Ultimately, you need to do what’s best for you – intellectually & personally. But here are some things to keep in mind if you have the privilege of getting to pursue higher education.
Choosing a major or program:
- don’t get tied up on program titles (biochemistry vs. molecular biology, etc.)
- look at what courses are required/optional and choose what looks best
- remember that you can (and should) take courses outside your major/program
- look into re-reqs for any future plans of yours and make sure you take them (even if your major doesn’t require them)
- know that you can change your major! A lot of the intro courses are often the same, so you don’t have to know right when you go in
Choosing a grad school program:
- once again, don’t get tied up on program titles
- look at what courses are offered/required and – most importantly – what labs might be available
- you will spend most of your time – and learn the most – in your chosen lab, not in lectures
- the lab you choose is also often where you start building your research career trajectory (but note that you can also change course, such as branching out in a postdoc!)
- when applying to programs make sure there are several labs you’d be interested in trying out
- before you choose a lab, make sure it’s a good environment & a good fit – you’ll be spending a lot of time there and this is the really big choice, not just the program
I have a lot of content on applying to grad school on this page of my blog which I hope can help you too: https://bit.ly/gradpostdocetc
