Exercise Biology as a Major.

[Tra La La]

So, I have a friend who is pre-med and wants to study Exercise Biology. This major entails most nearly all the pre-med required courses, and (more importantly) my friend is really interested in the subject matter.

However, she talked with a med school adcom member who derided Exercise Biology as the "easy way" out, and added that the major is not taken seriously by adcoms.

Any thoughts on this?

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[GATORade]

I applied to medical school with a degree in Exercise Physiology. The program that I graduated from offered numerous clinical opportunities. For instance, as an undergrad I assisted in quite a handful of research studies – exercise in heart and lung transplant recipients, exercise as a treatment option in multiple sclerosis, and I'm currently preparing a paper on resistance training in coronary artery disease. As far as the major being an easy way out, I guess it depends on how you look at it. All the required “premed” courses were included in the standard curriculum and I pretty much took all the other courses that my Bio friends were taking – physiology, genetics, ect. Was it an easy major? It was for me because, as an athlete, I was interested in every class that I took. As for how it's looked upon by adcoms. If anything, I feel that I was at an advantage especially in the interview process. All of my interviewers were very interested in my research and many commented that my course work would put me at an advantage in medical school, ie, all the advanced physiology, anatomy, and metabolism courses that I was required to take. Furthermore, I've been offered more than one acceptance this year so I really don't feel that I was at any disadvantage being Exercise Physiology major – and that's with an average MCAT and above average GPA. If your friend has any specific questions, feel free to post them and I'll do my best to answer.

 

[MrTee]

It may be seen as a lesser major vs. molecular biology or something like that, but I don't see how it could be that much of a negative if your friend is able to ace the premed pre-reqs. Also, if she wanted to further "prove" herself, she can always take some classes like biochem and pchem to supplement her major courses.

 

[dankev]

My major was Physical Education (my school didn't give it a fancy name) and I'm a first year med student. Major in whatever you want. It really doesn't matter.

 

[Hawkeye Kid]

I have a BS in Exercise Science from Iowa and am currently in my third year at MCW. Virtually everyone in my program went on to medical, dental, PA, PT, or graduate school (usu. PhD work). The problem with Exercise Science/Physiology/Biology as a major is that it means different things at different schools. For example, at Iowa it's largely a pre-professional program and most people's GPAs are between 3.5 and 4.0; at other schools, it's the major one has when they want to go on to be a high school phys ed teacher. So, depending on which type of program your friend is interested in, she may or may not be at a disadvantage when applying to medical school.
I actually found it to be beneficial, because I took three semesters of physiology, two of anatomy, neurophys, and other medically-related courses as major requirements that allowed me to apply what I'd learned in the med school prereqs. So, my advice to her would be to evaluate this specific program and decide for herself. As long as she does well in bio, chem, phys, etc and does well on the MCAT, her major shouldn't be an issue. After all, most people don't accuse music, poli sci, or business majors of taking the easy way out--they applaud them for being well-rounded.

 

[Tra La La]

Thanks for the positive feedback!

I definitely agree with y'all, and I think your comments calmed my friend a little bit.