Advice Please :o)

[NRankin]

I am just a baby compared to most of the people on SDN because I start my first year of undergrad this fall - and most of you all are already in medical school (Congratulations!).

I plan on majoring in Biology, which I know is a good choice for pre-meds. I want to do something that will make my application to medical school stand out above the rest. Granted, I plan on volunteering, doing research, hopefully making medical mission trips and whatnot. I also work for an ENT, which has only strengthened my belief that the medical field is for me.

I thought that possibly double-majoring in biology and english might stand out amongst thousands of applicants. What do you all think? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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[Indryd]

I am just a baby compared to most of the people on SDN because I start my first year of undergrad this fall - and most of you all are already in medical school (Congratulations!).

I plan on majoring in Biology, which I know is a good choice for pre-meds. I want to do something that will make my application to medical school stand out above the rest. Granted, I plan on volunteering, doing research, hopefully making medical mission trips and whatnot. I also work for an ENT, which has only strengthened my belief that the medical field is for me.

I thought that possibly double-majoring in biology and english might stand out amongst thousands of applicants. What do you all think? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I am a double major--BA in Literature and BS in "General Science" (heavier in Micro, Biochem, and Math than a regular BIO major, light on physics, ecology, anatomy, non-mamallian bio, and phys chem)--and I have had only glowing feedback from advisers and others.

The two things to worry about are 1) will your chosen two "fields" prepare you for the MCAT or will you require lots of "extra" classes (not contributing to either degree) to learn the MCAT stuff? this can be a problem because you will be strapped for time and each class you take extra pushes your credit load (which will already be sickeningly high) needlessly higher... 2) Can you get "med-school" caliber grades in BOTH fields? Make sure you are very interested in the two fields you choose and will be able to get great grades but also enjoy yourself and be passionate about them.

PLUS....MOST IMPORTANT....you just can't beat a liberal, humanities-based education for your development as a human being...the last 4 years of studying literature alongside science have changed who I am completely, and I will be a far better doctor (and person) because of it.

So, if you are up to the challenge, and you have the interest, do it even if you don't think it will "benefit" you on paper.

 

[PKSrugby]

Hey NRankin, first off let me welcome you to the SDN community. I think you'll find that you'll receive lots of great and honest advice and help throughout the application process when you get there. \

In regards to your question, I think that you should see how your first year of undergrad goes. You don't have to decide on majors until the end of sophmore year at most institutions, so you still have a ways to go. You can see how you are handling the courseload and make sure that you can maintain the double major while keeping your grades up.
In regards to med school, I honestly don't think that the double major will help *significantly* in your resume. Yes, it will help, especially if you keep the grades up, and it definitely will not hurt you. However, I don't think you should double major on the sole belief that it will help you stand out against thousands of applicants.
I think the main things that probably stand out to med schools are your extracurriculars, clinical research/experience, and most notably the MCAT score. If you can score highly on the MCAT, I think after that is the point where the double major may help when med schools start refining and choosing who to send secondaries/interview invites to.
You've still got plenty of time, see how you handle the courseload of the double major. If you can handle it all and maintain the grades, more power to you. However, don't think of it as the end of the world if you cant and decide to take the English as a minor or something. I personally don't think med schools weigh that heavily on double majors as opposed to a single major.

Anyone with me on this?

 

[LJDHC05]

I am just a baby compared to most of the people on SDN because I start my first year of undergrad this fall - and most of you all are already in medical school (Congratulations!).

I plan on majoring in Biology, which I know is a good choice for pre-meds. I want to do something that will make my application to medical school stand out above the rest. Granted, I plan on volunteering, doing research, hopefully making medical mission trips and whatnot. I also work for an ENT, which has only strengthened my belief that the medical field is for me.

I thought that possibly double-majoring in biology and english might stand out amongst thousands of applicants. What do you all think? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Do well in whatever you do and you'll stand out. Bio helps, but I'd say half of pre-meds are bio majors. Undergrad is for studying what you're interested in and having fun before med school. Med school is for studying what your interested in and having fun before residency. Residency is time to study what you're interested in and having fun before you're a doc. Being a doc is for having fun before you retire. See a pattern?

