major for med school?

[addisonda]

I just had a quick question, I know all that matters is if you get your pre-med requirements done, but I had to ask if ADCOMS look down on political science majors or not? Im interested in political science, and I noticed that the requriments for it were not too demanding and that would give me time to take the pre-med requirements. Thank you for any advice.

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[addisonda]

another question i had: has anyone read Hot Lights, Cold Steel
I forgot the authors name, but it just came out this month. It's about a guy becoming an orthopedic doctor and hes a resident in the mayo clinic. I was planning on reading it but wondering if anyone else has. Thanks

 

[deuist]

A different major will make you stand out. It'll give you something to talk about during interviews.

 

[AHappyCalBear]

I'm a poli sci major from berkeley and it does not go against you at all. But you will need to talk about it a bit in your interview, who you like it and all. Also, most other social science majors like sociology have a similar number of class reqirements as poli sci. Poli sci isn't unusually easy in the number of classes to take compared to other majors.

 

[bidster]

A different major will make you stand out. It'll give you something to talk about during interviews.

Agreed. If it works with your pre-reqs--and in most cases it does--major in *whatever* most interests you, whether that's bio or poli sci. You'll do a lot better than if you drag yourself kicking and screaming through a major that doesn't engage you.

--anthro major, no regrets

 

[OSUdoc08]

I just had a quick question, I know all that matters is if you get your pre-med requirements done, but I had to ask if ADCOMS look down on political science majors or not? Im interested in political science, and I noticed that the requriments for it were not too demanding and that would give me time to take the pre-med requirements. Thank you for any advice.

Get a B.S. or a B.A. and complete the required premed courses. The major is irrelevant, but statistically, the highest acceptance rate is for social sciences, and the lowest is for nursing.

 

[AStudent]

Get a B.A., less work, less competitive classes, less math, more scheduling opportunities.

Get a B.S. or a B.A. and complete the required premed courses. The major is irrelevant, but statistically, the highest acceptance rate is for social sciences, and the lowest is for nursing.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Get a B.A., less work, less competitive classes, less math, more scheduling opportunities.

True, but you have to take several boring classes like art history, music appreciation, and theater. I'd rather take some fun science classes (obviously not the hard ones.)

 

[Shaz]

A different major will make you stand out. It'll give you something to talk about during interviews.

I agree. This is a big plus; don't underestimate it.

 

[addisonda]

Get a B.S. or a B.A. and complete the required premed courses. The major is irrelevant, but statistically, the highest acceptance rate is for social sciences, and the lowest is for nursing.

Sorry if i sound stupid but will someone tell me the difference between a B.S. and a B.A.? and telll me what they are? thanks for the info

 

[OSUdoc08]

Sorry if i sound stupid but will someone tell me the difference between a B.S. and a B.A.? and telll me what they are? thanks for the info

Bachelor's of Science & Bachelor's of Arts. This is a "Degree."

You can get most majors for each degree, i.e.:

Bachelor or Science in Biology
Bachelor of Arts in Biology.

 

[Law2Doc]

Bachelor's of Science & Bachelor's of Arts. This is a "Degree."

You can get most majors for each degree, i.e.:

Bachelor or Science in Biology
Bachelor of Arts in Biology.

This may be school specific -- at places I am familiar with someone who majors in Bio (or Chem or Physics or Biochem) ends up with a B.S., never a B.A.. A B.A. is granted if someone majors in the humanities, arts or social sciences. But at any rate it matters not what your major is, just that you took the prerequisites and that your cum GPA and BCPM are good.

 

[superdevil]

This may be school specific -- at places I am familiar with someone who majors in Bio (or Chem or Physics or Biochem) ends up with a B.S., never a B.A.. A B.A. is granted if someone majors in the humanities, arts or social sciences. But at any rate it matters not what your major is, just that you took the prerequisites and that your cum GPA and BCPM are good.

hmmm. weird. at my school, you can get either (like a B.A. in Physics) like OSUdoc08 said.


at any rate, majoring in science has advantages, such as the fact that all of my pre-med pre-req's were already part of the biology curriculum, so getting my degree wasn't any more trouble due to being "pre-med". everything flowed quite nicely. on the other hand, being a non-science major also has perks. i don't necessarily think it makes you "stand out" as much as other posters do, though. (non-trad degrees are becoming ever more common in med school admissions b/c pre-meds are competitive and always looking for ways to stand out. the result? volunteering no longer makes you "stand out". neither does research, clinical experience, etc.) BUT, i don't think many would argue that its quite a bit easier to get a B.A. in Political Science than a B.S in BioMed engineering. also, you have less contact with other pre-meds which, depending on how competitive the students at your school are, can save your very sanity!

there's no 'wrong' choice, here. just pick what's most right for you. political science is fine, but make sure you do well in your pre-req's.

sd

 

[JimmyMallo]

Just a question but why would nursing be the lowest? Seems like doing your pre-reqs AND being a health care major would be attractive. Any ideas?

