A scary page on Stanford’s Explore Degrees Web site is entitled “Undergraduate Major Unit Requirements.” Units wise, it doesn’t start off too badly. Under the School of Humanities and Sciences, you read: “African and African American Studies — 60 units,” “American Studies — 60 units,” “Anthropology — 65 units.” A nasty shock comes a couple of majors down with “Biology — 93-104 units”.

Though the engineers may scoff at such a low unit count, no other major in this particular school approaches biology’s list of required classes. With pre-meds a dime a dozen at Stanford, many brave souls plunge into the dreaded organic chemistry series, the labs and the utterly bewildering nest of classes that must perfectly slot into student’s four-year plan.

Fortunately, potential biology majors are not left to navigate the course of their Stanford career alone, guided solely by hearsay and horror stories passed down from generation to generation. That’s where BioBridge comes in.

The BioBridge program acts as a key advisory program to lead lost and overwhelmed students through the labyrinth of classes, research, internships and abroad options open to biology majors.

“BioBridge mentors serve as advisors for biology majors, of course, but we also advise any students who are interested in the biology major, including undergraduates who have not yet declared and prospective freshmen who look to major in biology at Stanford,” said Ashley Lau, ‘10, BioBridge’s head advisor this year.

She said the program’s focus is to serve as “liaisons between biology undergraduates and faculty in the department and program events throughout the year that periodically remind biology majors that they are part of a community that includes their peers and faculty.” These events include faculty lunches, research workshops, midterm cookies and the annual Pumpkinfest, a pumpkin-carving competition between different biology labs around Halloween.

“We have panels about applying to graduate school, panels featuring Stanford biology alumni and panels about finding research opportunities,” said Anthony Nguyen, ‘10, another BioBridge mentor. “We also have at least one trip to Hopkins Marine Station a quarter to show students around and see if this is where they want to spend a quarter.”

BioBridge advisors have office hours in Gilbert Hall every weekday from one until four in the afternoon. At their office hours, they answer questions from any student interested in pursuing biology in any capacity, though “because of the nature of the major, pre-meds inevitably make up a sizable portion of the population of students we advise” Lau said.

Yet the main purpose of BioBridge is outreach to the biology department. According to Nguyen, it’s about more than “how to get into med school.”

Mica Esquenazi ‘13 finds the idea of additional pre-med resources reassuring.

“There are three pre-med advisors for the whole student body, so it’s a little tough to get individual attention, but BioBridge is available whenever you need them,” Esquenazi said.

Justin Lam ‘13 was similarly relieved to find the BioBridge program.

“I think BioBridge would help me clarify some of the things I’m not sure of,” he said, explaining his need of some guidance with his goal of simultaneously being pre-med and obtaining an art history degree.

The BioBridge advisors find their jobs rewarding, recalling being so recently in the shoes of the students they counsel.

“I’ve been through a lot of biology courses, done undergraduate research, went through the whole process of finding an advisor, and I had a lot of questions myself, so now I want to help younger students through the process and be there to answer the questions that are sure to come up,” Nguyen said.

For Sarah Macway ‘10, another BioBridge mentor, the joy in working with the program stems from her desire to make sure biology majors can successfully and painlessly navigate the scope of their chosen major.

“I’m really excited about biology, so I like trying to help people find ways to be excited about it too, talking about classes, or Hopkins, or whatever interests them that we can provide,” she said.

Lau agreed.

“I think the size and breadth of the biology major makes a peer advising group a necessary and integral part of student services,” Lau said. “For freshmen and sophomores who have not chosen a major yet, the decision-making process, as well as the declaration process itself, can be daunting. Personally, I think that having reliable advice from peers who have just gone through the process is invaluable, and I wanted to be part of the group that helps to provide it.”