Is Medical School Harder for Non-Science Majors?

[Two Sides]

I majored in business, and took a lot of prereqs through cc's and through UNE. Would I be at a disadvantage?

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[FourniersGreenGang]

Yes. It's still doable but without the upper division sciences that most of us took you have a little more preparatory knowledge to gain than we do.

 

[Two Sides]

Yes. It's still doable but without the upper division sciences that most of us took you have a little more preparatory knowledge to gain than we do.

Oh, man. How much of a disadvantage would I be in?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I've noticed that medical school ends up being troubling to three types of people.
1. Non-Science Majors or science majors who don't really like science or biochemistry. I.e these people will constantly moan that clinical medicine doesn't require this and so on...
2. People who have entered with low stats or entered with medium stats but from a weak regional college. I.e ppl with below a 25 on the mcat or people who didn't break a 9 on the BS. These people honestly end up failing to learn how to integrate information and or end up missing questions they may know answers to.
3. People with unresolved life or medical issues. These ppl end up making up unfortunately over 50% of ppl who end up remediating a year.

As a non-science major your first semester is going to without a doubt be rough ( See as mildly more rough than the average student). But afterward and depending that you don't fall into any of the above you'll almost certainly do about as well as anyone else in your class.

 

[Two Sides]

I've noticed that medical school ends up being troubling to three types of people.
1. Non-Science Majors or science majors who don't really like science or biochemistry. I.e these people will constantly moan that clinical medicine doesn't require this and so on...
2. People who have entered with low stats or entered with medium stats but from a weak regional college. I.e ppl with below a 25 on the mcat or people who didn't break a 9 on the BS. These people honestly end up failing to learn how to integrate information and or end up missing questions they may know answers to.
3. People with unresolved life or medical issues. These ppl end up making up unfortunately over 50% of ppl who end up remediating a year.

As a non-science major your first semester is going to without a doubt be rough ( See as mildly more rough than the average student). But afterward and depending that you don't fall into any of the above you'll almost certainly do about as well as anyone else in your class.

Thanks for the input. I'm expecting day one onwards to be harder than anything I've ever done before. I scored a 500 (124,126,125,125) on the MCAT, so I guess I may be in category 2.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Thanks for the input. I'm expecting day one onwards to be harder than anything I've ever done before. I scored a 500 (124,126,125,125) on the MCAT, so I guess I may be in category 2.

Translate to me in old score or as a percentile if you can.


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[Two Sides]

Translate to me in old score or as a percentile if you can.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

It's roughly a 26 or a 53%

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

It's roughly a 26 or a 53%

Most ppl with a 26 probably will not have too many issues if they work hard. Its more ppl below that even hard work starts to not be enough.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

 

[Two Sides]

Most ppl with a 26 probably will not have too many issues if they work hard. Its more ppl below that even hard work starts to not be enough.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

I appreciate your help, man. I'm not expecting this to be even a remotely easy transition. I know med school will be a challenge unlike any other I've ever had so far, and it'll continue to get harder. Thanks, man!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I appreciate your help, man. I'm not expecting this to be even a remotely easy transition. I know med school will be a challenge unlike any other I've ever had so far, and it'll continue to get harder. Thanks, man!

That's a good mindset going in tbh.

 

[DocWinter]

I was a nonscience background coming in and had a nontrad business/bluecollar background. I found the 1st semester the hardest by far and came in at the class average with nothing lower than a B and an A in two courses. I second Dr Celtys assessment above.

The 10% of my class who did not make it past 1st semester were mostly younger and in my eyes unprepared for the rigors of something this demanding and expected the laid back party college life to carry on. Don't make that mistake.

 

[Goro]

For about the first half-semester, as you figure out the best study style to deal with the firehose of info.

One our valedictorians was a Psych major.

Engineers seem to have trouble in our program. I had this one guy who was near the bottom of my class. When I talked to him about it, he constantly said "But as an engineer, I was trained to think this way..."

My Pathologist colleague finally shut him up on that score when she pointed out "Your days as an engineer ended when you put on that white coat".

He's actually doing quite well now...in a very competitive specialty of the type one hears on SDN that "DOs can't specialize in that!"

Go figure.

I majored in business, and took a lot of prereqs through cc's and through UNE. Would I be at a disadvantage?

