Chemistry Major for Biological Research?

[seadogoverseas]

Just wondering. If I'm applying to MD-PhD programs in biology, is it okay if I major in Chemistry? Is that favored upon or disfavored? Of course, I will still take all of the biology classes I'm interested in, as well as do research in biology? You might ask why I'm interested in Chemistry instead of biology...well, I tend to get better grades in Chemistry and I prefer a more quantitative study. Thanks in advance!

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[miz]

In my experience having a chem background is the BEST. Almost everyone I've interviewed with has reacted positively to my background, including the non-chemistry people. Of course you still have to do well on your non-chemistry prereqs, but yeah, I've never received negative feedback for having mostly chemistry on my AMCAS.

I did the chem work because I like it though, I wouldn't do it just to be strategic in applying :]

 

[ImagineThis]

I did the chem work because I like it though, I wouldn't do it just to be strategic in applying :]

As long as this is the reason for you as well, you are totally fine. I've even seen a few people out on the interview trail who did chemistry research and as long as you can link it to some human applications, you can even do that (if it interests you more than bio research) as well.

 

[seadogoverseas]

All right, so it's okay to major in Chemistry for the better grades, but do research in biology? It's just that the biology major here is so broad that I would rather take a lot of classes I'm interested in and relevant to my research but skip out on some of the major requirements such as developmental biology and neuroscience. Thanks!

 

[Choculitis]

All right, so it's okay to major in Chemistry for the better grades, but do research in biology? It's just that the biology major here is so broad that I would rather take a lot of classes I'm interested in and relevant to my research but skip out on some of the major requirements such as developmental biology and neuroscience. Thanks!

One pitfall to keep in mind with that thinking is that upper year courses are typically very different from introductory ones, so just because you did well in first year chem doesn't mean that'll keep happening with upper year courses. I don't know what your school is like, but the chem program is one of the most time consuming at my school. During 2nd and 3rd year I spent a loooot of time in lab and then writing reports, with very little benefit, given that I don't plan on doing grad work in chemistry. I often think that another major would have given me a lot more free time that I could've spent doing actual research or something else that would contribute much more to my application than the two 3-4 hour labs that I had each week.

I don't know how many bio classes you're planning on taking, but most med schools like to see a well-rounded education (i.e. not just science courses), and some - Johns Hopkins for one - have pretty sizable humanities requirements .

 

[StoicJosher]

In my opinion, don't major in anything or do research in anything to present yourself in a good light for an MD-PhD application. Major in what you enjoy and do research in what you find interesting. You are just starting out undergrad - you might end up in a completely different place as you go through your classes. The "why MD/PhD" is a huge question and the program is a big commitment. Make sure you will like what you do before you cater your application to please the adcoms.

 

[SBR249]

I think it's OK to start out doing research in very basic chemistry or biology to get a taste of what research is like and whether it's your cup of tea or not. But at some point, if you are set on an MD/PhD, you should switch to biomedical sciences or some area that you can do the PhD portion of an MD/PhD in. Because, inevitably, if you don't do that, it raises the question of why do you want to do an MD/PhD and not just a PhD (which may be better suited to basic bio/chem) and how do you know what you may be interested in or that you'll even like it.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Just wondering. If I'm applying to MD-PhD programs in biology, is it okay if I major in Chemistry? Is that favored upon or disfavored? Of course, I will still take all of the biology classes I'm interested in, as well as do research in biology? You might ask why I'm interested in Chemistry instead of biology...well, I tend to get better grades in Chemistry and I prefer a more quantitative study. Thanks in advance!

Major in whatever you like. I've known people who majored in public policy and music who did far better in terms of the school they got into than I, who double majored in biochemistry and physics. Better GPA, simple as that.

Never sacrifice your GPA for a "more rigorous" or "more interesting" major. The adcoms don't care what you major in, just keep your numbers up.

 

[Thioester]

All right, so it's okay to major in Chemistry for the better grades, but do research in biology? It's just that the biology major here is so broad that I would rather take a lot of classes I'm interested in and relevant to my research but skip out on some of the major requirements such as developmental biology and neuroscience. Thanks!

Yes, this should be fine. I studied chemistry in undergrad (in the interest of full disclosure, my "concentration" was biochemistry; essentially, my upper-level electives were biochemistry and molecular biology courses), and I would categorize my research project as chemical biology.