The grass is always greener on the other side, especially if you’re a pre-med major.
When asked as a second-semester senior what my favorite class of my undergraduate career was, I did not hesitate: “Molecular Biology of Cancer, but it wasn’t a Loyola class. It was a Tulane class.”
As a biology/pre-med major with as much Loyola pride as Havoc, it almost pains me to say that I am grateful for the green across Freret Street.
Looking for biology electives for my senior year, I found absolutely nothing that interested me. I didn’t have much to choose from. I had already taken all but three classes that were offered, and my remaining two choices that fit with my schedule were Ecology and Aquatic Microbiology.
Herein lies my beef with the biology department.
My major is pre-medicine, not pre-biology. In my eight semesters with the department, I have taken only one class that focused on humans, and that’s Anatomy and Physiology this semester—the last semester of my Loyola education. Even in this class, a class dedicated to humans, the lab manual used for the course is the “cat version.”
Here’s the gist of a biology/pre-med major at Loyola. Freshman year: Cells and Heredity and Biology of Organisms, both of which taught primarily about microbes, plants and animals (not humans). Sophomore year: Ecology and Evolution (pre-sapian species, primarily plants and animals), and Molecular Genetics (DNA, microscopically human). Junior year was Developmental Biology (chickens, frogs and sea urchin) and Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy (tons of vertebrates, minimally human). Thus far, my pre-medicine major was anything but.
This led me to senior year. Last semester, I took Molecular Biology of Cancer (humans!) and Brain and Behavior (humans!), both at Tulane thanks to the Loyola/Tulane Consortium agreement that not nearly enough students take advantage of.
Frankly, it was a welcome break from learning about plants and animals, neither of which would ever be patients of mine.
Those were the two most worthwhile classes I’ve ever taken, and neither were at my own university.
Loyola can do better.
The reason I loved my Tulane classes was because they actually applied to me. For once, I learned about extremely interesting topics that would actually prepare me for graduate school and for my future as a member of the health profession. Loyola is doing a great disservice to its pre-medicine students by not having classes in their department that do the same.
More pre-medicine courses such as Neuroscience or Cancer Biology need to be offered; classes that will prepare students for medical schools and appeal to their interests as future health professionals. The vast majority of biology/pre-med majors want to be doctors, nurses or therapists—not biologists.
The percentage of classes that are pre-medicine-oriented should match that of the pre-medicine student population. I know of many people who have switched out of biology/pre-med because of this very discrepancy. Not having class options that benefit or appeal to the majority of the students in the program is simply unacceptable.
Rebecca Connick is a biology senior. She can be reached at
In My Opinion is a weekly column open to any Loyola student. Those interested can contact [email protected]