You are young in the world, so just have lots of fun and do well. If you do well you'll stand out more than if you double major. Additionally anything that makes you unlike other pre-meds will make you a stronger applicant. You'll learn what the typical pre-med is from your intro to bio and other intro science classes (look around chem 101 and you'll understand what I mean).

 

[Indryd]

Anyone with me on this?

All things being equal...and really this medappprocess comes down to splitting hairs between many of the candidates...all things being equal

Liberal BA + BS >>>>>>>>>>> BS (especially 'bio').

This will make a person stand out from the thousands of BS kids with great EC's, great volunteering, great LOR's, great grades, great MCATs, very interesting and well written PS, charming personality/great interviewer etc etc etc...catch my drift?

However, I still stand by my claim that if you can handle the load, and if you have an interest, you can only benefit from an education in the Humanities, regardless of whether it will "benefit" your application.

 

[Karim]

What are medical mission trips? (I'm guessing it's when you go down to Ethiopia and assist the starving and downtrodden in terms of heatlh...?)

 

[NRankin]

What are medical mission trips? (I'm guessing it's when you go down to Ethiopia and assist the starving and downtrodden in terms of heatlh...?)

That's my impression of it. My brother went to scholarship interview for UT Memphis Medical School and one of his competitors for the scholarship had been on a medical misson trip to Guatelmala (sp?). That's how I got it into my head - I don't really know any details on it yet.

 

[NRankin]

Just in case any of you care, here is my class schedule for the fall:

Ecology
General Chemistry I
General Chemistry I Lab
Rhetoric & Composition
Precalculus I
Intro to Theatre

(16 hours)

Does that look good?

 

[Karim]

You should try to get Biology somewhere in there...you need it for the MCATs and usually a sequence of Biology classes are required prerequisites for medical school admission.

 

[NRankin]

You should try to get Biology somewhere in there...you need it for the MCATs and usually a sequence of Biology classes are required prerequisites for medical school admission.

I've already taken Biology 1010 and 1020 at the college in my hometown as a dual enrollment student. Ecology is actually Biology 306 at UTC - my brother told me it was the easiest upper-level biology class offered there and that's why I'm taking it.

 

[Karim]

I'm pretty much focusing on the general core requirements and the classes that I need for the MCAT right now. I'm planning on taking the MCAT the summer after my sophomore year. I'm saving all the stuff for my double major until later. This is the approach I'm using--ask your advisor if this approach would be beneficial to you. This is my schedule:

General Chemistry I
General Chemistry Lab
Biology (contingent on AP exam score)
Biology Lab " " "
Honors Calculus I
Honors English
Honors Orientation Seminar (stupid 1 credit class )

(17 hours)

Right now I'm taking summer classes to get some prereqs out of the way and as refresher courses...

 

[Karim]

Oh i c

 

[NRankin]

I'm pretty much focusing on the general core requirements and the classes that I need for the MCAT right now. I'm planning on taking the MCAT the summer after my sophomore year. I'm saving all the stuff for my double major until later. This is the approach I'm using--ask your advisor if this approach would be beneficial to you. This is my schedule:

General Chemistry I
General Chemistry Lab
Biology (contingent on AP exam score)
Biology Lab " " "
Honors Calculus I
Honors English
Honors Orientation Seminar (stupid 1 credit class )

(17 hours)

Right now I'm taking summer classes to get some prereqs out of the way and as refresher courses...

That looks like a good schedule to me. I thought about doing the honors progam at my school, but opted not to. I now kind of wish I had applied for it. Maybe we'll be in medical school together

 

[Karim]

That looks like a good schedule to me. I thought about doing the honors progam at my school, but opted not to. I now kind of wish I had applied for it. Maybe we'll be in medical school together

Hehe, totally. With my school, the Honors core classes are always smaller (usually no more than 20 in a class) and are taught by the best professors on campus. We also get our own special lounge and enjoy priority registration. From what I am experiencing in the summer, I am learning more in my Honors classes than from regular classes--the student to teacher ratio allows for individual contact with the best of teachers. As a bonus, they pay me for each semester that I'm an Honors student . I'm sure that it's different from school to school, but I was glad to have undertaken the Honors program. You should be able to apply for the program for your sophomore year, though (that is an option for my school).

