Anthropology major?

[AsianPersuasion]

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I used the search tool but the threads were either old or irrelevent.

I would like hear from members who were Anth major or is currently majoring in it.

What was your experience like when applying and the interview process? do you feel it prepared you at all for the MCAT? What was it like to have to take all the pre med courses with your anth major?

Any comments, suggestions or stories etc are welcome.

I'm gonna be a freshman at Uni this fall. I originally wanted to major in MLS, but after a long consideration I think I might switch.

It's not definite that im gonna be an anth major but I'm really interested in it more than other majors like bio, chem, phy, physcho etc

Thank you.

 

[jsh52]

I used the search tool but the threads were either old or irrelevent.

I would like hear from members who were Anth major or is currently majoring in it.

What was your experience like when applying and the interview process? do you feel it prepared you at all for the MCAT? What was it like to have to take all the pre med courses with your anth major?

Any comments, suggestions or stories etc are welcome.

I'm gonna be a freshman at Uni this fall. I originally wanted to major in MLS, but after a long consideration I think I might switch.

It's not definite that im gonna be an anth major but I'm really interested in it more than other majors like bio, chem, phy, physcho etc

Thank you.

I was anth and I chose it because it was most interesting to me. I'm applying now. You still need to take the pre-med curriculum, though, so the MCAT shouldn't be a problem. Just remember...if you do NOT end up going to medical school, you will have a bachelors in anthropology. That means you need to go to graduate school or another professional school if you want to use your degree! Just something to think about!

 

[asli]

Another anthro major. Love it, the classes have all been very interesting so far. Anthro can also be applied to medicine in a variety of ways, so it isn't very different. Keep in mind that most anthro classes are writing/reading intensive, so I suggest getting rid of your pre-reqs (or most of them) during your first 2 years.

 

[Tappinfool66]

I used the search tool but the threads were either old or irrelevent.

I would like hear from members who were Anth major or is currently majoring in it.

What was your experience like when applying and the interview process? do you feel it prepared you at all for the MCAT? What was it like to have to take all the pre med courses with your anth major?

Any comments, suggestions or stories etc are welcome.

I'm gonna be a freshman at Uni this fall. I originally wanted to major in MLS, but after a long consideration I think I might switch.

It's not definite that im gonna be an anth major but I'm really interested in it more than other majors like bio, chem, phy, physcho etc

Thank you.

I'm not an anthro major myself, but one of my very close friends is and she is getting ready to take the MCAT and apply to schools.

She loves it. She's doing an Anthropology major with a concentration in Human Biology (basically the same thing as Biological Anthropology). I don't think she feels any less prepared for the MCAT than anyone else we know. She wrote about it in her personal statement because it's had an impact on her outlook on life I think. I'm sure it will come up in interviews and, if anything, it will make her look more 'well rounded'.

As for classes, she gets to take cultural anthro classes, bio anthro classes and even 'hard' science classes like General Histology, Mammalian Physiology and Biochemistry. She's been able to fit in all of the pre-med pre requisites fine. And, she's also able to fit a minor in Religion.

If I were you, I would take a class or two to see if it's for you. If it is, great. If not, then you find another major.

 

[jsh52]

I'm not an anthro major myself, but one of my very close friends is and she is getting ready to take the MCAT and apply to schools.

She loves it. She's doing an Anthropology major with a concentration in Human Biology (basically the same thing as Biological Anthropology). I don't think she feels any less prepared for the MCAT than anyone else we know. She wrote about it in her personal statement because it's had an impact on her outlook on life I think. I'm sure it will come up in interviews and, if anything, it will make her look more 'well rounded'.

As for classes, she gets to take cultural anthro classes, bio anthro classes and even 'hard' science classes like General Histology, Mammalian Physiology and Biochemistry.

If I were you, I would take a class or two to see if it's for you. If it is, great. If not, then you find another major.

I agree. I was actually a Biological Anthropology major too and it's very interesting stuff. I took many, many upper level biology courses that counted as electives in my major. OP may have the same opportunity. I recommend taking a couple of intro classes (that will likely count towards your general requirements too) because anthropology was split into three main concentrations at our university: Biological anthropology, Cultural, and Archaeology. I took many classes in all 3 and they were extremely fun. 👍

 

[AsianPersuasion]

Another anthro major. Love it, the classes have all been very interesting so far. Anthro can also be applied to medicine in a variety of ways, so it isn't very different. Keep in mind that most anthro classes are writing/reading intensive, so I suggest getting rid of your pre-reqs (or most of them) during your first 2 years.

