Don't major in something just to be "unique"...

[ems2doc]

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Probably going against the SDN dogma here, but you shouldn't choose a major just because you want to be a "unique" applicant. People seem to think that we even care about majors.

I often see on this forum posts along the lines of:
"Well major in whatever you want. In fact, if you major in something that's not bio, chem, physics you will be a unique applicant."
"Major in whatever you can get a good GPA in"

Nope, sorry but that's a myth. We do care about the classes you take. If you take as many 100 level classes as possible you will look like an underachiever who just wants a good GPA so you can get into med school. We don't like suck ups. You can major in whatever you want to as long as it involves academic rigor and is not healthcare related (I can explain why if you ask me).

IF YOU LIKE BIOLOGY/CHEMISTRY/PHYSICS... MAJOR IN IT

Okay so maybe you don't need to have the citric acid cycle memorized in order to function as a physician, but the corse sciences still form the backbone of medicine. In addition, being a science major isn't about memorizing equations and facts. Science is a way of knowing, understanding, and learning about the world. Do not discredit the relationship between science and medicine.

Major in what interests you but make sure to keep it academically challenging. An education major who only takes the bare minimum and gets a 3.9 isn't as impressive of a candidate who majors in physics, takes a lot of challenging classes, and gets a 3.5.

 

[Lucca]

I agree with everything you said and I am on my mobile here so I cant see your credentials but what kind of experience are you speaking from here? Have you sat on an adcom?

 

[Bottle]

^ I don't think you need to sit with adcom to realize this

 

[TxC]

I feel like someone just needs to be able to respond to "what would you do with your degree if you don't get into med school" in a thoughtful way.

I chose a "fairly easy" non-science major (in my opinion at least), thankfully I've already had a few acceptances.

 

[gshocke]

I really dont agree with this because the word 'challenging' is very subjective, especially when it comes to the broad range of academic courses in most large universities.Do you mean challenging science courses? once again, i have seen many premeds excel in classes like upper level physics but fail terribly at Poetry Writing.

edit: similar to @TxC , i also chose a fairly easy major (psych/socio) but I loved it. I went on to do psych research and volunteer as a socio tutor and TA. however, on my transcript - i took the bare minimum science classes, however I excelled in every single premed course. I had no interest in taking upper level hard science courses over the sciences that I actually enjoyed.

 

[dr.0ne]

^ I don't think you need to sit with adcom to realize this

you're right, perhaps you don't. but to have any objective measure of how to get into medical school without spreading misinformation requires tangible experience and exposure, which OP at the moment has not provided.

i don't disagree with him but there are a lot of opinions on this site. all should be taken with caution, some more than others.

 

[WingedOx]

Some random med student using the "Royal We" to speak of ADCOMs? Seriously?

/The med student interview is just there to pick out wierdos in case the attending interviewing the student happens to be a neurologist.

 

[Goro]

100% agree.

Probably going against the SDN dogma here, but you shouldn't choose a major just because you want to be a "unique" applicant. People seem to think that we even care about majors.

I often see on this forum posts along the lines of:
"Well major in whatever you want. In fact, if you major in something that's not bio, chem, physics you will be a unique applicant."
"Major in whatever you can get a good GPA in"

Nope, sorry but that's a myth. We do care about the classes you take. If you take as many 100 level classes as possible you will look like an underachiever who just wants a good GPA so you can get into med school. We don't like suck ups. You can major in whatever you want to as long as it involves academic rigor and is not healthcare related (I can explain why if you ask me).

IF YOU LIKE BIOLOGY/CHEMISTRY/PHYSICS... MAJOR IN IT

Okay so maybe you don't need to have the citric acid cycle memorized in order to function as a physician, but the corse sciences still form the backbone of medicine. In addition, being a science major isn't about memorizing equations and facts. Science is a way of knowing, understanding, and learning about the world. Do not discredit the relationship between science and medicine.

Major in what interests you but make sure to keep it academically challenging. An education major who only takes the bare minimum and gets a 3.9 isn't as impressive of a candidate who majors in physics, takes a lot of challenging classes, and gets a 3.5.

 

[lisi326]

Some random med student using the "Royal We" to speak of ADCOMs? Seriously?