 

[Goro]

Very astute, Celty. To your list, add : poor time managers, and people who were forced to go to med school by their parents.

I've noticed that medical school ends up being troubling to three types of people.
1. Non-Science Majors or science majors who don't really like science or biochemistry. I.e these people will constantly moan that clinical medicine doesn't require this and so on...
2. People who have entered with low stats or entered with medium stats but from a weak regional college. I.e ppl with below a 25 on the mcat or people who didn't break a 9 on the BS. These people honestly end up failing to learn how to integrate information and or end up missing questions they may know answers to.
3. People with unresolved life or medical issues. These ppl end up making up unfortunately over 50% of ppl who end up remediating a year.

As a non-science major your first semester is going to without a doubt be rough ( See as mildly more rough than the average student). But afterward and depending that you don't fall into any of the above you'll almost certainly do about as well as anyone else in your class.

 

[GimpGenius]

N=1 ,but I studied English in undergrad. Turns out all that reading was great preparation for med school.

Different subjects, sure. On the other hand, a good chunk of medicine is knowing your fundamentals and recognizing patterns (and the occasional "I don't know what that is... but it ain't right!").

You'll be all right. My best advice would be to make friends and do some group review with your peers. Again, n =1, but in my experience science majors were great at the details, but the non-science background students had a knack for synthesizing the information. It's a team game.

 

[Moose A Moose]

Work your non-traditional ass off, my friend. It's very possible to excel. You're in good company.

 

[Two Sides]

I was a nonscience background coming in and had a nontrad business/bluecollar background. I found the 1st semester the hardest by far and came in at the class average with nothing lower than a B and an A in two courses. I second Dr Celtys assessment above.

The 10% of my class who did not make it past 1st semester were mostly younger and in my eyes unprepared for the rigors of something this demanding and expected the laid back party college life to carry on. Don't make that mistake.

I'm expecting the first semester to be a punch in the face, and I know I'll have to work hard. Congrats on your success, dude!

 

[JW2020]

I was a Business/Spanish major and had an 8 in BS on my MCAT (29 overall). Above average student in my class so far approaching midway through second year. To be honest, med school is what I expected, which is a lot of work. Having said that, working full time at a demanding job while going through a DIY postbacc and then studying for the MCAT was significantly worse than anything so far (we'll see if boards studying tops that grueling time period in my life). I have a theory that nontrads who worked while going through the steps to be accepted into medical school are very likely to find success. At my school, the kids who failed out or needed to remediate tended to be people who were career students with no real life experience.

 

[osteohack10]

I majored in business, and took a lot of prereqs through cc's and through UNE. Would I be at a disadvantage?

I have a business degree, and I came into school being pretty well terrified that I was going to be completely lost. I also came in with pretty middle of the road stats. I ended my first year in the top quartile and actually ended up enjoying the majority of my first year.

There is probably a bit of a knowledge gap, but I found the toughest thing for me was just learning the language of medicine in general - it's a much different way of thinking than in your UG business accounting, finance and supply chain type logic so it takes a bit to get up to speed. I would say by the time we hit second semester that knowledge gap started leveling out. It comes down to how hard you're willing to work. At least in my experience you tend to get out of medical school what you put into it. Good luck!

 

[yanks26dmb]

I majored in business, and took a lot of prereqs through cc's and through UNE. Would I be at a disadvantage?

I would say no. Small sample, but myself and a few friends at school were all non-science majors and are all ranked at least in the top third of the class. Definitely not necessary to major in science beforehand.

 

[Two Sides]

I was a Business/Spanish major and had an 8 in BS on my MCAT (29 overall). Above average student in my class so far approaching midway through second year. To be honest, med school is what I expected, which is a lot of work. Having said that, working full time at a demanding job while going through a DIY postbacc and then studying for the MCAT was significantly worse than anything so far (we'll see if boards studying tops that grueling time period in my life). I have a theory that nontrads who worked while going through the steps to be accepted into medical school are very likely to find success. At my school, the kids who failed out or needed to remediate tended to be people who were career students with no real life experience.

Congratulations on your success, man. I'm glad med school's working out for you. I studied for the mcat, took a full course load, and volunteered at the hospital. When I received my MCAT score, it was a 493 (~21). I studied again this summer, but only did MCAT prep and received a 500 (~26). I don't think I could have juggled all that.

