<p>I was recently accepted into the major this spring after deciding I wanted to be in as an incoming freshman. The first thing to know if you didn’t know already is that admission to the major is pretty competitive, in that they are only taking ~50 B.S. and I believe ~20 B.A. majors every year. It does seem like the perfect major for you if you really like that blend of science and humanities (I’m exactly the same!) and everyone I’ve talked to says that the upper div core classes are very interesting. </p>
<p>I’m pre-med as well, and there are a decent number of pre-meds but also a lot of public health students in this major. If you’re serious about pre-med, it is important to consider that not all of your upper divs aren’t considered into your science GPA (Society and Genetics, Anthro, etc. are not factored into BCPM (bio,chem,physics,math) GPA for med school), so you have to do well in your lower divs and pre-reqs to have a good science GPA. Of course, you can also take science courses for upper divs that WILL count into your science GPA depending on which sub-focus you choose. </p>
<p>In terms of difficulty, I can’t really say yet but the upper div core classes most likely aren’t as hard as the harder majors, such as Neuroscience, Physiological Sciences, MIMG, or MCDB. That will also depend on which sub-focus you choose if you do decide to specialize in one of those sections–I’m personally going to specialize in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology simply because the science courses are easier. Biology is considered a pretty easy major in terms of the upper divs, since there’s a large variety of easy or hard courses to choose. </p>
<p>There’s not a lot of information for this major online, but once you get to UCLA you should definitely talk to Rich Moushegan (the HBS/Soc Gen counselor) and look for all the flyers in the SocGen department because there’s a lot of information there. </p>
<p>Long wall of text, but my final note is that I’m really excited to be part of this major and I’m very much looking forward to my upper div core classes. It seemed like the perfect route for me, and if seems interesting to you, it is definitely worth making the commitment to taking the pre-requisites. A lot of those additional pre-reqs like Anthro 7, Soc Gen 5, Asian Am 20 (optional from a selection of courses), etc. easily satisfy other GE requirements so it’s not like a waste of time if you don’t get into the major. I don’t think I’ve covered everything but I don’t want to make this too long. If anyone has any further questions, feel free to PM me!</p>