Does your major (and honors) matter for residency?

[idiotqueen92]

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When you apply for residency, does what you majored in and whether or not you have an honors in that major count? Because I'm in a BS/MD program but I'm not sure if I should go for a tougher biology major with honors, or double major in random but interesting topics like economics and archaeology... Also, do I need to volunteer and hold leadership positions to put down on the resume for residency? As you can see, I am clueless about how residency applications work 🙂

 

[mauberley]

When you apply for residency, does what you majored in and whether or not you have an honors in that major count? Because I'm in a BS/MD program but I'm not sure if I should go for a tougher biology major with honors, or double major in random but interesting topics like economics and archaeology... Also, do I need to volunteer and hold leadership positions to put down on the resume for residency? As you can see, I am clueless about how residency applications work 🙂

No, they don't.

 

[flatearth22]

When you apply for residency, does what you majored in and whether or not you have an honors in that major count? Because I'm in a BS/MD program but I'm not sure if I should go for a tougher biology major with honors, or double major in random but interesting topics like economics and archaeology... Also, do I need to volunteer and hold leadership positions to put down on the resume for residency? As you can see, I am clueless about how residency applications work 🙂

Since this is the pre-allo board, most of us are as well.

 

[KindofBlue]

Uh....you're not talking about state residency...are you?

No it doesn't matter, from what I have gathered from online resources, it's mostly the exam you take (USMLE) during med school, recommendations from med school (docs/profs), and research that matters most, at least for the more competitive residencies like dermatology, radiology, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, etc.

So for now worrying about getting into a med school would be any pre-med student's priority, though I guess knowing some about residency wouldn't hurt.

 

[NightGod]

The general rule is that admissions committees of all sorts only care about your most recent education. Much like med school AdComs don't give a rat's ass about what high school you went to and what your grades were, residency interviews are uninterested in what college you went to and what you majored in.

 

[idiotqueen92]

Thanks 🙂 So they wouldn't care if I haven't joined a single organization during college?

 

[Chemdude]

Do residency matter for your major? Got you there...

 

[paul411]

Thanks 🙂 So they wouldn't care if I haven't joined a single organization during college?

Medical schools care about your extra curriculars (but not necessarily whether you joined clubs).

 

[bassvp]

The general rule is that admissions committees of all sorts only care about your most recent education. Much like med school AdComs don't give a rat's ass about what high school you went to and what your grades were, residency interviews are uninterested in what college you went to and what you majored in.

I've kinda been wondering, does this same general rule apply to people who have research experiences in ugrad? When applying to residency, do they only really look at research performed while in med school?

 

[KindofBlue]

I've kinda been wondering, does this same general rule apply to people who have research experiences in ugrad? When applying to residency, do they only really look at research performed while in med school?

I'm pretty sure they do.
I believe the mean (or average I forgot) research experience for most students matched into a residency was around 2~3 (I'm guessing number of papers), which I doubt is possible for most UG students.

 

[NightGod]

Medical schools care about your extra curriculars (but not necessarily whether you joined clubs).

But since you're talking about residency and not med school, this is moot.