Dropping a minor to take certain classes

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TigerAndBunnies

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Hey SDN community,

I am studying for a B.S in Biology and i decided that i wanted a double minor in Geography and History. I am considering dropping my geography minor in order for me to take classes like biochemistry, molecule biology and developmental biology during my senior year. I was recommended by a peer of mine that these classes are integral to take. Is this a smart idea?

To elaborate, a geography and history minor seems irrelevant for a career in the health industry--specifically for a MD. But in fact, my history classes will classes like "History of Medicine,"Social History of American Medicine" and "Medicine and Health Care in China." For geography, it would be classes like "geography of disease and health."
I read in various threads from other SDN users that medical schools do NOT care about minors at all. But what if the classes of minors are health-topic related?
In general, I heard contradictory opinions from other peers of mine on taking a minor. Some say you should especially if its a social science/art&hum. minor but on several threads here, medical schools won't even know I taken one.

The main question I have is, Biochemistry/dev.bio/mole.bio > geography minor?

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Hey SDN community,

I am studying for a B.S in Biology and i decided that i wanted a double minor in Geography and History. I am considering dropping my geography minor in order for me to take classes like biochemistry, molecule biology and developmental biology during my senior year. I was recommended by a peer of mine that these classes are integral to take. Is this a smart idea?

To elaborate, a geography and history minor seems irrelevant for a career in the health industry--specifically for a MD. But in fact, my history classes will classes like "History of Medicine,"Social History of American Medicine" and "Medicine and Health Care in China." For geography, it would be classes like "geography of disease and health."
I read in various threads from other SDN users that medical schools do NOT care about minors at all. But what if the classes of minors are health-topic related?
In general, I heard contradictory opinions from other peers of mine on taking a minor. Some say you should especially if its a social science/art&hum. minor but on several threads here, medical schools won't even know I taken one.

The main question I have is, Biochemistry/dev.bio/mole.bio > geography minor?

Minors are not important. If a school had two identical applicants with the same GPA, MCAT, major, EC's, etc. then they may choose the one who has a minor/more interesting minor. In reality though, it would probably come down to who interviewed better regardless of the minor. Take the classes you are interested in and forget about trying to fulfill minor requirements. You can just as easily talk about a "history of medicine" class you took for your own benefit as you can talk about one you took for a minor.
 
I am more than a bit biased because I am a biology/History of Medicine double major. :)

I think you should take what you're interested in. How did you do in your general biology and chemistry courses? If you think your grasp on molecular biology/genetics is just fine (and your MCAT and grades reflect that), you don't necessarily need to take additional molbio or developmental bio (though I must admit biochem concepts are pretty useful).

The stuff I've learned in my history courses has been really amazing, and I think it's given me a good deal of perspective on medicine and beginning a medical career. If I were you, I wouldn't do it just for the major/minor, I would just pick what you think is interesting and will add to your understanding of medicine.
 
Biochem and developmental bio aren't integral in undergrad since you'll be taking them in med school. Take something interesting, you only have 2 more semesters of undergrad and potentially the rest of your life in medicine and science
 
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