That's one of the things I'm afraid of. English is my second language, but I'm working hard to improve it.

I'm not an anthro major myself, but one of my very close friends is and she is getting ready to take the MCAT and apply to schools.

She loves it. She's doing an Anthropology major with a concentration in Human Biology (basically the same thing as Biological Anthropology). I don't think she feels any less prepared for the MCAT than anyone else we know. She wrote about it in her personal statement because it's had an impact on her outlook on life I think. I'm sure it will come up in interviews and, if anything, it will make her look more 'well rounded'.

As for classes, she gets to take cultural anthro classes, bio anthro classes and even 'hard' science classes like General Histology, Mammalian Physiology and Biochemistry. She's been able to fit in all of the pre-med pre requisites fine. And, she's also able to fit a minor in Religion.

If I were you, I would take a class or two to see if it's for you. If it is, great. If not, then you find another major.

Oh wow, I applaude her for being able to blance it all. Actually, to anybody who has to take all of their pre med courses without anything crossing both the track and major.

Yes, I plan on taking some courses to test the water to see how I feel about it. But overall I'm very interested in it.

I've always been told that that the pre med courses are fine and will be enough for MCAT with added upper level science courses like biochem, cell bio and molec etc.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

I agree. I was actually a Biological Anthropology major too and it's very interesting stuff. I took many, many upper level biology courses that counted as electives in my major. OP may have the same opportunity. I recommend taking a couple of intro classes (that will likely count towards your general requirements too) because anthropology was split into three main concentrations at our university: Biological anthropology, Cultural, and Archaeology. I took many classes in all 3 and they were extremely fun. 👍

Yes my Uni have something very similar too. We have Public Archeology(which was the one I was interested in) General Anth and cultural( this I was interested in too) but for some reason we don't have the medical anth course 😕 and we don't have biological.

concentration in General and cultural grants you a BA and archeology grants you BS.


BTW, what was research experience like for you? both medical related and anth related. Were they hard to find? how did you go about it?

 

[Pons Asinorum]

I thought you were planning on doing a nursing program? Is that not right, and what changed your mind if it is? Just curious.

 

[jsh52]

Yes my Uni have something very similar too. We have Public Archeology(which was the one I was interested in) General Anth and cultural( this I was interested in too) but for some reason we don't have the medical anth course 😕 and we don't have biological.

concentration in General and cultural grants you a BA and archeology grants you BS.

Hmm interesting! Archaeology was really, REALLY cool. It's almost a history major, but more hands-on. One of my best friends from college was an archaeology major and loved it--he's getting his PhD in it now. I almost chose that for my concentration but picked the more medically relevant biological anth. I think you'd do fine with any of those, and maybe just take some upper division bio classes like biochem, genetics, and cell biology. You will be set.

 

[SexyDoctor]

I was an Anthropology major for the longest time until I switched. It's really easy and fun but I'd recommend to take a bunch of classes before you convince yourself to become an Anthropology major. I got bored really quickly.

 

[jsh52]

Yes my Uni have something very similar too. We have Public Archeology(which was the one I was interested in) General Anth and cultural( this I was interested in too) but for some reason we don't have the medical anth course 😕 and we don't have biological.

concentration in General and cultural grants you a BA and archeology grants you BS.


BTW, what was research experience like for you? both medical related and anth related. Were they hard to find? how did you go about it?

Research experience is not always available on campus. You need to check. Often, archaeology students would do a summer program and go on digs with professors. As for me (a bio anthro major), I had a professor in the anthro department studying comparative neuroanatomy (humans vs chimps vs macaques vs capuchins) and so I worked in his lab on campus. I did NOT have any trouble securing biomedical research options for summer (SURP/SURF) because the schools I applied to loved the fact I was an anthro major and not another bio major-no offense to bio majors. 🙂

 

[AsianPersuasion]

I thought you were planning on doing a nursing program? Is that not right, and what changed your mind if it is? Just curious.

Yeah, I decided not to. I originally wanted to do the 10 months practical nursing program so I can work while getting my bachelor's degree due to financial reasons but instead I'm just gonna utilize the certifications I already have now to work instead and just skip out the nursing program.

Even though the pay is great for short amount of schooling ($25/hr) and would probably help my family alot, I considered the time and the all things involve and decided not to go for it and go to the Uni I was accepted to instead.

