatory chemistries and one mandatory biochem as part of my major. Does that mean they will not count towards my minor? You need those two first year chems for anyone who is doing a minor in biochemistry. If that's the case, then no one in my program will be able to get a biochem minor.

Read the course calendar. It specifies how many courses must be elective to your degree, and also specifies if these must be certain level courses (ie above level one, level 3-4, etc).