Med schools shouldn't accept non-science majors

[zeff]

wow, even by pre-med standards, this thread has taken a turn for the nerdy....

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[fractalgal]

wow, even by pre-med standards, this thread has taken a turn for the nerdy....

Yeah, I have never been called a "nerd" before in my life, but you are right, this does sound very nerdy .

 

[AggieSean]

Yeah, I have never been called a "nerd" before in my life, but you are right, this does sound very nerdy .

I'm white n' nerdy to the extreme
I'm even whiter than sour cream
I'm in AV club, and glee club
And even the chess team

The only question I ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk, or do I like Picard?

I wanna roll with the gangstas
But I know down their hearts they think I'm so white and nerdy
White and nerdy

 

[baylormed]

I'm white n' nerdy to the extreme
I'm even whiter than sour cream
I'm in AV club, and glee club
And even the chess team

The only question I ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk, or do I like Picard?

I wanna roll with the gangstas
But I know down their hearts they think I'm so white and nerdy
White and nerdy

That's hilarious.

 

[Quix]

I'm white n' nerdy to the extreme
I'm even whiter than sour cream
I'm in AV club, and glee club
And even the chess team

The only question I ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk, or do I like Picard?

I wanna roll with the gangstas
But I know down their hearts they think I'm so white and nerdy
White and nerdy

I dig it.

 

[fractalgal]

I'm white n' nerdy to the extreme
I'm even whiter than sour cream
I'm in AV club, and glee club
And even the chess team

The only question I ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk, or do I like Picard?

I wanna roll with the gangstas
But I know down their hearts they think I'm so white and nerdy
White and nerdy

NICE!

 

[zeff]

Yeah, I have never been called a "nerd" before in my life, but you are right, this does sound very nerdy .

Wow, really?
When I was in high school I played center on the football team and my best friend was our right tackle. We were considered the "smart" guys on the team (the bar was, ahem, pretty low) so coach would always distinguish between us as "Big Nerd" and "Little Nerd". To my everlasting shame, I was "Little Nerd"


BTW, that is the best rap incorporating a Star Trek theme I have ever seen

 

[KoreanMusicbox]

I agree with the OP for the simple reason that the hard scienes serve as a foundation so that once in med school you can understand what is going on scientifically. While I will not degrade any other major since a physican well versed in a humanity will certainly have more to relate with a patient, it does not by any means help him or her understand medicine. Thus since the primary goal of medical school is to apply medicine (based on hard science) to the benifit of the patient I agree with the OP.

Furthermore I dont understand when people say I don care about the hard sciences, I want to become a doctor for the patient. If thats the case then you are missing the point of being a physican and why dont you become a socialworker instead.

 

[fractalgal]

because: ( I think)

1) they want easy way out
2) probably can't handle hard science courses
3) people that major in humanites or English or something like that are crazy
4) don't have true passion for Biological Sciences

edit: took out some inappropriate contents

I disagree. I think applicants that have a degree outside of the sciences that seek medical school have something to offer. If they have the grades, the MCAT scores, and the prerequisites to qualify, then give them a chance.

I have no idea how you arrived at number three above. It seems like you are asking for trouble with that statement.

 

[Sir Buckethead]

It pleases me that this thread is still around.

 

[baylormed]

It pleases me that this thread is still around.

Sometimes when things get slow on SDN, somebody will resurrect these kinds of threads. We need some distraction around here from all the serious threads once in a while.

 

[SketchLazy]

I'm white n' nerdy to the extreme
I'm even whiter than sour cream
I'm in AV club, and glee club
And even the chess team

The only question I ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk, or do I like Picard?

I wanna roll with the gangstas
But I know down their hearts they think I'm so white and nerdy
White and nerdy

Best Weird Al song from straight outta lynwood. Music video is classic. Parodies some rap song, but Weird Al's parody is so good, I've forgotten what rap song he was parodying.

 

[jochi1543]

Best Weird Al song from straight outta lynwood. Music video is classic. Parodies some rap song, but Weird Al's parody is so good, I've forgotten what rap song he was parodying.

Krazy Bone and Kamillionaire.


They played that horror on the radio all summer long last year....my summer was ruined. "they see me rolling - they hatin" UGGHGHGHGHGGHG.

