Majoring in the "hard sciences"

[Hf100]

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Wouldn't majoring in biology or chemistry better prepare you for the MCATS? I am still a bit confused how one would be prepared for such a rigorous exam with a BA in another subject. The exam heavily emphasizes physics, chem, organic chem, and biology. Wouldn't you need many upper division classes to get a good score?

 

[radkat101]

Most of what the MCAT tests is covered in the pre-reqs that everyone has to take to get into medical school. I didn't major in a science and did fine on the MCAT. A lot of how you perform on the test is due to practice tests, prep books, and just getting a feel for it's style. The content is actually pretty basic. I would argue that you could do better on the mcat by not majoring in science because you will have extra time to devote to mcat prep rather than sitting in labs all day or taking time consuming science courses unrelated to the material the mcat tests.

 

[superpom_7]

Wouldn't majoring in biology or chemistry better prepare you for the MCATS? I am still a bit confused how one would be prepared for such a rigorous exam with a BA in another subject. The exam heavily emphasizes physics, chem, organic chem, and biology. Wouldn't you need many upper division classes to get a good score?

Like radkat said, you don't have to major in a science to prepare for the MCAT. I'm pretty sure you learn most of the stuff in your pre-reqs. Your major has nothing to do with the MCAT or how you will do on it. You could major in Art History and score a 30+ or you could major in Biology, or Biochem, or Chemistry and score a 30+ (get my point? 😉).

 

[TexasSurgeon]

Wouldn't majoring in biology or chemistry better prepare you for the MCATS? I am still a bit confused how one would be prepared for such a rigorous exam with a BA in another subject. The exam heavily emphasizes physics, chem, organic chem, and biology. Wouldn't you need many upper division classes to get a good score?

No, No, No.
The exam doesn't heavily emphasize any of those. It emphasizes basic science concepts. If anything, you should learn how to read critically and read dense stuff to prepare you for the depth of English needed.

 

[Time Table]

It doesn't matter what you major in. The prerequisites fulfill everything you need to know for the MCAT. For the new 2015 MCAT, you're looking to add Psychology and Sociology as well as Biochemistry I to your prereqs. I'm a Biochemistry major and the prereqs are fulfilled as well as gaining more insight into biology. But I know people who are business and economics major and they'll fulfill the prereqs and be ready for the MCAT as well. Of course it helps to major in the hard sciences, but as stated above, it isn't mandatory. It can only help. Do a major that will help you gain the highest GPA, whether it be a hard science or not.

 

[moisne]

Hard science usually refers to chemistry or physics... Biology is considered a soft science. Pursue whatever interests you... The MCAT only tests at introductory level, so get your pre-req in and you should be fine

 

[InsertMemberNameHere]

Just my honest take, but I think majoring in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics can help you on the MCAT. You will take more courses in your major that go beyond the scope of the medical school pre-reqs and the MCAT, and that will inevitably help you once that test rolls around. For instance, I'm a Biology major, and even though Genetics is not a pre-req at most medical schools, my deeper understanding of the subject certainly helped me. I didn't have to spend much time studying for that subject on the MCAT, and I could focus on others more.

So yeah, honestly it does help you. But only a little. And, the little extra test prep isn't worth changing your major for. Pick a major that you enjoy and will be happy with. You may decide that you don't even want to do medicine. Who knows.

 

[TexasSurgeon]

Hard science usually refers to chemistry or physics... Biology is considered a soft science. Pursue whatever interests you... The MCAT only tests at introductory level, so get your pre-req in and you should be fine

Lol no it's not. Soft sciences are considered to be: psychology, sociology, etc.

Biology is definitely a hard science, though it's not computationally excessive like physics or chemistry

 

[Lil Mick]

Just my experience, but having a solid foundation in chemistry/physics/math definitely helped with the physical science section and some of the biology section when I took the MCAT (95%+ on both). Major in what you enjoy, but it probably can't hurt much to take some of those upper division chemistry or physics classes that interest you (or a good math logic course--though some universities only offer these as upper division classes).

 

[Funke]

Majoring in science will help you insofar as making you more familiar with the test topics. The MCAT, however, is not based on discrete science knowledge, but critical thinking.

The prerequisite classes will familiarize you with all you need to know for the test. The better you know this information, the easier the passages will be to process and synthesize. Study books will help greatly in giving you what discrete knowledge you do actually need to memorize.

 

[mimelim]

Lol no it's not. Soft sciences are considered to be: psychology, sociology, etc.

Biology is definitely a hard science, though it's not computationally excessive like physics or chemistry

"A closely related idea (originating in the nineteenth century with Auguste Comte) is that scientific disciplines can be arranged into a hierarchy of hard to soft on the basis of factors such as rigor, "development" and whether they are "theoretical" or "applied", with physics and chemistry typically at the top, biology in an intermediate position and the social sciences at the bottom"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_and_soft_science

Colloquially, I have never heard of biology referred to as a 'hard science' having been in the sciences for over a decade. Not that that designation really means much of anything anyways.

 

[ems2doc]

To be completely honest, while the MCAT does only test on the pre-med reqs that everyone takes, I do think majoring in a hard science will benefit you. I think I go against the SDN-grain when I say this, but majoring in a hard science has really helped reinforce my knowledge of the subjects. That being said, you really need to pick whatever major you think you like the most. If you don't like hard sciences, major in history or whatever. There's no point choosing a major just because you think it will help you on the MCAT. If you choose for that reason, your heart won't be in the material and your GPA will tank. I'm a bio major because I love the science, not because I'm looking for a leg-up on the MCAT bio section. I know this is weird but bio sort of gives me an academic hard-on. Find out what your academic hard-on is.