I have a business degree, and I came into school being pretty well terrified that I was going to be completely lost. I also came in with pretty middle of the road stats. I ended my first year in the top quartile and actually ended up enjoying the majority of my first year.

There is probably a bit of a knowledge gap, but I found the toughest thing for me was just learning the language of medicine in general - it's a much different way of thinking than in your UG business accounting, finance and supply chain type logic so it takes a bit to get up to speed. I would say by the time we hit second semester that knowledge gap started leveling out. It comes down to how hard you're willing to work. At least in my experience you tend to get out of medical school what you put into it. Good luck!

Thanks and congratulations! I guess I'm in a similar position as you. I'm also terrified that I'll be a mile behind my class in the race. Taking a gap year and volunteering at the hospital definitely reinforced my desire to become a physician, so that'll motivate me.

I would say no. Small sample, but myself and a few friends at school were all non-science majors and are all ranked at least in the top third of the class. Definitely not necessary to major in science beforehand.

Congratulations, and hopefully I can join the club!

 

[premed_mommy]

My n=1 on the subject, for what its worth...
I majored in psychology and minored in sociology (I consider these "non-sciences" in the context). I took the bare minimum prerequisites plus a microbiology class. I just finished my first semester at ACOM. Yes, I do think that I was at a disadvantage compared with some other students who had taken classes like immunology, genetics, anatomy, and more than just the basic biochem. However, I ended up with solid Bs in both anatomy and molecular medicine, and I did better in those classes than many students with a more extensive background in the sciences. I guess what I am trying to say is that, while those classes would have been beneficial, they are far from indispensable and you absolutely CAN do well in medical school without them. Two things that I think REALLY helped me in all of my classes this semester were the microbiology class I took (I had a fantastic micro prof in undergrad) and scribing. I highly recommend doing/taking either or both of these things if you have the time. Best of luck and let me know if I can help you in any way!

 

[JustPlainBill]

For about the first half-semester, as you figure out the best study style to deal with the firehose of info.

One our valedictorians was a Psych major.

Engineers seem to have trouble in our program. I had this one guy who was near the bottom of my class. When I talked to him about it, he constantly said "But as an engineer, I was trained to think this way..."

My Pathologist colleague finally shut him up on that score when she pointed out "Your days as an engineer ended when you put on that white coat".

He's actually doing quite well now...in a very competitive specialty of the type one hears on SDN that "DOs can't specialize in that!"

Go figure.

Were we in class together, @Goro ? Wait, well, FM can be competitive, right?

 

[JustPlainBill]

OP -- Do NOT psych yourself out or let it get inside your head that you're going to struggle -- that was one of the things that contributed to my lackluster performance in medical school. We were told that history majors usually do well since they learn to absorb a boatload of info in a hurry. Engineers want to understand how it works and get too detail oriented if they don't watch it -- the hardest part for me was separating out what needed to be remembered and what was cool to know in a tertiary kind of way. You'll do fine, just make up your mind that you will not quit until you either graduate, die or get permanently thrown out......

 

[68PGunner]

I was a Econs major who just finished 1st semester. It's a little bit harder at first. However, you just need to work hard and build your knowledge base. The knowledge base will be even out by the end of 1st year. Afterward, everything is based on pure work ethic.

 

[SLC]

No, work hard and you'll do fine.

 

[y123]

Med school courses overlap with many undergrad science courses.
I would say my classmates with a strong science background (especially biochemistry/neuroscience/physiology) have a much easier life.

 

[shadowlightfox]

Well, there are two people in my school who were English majors in undergrad, and so far they (look like they) are sane. There is also a mechanical engineering student in my class. But yeah, I can't say that a lot of the things we're learning is not manageable due to being a science major in college.

 

[SLC]

Here's the thing:

Medical schools are very very good at filtering out folks likely to struggle. Very few people who manage to grab an acceptance are not equipped with the skills to succeed.

There are always a few who fail out or drop out of each class. But even then, it's rare that it's because of something like a non-science major from undergrad. Usually it's depression, anxiety, lack of drive, other life stress, or too much partying/socializing and not enough work.

We lost just as many bio and Chem majors as we did business folks and engineers. Often times the latter group dropped out after realizing Medicine wasn't for them. They simply returned to their former careers or pursued terminal degrees in those fields.