 

[deuist]

Get a B.A., less work, less competitive classes, less math, more scheduling opportunities.

Agreed. A B.S. in physics at UF requires 70 credits in math, chemistry and physics. A B.A. (what I have) requires only 58 hours. And like superdevil said, the B.A. is easier (obviously) and if you do humanities, you get to avoid the over zealous pre-meds.

 

[deuist]

Just a question but why would nursing be the lowest? Seems like doing your pre-reqs AND being a health care major would be attractive. Any ideas?

Nursing students do not fulfill pre-med prereqs as part of their major. They take easier bio and chem classes and do not take orgo, biochem, etc. Also, given that the nation is currently facing a nursing shortage, medical schools do not want to deprive hospitals of much needed employees.

 

[deuist]

No, a B.S. or B.A. can be obtained in almost in any major, at any school.

I think that you are the one who is incorrect. Everything regarding requirements for a major is school-specific. Here at UF, for instance, only math and physics offer a choice between a B.S. or B.A. Everything else is right in line with liberal arts majors getting B.A.'s, science and engineering get B.S.'s.

The business school is a bit weird in that people get a B.S. if they have a speciality major---as opposed to the general studies B.A. I was never aware that business was such a science.

 

[Docta "O"]

what do you guys think about a microbiology major?

 

[OSUdoc08]

what do you guys think about a microbiology major?

 

[AStudent]

At Michigan State

BA in chemistry (premed, predental, etc....)

-School required classes (writing, humanities, etc...) plus
-1 semester of bio (two needed for medical school, plus lab)
-2 math through calc 2 (most med schools want 1 college math class)
-Gen chem 1 (and lab), gen chem 2(and lab), orgo 1, orgo 2 (with lab), physics 1 (with lab), physics 2 (with lab)
-PChem 1 amd 2 (intro to quantum)
-Two semester of foreign lang
-Quantitative anal lab
-Instrumental methods lab
-Inorganic 2
-Chemical safety

BS (for people who want to do research or work in industry)

BS in chem incluces all of the above plus:
-math through calc 4 and linear algebra
-biochem 1 and 2 plus labs
-thermodynamics
-optics
-senior seminar in chem

Items in bold are required for medical school, as you can see, if you complete a BA you get all your prereqs already plus the option to take classes you want (physio, genetics, psych, etc) without having to take difficult and boring engineering/math classes (thermo).

Other classes I took for fun and to make me "more rounded:"
Psych 101
Abnormal Psych
Genetics
Physio 1 and 2
Human Sexuality
Marching Band (4 years)
Campus Band
Music Theory
Stats
Scuba diving
Intro to biochem
Logic
Ethics
Healthcare ethics
Econ

 

[OSUdoc08]

At Baylor University:

You can get a B.S. or B.A. in Biology, Pre-Med or Chemistry, Pre-Med.

You can only get a B.S. in Forensic Science, Pre-Med. (This is what I got.)

You can get a B.S. or B.A. in almost any degree in the College of Arts & Sciences. Majors could include English, Spanish, History, Biology, Chemistry, Religion, etc.

 

[Skeptrix]

what do you guys think about a microbiology major?

go for it.. i am planning to transfer over from a bio to a microbio major (if not perhaps a minor) only because it seems like a cutting-edge field to be interested in.

 

[Shredder]

I just had a quick question, I know all that matters is if you get your pre-med requirements done, but I had to ask if ADCOMS look down on political science majors or not? Im interested in political science, and I noticed that the requriments for it were not too demanding and that would give me time to take the pre-med requirements. Thank you for any advice.

do poli sci and tell everyone you want to be like bill frist

 

[baylorshannon]

I got a BA in Anthropology, with heavy emphasis on physical anthro and forensic science. It was fun to talk about at my interviews. Of course, I ended up waitlisted - so take my experience with a grain of salt.

 

[canttouchthis]

I got a BA in Anthropology, with heavy emphasis on physical anthro and forensic science. It was fun to talk about at my interviews. Of course, I ended up waitlisted - so take my experience with a grain of salt.

I got a B.S. in anthropology and it was a friggin sweet major to lead into med school. You can do a lot of physical and medical anthro research with big names and look incredibly unique because of the exotic places the major can take you. I got interviews and acceptances at places that had avg mcat scores WAAAAAY above mine(and I'm a white boy with no disadvantages) and I'm pretty sure it was because of the cool stuff I had done through my anthro major. Not to mention how easy the classes are because all the books read like stories and the other people in the major are incredibly unmotivated because they are usually stoners. Also for everyone but the occasional pre-med GPA doesn't matter at all because anthro grad schools take anyone.