If all els fail after many trials of applying to med school and still won't get accepted I'll probably go for it.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

Research experience is not always available on campus. You need to check. Often, archaeology students would do a summer program and go on digs with professors. As for me (a bio anthro major), I had a professor in the anthro department studying comparative neuroanatomy (humans vs chimps vs macaques vs capuchins) and so I worked in his lab on campus. I did NOT have any trouble securing biomedical research options for summer (SURP/SURF) because the schools I applied to loved the fact I was an anthro major and not another bio major-no offense to bio majors. 🙂

haha the human and chimp research thing sounds awesome 😀 at my Uni one of the reason why I chose it was that we get alot of grants to do research in whatever topic we want. We just need to find a group of students and a professor willing to work with us.

AND studying abroad sounds really cool.

I really would like to get involve with some type of anth research but was not sure about medically related one. cause I've heard some professors tends to pick science majors for theirs and I'm not sure how to sell myself out to them, inorder for them to pick me to be apart of their research team.

 

[jsh52]

haha the human and chimp research thing sounds awesome 😀 at my Uni one of the reason why I chose it was that we get alot of grants to do research in whatever topic we want. We just need to find a group of students and a professor willing to work with us.

AND studying abroad sounds really cool.

I really would like to get involve with some type of anth research but was not sure about medically related one. cause I've heard some professors tends to pick science majors for theirs and I'm not sure how to sell myself out to them, inorder for them to pick me to be apart of their research team.

If you are working for free, you will find a lab. Guaranteed! Sometimes if you prove yourself for a semester, the prof will start paying you. Or-you can write and apply for grants of your own, which is the more desirable option of course. Don't worry about "medically related" research. I think any research experience is good. In fact, I kinda wish I had gone on one of the archaeology digs, instead of doing one of my summers of biomedical research! Many applying to med school will have biomedical research. Few can say they went on an archaeology dig 😎

 

[rawman]

I was a cultural anthro major and I loved it. I wouldn't say it directly helped me on the MCAT (the prereqs took care of that), but I was able to use the knowledge I learned about different cultures in fleshing out my personal statement and secondary app answers. Then again, a large chunk of my ECs involved working in various cultural programs anyway. Also, anthro classes were an awesome break from the cutthroat "pre-med" environment that lingered around the biology department. Not to mention I found the classes easier in comparison. If you like learning about different people (in general) and different cultures, I think you'll appreciate anthro.

Other than that, I don't think it'll give you any significant advantage. However, it HAS come in handy when going over cases in my Cultural Medical Ethics class in med school.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

If you are working for free, you will find a lab. Guaranteed! Sometimes if you prove yourself for a semester, the prof will start paying you. Or-you can write and apply for grants of your own, which is the more desirable option of course. Don't worry about "medically related" research. I think any research experience is good. In fact, I kinda wish I had gone on one of the archaeology digs, instead of doing one of my summers of biomedical research! Many applying to med school will have biomedical research. Few can say they went on an archaeology dig 😎

That's what drives me too 😀 I've always kinda imagine going on this awesome archeological discovery in like remote places and finding crazy pieces that are thousands of years old and realizing this civilization is what made most impact on mankind etc Lol I dream too much 😛

Also, what's the work like as an anth major? I'm guessing lots of reading/ writing?

I was a cultural anthro major and I loved it. I wouldn't say it directly helped me on the MCAT (the prereqs took care of that), but I was able to use the knowledge I learned about different cultures in fleshing out my personal statement and secondary app answers. Then again, a large chunk of my ECs involved working in various cultural programs anyway. Also, anthro classes were an awesome break from the cutthroat "pre-med" environment that lingered around the biology department. Not to mention I found the classes easier in comparison. If you like learning about different people (in general) and different cultures, I think you'll appreciate anthro.

Other than that, I don't think it'll give you any significant advantage. However, it HAS come in handy when going over cases in my Cultural Medical Ethics class in med school.

I do 😀 and I sure hope so!

 

[jsh52]

Also, what's the work like as an anth major? I'm guessing lots of reading/ writing?

Yep, but we also did lab based classes too. I took an anatomy class in the anthro department, and an archaeology lab as well. The archaeology lab was interesting, as we were required to identify projectile points and pottery pieces based on the era. We also went on some field trips for our archaeology classes. In my bio anthro concentration, we watched a lot of behavioral videos for one of my classes on primates.

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

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[CaliGirl14]

I have an Anthropology minor, so I think i can shed some light on this matter. I'm not sure how it'd help you with the MCAT, maybe the evolution/biological aspect of anthropology might help. So far in my classes, I have done no writing. I'm also doing an independent research class where we're excavating on an Indian burial ground. (So far we haven't found much besides some flakes and copules 😀). I think it's like an ADD major. You've got four aspects that make up the entire major: cultural anthro, biological, linguistics, and archaeo.