 

[LJDHC05]

That looks like a good schedule to me. I thought about doing the honors progam at my school, but opted not to. I now kind of wish I had applied for it. Maybe we'll be in medical school together

Oh yeah, talk to an academic or pre-med advisor cause they'll help lay out a class schedule

 

[DrBowtie]

Biology = terrible major for pre-meds
unless you really love doing biology, pick something else.

 

[rugirlie]

Hehe, totally. With my school, the Honors core classes are always smaller (usually no more than 20 in a class) and are taught by the best professors on campus. We also get our own special lounge and enjoy priority registration. From what I am experiencing in the summer, I am learning more in my Honors classes than from regular classes--the student to teacher ratio allows for individual contact with the best of teachers. As a bonus, they pay me for each semester that I'm an Honors student . I'm sure that it's different from school to school, but I was glad to have undertaken the Honors program. You should be able to apply for the program for your sophomore year, though (that is an option for my school).

holy!! Your honors program is fockin awesome! what school do you go to? At my school, the h program was not anything like that! We had our own seminars which were tiny and pretty cool but other than that, the only thing we got was an occasional picnic.... your school must rock!

 

[MoosePilot]

holy!! Your honors program is fockin awesome! what school do you go to? At my school, the h program was not anything like that! We had our own seminars which were tiny and pretty cool but other than that, the only thing we got was an occasional picnic.... your school must rock!

That was my experience at Oklahoma State University. Also had a computer lab in the library all to ourselves and a dorm. University of Oklahoma also had priority registration, but I didn't associate with the honors college much there.

 

[rugirlie]

That was my experience at Oklahoma State University. Also had a computer lab in the library all to ourselves and a dorm. University of Oklahoma also had priority registration, but I didn't associate with the honors college much there.

oh yea?? well we do have dorms too... heck I lived there freshman year... I think I forgot to mention it cuz I blocked out the experience.... a whole dorm full of nerds was just downright scary... On my way out to party on fri nights, I regularly passed people playing chess and reading quantum mechanics books... Luckily, I got out soph year and never looked back!

 

[MoosePilot]

oh yea?? well we do have dorms too... heck I lived there freshman year... I think I forgot to mention it cuz I blocked out the experience.... a whole dorm full of nerds was just downright scary... On my way out to party on fri nights, I regularly passed people playing chess and reading quantum mechanics books... Luckily, I got out soph year and never looked back!

heh. I really enjoyed living in the honors dorm.

 

[rugirlie]

heh. I really enjoyed living in the honors dorm.

Despite your blatant charm and very pleasant physical appearance, oddly enough, I still believe that you did.

 

[Karim]

Yeah, there's dorms and computer labs for us too. Believe it or not, I go to UNLV (University of Las Vegas, Nevada), a state school.

 

[Karim]

People consider it a crappy school...the acceptance rate is in the 80's, and I'm basically going there for free. However, I have only experienced the best--the Lied Library is frikin 5 stories, there's an amazing Honors program full of brilliant staff and students, and my instructors have been nothing but excellent. That will probably change soon though...I'm only a freshman

 

[NRankin]

Biology = terrible major for pre-meds
unless you really love doing biology, pick something else.

Are you saying that Biology is a terrible major for pre-meds only because most people don't enjoy and subsequently don't do well in Biology? Or is there another reason that biology is a terrible major for pre-meds?

Personally, biology is my favorite science. Plus I've done really well in the biology classes I've already taken. Now you've gotten me worried.

 

[ahd929]

the best single piece of advice i can give, based on experience, is this: don't blow off ANYTHING. my gpa never fully recovered from a lackluster effort in my first two years of college, despite stellar grades junior and senior year and as a post-bacc.

 

[jon stewart]

Are you saying that Biology is a terrible major for pre-meds only because most people don't enjoy and subsequently don't do well in Biology? Or is there another reason that biology is a terrible major for pre-meds?

Personally, biology is my favorite science. Plus I've done really well in the biology classes I've already taken. Now you've gotten me worried.

do whatever you like, if you like bio then stick with it

i think hes saying its bad beacause many pre meds are biology majors and that not everyone actually enjoys it.

 

[hnbui]

do whatever you like, if you like bio then stick with it

i think hes saying its bad beacause many pre meds are biology majors and that not everyone actually enjoys it.

yeah i know alot of people who major in bio just because they end up taking alot of courses in bio.

Just major in what you like. Also realize that there's alot of specialities within the broad fieldof biology.

