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I was just wondering if there were any other theatre majors applying? If so, are there schools that would look down on us?
Any other theatre majors out there???
- Thread starter WendsJ
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I didn't major in theatre, but I took a lot of classes and did a lot of theatre productions. Most adcoms thought it was pretty cool. Play up your empathy capabilities and communication skills. If you can show that you have the science skills, I don't think you'll have too much of a problem. And you'll rock your interviews ... red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather ...
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Hi WendsJ,
I was a theatre major!
In my experience there WAS a little hesitation on the part of the schools, or at least the interviewers. I worked for a few years and then did post-bacc, so I wasn't premed all along and all they ever asked me in the interviews was how I got from theatre to medicine. In my essays I stressed how important communication and organization skills were to my career in theater, but most of my interviewers still seemed skeptical. It's like they thought I wasn't smart or something because I had been a theatre person. BUT when I got to my current school, the interviewer was so excited about my experiences he went so far as to say that ALL premeds should take some theater classes (which I happen to agree with). I didn't have to go through my whole song and dance about how my skills translated to medicine, because he told me!!! It was amazing and really made me feel like the school was a place that would appreciate me. And I am very happy here.
So yes, I think you might have a little more trouble than most because you will likely have to prove yourself a little more throughout the application process. However, once you get into school, you will be miles ahead of most of your classmates because you have been trained to collaborate with other people, which is not something most people are specifically trained to do, and something that is imperative if you want to be an excellent physician.
Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you want more specifics.
I was a theatre major!
In my experience there WAS a little hesitation on the part of the schools, or at least the interviewers. I worked for a few years and then did post-bacc, so I wasn't premed all along and all they ever asked me in the interviews was how I got from theatre to medicine. In my essays I stressed how important communication and organization skills were to my career in theater, but most of my interviewers still seemed skeptical. It's like they thought I wasn't smart or something because I had been a theatre person. BUT when I got to my current school, the interviewer was so excited about my experiences he went so far as to say that ALL premeds should take some theater classes (which I happen to agree with). I didn't have to go through my whole song and dance about how my skills translated to medicine, because he told me!!! It was amazing and really made me feel like the school was a place that would appreciate me. And I am very happy here.
So yes, I think you might have a little more trouble than most because you will likely have to prove yourself a little more throughout the application process. However, once you get into school, you will be miles ahead of most of your classmates because you have been trained to collaborate with other people, which is not something most people are specifically trained to do, and something that is imperative if you want to be an excellent physician.
Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you want more specifics.
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A shout out to all the theater majors!
BA, design and production, Vassar College, 1996!!
4 years out working as a freelance technician in NYC, then the decision to go back to school to do my post bac. I'm on my way to medical school in the fall.
To be honest, I sometimes wish I hadn't bothered to major in theater - unless you head to grad school for an MA, no one on the production side ever cares if you got a degree in theater, as long as you know what you are doing. I took pretty well rounded classes any way, but if I had majored in something else (like say, bio, which I considered) the whole post-bac thing coulda been a little easier.
That said, I really wouldn't change much about my history. I think I learned so much in my career to prep me for the practical side of medicine (communication, working under pressure, crisis management). I think it even helped me get through the past three years of classes (stage managers don't get test anxiety!). And, unlike some other posters, I never felt looked down on by my interviewers. In fact, at Mt Sinai, my interviewer was a big theater-goer, has season tickets at all these off-broadway theaters I work at - he had seen a show I worked on the night before! We had a great chat about art and theater and why I would leave this life for medicine. It only got me onto the waitlist, but it was great fun.
I would feel safe saying that most schools don't look down on theater or other non-science majors, as long as you've got the stats in the pre-med classes and a good MCAT, and can come up with something good to relate why you wanted to major in theater but are applying to medical school. And, come on, would you really want to go to a school where they look down on you for something like that? I don't care if they are a great medical school, if they look down on the arts, f**k 'em!
BA, design and production, Vassar College, 1996!!
4 years out working as a freelance technician in NYC, then the decision to go back to school to do my post bac. I'm on my way to medical school in the fall.
To be honest, I sometimes wish I hadn't bothered to major in theater - unless you head to grad school for an MA, no one on the production side ever cares if you got a degree in theater, as long as you know what you are doing. I took pretty well rounded classes any way, but if I had majored in something else (like say, bio, which I considered) the whole post-bac thing coulda been a little easier.
That said, I really wouldn't change much about my history. I think I learned so much in my career to prep me for the practical side of medicine (communication, working under pressure, crisis management). I think it even helped me get through the past three years of classes (stage managers don't get test anxiety!). And, unlike some other posters, I never felt looked down on by my interviewers. In fact, at Mt Sinai, my interviewer was a big theater-goer, has season tickets at all these off-broadway theaters I work at - he had seen a show I worked on the night before! We had a great chat about art and theater and why I would leave this life for medicine. It only got me onto the waitlist, but it was great fun.
I would feel safe saying that most schools don't look down on theater or other non-science majors, as long as you've got the stats in the pre-med classes and a good MCAT, and can come up with something good to relate why you wanted to major in theater but are applying to medical school. And, come on, would you really want to go to a school where they look down on you for something like that? I don't care if they are a great medical school, if they look down on the arts, f**k 'em!
