How smart would you have to be to become a zoologist?

I'm panicing because Im desperate to spend my life around animals and I do my best in school but my best doesnt seem like enough to be a zoologist. Its a tough science major and I was just wondering if anyone took it, how smart they were in HS and how did they prepare? Also it gets very confusing to me because there are related majors that are practically the same thing! Please help me out here!|||I took my degrees in zoology -- if you have the brains to ask a question like yours, you have the brains to get your degree in this field.





Here's what one college (Iowa State Univ. lists as their undergraduate requirements for a zoology degree)





http://www.public.iastate.edu/~catalog/2鈥?/a>





Remember, knowledge is often built up one piece at a time so don't expect to learn it all at once. Also, at some point, you may decide to specialize a bit more in some particular part of it. I happened to love birds so I put more of my emphasis there. Some of my friends were fascinated by how insect antenna function as dipoles, etc., and spent more time afterward as entymologists.





Is some of the material difficult? Yup, it sure is. You're looking at organisms that have evolved some very, very unique adaptations. Sometimes, you may even find out something that no one has ever noticed before.





If you're still in high school, then I suggest, personally, that you try to get as many science and chemistry courses as you can. Also, make yourself well rounded. I sometimes got laughed at because I figured even if I wanted to study zoology, I should also know something about what animals ate, so I also took as many botany courses as I could.





You'd be surprised just how fascinating plant biology and evolution is. I think you're headed to a career that could easily keep you fascinated for the rest of your life. Enjoy.|||I'm currently majoring in Zoology at Michigan State University. I graduated HS with a 3.5. It is a tough major just because of all the science classes you have to take. I've had to take General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry (2 classes), Physics (2 classes). Plus labs to go with those. Have to have a lot of math too. I would recommend taking as many chemistry and physics classes that you can before college. Here is link to the MSU Zoology department. It will show you the colleges requirements and the major requirements for the different concentrations. Hope it helps. Feel free to message me if you want more info.





http://www.zoology.msu.edu/|||I agree with the previous poster - if you are trying hard and aware that it is hard work then you will probably be fine.


My degrees are in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, and yes it takes some intelligence I believe that hard work work goes a long way! In my undergraduate class, there were some people that had less book smarts than others and they suceeded just the same. They worked hard and got through it.


I am sure you can do it!!|||Yes, it can be tough but I've known quite a few lunkheads who majored in zoology, even at the doctoral level. It's too soon to panic. Some students do their best in HS. Some hit their peak in college. Still others don't bloom until they hit graduate school. I loafed my way thru HS but did fairly well. Then I almost flunked out of college after my freshman year. I finally got my act together and went all the way thru to a Ph. D. in zoology.