 

[fractalgal]

Wow, really?
When I was in high school I played center on the football team and my best friend was our right tackle. We were considered the "smart" guys on the team (the bar was, ahem, pretty low) so coach would always distinguish between us as "Big Nerd" and "Little Nerd". To my everlasting shame, I was "Little Nerd"


BTW, that is the best rap incorporating a Star Trek theme I have ever seen

I don't really think of math as nerdy. To me, its truth [not to get too philosophical]. You can't really B.S. your way through a math class.

I was a cheerleader, and no one called me a nerd. I don't remember people thinking of me as "smart".

 

[jochi1543]

You can't really B.S. your way through a math class.

Yes, you can...I know someone with a BS in Mathematics.

 

[fractalgal]

Yes, you can...I know someone with a BS in Mathematics.

Ha Ha!!!!!!!!

 

[jochi1543]

Ha Ha!!!!!!!!

Finally, someone who laughs at my jokes!Are you single!?


JK.

 

[wally47]

I disagree. I think applicants that have a degree outside of the sciences that seek medical school have something to offer. If they have the grades, the MCAT scores, and the prerequisites to qualify, then give them a chance.

I have no idea how you arrived at number three above. It seems like you are asking for trouble with that statement.

Not only do they have something to offer the medical schools but they also have something to offer themselves. Honestly, medicine is going to take up the majority of our lives...it would be nice once in a while to admire a gallery/symphony/theatre/novel when we get time off. If it wasn't for my fiction class I would have no idea who Flannery O'Conner is. Without Dance appreciation I wouldn't know who Fred Austair(spelling) is either. Because of these classes I actually plan on taking more non-science classes.

I also think medical schools like to see that you devoted four years towards something besides getting in to medical school.

Plus if Hopkins requires you to take non-science classes they must be important.

 

[AnthonyNY]

Sounds like you're just an idiot.

P.S. What kind of major is Hard Science.

P.P.S. What's a gilr

 

[jochi1543]

Not only do they have something to offer the medical schools but they also have something to offer themselves. Honestly, medicine is going to take up the majority of our lives...it would be nice once in a while to admire a gallery/symphony/theatre/novel when we get time off. If it wasn't for my fiction class I would have no idea who Flannery O'Conner is. Without Dance appreciation I wouldn't know who Fred Austair(spelling) is either. Because of these classes I actually plan on taking more non-science classes.

I also think medical schools like to see that you devoted four years towards something besides getting in to medical school.

Plus if Hopkins requires you to take non-science classes they must be important.

Yeah, I was actually thinking about it just last night. All I've taken in the last year has been science (although I'm only in school part-time at the moment) and I kind of miss just being able to talk to a classmate about their interpretation of a scene in the book, or help them figure out the meaning of a sentence written in a foreign language. The MCAT was especially detrimental to me in that way - I stopped reading fiction (or anything not related to science, really) for the entire 4 months of my prep and found it really depressing. I read like 5 fiction books in the 2 weeks after finishing my MCAT, and it was such a relief! I've got 2 more on the way, so I'm hoping that it'll be a nice distraction from physics. In that way, I am a little worried about the med school curriculum being somewhat depressing to me - don't get me wrong, I do enjoy science (well, except for physics ), but the prospect of nothing but science for at least the first 2 years is kind of bleak, I must admit.

 

[Ms MD]

You know this is bull**** and you're probably just jealous because you suck in humanities.
Humanities courses at *some schools may be easier to excel in than science classes. If true, this would call for med schools to look at the GPAs of science majors and humanities majors differently. But what about the people who do well in both?? Maybe we should throw rocks at them - It's just as logical as your own suggestions.

Endnotes:
*note the word SOME

This post has been written by a science major.

because: ( I think)

1) they want easy way out
2) probably can't handle hard science courses
3) people that major in humanites or English or something like that are crazy
4) don't have true passion for Biological Sciences

edit: took out some inappropriate contents

 

[ryandote]

I agree with the OP for the simple reason that the hard scienes serve as a foundation so that once in med school you can understand what is going on scientifically.

Furthermore I dont understand when people say I don care about the hard sciences, I want to become a doctor for the patient. If thats the case then you are missing the point of being a physican and why dont you become a socialworker instead.

Now that's just ignorant. You do realize that med schools already have science requisites and you must submit an MCAT score to prove proficiency in your precious hard sciences?

This post has been written by a soft science major.
And a hard science major.

booyeah!

