Most people think that majoring in something like music or dance is easy, because they equate it with their little brother/sister scratching away on a violin and think anyone can do it.
To reach a high level of performance in a performing arts or athletic discipline requires discipline, commitment, and focus. You can't just cram the night before for a dance recital. Not only are those people well-rounded and diverse applicants, but those particular qualities are considered desirable in a physician.
Also, I'm pretty sure they still had to take all the science prereqs. Assuming they did well in those, then yeah, I'm sure they were pretty competitive applicants.
I am in full agreement with this.
FIRST OFF, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A SCIENCE MAJOR TO GET INTO MED SCHOOL!!!!!
Sorry if it comes off as yelling but I feel like screaming when I read people assume that that is the competitive way of getting into med school. If I could go back I'd not have become a biology major.
Having taken year 1 medical school courses at BUSM and grad level courses taught by the same professors that teach med students at USF Med I can attest that what I learned in my microbiology major didn't all apply to what you learn in med school cuz a lot of what I learned I'll never use in medicine though it may be useful in research in a particular given field of microbiology. For instance, my general physio class did nothing in terms of helping in teaching med physio. it was in med physio I even truly learned physio. Med micro only focuses on disease causing micro organisms and not archaea and others that are environmental microbes so what we learned in some classes is also largely irrelevant. So no you don't need to be a bio major to get into med school.
You can be any major you want to be in med school.
2. What the hell are you talking about by saying that it is not competitive? It is uber competitive and if anything someone who has done high on the MCAT, done high scores in prereqs, and done unique things like be a dance major and perform in national or international recitals before large audiences looks more unique then a person who has studied biology and done the typical premed ECs but nothing to set them apart. That if anything is what makes it competitive is that you have people like this dance major who have probably accomplished things greater then just simple hospital volunteering and reserach.
3. I wanted to agree with the post that was quoted above. I learn Bharatanatyam, a form of South Indian classical dance from India. So i know exactly what they are talking about. In dance you have to be as precise, accurate, and steady as a surgeon when making your moves flow together in sync and harmony. You have to have confidence of an internist to communicate through your moves your story that you depict. You have to know the dedication of any physician to tirelessly perform act after act and practice, practice, practice. You have to have the patience of a med student to study the theory and history of dance forms as much as learning the dance itself to know what is involved.
I knew someone who went into music as a major but then dropped it. They loved learning to play but not learning the theory but those who truly study dance and music need to know more then just the ability to do the acts but the ability to actually understand the theory, history, etc. of those very art forms to be able to appreciate it in its entirety no different then the med student who must know the basic sciences before they can learn how to treat a patient. A doctor cannot just prescribe medicines without first knowing why they are doing it and what the theory behind those medicines is through pharmacology classes and second and first year classes. the same is true of dance and music. You learn things in steps and then put steps together. You learn the theory and its history and then you ultimately learn to perform.
I have great respect for a musician and dancer and feel a lot of people grounded in arts like music and dance will have a better understanding of what determination it takes to be a doctor then the bio major that learns through rote memorization biology facts but doesn't necessarily need the kind of hours of dedication and passion to do what a musician and dancer does.
I think that is why they stand out. sorry if I offended biology majors on here. Not saying every dance or music major deserves to be in above another major that another applicant is in. Just that its a lot more work then people realize.