/The med student interview is just there to pick out wierdos in case the attending interviewing the student happens to be a neurologist.

Ouch. Right in the gut.

/MS4 doing neuro.

/but I totally agree with you.

 

[allantois]

I think that pre-meds are in a unique position (although it's becoming less true as more subjects are added to MCAT) where we can truly major in anything without having to worry about what to do with a useless degree.

That of course assumes eventual admission into medical school.

 

[WingedOx]

Ouch. Right in the gut.

/MS4 doing neuro.

/but I totally agree with you.

Not that I think his post is otherwise wrong... but still...

 

[Ismet]

How is this going against SDN dogma? SDN dogma = your major doesn't matter. Do whatever you want. Schools see enough of any major that nothing is truly unique, though an uncommon major can often be a good talking point in interviews. i.e. music.

Some random med student using the "Royal We" to speak of ADCOMs? Seriously?

/The med student interview is just there to pick out wierdos in case the attending interviewing the student happens to be a neurologist.

At many schools, students serve on admissions committees and have the same bearing as faculty members.

 

[altblue]

/The med student interview is just there to pick out wierdos in case the attending interviewing the student happens to be a neurologist.

I feel like there's a stereotype I don't understand...

 

[NicMouse64]

Yeah I was always a little bit curious about this, I am a biomed. engineer and LOVE it. But I also take a lot of difficult classes and am sitting at around a 3.4 after freshmen year. I have received some great publishments (PNAS, Nature) because of my major but also am afraid that my GPA is gonna hurt me in my dreams of getting into medical school. This post was encouraging, kind of.

 

[Glandzburg]

Yeah I was always a little bit curious about this, I am a biomed. engineer and LOVE it. But I also take a lot of difficult classes and am sitting at around a 3.4 after freshmen year. I have received some great publishments (PNAS, Nature) because of my major but also am afraid that my GPA is gonna hurt me in my dreams of getting into medical school. This post was encouraging, kind of.

OP just casually throwing out the Nature publication ha

 

[NicMouse64]

OP just casually throwing out the Nature publication ha

Im not the OP, but it's just a point because I feel like my GPA doesn't represent how much work my major involves, which is kind of what the OP is getting at I think.

 

[The Buff OP]

I have to disagree on this one. 👎

 

[Aloft085]

Im not the OP, but it's just a point because I feel like my GPA doesn't represent how much work my major involves, which is kind of what the OP is getting at I think.

As another engineering grad, I agree. My engineering courses were unequivocally much more difficult than my premedical courses. There's also simply not the same grade inflation in the engineering world. I wish schools took average GPA for institution/major into consideration, perhaps with optional automatic scaling.

 

[DermViser]

Probably going against the SDN dogma here, but you shouldn't choose a major just because you want to be a "unique" applicant. People seem to think that we even care about majors.

I often see on this forum posts along the lines of:
"Well major in whatever you want. In fact, if you major in something that's not bio, chem, physics you will be a unique applicant."
"Major in whatever you can get a good GPA in"

Nope, sorry but that's a myth. We do care about the classes you take. If you take as many 100 level classes as possible you will look like an underachiever who just wants a good GPA so you can get into med school. We don't like suck ups. You can major in whatever you want to as long as it involves academic rigor and is not healthcare related (I can explain why if you ask me).

I don't know anyone on SDN who advocates choosing a major degree plan just to be "unique".

Some random med student using the "Royal We" to speak of ADCOMs? Seriously?

/The med student interview is just there to pick out wierdos in case the attending interviewing the student happens to be a neurologist.

Thought I was the only one to notice that. We were not amused.

 

[DermViser]

How is this going against SDN dogma? SDN dogma = your major doesn't matter. Do whatever you want. Schools see enough of any major that nothing is truly unique, though an uncommon major can often be a good talking point in interviews. i.e. music.

At many schools, students serve on admissions committees and have the same bearing as faculty members.

Agree. I am surprised he thought it was somehow SDN dogma that you should choose a major to be unique to med school admissions officers. That's the antithesis of advice given here.

