Cliche Med Aplicants

[DeProfundis]

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I've read that having a Biology major (like many applicants) will not necessarily help me a lot in Med school. Is that also true for the MCAT? Furthermore, med schools look for diversity, so will another major give me an advantage over the cliche Biology majors?




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[DeProfundis]

HAHAHA how do i put that stupid image in the title


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[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Medical schools do not care about your major. (Use the search function and you'll find a gazillion trillion posts that attest to this.)

Science or non-science, your major isn't going to make you stand out. Choose any major that you enjoy and can do well in. What schools will care about is your GPA.

 

[tantacles]

I've read that having a Biology major (like many applicants) will not necessarily help me a lot in Med school. Is that also true for the MCAT? Furthermore, med schools look for diversity, so will another major give me an advantage over the cliche Biology majors?




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Won't help, won't hurt. Choose a major that you can do well in and that piques your interest. If it's biology? Great. If it's ancient Greek literature? Also great. If it's mathematics, still great. If it's agriculture, more greatness.

Get the picture?

 

[Promethean]

Choose any major that you enjoy and can do well in, as said above.... However, the more science courses you can take, the better. Med school is about more than just getting in, and the better your grounding in the basic sciences, the better. Especially, I would recommend taking anatomy and physiology. No, it won't be taught on the same level as what you will encounter in medical school, but the more times you cover it, the better. I am still receiving dividends from the A&P courses I took in nursing school many years ago, where folks with math and music majors who never saw that material before were kinda blindsided more than most.

 

[osckey]

"Aplicants"

 

[DeProfundis]

TO ALL: What about the MCAT. How much does a Science major actually help me do well on the test?

@Promethean Im a senior this year and currently taking A&P and planning to take it again in college.


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[ready2go2]

TO ALL: What about the MCAT. How much does a Science major actually help me do well on the test?

@Promethean Im a senior this year and currently taking A&P and planning to take it again in college.


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Taking upper science classes can certainly help w/ MCAT, but that doesn't mean you have to major in the sciences to take those courses...

 

[GoljansRightBicep]

TO ALL: What about the MCAT. How much does a Science major actually help me do well on the test?

@Promethean Im a senior this year and currently taking A&P and planning to take it again in college.

Personally, I found the upper-division classes in my science major to be extremely helpful in developing my thinking for the MCAT (the actual content was superfluous to the test, however).

I'd definitely like to reiterate what my peers have said: if you're dead-set on medical school, choose a major that you genuinely enjoy, can succeed wildly in, and will grant you the time to take medical school prerequisites should they not already be in the major. Your happiness/interest in your major will likely be reflected in your GPA. Don't sweat the MCAT too badly - if you've taken the prereqs and done well in them, you can handle that test if you put the time into it.

For what it's worth, I felt like I had a leg-up on my non-science major friends in terms of academics/MCAT, but they had it easier in terms of GPA and free time for extracurriculars (not to mention self-care).

 

[Terror Billy]

Yeah I can't speak to the old MCAT, but after hearing people saying having a science major doesn't help with MCAT much I find that quite untrue. Having taken some higher level courses that involve more paper reading/interactive material I found that doing the science and even to an extent psych/soc passages are more manageable as prior to these classes I'd sometimes feel overwhelmed just staring at the passages.

I think also if you look at some stats, those who enter med school w/ a non-science major have a higher likelihood of dropping/flunking out (not saying there's a causal relationship, but it's not coincidence). If you can, I'd recommend taking a molecular biology course before your MCAT if possible...

 

[Lucca]

a handful of upper division science classes (which may or may not be open to all majors at your institution) certainly do help on the new MCAT, such as: molecular biology, genetics, human physiology, physical chemistry. In general, they can also help not by contributing relevant material but by teaching you how to synthesize information or think critically through a scientific problem (often by analyzing data or graphs); in this regard, the list is more expansive, depending on the quality of courses at your institution. However, I wouldn't say these classes are "necessary". The non-required classes that helped me the most are those that taught me how to think like a scientist and that includes some advanced chemistry courses and bioinformatics whose content was nowhere near what was relevant for the exam.

at some places, you can take these courses without being a science major. In the end, just major in whatever you like the best and can do well in.

 

[DingoPingo]

Like everyone else has said, take the courses you want, as long as the premed requirements are there. Whether that be psychology, biology, or whatever, do what you love.

There's nothing wrong with taking biology. From what I can imagine, schools will only care about your major when it comes to diversity if it's something you're truly passionate about and it makes you really stand out, like if you're majoring in social work and you've worked with the underserved for the past five years.

 

[Petrichor1]

Just focus on a major that will give relevance to you. With expansion of MCAT and more, you are probably better off doing a science degree. However, heed this advice: do not go into professional bachelor programs for sake of employment. Many if not all professors in these types of fields will not be good recommendation writers and will not be as forgiving as your regular professors in ug. It isn't unheard of that all the years of your being a student, when it comes time to apply for medical school, all will reject your requests because you are switching fields. Then you are really screwed and your only option is to get into masters...which guess again will also require LORS. Doesn't even matter if your gpa is not bad, they will most likely favor students who have worked for many years or were just outstanding in standards that suit their liking.

 

[gyngyn]

We really, really don't care about your major (or minor). You should, though