Bio Major

[OnMyWayThere]

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Does majoring in Biology help you in medical school? Just wondering since many of the classes have the same name as many classes in medical school curriculums.

Thanking you in advance,
Jeff

 

[DD214_DOC]

Nope

 

[Jadeite]

Majoring in Biology actually hurts you. As long as you take the required classes you can get in to medical school! The majors most likely to be accepted are History/Humanities. (Though make sure you take a prep course/study for the MCATs because the bio majors do have the advantage that we got most of the MCAT stuff in class.)

Jade~

 

[irish79]

How does majoring in biology as an undergrad hurt you?

 

[citygirl]

Originally posted by irish79
How does majoring in biology as an undergrad hurt you?

I don't agree that it hurts. I think having a bio or chem major helps to a point because you get some exposure to what you will be studying in med school in the first two years. It doesn't really help much in the clinical years, though. The point is to choose a major that you would have chosen even if not going to med school, not what you think looks good. Adcoms are more interested in your integrity than your major.

 

[Bokomaru]

A bio major doesn't give you any edge. You get more in numbers to compete with.

Just pick a major that you want, and take the premed reqs with that. If your desire is biology, then pick biology. Don't pick history because of statistical numbers.

 

[wadoc]

It's nonsense that humanities majors get in more often than science majors. Show me where you pulled that one out of... or don't show me.

If you don't want to spend big bucks on an MCAT class, majoring in bio, chem, or biochem--if that's what you are MOST interested in--may help prepare you for the MCAT, so you don't have to study as hard. Whatever you major in, take a hard load to prepare you for med school.

 

[maxheadroom]

The admissions director at my med school told me that Anthropology had the highest acceptance rate. Humanities people were right behind that. It's just that an AdCom is going to be more interested in an English major than a Bio major if all other things are similar (MCAT, activities, science and non-science GPA).

 

[docmemi]

why?????
please explain why adcoms would be more interested in an english major who had similar qualifications as a bio major. so you are saying they think to themself: "this applicant was a bio major; he actually likes biology/medicine, too bad, he/she cant be a dr. wow, this is an english major. he/she likes to read and write essays. since drs are writers and we have to write books and essays all day, lets choose the english major. ya, go english major, even though you dont like science since you studied english and not biology."

does that make any sense, well it doesnt to me. if i was on the commit, i would say "wow this person studied biology. he likes science and he has proven he can handle similar classes as med school. lets pick him."

although english majors are unique, it does not mean that a bio major isnt either. i dont understand, its like saying you have black hair, you cant be a dr.

i dont think so.

another person said being a bio major hurts you.....what the heck are you talking about. how the *@%( can it hurt you.

aghhhhh.

 

[Winged Scapula]

All anyone has to do is check the AAMCAS data for accepted students - published every year. It clearly shows that the ratio of accepted applicants is higher for humanities (there are less of them applying, but they tend to do better in the application process).

This should in no way be construed to mean that a bio (or any other science) major hurts you. Some have asked why would an Ad Com "prefer" a Humanities major over a bio major. Obviously the answer will vary with each Ad Com member, but some of the reasons given are:

Humanities majors tend to have higher MCAT verbal scores which are better predictors of med school success than are the science MCAT scores

Humanities majors often have a broader life experience and may bring a more well rounded education to their medical practice. A narrow focus (ie, majoring in a biological science and not doing anything outside of medicine) can sometimes count against you. Medical school Ad Coms love the "different" - someone who brings a breadth of interest and experience to medical school. Head to head - entire applications the same (ie, gpa, MCAT scores, LORs, pre-med school rep, etc.), IMHO the "different" applicant - ie, the non-science major, the writer, etc. may be preferred in many instances, IMHO.

The above (and others which I haven't included) are not hard and fast "RULES". Every applicant will be different and there is no reason why a Bio major can't have a high MCAT verbal score, do well in medical school, have a rounded pre-med education, and have interests outside of medicine.

The tone in some of the posts above is rather curt and is unappreciated in these forums. Please allow posters to post threads and explain themselves without aggressively questioning them (especially when there is some truth in the OPs statements). The bottom line is that your major is an INSIGNIFICANT part of your application - Anthro majors don't get into medical school at a higher rate because of their major but because of other factors (most independent of their major).

