Sociology Majors now in Medical School? In the Application process?

[TheFamilyDoc]

I wanted to know if any Sociology majors had trouble in Medical School compared to your science major counterparts? Or did the prereqs prepare you enough? Was the MCAT more of a challange to you than you science major friends? I am a social science major at a school that was one of the 'Top 10 grueling schools for BiologyBiology' by the Huffington post so my premed advisor and bio premed counterparts think I am insane for choosing social sciences. However, the chair of sociology informed me that they have more med school acceptances than Biology....my school is really small 3,000 students

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[AlmostJesus]

I am a Sociology major that is also pre-med. I am the only one to my knowledge at my school. I have yet to apply for medical school, so I can't provide much feedback on that process. I do find myself considering taking more and more biology classes. I hope the sociology major demonstrates thinking from a different perspective and an interest in understanding the social aspect of medicine which is huge in the disease process.
Nice to see someone else on the same track.

 

[Narmerguy]

I'm a sociology minor (biophysics major) so I'm not exactly in the same boat as you. However, my experience is that none of my non-prereq biology/physics/chemistry classes have given me any extra preparation for the MCAT. There's just not much opportunity for material not explicitly required for the MCAT to help you. Also, little of our undergraduate coursework will help us in med school so you'll be on the same page as all the other biology/chemistry majors.

I think you should think seriously on whether you can handle a full-biological science based curriculum in medical school. It's one thing to be a sociology major and to have only taken a few biology classes, but another thing to be a sociology major and to struggle in the few biology classes that you have taken. So long as you do not fall into the latter, I think you should be fine in your preparation.

Go Sociology! We need more people with that kind of training in medical school.

 

[saveourpens]

I majored in Sociology. I did "relatively" well on the MCAT and I won't have trouble in med school because of it. I learned a lot about the social aspects of disease (the meanings patients attach to their illness...the effects a disability can have on a patient's social identity and their relationships....etc.). I think I'll be a better clinician because of it.

 

[varsityblue]

I wanted to know if any Sociology majors had trouble in Medical School compared to your science major counterparts? Or did the prereqs prepare you enough? Was the MCAT more of a challange to you than you science major friends? I am a social science major at a school that was one of the 'Top 10 grueling schools for BiologyBiology' by the Huffington post so my premed advisor and bio premed counterparts think I am insane for choosing social sciences. However, the chair of sociology informed me that they have more med school acceptances than Biology....my school is really small 3,000 students

One of my friends majored in sociology at Columbia and ended up at Yale Med. He did well on the MCAT (37R), graduated PBK, and will probably make AOA by graduation next year; he studies really hard, though.

 

[TheFamilyDoc]

I'm a sociology minor (biophysics major) so I'm not exactly in the same boat as you. However, my experience is that none of my non-prereq biology/physics/chemistry classes have given me any extra preparation for the MCAT. There's just not much opportunity for material not explicitly required for the MCAT to help you. Also, little of our undergraduate coursework will help us in med school so you'll be on the same page as all the other biology/chemistry majors.

I think you should think seriously on whether you can handle a full-biological science based curriculum in medical school. It's one thing to be a sociology major and to have only taken a few biology classes, but another thing to be a sociology major and to struggle in the few biology classes that you have taken. So long as you do not fall into the latter, I think you should be fine in your preparation.

Go Sociology! We need more people with that kind of training in medical school.

I noticed your MDapplicants profile says you're doing graduate school after graduation....are you missing prereqs?

 

[TheFamilyDoc]

One of my friends majored in sociology at Columbia and ended up at Yale Med. He did well on the MCAT (37R), graduated PBK, and will probably make AOA by graduation next year; he studies really hard, though.

That's stellar. I met a girl at UCLA two weeks ago that's a second year who did sociology for undergrad. I didn't get a chance to talk to her much however.

 

[Lil Mick]

I was a course short of a major in sociology. Personally, among my areas of study thus far, I think sociology helped me most with the doctoring courses/disparities training.. part of medical school. It's also very useful reading most of the clinical studies you'll read later in your career.

 

[TheFamilyDoc]

I majored in Sociology. I did "relatively" well on the MCAT and I won't have trouble in med school because of it. I learned a lot about the social aspects of disease (the meanings patients attach to their illness...the effects a disability can have on a patient's social identity and their relationships....etc.). I think I'll be a better clinician because of it.

Are you in medical school now?

