Science majors are possibly the most misunderstood group of college students. Everyone assumes that we stay cooped up in the library day and night studying our countless textbooks, which, for the most case, is absolutely true. Our majors require this of us and we all want to succeed. There are certain aspects of our disciplines that make our lives seemingly different than the rest of our fellow college students. Here are ten things that science majors know all too well:
1. Stress is inevitable.
There is no such thing as a "syllabus week". The minute you step onto campus, you will be greeted with lectures, lab reports, and your first exam will be looming into the very near future. The stress NEVER goes away. There is sometimes the occasional tears as well.
2. You have a serious hatred for lab reports.
I'm talking about those meaty monstrosities that include the formal introduction, methods, abstract, results discussion etc. Odds are, you are a science major for a reason. You probably were never too fond of English class and definitely did not enjoy writing essays, so writing a lab report is pure hell. Who has the time?
3. You always have class on Friday.
Since most classes for your major are hefty four credit classes, your lectures will most likely always be Monday, Wednesday, Friday, so you can kiss that three day weekend goodbye for the next four years. If you are lucky enough to have no Friday lectures, you will probably have a lab.
4. You spend the majority of your time in the library.
...and oddly, you are okay with that. The library becomes your home. This is the best place to focus and concentrate. You might as well just move in, why waste the money on housing? You have a favorite spot to sit and are most likely in there until you get kicked out by employees every night.
5. You get asked, "Do you want to be a doctor?"
This is more relatable to my fellow biology majors, but seriously. Biology, and the rest of the sciences are such broad fields with numerous fields and endless job types. Maybe some of us want to be teachers, work for pharmaceutical companies, be veterinarians, Ecologists, nurses, chemists, etc. We are not all medical students.
6. Your classmates are extremely competitive.
Science majors are all ruthless and competitive people, but we're not all mean. This is honestly just because of the nature of the majors. We are all competing for limited research opportunities, trying to get high GPA's, and impress our professors by outworking the people next to us. The majority of science majors are trying to prepare for graduate school, which again, is super selective and will create environments of competition.
7. There is always a pint of ice cream in your fridge.
Maybe its some other sweet, indulgent food, but you definitely have one. This is for when the science major life just gets to be way too hard. We've all been there, and will probably experience it again sometime this week. The ice cream just helps to relieve the pain and suffering for a short while.
8. You like to spew random facts in normal conversation.
Throughout your education, you are taught so many vocabulary words and terms that you really feel the need to share during conversation. We love to learn new things and feel the need to share with friends, who may or may not think we are absolutely insane.
9. You get asked, "Why would you ever choose science?" way too often.
Yes, we know we are crazy. We knew we were signing into four plus years of never ending stress, exams, practicals, labs, study groups, research hours, lab reports, study hours, internships, etc. And in the midst of it all, you would not want it any other way. We choose science because as crazy as it sounds, we love our majors.
10. Did I mention the stress?
Oce more for good luck.
Just remember that it will all be worth it when you save that baby in the ER, cure the dog of cancer, become a role model to your students, create a new drug that saves millions, influence the world and achieve your goals. Keep working hard, we got this!