 

[docmemi]

thanks so much!
1. bio majors can also do well in verbal.
2. bio major can actually have interests outside of medicine, believe it or not.
3. bio majors can be well rounded and offer much life experience to the school, really.
4. bio majors can be passionate about medicine and helping people. they can actually understand their patients also.
5. bio majors like sci....med school has science in it.
6. bio majors can do well in medical school.
7. bio majors still make up the majority of applicants and matriculants, since they are the majority. yes, i have seen those aamc curves in the msar.
8. just like you said, its what you have to offer, not your major! regardless of your major you can still have other things to offer, it is actually possible to be a bio major and be well rounded, they can be different!!!! its false to believe that every applicant, especially the bio majors, are the same...if this was true and you seem to so surely know it is, then the whole process is like a lottery, unethical...they have a bunch of people in a hat who are exactly the same and, therefore, they must be doing a lottery. i dont think so or at least i hope not.

sorry if i sounded offensive before, but i thought this specific forum was a debate. sorry, just voicing my opinion. i in no way was trying to bash other people. i may be right and i may be totally wrong. but thats what we are in this forum for, i think...

please share your thoughts. thanks.

 

[Charlotte York]

People who major in the humanities have to balance taking all the pre-med requirements along with their liberal arts studies. I think that shows that they are well-rounded and balanced. Most of the premed requirements count toward the biology major. That makes majoring in biology and being premed really convenient.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Hopefully I can provide a perspective on this. I have been both a science and humanities major; I started out in biology, switched to psychology, switched to Chemistry because it was convenient, then switched back to psychology. I started out on the B.A. track in psych before switching to a B.S. track. My general ed requirements, as opposed to chem or bio, included countless courses in philosophy, history, english, etc.

One of the biggest differences I have seen are the effects of being a humanities major as opposed to biology or chemistry. We have to read -- a lot. Not just skim through like we did in bio or chem, but actually read from cover to cover.

We have to write papers. I had to write 3 papers and read 3 books for social psych, on top of the exams. One of those papers had to be at least 15 pages in length. The textbook was around 600 pages, the novel in which I had to critique and review was around 250, and the supplemental book was around 100. Because of this, we learn so many skills that a science major would probably never learn; the skills associated with analyzing an author's text, deconstruction, writing an argumentive essay, etc. Coincidentally, these are all necessary skills to be a good physician as well as score relatively well on the MCAT verbal.

As a science major, I felt all I was doing was remembering facts and spitting them back out for an exam. Never was I challenged to think or analyze in the same manner as a humanities major does. In retrospect, I honestly believe I would have been handicapped had I remained a science major. Sure, saying, "I got an A in applied super-chaos calculus" may sound more impressive than, "I got an A in Contemporary Practical Ethics", but did you really learn any useful life skills? Probably not.

On a final note, some of the most intelligent people in history were not scientists -- they were philosophers and musicians. What does this mean? Probably nothing.

 

[Gleevec]

Everyone on this thread seems to have misinterpreted the statistics. I actually talked to my premed advisor about this and some med students and the rationale is actually this:

It is true that humanities majors have a higher acceptance rate than other majors, but it has only a little to do with the majors themselves.

What is actually going on is that just about every bio major, regardless of qualifications, is taking the MCAT and applying to medical schools. For humanities majors, on the other hand, only a few highly motivated premeds take the MCAT and apply to med school. Thus, the pool of students applying to med school as humanities majors is smaller and of a higher quality than the plethora of varied applicants applying as bio majors.

So while universities are looking for diversity in their classes, selecting based on major is probably not even in their top 10 criteria for evaluating students. And it has nothing to do with the skill set of a SINGLE bio or humanities major. The statistics simply show what most premed advisors already knew. Just about every bio major, regardless of qualifications, applies to med school. On the other hand, only a few motivated humanities majors apply. Thus, the acceptance rate for the latter group (smaller group of more highly motivated individuals) is more likely to be accepted. Remember, statistics only give information about groups of people, not individuals.

PS. I am a science/non-science double major, and I love both my majors so I don't have an overt bias.

 

[Dr. Xavier]

I agree w/this guy above me.

 

[dara678]

I agree with JKDMed. I am an English and Bio double major, and I feel that my English major has taught me so much more about how to think and analyze critically than my bio major. All I do on tests for Bio is remember the structure of nucleotides or the sequence of the Krebs cycle and then regurgitate it for the professor's benefit. English taught me to think outside the box and to have reasons behind my arguments.

It's easy for bright people to be able to memorize and regurgitate; that's what the first two years of med school is for. However, dealing with real people is going to need something that books and science can't really teach you. That's why I think a humanities major would be beneficial in this sense.

I think it's great that people love bio, and that's why I'm in it myself, but there is such a big world out there that can't be explained by science. To the OP and whoever else may be considering majors: remember that if you are dedicated to going to medical school, that's what you're going to study for the rest of your life. Your whole life will be committed to science. For the four years you have in college, you might as well learn something that gives you a fresh perspective on life.