School. Braindead. But Somehow Happy!
I love my major. Honestly I do. I'm not going to change it, ever--not after this semester's nasty courses!--but I'm thumping my head in disgust while looking at the classes I have left.
My major is apparently the only major I've found, to date, out of at least 135 other majors (not counting emphasis options) and the 108+ minors offered at BYU, discounting a couple language majors/minors, that offers 5-credit classes. It's one of the few that requires several 4 credit classes. In short, we kill ourselves in it. But it's so fun! Pretty much, it's the BioAg department's way of thumbing their noses at the reductionist scientific trend at the moment. (IE, at the moment, most biology colleges are cutting out a lot of the practical taxonomy, systematics, and hands-on organismal biology and focusing primarily on the cellular level.) The Integrative Biology major is cramming all that crap into our heads, while including the cellular level stuff. And that's hours and hours and hours of memorization of the evolution, taxonomy, classification and attributes of most of the major animal and plant phyla. We have lots of undergraduate mentored research, hands-on 3-hour laboratory sections for a good 2/3 of those classes (which only give you 1 credit hour on your transcript! Grr!), field trips, and pretty much have a blast. While praying we don't have mental and emotional breakdowns in the process.
What's not comforting is realizing that my study partner was taking a student at BYU in 2001, and she's got a year left (Of course, this is discounting the 18 month mission)... still, that'll be about 7 years of schooling to get an undergrad! And she's just doing an entymology emphasis! My other study group partner? Was also at BYU in 2001 (Discount the 24 month mission, though). So, me graduating in 5 years as an InBio major? That's really not that bad. But I'm looking at my future class schedules and praying I don't die... I didn't realize that so many had labs attached! (And all labs are 3hours long/for 1 credit or 3 hours long+3 hours of lecture to=4 credits.)
The whole imbalance of class hours to credits hours (which are supposed to be approximately equivalent) is a major pet peeve of all science majors and why we hate English majors with a passion. If they didn't slash out about 1/3 of our actual required hours out of our official credit hours, then all the English/Humanities majors would never graduate. They'd have to take at least twice as many classes as they currently do. Therefore, my disdain for non-science/engineering/nasty majors has a valid basis in fact. We're screwed over so that they won't be, or at least that's the case at BYU.
*growse* So... yeah. This is approximately what I have left to take (discounting: ~6 obnoxious usually 3-credit useless General Education classes, two 1-credit dance classes, (part of my GEs), and a 3-credit, for fun Planetary Geology class.)
Organic Chemistry (Majors) ...aka Chem351. 3 credit class.
Plant Diversity ...aka InBio331. A 4 credit class with a 3-hour lab.
Medical Parisitology... aka MMBio417. a 3 credit class with a 3-hour lab.
Introductory Applied Physics... aka Phscs105. a 3 credit class.
Introductory Applied Physics (II)...aka Phscs106. a 3 credit class.
Essentials of Human Physiology... aka PDBio 305, a 4 credit class with a 3-hour lab
Genetics... aka Bio340, a 2-credit class (but a nasty one)
Evolutionary Biology+Evolutionary Biology Lab... aka Bio420 and Bio421 respectively. 3 credits with a 3-hour lab.
Ichythyology... aka InBio443,a 3 credit class, or Herpetology... aka InBio445, 4 credits with a 3-hour lab, or Advanced Invertebrate Zoology... aka InBio442, a 5 credit class (Probably with a 3-hour lab, but I'm not 100% sure).
Marine Ecology... aka InBio452, a 3 credit class. With Lab. (Part of my spring-term program, it's a class that meets 6 days a week, I believe. ick.)
Development of Marine Animals... aka InBio453, a 3 credit class. With Lab. (Also part of my spring-term program, it's a class that meets 6 days a week, I believe. And did I mention meeting at dawn to catch the tides? ick!)
Mentored Research... aka InBio494R. a 3 credit marine biology lab.(Also part of my spring-term program, 6 days a week, etc.)
I don't think it's all that unreasonable that I'm refusing to take year-round classes when they're that nasty. I'm just hoping to survive this semester and spring term. I'm probably going to spend all of july and august in bed, absolutely brain-fried.
I'll be home the first week in May, though, before going off to study marine biology classes. So. Interesting classes? Yes. Hellish classes? Yes. Mental Breakdown in process? Most definitely.
*HUGS* I love all of you...!