 

[upsidedown]

.

 

[fractalgal]

.
3) people in the humanities are the exact opposite of crazy. crazy is losing touch with here and now reality, which is practically the profession of a researcher. (john nash wrote game theory while he was schizophrenic i believe)

I was going to add that my gang, mathematicians, are far more often referred to as "crazy", "eccentric", or "nuts".

I don't think I've ever heard that said about Humanities or English graduates before.

 

[AggieSean]

I was going to add that my gang, mathematicians, are far more often referred to as "crazy", "eccentric", or "nuts".

Physics majors are pretty crazy too. Some of us were fairly normal, but man oh man, there were some freaks among us. But nothing tops this:

One of my friends had an alumnus interview for undergrad. admission to MIT. Well his interviewer's old roommate was an undergraduate math major at MIT who took graduate level math classes....and never went to class. The weekend before the final exam (which was all of your grade in that class), he bought the 1200 page textbook and flipped through it....made the highest grade in the class, a 96 (the class was graduate level tensor analysis, for you math people...because right now you're going )

 

[fractalgal]

The weekend before the final exam (which was all of your grade in that class), he bought the 1200 page textbook and flipped through it....made the highest grade in the class, a 96 (the class was graduate level tensor analysis, for you math people...because right now you're going )

He sounds like a unique person! Was he American?

Many of the Americans in my program failed out ; but the Chinese, South Korean, and Russian (including Eastern Europe) mathematics grad students usually did well. They had already been exposed to the material.

 

[chiquita888]

1) they want easy way out
2) probably can't handle hard science courses
3) people that major in humanites or English or something like that are crazy
4) don't have true passion for Biological Sciences

I disagree.
1. Your 1st argument is contingent on the assumption that a non-science major is easier than a science major. This is not necessarily true. For instance, think of all the biochem majors you know who can't write papers. Or the chem majors who can't score well on verbal reasoning b/c their reading comprehension isn't great. People can choose majors to bring out their strong points and if that happens to involve a non-science subject, so be it. Why are you equating a non-science major with "the easy way out"?
2. This is not necessarily true, either. I know plenty of non-science majors who have taken hard science courses and do just as well, or better.
3. Your 3rd statement is a blanket statement and quite offensive. If you're going by generalities, I feel like the "crazy scientist" notion is just as prevalent, or more, than a "crazy English major" notion.
4. Who are you to judge who has passion for what? If you're claiming that science majors have more passion for biological sciences, why aren't they going off being biologists instead of doctors? I'm sorry, but I don't follow your line of reasoning.

I am a double-major in two non-science subjects and a bio minor. This means I have to switch gears pretty damn quickly since I have to deal with a variety of subjects. If to you that means I have sub-par intelligence and med schools shouldn't want me even if I have the same or better MCAT score and GPA as you b/c I have supposedly taken "the easy way out" or am "crazy," then so be it. Please don't take your frustrations out on non-science majors with such illogical reasoning. Gracias.

 

[ssquared]

oh hon, this thread is akin to beating a dead horse. hence, the OP was banned.

was it really necessary to dig this up? goodness, let it die already.

 

[bulletproof]

because: ( I think)

1) they want easy way out
2) probably can't handle hard science courses
3) people that major in humanites or English or something like that are crazy
4) don't have true passion for Biological Sciences

edit: took out some inappropriate contents

I am in my final weeks of medical school, and have greater than a 3.9GPA in med. school courses. My undergrad. was in Philosophy. You are so elitist, and unbelievably far off base in your assessment that I doubt you even merit a response. However...

I have had the pleasure of working with medical students with backgrounds ranging from music to architecture to genetics, and all of them are very bright individuals. We have all passed our USMLEs, and rarely talk about medicine outside of work.Mostly, because we all have lives outside of medicine ( interesting concept eh? ) If you maintain a 3.0 in ANY field in undergrad, you can understand the science in med. school. IT IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT.

I never visit here for obvious reasons, but saw the thread title as I was scrolling down the page, and felt compelled to respond. To any prospective med. school candidates out there..Please, please take a course, ANY course in something other than science. Might I suggest Politics, Art History, Literature.....something that will allow you to relate to others, allow you to understand the world around you a little better, perhaps give you something interesting to talk about. If you think Joyces "Ulysses" is easier than, oh lets say, cell structure, then you, my friend, clearly don't understand what you are reading. ( but..but the mitochondria and, and the endoplasmic reticulum...and protein folding...its all so complex....I'm such a smart,self-righteous 22 year old virgin....)
grow the F**k up!