 

[Narmerguy]

Who would have thought I would come across another African American male that's also studying sociology and premed? and your a mod on SDN *buys lottery ticket* excuse my sarcasm. I noticed your MDapplicants profile says you're doing graduate school after graduation....are you missing prereqs?

Nah I finished all my prereqs by sophomore year. I'm applying for Stats programs and Computational Modelling programs for grad school. One thing I really enjoyed in sociology was the sophisticated statistics a lot of studies used. I really enjoy stats/computers.

 

[saveourpens]

Are you in medical school now?

I'm on 3 wait-lists now, hopefully one of them will bear fruit and I'll start in August.

 

[235788]

I majored in Sociology. I did "relatively" well on the MCAT and I won't have trouble in med school because of it. I learned a lot about the social aspects of disease (the meanings patients attach to their illness...the effects a disability can have on a patient's social identity and their relationships....etc.). I think I'll be a better clinician because of it.

Well you'll learn all of that in behavioral science, so you wont really be unique after year 1.

I can imagine if you lack a biochemistry, anatomy, and neuroscience background you may have some troubles. If I could go back I would have taken a real anatomy course and maybe something neuro -- I'm a bit nervous. Luckily I took pretty heavy biochem, but I can't imagine how stressed out I'd be if the entire year consisted of brand new material. There is definitely a strong learning curve for some of the material.

 

[235788]

One of my friends majored in sociology at Columbia and ended up at Yale Med. He did well on the MCAT (37R), graduated PBK, and will probably make AOA by graduation next year; he studies really hard, though.

Yeah i'm sure. We all "know" that one guy.


A sociology major from columbia who got a 37 mcat is a lot different than a sociology major at a state university who gets a 30. Some people have great intellectual ability and will have no problems regardless of the material. I'm sure a biochem major with a 37 would go AOA also.

Lastly, going AOA at a top school really says more about the work ethic than intellectual ability.

 

[SnoopyMD]

I'm a sophomore pre-med sociology major right now, and I'm the only one at my school of which I'm aware. I think it's very interesting and it provides a nice balance to my physical and biological science courses. I think I'll definitely go into medical school with a different perspective on patients' lives than some of my counterparts who didn't study social science. That being said, I'm not sure that it puts me at either an advantage or a disadvantage for the medical school course material.

 

[Narmerguy]

I'm a sophomore pre-med sociology major right now, and I'm the only one at my school of which I'm aware. I think it's very interesting and it provides a nice balance to my physical and biological science courses. I think I'll definitely go into medical school with a different perspective on patients' lives than some of my counterparts who didn't study social science. That being said, I'm not sure that it puts me at either an advantage or a disadvantage for the medical school course material.

I don't think anyone should anticipate being a sociology major as an advantage with medical school course material. The material is largely unrelated. Similarly, from what medical student say, it will not be a disadvantage. Time and time again the advice is to major in what you enjoy because very little of what you learn in undergrad, out of prereqs, will help you for medical school. A common example is that medical school biochemistry is extremely different from undergraduate biochemistry.

However, there are plenty of other reasons that the knowledge will be helpful as a clinician or a researcher (particularly in public health). From my discussions with medical school faculty, the "behavioral sciences" taught in medical school is paltry and hardly the equivalent of 4-year's worth coursework. That's not surprising since it is unlikely that medical schools are as interested with a deep understanding in behavioral sciences as they are with pathology/histology/anatomy, etc etc.

 

[TheFamilyDoc]

I'm on 3 wait-lists now, hopefully one of them will bear fruit and I'll start in August.

Im sure one of them will!

 

[TheFamilyDoc]

Nah I finished all my prereqs by sophomore year. I'm applying for Stats programs and Computational Modelling programs for grad school. One thing I really enjoyed in sociology was the sophisticated statistics a lot of studies used. I really enjoy stats/computers.

Oh that's cool so you're not planning on going to med school at any point?

 

[VackAttack]

Nah I finished all my prereqs by sophomore year. I'm applying for Stats programs and Computational Modelling programs for grad school. One thing I really enjoyed in sociology was the sophisticated statistics a lot of studies used. I really enjoy stats/computers.

I'm finishing up my BA in Sociology next month and will be taking the MCAT this summer. But the last Soc class I had to take was my social stats class. I absolutely love it. My professor is doing research on genetics and how certain genes (2 in particular) play a role in social networks. So it's cool learning it from someone who has a semi-science background too.

I'd much rather be a Soc major than a Biology major (like I was before changing), just more interesting stuff you're not going to learn later in life because you'll be caught up in Biology forever.

 

[TheFamilyDoc]

:cry: bump