Are non science majors disadvantaged in med school

[NP545]

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Would someone who majored in a science related field like Genetics, Biology, or Neuroscience have a HUGE advantage in med school opposed to someone who majored in a non science field like Psychology or English?

What non pre req classes would be helpful in preparing for med school?

 

[gyngyn]

Would someone who majored in a science related field like Genetics, Biology, or Neuroscience have a HUGE advantage in med school opposed to someone who majored in a non science field like Psychology or English?

What non pre req classes would be helpful in preparing for med school?

No.
Whatever challenges you to develop critical thinking.

 

[gymnastMD12]

I've heard recently from many people that med schools are encouraging even more non-science majors to apply, because of their broad range of subjects studied! Especially those with a liberal arts education!
As for pre-reqs to take, cross check the lists of many med schools (including those you are interested in) and see what they have listed as requirements. Many will include 2 semesters of bio with lab, 2+ semesters of chem with lab, physics, etc.
Good luck!

 

[Ismet]

No, there is absolutely no HUGE advantage to majoring in a science. You might have a slightly easier time than your classmates when you get to the subject area that you majored in, but there's still the rest of the pre-clinical coursework and clinical after that. I majored in neuroscience, but the neuroscience course was still difficult. Granted, I knew some of the basics already so I had a better foundation than my classmates who had zero background in neuro, but it was by no means a cakewalk. And that's only one class out of 2 years of classes.

 

[vanillabear55]

Only thing I think worth mentioning is that I struggled a bit as a non-science major with the MCAT. There was just so much biology my friends knew and needed to retain throughout the 4 years, that I had lost between freshman year and now. So it's just taking me a bit longer to get where I need to be.

Glad to read the above posts though!

And I definitely wouldn't go back and change my degree! 🙂

EDIT: 'struggling' - still prepping for the mcat

 

[darkjedi]

Maybe a little bit, but it seems like everyone is more or less on equal footing. Those with more exposure to higher level sciences that are more applicable to medicine, like neuroscience and biochemistry, may find that some stuff is more review, but med school goes into more detail at a much faster pace.

 

[coffeesnob]

Would someone who majored in a science related field like Genetics, Biology, or Neuroscience have a HUGE advantage in med school opposed to someone who majored in a non science field like Psychology or English?

What non pre req classes would be helpful in preparing for med school?

Genetics major here -- useless in medical school because what I focused in undergrad was research. Majoring in bio won't get you far in medical school unless you took various physiology, anatomy, histology, whatever courses.

If you majored in anatomy (is that even a major?), you will breeze through SOME blocks in med school. Whatever you end up majoring in, just make some effort to get exposed to biochemistry, physiology, some anatomy.

But in the long run, your major doesn't really matter. You will be able to learn everything well in med school.

Edit: just realized you are the OP from exercise science vs psychology major thread.

lol stop being neurotic. like everyone is saying, do whatever you want. your undergrad major has minor effects on your ability to learn in medical school. adcom doesn't care what your major is. if you can't make up your mind at the moment, that's okay. explore each major further and pick one when you are certain. i officially "declared" my major at the end of my sophomore year. go have fun while you still can.

 

[ProudMD]

Would someone who majored in a science related field like Genetics, Biology, or Neuroscience have a HUGE advantage in med school opposed to someone who majored in a non science field like Psychology or English?

What non pre req classes would be helpful in preparing for med school?

Absolutely not. In fact, I am inclined to believe that the OPPOSITE is true. NOT majoring in a science can be advantageous if your stats are acceptable.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

Absolutely not. In fact, I am inclined to believe that the OPPOSITE is true. NOT majoring in a science can be advantageous if your stats are acceptable.

I think OP meant once you're in med school, not when you're still applying.

 

[efle]

Neuroscience majors have a huge advantage in life
source: am one

But really, take classes on what you love. You will never again get to spend years studying philosophy, literature, art, language, etc, so do it now if you like it. Don't forget to party a healthy amount as well.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think OP meant once you're in med school, not when you're still applying.

I think that's the point. Pretty much no advantage in med school -- there are many threads in pre-allo which list the reasons why any advantage is so short lived or illusory that it's not worth the bother. But if anyone does have an edge in this path it's the guy with the less common major during interviews, because he can perhaps set himself apart and not just be yet another cookie cutter biochem major.

In my med school class there was pretty normal distribution of non-science and science people toward the top, middle and bottom of the class. No real clumping at one end or the other. FWIW, all of those who ended up withdrawing for academic reasons in my year were traditional bio/biochem majors (not so surprising since they represented the majority). But it does suggest that it's hardly that big an advantage and you'd better be prepared to hit the ground running and not expect to coast on anything you've done before med school.

 

[Sirphillup]

.

 

[Sirphillup]

As far as once you are in med school: the word is that nobody cares how you got there. I also think that if you got accepted, you're more than likely a bright and qualified student, so I'm not sure it would be particularly tougher as a humanities person. At least that's what I've been told by non-science students I know in med school.

 

[Catalystik]

Would someone who majored in a science related field like Genetics, Biology, or Neuroscience have a HUGE advantage in med school opposed to someone who majored in a non science field like Psychology or English?

Provided your university offers coursework with sufficient rigor and you tend to retain what you learn, I personally feel there is an advantage to taking extra upper-level Bio/Biochem or having a Bio-related major during the first two years of med school. This might equate to taking AP classes in HS then retaking the class in college, which brings with it a higher chance of above average performance on the second pass through the material.

As n=1 examples, I took a year of Biochem in college and the same material, same textbook was covered during 6 weeks of med school. I took Histology and was able to place out of it in med school by taking a test, giving more time to study other disciplines.

Of course, depending on your ultimate specialty choice, complete mastery of all subject areas isn't necessarily important once you pass Step I.

So "HUGE advantage"? No. Some short-term advantage? Yes. JMO.

 

[NickNaylor]

Provided your university offers coursework with sufficient rigor and you tend to retain what you learn, I personally feel there is an advantage to a Bio-related major during the first two years of med school. It's like taking AP classes in HS then retaking the class in college, which brings with it a higher chance of earning an A.

As n=1 examples, I took a year of Biochem in college and the same material, same textbook was covered during 6 weeks of med school. I took Histology and was able to place out of it in med school by taking a test, giving more time to study other disciplines.

Of course, depending on your ultimate specialty choice, complete mastery of all subject areas isn't necessarily important once you pass Step I.

So "HUGE advantage"? No. Some short-term advantage? Yes. JMO.

I would agree. The people in my class that were non-traditional students with a minimal science background tended to struggle in the "science heavy" courses (e.g., biochem, cell bio, etc.). But the only "advantage" was the reduced amount of stress and less time spent studying. People that studied science work weren't clearly superior or anything like that.