When I started at Farmingdale State college I was originally a Criminal Justice Major and it didn’t last very long. When taking my CRJ classes I got all great grades but I knew that this was not exactly what I wanted to do. I decided to change my major and go the med route and become a Bioscience major with a pre-med track. I knew that I didn’t want to be in law enforcement or become a lawyer. I wanted to help people and discover new things in medicine to make a difference in healthcare and society.

My first semester as a bioscience major was quite a change; the classes were drastically harder. Bioscience classes require bioscience and chemistry courses along with general education requirements and electives. When I was a criminal justice major my classes were not in lecture halls, they were much smaller and just a different environment. In bioscience I made sure to sit very close to the board because sitting in a large lecture hall you can easily get distracted sitting in the back or simply get lost from not hearing your professor. I made sure to sit in the front and when there were lecture PowerPoint slides I would always print them out before class. I would write directly what the professor verbally says because I already had the PowerPoint printed on paper.

With bioscience, it takes a lot of work and time studying so I would spend a lot of time using Farmingdale’s resources in the library. I am very thankful the school has free unlimited prints because printing out the lecture slides for bio is a lot. When you go upstairs in the library there are also big areas for me and others in my class to study together. We teach each other while using the silent study rooms, or even the big semi-circle study area where many people from your class can come together and learn. Making a study group was very helpful because anything that I didn’t understand from my professor I would learn better from the people in my class. They would teach me their techniques and help me. Another great resource in the library is the tutoring center located upstairs in Greenley Hall library. Schedules are located right outside the tutoring center on the wall and all tutors are students that got an A in the class or a retired professor. The tutoring center is very helpful because if you can’t understand how to do something in class, the tutoring center is a smaller one on one setting. You can also go in groups to get tutored. The tutoring center is a great tool for bioscience majors and really all majors. The Greenley Hall library is a great resource for all students and with their long hours I can study bioscience until very late at night.

With being a bioscience major it is very important to get to know your professors. Most of the time you are in large lecture halls and professors don’t get to know each and every student they have. In Hale Hall, in the Bioscience Department wing, all of your professor’s offices are on one side of the hallway with a bright paper outside their door with their office hours. It is very important to see you professors during their office hours so you can get help, show interest in the subject, and let your professor get to know you. As a bioscience major you will eventually need to get internships and also need recommendation letters from professors in the field you are looking to go into. Going to see your professors and letting them get to know you is great for when it’s time to get your letters of recommendation to go further with your career in Bioscience.

For anyone going to be a bioscience major or switch to bio like me, be prepared for a change and get ready to work. It is very important to have your resources and be prepared for a lot of information. Make sure to use all of the resources at the library and go to the tutoring center for any help. Remember to sit close in class so you can pay attention and get to know you professors so they can help you in their class as well as out of class when you go onto bigger things. Bioscience is very hard but at Farmingdale there are many ways be a successful bioscience major.