(even if you're all off on spring break while I'm taking midterms. I really wish we had a spring break!!!)
My major is apparently the only major I've found, to date, out of at least 135 other majors (not counting emphasis options) and the 108+ minors offered at BYU, discounting a couple language majors/minors, that offers 5-credit classes. It's one of the few that requires several 4 credit classes. In short, we kill ourselves in it. But it's so fun! Pretty much, it's the BioAg department's way of thumbing their noses at the reductionist scientific trend at the moment. (IE, at the moment, most biology colleges are cutting out a lot of the practical taxonomy, systematics, and hands-on organismal biology and focusing primarily on the cellular level.) The Integrative Biology major is cramming all that crap into our heads, while including the cellular level stuff. And that's hours and hours and hours of memorization of the evolution, taxonomy, classification and attributes of most of the major animal and plant phyla. We have lots of undergraduate mentored research, hands-on 3-hour laboratory sections for a good 2/3 of those classes (which only give you 1 credit hour on your transcript! Grr!), field trips, and pretty much have a blast. While praying we don't have mental and emotional breakdowns in the process.
What's not comforting is realizing that my study partner was taking a student at BYU in 2001, and she's got a year left (Of course, this is discounting the 18 month mission)... still, that'll be about 7 years of schooling to get an undergrad! And she's just doing an entymology emphasis! My other study group partner? Was also at BYU in 2001 (Discount the 24 month mission, though). So, me graduating in 5 years as an InBio major? That's really not that bad. But I'm looking at my future class schedules and praying I don't die... I didn't realize that so many had labs attached! (And all labs are 3hours long/for 1 credit or 3 hours long+3 hours of lecture to=4 credits.)
The whole imbalance of class hours to credits hours (which are supposed to be approximately equivalent) is a major pet peeve of all science majors and why we hate English majors with a passion. If they didn't slash out about 1/3 of our actual required hours out of our official credit hours, then all the English/Humanities majors would never graduate. They'd have to take at least twice as many classes as they currently do. Therefore, my disdain for non-science/engineering/nasty majors has a valid basis in fact. We're screwed over so that they won't be, or at least that's the case at BYU.
*growse* So... yeah. This is approximately what I have left to take (discounting: ~6 obnoxious usually 3-credit useless General Education classes, two 1-credit dance classes, (part of my GEs), and a 3-credit, for fun Planetary Geology class.)
Organic Chemistry (Majors) ...aka Chem351. 3 credit class.
Plant Diversity ...aka InBio331. A 4 credit class with a 3-hour lab.
Medical Parisitology... aka MMBio417. a 3 credit class with a 3-hour lab.
Introductory Applied Physics... aka Phscs105. a 3 credit class.
Introductory Applied Physics (II)...aka Phscs106. a 3 credit class.
Essentials of Human Physiology... aka PDBio 305, a 4 credit class with a 3-hour lab
Genetics... aka Bio340, a 2-credit class (but a nasty one)
Evolutionary Biology+Evolutionary Biology Lab... aka Bio420 and Bio421 respectively. 3 credits with a 3-hour lab.
Ichythyology... aka InBio443,a 3 credit class, or Herpetology... aka InBio445, 4 credits with a 3-hour lab, or Advanced Invertebrate Zoology... aka InBio442, a 5 credit class (Probably with a 3-hour lab, but I'm not 100% sure).
Marine Ecology... aka InBio452, a 3 credit class. With Lab. (Part of my spring-term program, it's a class that meets 6 days a week, I believe. ick.)
Development of Marine Animals... aka InBio453, a 3 credit class. With Lab. (Also part of my spring-term program, it's a class that meets 6 days a week, I believe. And did I mention meeting at dawn to catch the tides? ick!)
Mentored Research... aka InBio494R. a 3 credit marine biology lab.(Also part of my spring-term program, 6 days a week, etc.)
I don't think it's all that unreasonable that I'm refusing to take year-round classes when they're that nasty. I'm just hoping to survive this semester and spring term. I'm probably going to spend all of july and august in bed, absolutely brain-fried.
I'll be home the first week in May, though, before going off to study marine biology classes. So. Interesting classes? Yes. Hellish classes? Yes. Mental Breakdown in process? Most definitely.
*HUGS* I love all of you...!
(even if you're all off on spring break while I'm taking midterms. I really wish we had a spring break!!!)