 

[scarshapedstar]

From my personal experience, it's a lot easier to get in as an anthropologist than a biologist. As a biology reapplicant, this makes me want to hurt myself, but every anthro major I knew got in straight out of college and most biologists I know are doing postbacs and such to fix their grades to compete with all the 4.0 anthropologists. 😳

 

[deleted6669]

I did medical anthro at the university of ca.> 20 yrs ago.
met all the requirements for pa school and still had plenty of electives left over to take interesting coursework, foreign language, etc

 

[AsianPersuasion]

From my personal experience, it's a lot easier to get in as an anthropologist than a biologist. As a biology reapplicant, this makes me want to hurt myself, but every anthro major I knew got in straight out of college and most biologists I know are doing postbacs and such to fix their grades to compete with all the 4.0 anthropologists. 😳

I'm not picking this major because I felt its easier to get in to med school or anything, its just that I truly feel like I would enjoy the topic to the point im willing to get a bachelors in it and hopefully not be burnt out before med school.

Than again, this could all change and I might major in something els. I'm gonna take a couple of classes and see how I feel about it.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

I did medical anthro at the university of ca.> 20 yrs ago.
met all the requirements for pa school and still had plenty of electives left over to take interesting coursework, foreign language, etc

oh wow that's cool 🙂 I wish we have med anth at my Uni, but we don't 😡
we have to take one semester of lanuage though.

 

[Helen Wheels]

What was your experience like when applying and the interview process? do you feel it prepared you at all for the MCAT? What was it like to have to take all the pre med courses with your anth major?

I was an anthro major in undergrad. It is a fun major and it helps you to have respect for cultural diversity which is important in healthcare. A Bachelor's in anthro is not very good in terms of getting a good paying job, though, so if you aren't sure about medicine I might recommend you choose a major that affords more job opportunities.

I don't think my anthro degree was an issue or concern during the application/interview process. I completed my pre-med classes in a post bac many years after undergrad so I can't speak from experience about doing anthro and pre-med at the same time. I think as long as you spread out your science classes over several semesters you would be fine. BTW, at my university anthro was very writing and reading intensive. Most exams were all essay and every class had fairly lengthy writing assignments.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

I was an anthro major in undergrad. It is a fun major and it helps you to have respect for cultural diversity which is important in healthcare. A Bachelor's in anthro is not very good in terms of getting a good paying job, though, so if you aren't sure about medicine I might recommend you choose a major that affords more job opportunities.

I don't think my anthro degree was an issue or concern during the application/interview process. I completed my pre-med classes in a post bac many years after undergrad so I can't speak from experience about doing anthro and pre-med at the same time. I think as long as you spread out your science classes over several semesters you would be fine. BTW, at my university anthro was very writing and reading intensive. Most exams were all essay and every class had fairly lengthy writing assignments.

That's what I'm afraid of. I'm such a terrible writer and my english isn't perfect. But I'm willing to put the effort into it.

 

[Bowchickawowwow]

I'm considering becoming an anthro major, but I don't want Med Schools to think that it's just some BS Major that I'm doing to keep a 4.0......

Obv I'm going to be taking all the Pre-med requirements, but I'm not sure if that's enough to show them I'm a serious student.

I'd just love to spend my next four years in an anthropology class rather than a microbiology class, but I don't know if that will screw me over during my application cycle.....

 

[CaliGirl14]

I'm considering becoming an anthro major, but I don't want Med Schools to think that it's just some BS Major that I'm doing to keep a 4.0......

Obv I'm going to be taking all the Pre-med requirements, but I'm not sure if that's enough to show them I'm a serious student.

I'd just love to spend my next four years in an anthropology class rather than a microbiology class, but I don't know if that will screw me over during my application cycle.....

😎 Not cool dude.👎

 

[Bowchickawowwow]

😎 Not cool dude.👎

Haha Should I major in Anthro? I mean getting into Med School is a little bit above majoring in anthropology on my list of things I want! But it'd be awesome if I could have both 🙂

 

[scarshapedstar]

I don't think it's considered a BS major. If nothing else, you stand out from all the science majors. I mean if you can do well enough on the MCAT then nobody's going to think you're an airhead.

Me personally, I don't think I would have done as well on the MCAT if I hadn't taken so many science classes.