 

[NP545]

I'm also a non-science major who didn't take upper level classes except for biohem 1, but did well in my prereqs (~3.8+ in those classes). My non-science major classes a re far "easier" than my science prereqs were but I had no trouble landing a few interviews. (chose my major based on interest not easiness)

I think OP's point is that if you do sub-par in your prereqs and going the non science route, your chances may be diminished, but I feel that doing well in the prereqs can allow for an easier major.

 

[Catman21]

I feel like there's a stereotype I don't understand...

its okay.......... same.

 

[lisi326]

I feel like there's a stereotype I don't understand...

Neurologists are well-known in the medical community as being kind of the.... weirdos of medicine. The dorkiest of the dorks. Many are perhaps not the greatest with social interactions. This is found at my school and has borne out during my residency interviews as well. I love it, but most people don't 😛

 

[altblue]

Neurologists are well-known in the medical community as being kind of the.... weirdos of medicine. The dorkiest of the dorks. Many are perhaps not the greatest with social interactions. This is found at my school and has borne out during my residency interviews as well. I love it, but most people don't 😛

Ah, thanks. Is there still a lot of patient-interaction in neurology at least? I'm fairly interested in neurology at the moment. 😛

 

[dingbat14]

Being a biology major had been extremely advantageous for me. Yes, obviously it's not unique among the applicant pool. But being a bio major allowed me to get into a research lab and all the achievements that came with it. There are simply more opportunities for bio (and other hard science) majors (at my undergrad at least) to connect with faculty and labs. Also, I didn't have to study for half the material in the BS section of the MCAT having taken upper level classes in immunology, biochem, developmental bio, and genetics (ended up with 12 in section). All of these would not have been possible had I pursued an anthro major, which I strongly considered. I've been accepted to research-heavy med schools early this cycle, and I attribute it to (partly, and indirectly) choosing a science major. I was still able to take anthro classes as a minor, and I'm extremely glad to have chosen biology as a major.

 

[lisi326]

Ah, thanks. Is there still a lot of patient-interaction in neurology at least? I'm fairly interested in neurology at the moment. 😛

Oh absolutely there's patient interaction. Quite a bit of it. It's just that the people who like neuro tend to be more socially awkward and eccentric as compared to other specialties. Not something their patients necessarily notice, it's more of a behind-the-scenes thing.

 

[WingedOx]

Oh absolutely there's patient interaction. Quite a bit of it. It's just that the people who like neuro tend to be more socially awkward and eccentric as compared to other specialties. Not something their patients necessarily notice, it's more of a behind-the-scenes thing.

Do you even Ortho, Bro?

 

[Lamel]

What even is "unique"? I am sure adcoms have seen plenty of every major.

 

[The Buff OP]

Since this thread is still going on...I want to point out that Dr. Bejamin Carson who was the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head and Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa who is also a neurosurgeon runs a lab trying to find the cure for brain tumors, both of them majored in psychology.

It doesn't matter what you major in, what matters is what you choose to pursue after medical school (specialty/research).

 

[RedPhys]

Not sure if someone mentioned above already, but on the flip side, don't think you have to major in biology or chemistry to be a real pre-med.

 

[The Buff OP]

Not sure if someone mentioned above already, but on the flip side, don't think you have to major in biology or chemistry to be a real pre-med.

LOL

There is no such thing as a real pre-med. There is only those who get into medical and those who don't.

 

[RedPhys]

LOL

There is no such thing as a real pre-med. There is only those who get into medical and those who don't.

Eh, I guess silly to be mentioning it at SDN, but so many times I had to explain to even other premeds that, as an Engineering Physics major, I could also be a premed. I figured better safe than sorry to also mention it on SDN.

 

[The Buff OP]

Eh, I guess silly to be mentioning it at SDN, but so many times I had to explain to even other premeds that, as an Engineering Physics major, I could also be a premed.

Yeah, dude. English major peeps become medical doctors too. Good job on that back up degree. 👍

 

[Garurumon]

I think that pre-meds are in a unique position (although it's becoming less true as more subjects are added to MCAT) where we can truly major in anything without having to worry about what to do with a useless degree.

That of course assumes eventual admission into medical school.

^ This. All of this. One of the perks of being pre-med. (English major/Biology minor here!)