Bio major of Med School

[PreMedDocMD]

Everyone here says that it is not wise to be a bio major just because you want to go to med school. Also, they say that all of the necessary calsses for the MCAT are taken with the pre med classes. However, wouldn't it be pretty correct to say that if you were a bio major, as apposed to even something similar like a bioengineering major, you would tend not to forget those core classes? This is because in taking advanced science classes, you would need to know stuff from Bio 1 and Bio 2? Wouldn't it just be easier to study for the MCATs for a bio major, even more so than someone like a bioengineer?

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[FenderHM]

the MCAT emcompasses much more than just Bio, even the Bio section is Bio, Genetics, and O-Chem. and thats just 1/3 of the test. the rest physics, genchem, and verbal have nothing to do with Bio. So in theory a physics major would have as much as advantage as a bio major when it comes to mcat

 

[gotmeds?]

Everyone here says that it is not wise to be a bio major just because you want to go to med school. Also, they say that all of the necessary calsses for the MCAT are taken with the pre med classes. However, wouldn't it be pretty correct to say that if you were a bio major, as apposed to even something similar like a bioengineering major, you would tend not to forget those core classes? This is because in taking advanced science classes, you would need to know stuff from Bio 1 and Bio 2? Wouldn't it just be easier to study for the MCATs for a bio major, even more so than someone like a bioengineer?

First off, kudos to you for managing to fit "med," "doc," and "MD" all on one username. Although I think DrPreMedDocMD would have actually been a little better.

In response to your question, I don't really think the upper division bio classes are all that helpful for the MCAT. I took the test with only the basic pre-reqs and did really well. Sure there was mo bio and genetics on it, but it was tested at a very simple level. The material from the core pre-reqs was where all the hard questions came from, and the longer it's been since you took those, the more you tend to forget. My advice would be to major in what you like and take the MCAT as soon as you can after finishing the core pre-reqs, preferably after a couple of good months of intense studying.

 

[jochi1543]

First off, kudos to you for managing to fit "med," "doc," and "MD" all on one username. Although I think DrPreMedDocMD would have actually been a little better.

You're my hero.

 

[mvenus929]

Everyone here says that it is not wise to be a bio major just because you want to go to med school.

That's right. Only something like 50% of bio majors are accepted. That number goes up tremendously when looking at other majors. Major in something that you want to major in, and if that's bio, be ready for lots of competition.

Also, they say that all of the necessary calsses for the MCAT are taken with the pre med classes. However, wouldn't it be pretty correct to say that if you were a bio major, as apposed to even something similar like a bioengineering major, you would tend not to forget those core classes? This is because in taking advanced science classes, you would need to know stuff from Bio 1 and Bio 2? Wouldn't it just be easier to study for the MCATs for a bio major, even more so than someone like a bioengineer?

It depends. I'm a bio major, and I skipped Bio 1 and 2, thanks to IB classes in high school. So, I had to take upper division classes. And I think the specialization of those classes helped me understand things a lot better than I did when I took bio in high school. However, I've heard people say that upper level chem classes help them understand the concepts in gen chem better. You don't NEED to take anything other than the basic science classes to do well on the MCAT, but they might help you. Depends how good your memory is, I suppose.

 

[kayteebeehive]

Everyone here says that it is not wise to be a bio major just because you want to go to med school. Also, they say that all of the necessary calsses for the MCAT are taken with the pre med classes. However, wouldn't it be pretty correct to say that if you were a bio major, as apposed to even something similar like a bioengineering major, you would tend not to forget those core classes? This is because in taking advanced science classes, you would need to know stuff from Bio 1 and Bio 2? Wouldn't it just be easier to study for the MCATs for a bio major, even more so than someone like a bioengineer?

bioeng isn't very similar to biology ... i'm bioengineering and i only took 2 biology classes... my classes were more engineering than biology. and ditto what the others said, there's a lot more to the mcat than plain old biology. (thank god)

 

[DrBowtie]

If you check this table here : http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2006/mcatgpabymaj1.htm

from AAMC you'll see that majoring in Bio doesn't correlate to a better BS score vs. other majors.

 

[PreMedDocMD]

Ok, so let me change the quesion based on new info...Would it be the best for the MCAT/ med school to major in biochemistry, with a couple higher level physics classes?

 

[pennybridge]

DrPreMedDocMD would have actually been a little better.

DrPrePhysicianScientistMDPhD

or

DrPreMedSurgeonMDFACS

 

[Meatwad]

Ok, so let me change the quesion based on new info...Would it be the best for the MCAT/ med school to major in biochemistry, with a couple higher level physics classes?

Higher level physics? Yeah, definitely. Make sure you take EM theory, an advanced course on Mechanics (not just basic Newtonian stuff, we're talking Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods here), Quantum Mechanics, and top it all off with nonlinear dynamics.

And don't believe the BS that you don't need calculus; not only do you need calc 1 & 2, you need a class on modern algebra and real analysis to have a shot at a US allo school.

 

[Meatwad]

DrPrePhysicianScientistMDPhD

or

DrPreMedSurgeonMDFACS

Lmao, that "FACS," was what made me actually laugh audibly. Bravo.

 

[CATallergy]

If you check this table here : http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2006/mcatgpabymaj1.htm

from AAMC you'll see that majoring in Bio doesn't correlate to a better BS score vs. other majors.

This observation is primarily just due to PS being a better weed-out field than BS.

 

[dragonark]

Higher level physics? Yeah, definitely. Make sure you take EM theory, an advanced course on Mechanics (not just basic Newtonian stuff, we're talking Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods here), Quantum Mechanics, and top it all off with nonlinear dynamics.

And don't believe the BS that you don't need calculus; not only do you need calc 1 & 2, you need a class on modern algebra and real analysis to have a shot at a US allo school.

Don't worry, all this isn't necessary. It's not nice to fool with these gullible gunners! (Sure is funny though)

Major in something you like. The MCAT is basically a survey of the basic sciences, so your major will not really affect your overall affinity for any of these things. Sure, an engineering major may have a slight edge in the physics portion, and a bio major may have a slight edge in the biology section, by the time you take the MCAT you will have studied things at such a higher level that you'll be struggling to remember all those basics.

If you really want to up your MCAT, take classes that interest you, learn to love reading, and take some classes that enhance your reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. This advice being said, please continue to double major in physics and bio in some sort of attempt to get an edge.

 

[pennybridge]

This observation is primarily just due to PS being a better weed-out field than BS.

that's because the bio section is pretty much verbal reasoning but more accessible to power nerds.