Computer Science for a premed major?

[carn311]

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I am a biology major at the end of my junior year with a 3.6 cumulative. Due to the fact that I have completed all of my required liberal arts and most of the premed courses I could easily switch majors for my remaining year and a half and still graduate on time.

I've always wanted to major in Computer Science but many people told me that medschool admissions commities look down on technical majors because it shows some kind of lack of commitment to the medical field. Is there any truth to this? Will a major in CS help or hurt me in compairison with a biology degree?

Any thoughts would be helpfull.

Thanks a lot.

 

[An Yong]

I'm a CS major and none of the schools I interviewed at seemed to have a problem with it. Some interviewers were curious as to why I chose CS, but none of them "looked down" on it. Actually, at one school, the interviewer told me it was refreshing to see an applicant who took some upper lvl math courses. So I guess in some sense, it can help you look apart from other applicants, which is a good thing.

Having said that, CS is a pretty hard major and if I had to do it over again, I'd probably choose something else

 

[PhotoMD]

I am a biology major at the end of my junior year with a 3.6 cumulative. Due to the fact that I have completed all of my required liberal arts and most of the premed courses I could easily switch majors for my remaining year and a half and still graduate on time.

I've always wanted to major in Computer Science but many people told me that medschool admissions commities look down on technical majors because it shows some kind of lack of commitment to the medical field. Is there any truth to this? Will a major in CS help or hurt me in compairison with a biology degree?

Any thoughts would be helpfull.

Thanks a lot.

I think a lot of research schools value a CS major because knowledge of both biology and algorithms has huge implications in doing important investigation in the medical field.

 

[BraneDoc]

So long as you have some medically-related experiences (research, shadowing, volunteering, etc.) to show your committment to medicine, it really does not matter what your major is. As a CS major, I'd actually say we have some advantage for the future, as the medical field is becoming more and more technologically oriented. Our strong background in computing will certainly give us a leg up when trying to learn all the new technologies that are constantly being churned out (or so I feel). Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

I think CS is a wonderful major for premed, but not because it gives you any advantage technologically. This might be the case if you want to go into computational biology, or some such field, but if you're interested in clinical medicine, the real draw of CS is that it strengthens your problem solving and diagnostic skills.

I've never heard of any one looking down on a CS major in the admissions process. I had a number of interviewer comment positively on my choice of major.

 

[swifteagle43]

Plan you classes very carefully. I was a business major and I had to take so many courses that I was just able to fit the basic premed classes(Physics, Orgo, Chem, BIO) and wasn't able to take the advanced classes(Genetics, Microbiology). Courses that are necessary to do well on the bio section.


Be VERY VERY carefuly and make sure you look at your place twice before you start eating. You might find you get a tummy ache if you don't.

 

[lightnk102]

I was a Biology and CS major (did the same thing you did. Finished most of Bio by mid-sophomore year, tacked on CS right before my junior year). My major has never been mentioned at any of the interviews and it's never been a problem. When they do ask me about it, I talk about my great interest in technology, and how I'd been so tunnel visioned prior to college that I wanted to try something different - if only to reassure myself that medicine was a choice and not something that just "happened". Just keep up the volunteering extracurriculars and such. You can even work technology into your ec's by teaching computer skills to developmentally disabled kids. On the other side, you can differentiate yourself from the standard applicant by doing research that's a little more cutting edge. Example: you can work in a genomics lab and write algorithms to look for genetic motifs in the human genome. Or you can go into proteomics and protein modeling. Most of the reputable hospitals and academic institutions have some sort of genomics/bioinformatics group or lab you can work with (just off the top of my head, memorial sloan kettering, CHOP, mass gen, Penn, MIT). Check out your local department.

The only thing I would caution you against is the dastardly engineering-gpa (at my school, the average engineering gpa hovers around 2.8). This means that a 3.2 may make you a quasi-genius, but the med schools won't care about that.

 

[Cykeaux]

I am a radiology resident and my undergraduate degree was math/computer science. I really don't think it will affect you negatively and will be seen by many as a positive, as other posters have stated. Also, whoever posted that your problem solving skills will be helpful is correct. Technical knowledge or mathematical knowledge will also help, but frankly not too much.

 

[me3]

ditto on everyone else's comments. CS is more of an advantage than a disadvantage for the abovementioned reasons. But, only major in CS if it interests you (and you're good at it). Otherwise, you might find yourself in a quagmire with your GPA dropping (and a 3.6 is just cutting it I would say). It's a tough major that requires a whole different set of knowledge skills; unlike biology which is a lot of memorization, you need good logic skills, troubleshooting skills (including patience), and problem solving skills.

Good luck

 

[RAwe]

Computer science at my school is the toughest major in the entire school, along with computer engineering, It had even great students crying. I don't think it'll hurt.

 

[blag35]

be a man, do the right thing

 

[eriol]

I was computer science. While it may have made me look a little more unique.... man it was hard. It was really hard. Be absolutely sure its something you want to bite off, as its generally fairly heavy in logic and math. Check out other similiar but less intensive possibilities like Information Systems, etc. That might get you the same effect for less effort.