<p>BA and BS just designate what the college has been authorized to award in a particular field. It doesn’t necessarily mean writing/communicating vs. technical knowledge.</p>
<p>Remember here, commenters, that selecting the BA course DOES NOT MEAN that the OP can’t take the microbiology courses. She or he could select the BA and still decide to take all 6 of the microbiology courses. She or he could also take just as rigorous courses in other areas of biology. Nor does it mean that she or he will take fewer science courses - it actually appears that she or he will take the exact same amount of science courses. It only means that she or he has more flexibility in the exact courses that she or he takes to fulfill degree requirements.</p>
<p>So it doesn’t sound like you will actually take fewer science courses, just that you have more choice. Even if microbiology is your area of focus, that still means that theoretically you could take 4 microbiology classes and then 2 classes in an interdisciplinary area of biology that might bolster your grad school application (maybe you’re interested in microbiology of the brain and you spend your other 2 classes in neuroscience classes. Or maybe you take cognate courses in computer science or physics because you’re interested in the intersection of those fields and biology).</p>
<p>My husband had to make a similar choice - mathematics or applied mathematics? Applied sounded fancy since he wanted to possibly take it into business, but upon closer examination the two majors were mostly identical except for upper-level electives. The applied math major had 5 or 6 specific ones you had to choose from, whereas the math major allowed you to take your electives in ANY math class above a certain level (2000 or something). He was like “This is a no brainer - why would I choose more constraints?”</p>
<p>The name of your degree matters a lot less than what you actually take.</p>
<p>As a side note, don’t fall into the trap of assuming that English, communication, and history courses are “irrelevant” just because you’re a science major. Scientists spend a LOT of time writing and communicating with other people. If you can’t write well, you won’t get published - you won’t even make it past the statement of purpose. Scientists also almost always collaborate with other scientists. And you’d be surprised at how important the history of your field is to the current study and atmosphere of the field. I complained about taking a history of public health course in my PhD program (I’m a psychologist!) but it ended up being genuinely useful. I understand the state of my particular area of study much better than I did before I took the class.</p>
<p>Plus you’re not a drone and the point of a liberal arts education is to educate you in several fields.</p>