 

[Cirrus83]

I am in my final weeks of medical school, and have greater than a 3.9GPA in med. school courses. My undergrad. was in Philosophy. You are so elitist, and unbelievably far off base in your assessment that I doubt you even merit a response. However...

I have had the pleasure of working with medical students with backgrounds ranging from music to architecture to genetics, and all of them are very bright individuals. We have all passed our USMLEs, and rarely talk about medicine outside of work.Mostly, because we all have lives outside of medicine ( interesting concept eh? ) If you maintain a 3.0 in ANY field in undergrad, you can understand the science in med. school. IT IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT.

I never visit here for obvious reasons, but saw the thread title as I was scrolling down the page, and felt compelled to respond. To any prospective med. school candidates out there..Please, please take a course, ANY course in something other than science. Might I suggest Politics, Art History, Literature.....something that will allow you to relate to others, allow you to understand the world around you a little better, perhaps give you something interesting to talk about. If you think Joyces "Ulysses" is easier than, oh lets say, cell structure, then you, my friend, clearly don't understand what you are reading. ( but..but the mitochondria and, and the endoplasmic reticulum...and protein folding...its all so complex....I'm such a smart,self-righteous 22 year old virgin....)
grow the F**k up!

Just on a side note, Philosophy courses were some of the friggin' HARDEST classes I took during undergrad. Not hard in the sense that Physiology or Anatomy is with it's vast amounts of info, but acing a Philosophy exam is a LOT harder than acing an Anatomy exam.

And no I'm not even a science major, so it's not like I'm incapable of humanities work but Philosophy is hard.

Oh and one of the courses I took was Medical Ethics, and that definitely applies to being a doctor.

 

[Depakote]

Oh and one of the courses I took was Medical Ethics, and that definitely applies to being a doctor.

how so?

 

[Phead128]

I'm in the #1 nationally ranked History of Art department here at Johns Hopkins U..

The whole concept of understanding history, drafting and compiling analytical essays, reading books, and discussing material is just as difficult for a engineering student to do as an art history student trying to derive the schrodinger equation and to solve for it for the hydrogen diagram.

In fact, I am the lucky few that can do both. Humanities is a lost art. Biology and Chemistry is only easy because its filled with memorization, using concepts and applying them using mathematical formulas. Beyond that, thats really all it really is. Its difficult at times, only if you don't know how to apply the right formulas to arrive at your answer.

With humanities, there is never a correct answer to anything. This broad scale of solutions to a single answer makes it that much more difficult. Engineers are so accustomed to finding unique solutions to problems that analyzing poetry will just explode their mind since they can't stretch their mind that far.

 

[alwaysaangel]

9 month old threads FTW!!!

 

[167649]

...Humanities is a lost art...

Apparently so is spelling and grammar.

 

[da8s0859q]

I'm in the #1 nationally ranked History of Art department here at Johns Hopkins U..

The whole concept of understanding history, drafting and compiling analytical essays, reading books, and discussing material is just as difficult for a engineering student to do as an art history student trying to derive the schrodinger equation and to solve for it for the hydrogen diagram.

In fact, I am the lucky few that can do both. Humanities is a lost art. Biology and Chemistry is only easy because its filled with memorization, using concepts and applying them using mathematical formulas. Beyond that, thats really all it really is. Its difficult at times, only if you don't know how to apply the right formulas to arrive at your answer.

With humanities, there is never a correct answer to anything. This broad scale of solutions to a single answer makes it that much more difficult. Engineers are so accustomed to finding unique solutions to problems that analyzing poetry will just explode their mind since they can't stretch their mind that far.

You just HAD to bump this thread.

(I agree with you. Partially because I'm a biased psychology major/soon to be graduate, but mostly because you're right.)

Apparently so is spelling and grammar.

He's referring to "humanities" in the singular sense as is often used; nothing wrong there.

Can we get a lock here? This thread is old AND stupid.

 

[167649]

He's referring to "humanities" in the singular sense as is often used; nothing wrong there.

I was referring to the post in general.

Can we get a lock here? This thread is old AND stupid.

Agreed.