 

[stifler]

I am a double major--BA in Literature and BS in "General Science" (heavier in Micro, Biochem, and Math than a regular BIO major, light on physics, ecology, anatomy, non-mamallian bio, and phys chem)--and I have had only glowing feedback from advisers and others.

The two things to worry about are 1) will your chosen two "fields" prepare you for the MCAT or will you require lots of "extra" classes (not contributing to either degree) to learn the MCAT stuff? this can be a problem because you will be strapped for time and each class you take extra pushes your credit load (which will already be sickeningly high) needlessly higher... 2) Can you get "med-school" caliber grades in BOTH fields? Make sure you are very interested in the two fields you choose and will be able to get great grades but also enjoy yourself and be passionate about them.

PLUS....MOST IMPORTANT....you just can't beat a liberal, humanities-based education for your development as a human being...the last 4 years of studying literature alongside science have changed who I am completely, and I will be a far better doctor (and person) because of it.

So, if you are up to the challenge, and you have the interest, do it even if you don't think it will "benefit" you on paper.

ive learned nothing at my liberal arts school except science. lol. i dont know how ive developed. lol sorry im just being a jerk, but im glad a liberal arts education changed you. it hasnt done too much for me. i do think i got the best science education based on small class sizes and how my teacher knows me personally and can visit me at my dorm etc.

 

[NRankin]

ive learned nothing at my liberal arts school except science. lol. i dont know how ive developed. lol sorry im just being a jerk, but im glad a liberal arts education changed you. it hasnt done too much for me. i do think i got the best science education based on small class sizes and how my teacher knows me personally and can visit me at my dorm etc.

I've had a lot of people tell me the same thing that the person you are replying to has told me. A friend of mine, who is now in graduate school at Vanderbilt, said one of the best things she could have ever done for herself was a double major - biology/comparative religion. I'm sorry you didn't have the same experience. I think I have come to the conclusion that a double major is the right decision for me, because I love both Biology and English and know I will do well in both.

 

[RubRoss LSU]

Biology = terrible major for pre-meds
unless you really love doing biology, pick something else.

I second that. It's safe to say that of the 200+ "pre-med" students at LSU applying this year for med school, at least 90% are biol or biochem majors. People think I'm weird because I want to go to med school and I'm not a science major, but oh well. And out of the 20 people in my TPR class, I'm the only non-science major. I love being the minority haha.

 

[NRankin]

I second that. It's safe to say that of the 200+ "pre-med" students at LSU applying this year for med school, at least 90% are biol or biochem majors. People think I'm weird because I want to go to med school and I'm not a science major, but oh well. And out of the 20 people in my TPR class, I'm the only non-science major. I love being the minority haha.

What did you major in? And do you have any science minors?

 

[MoosePilot]

Despite your blatant charm and very pleasant physical appearance, oddly enough, I still believe that you did.

Oh yeah, I did. I probably still would.

There was a surprising gender inequity though, which would suck

 

[rugirlie]

Oh yeah, I did. I probably still would.

There was a surprising gender inequity though, which would suck

Thats interesting.... this was not the case in my honors dorm... pretty even steven. I would scoff to see you be taken up by some nerdy social misfit though.... you're just too cool for that!

 

[Jalopycat]

I was a music major. Got in fine, in fact, my interviewers spent my whole interview talking about orchestras and stuff.

Enjoy undergrad and do something you love.

 

[zero2hero]

Biology = terrible major for pre-meds
unless you really love doing biology, pick something else.

I agree, at my school they release stats on all the applicants in the fall. I took a look this past semester and i saw that more than 50% of all biology majors got rejected, abour 40% for psychobiology and chemistry. Granted, some of these students did not have the most stellar GPA's or MCAT's but I found the stats to be quite alarming. Most of the people from my school that got in were liberal arts majors, double majors in a science and something else and biochem majors surprisingly. 8 out of 9 biochem applicants got in, which is hopefully good news for me since i'm also biochem.

 

[leumas614]

Do you have to like Bio to handle med school or will you be stuck for four years learning something you don't enjoy? Is there more to being a doctor then your knowledge of Biology? Obviously there is but how much of it helps you through med school? Also, is psychology considered a science? So if I double major in psych and bio its ok? (I haven't taken a Bio class yet so I don't know if like it or not.)