I'm looking to major in Biological Sciences but I also love history and was considering doing a minor in history, would that benefit my resume to med schools at all?
Minors not related to medicine?
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Only if it raises your gpa. Minor/major in a subject you like and know you can get a good grade in.
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Might be a small conversation point, but I doubt it'll be a game-changer.
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Are you serious? Sarcasm may be lost in the post.
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Umm..Say What?..
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It doesn't matter at all what you major or minor in (e.g. I *majored* in history and had no trouble getting into med school). What matters is 1. that you're passionate about your field of study and 2. that you do very well academically in that field. Having something non-medical in your life can also help prevent burn-out and just add to your overall happiness.
The history minor might actually help you more on the MCAT than as a resume item...the MCAT is more reading comprehension than anything else (most questions, even in the science sections, are passage-based and the answer is all but given in the passage). So if your school's history program has an emphasis on analytical skills and writing (rather than fact memorization), it might help you sharpen your analytical reading skills.
Not for nothing, I actually scored points with my attending the other day with knowledge of American history. (Long story involving a delirious/faking patient's mental status exam and Teddy Roosevelt.) 😉
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Didn't have a proper minor but took every 300+ level philosophy course I could, as well as random humanities courses. 4th year level course in victorian lit came in handy at the interview, and maybe the mishmash of courses in ancient philosophy, philosophy of science, and modern ethics made my transcript stand out??? but i doubt it...
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I think it would be ridiculous to minor in something that's not medical school related. If you are interested in something not premed or sciency, why are you even applying to med school?
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Because, your future job as a doctor is not the entirety of your life. I'm minoring in Creative Writing, for instance, because that is what I enjoy doing and wanted to learn more about it.
I'm not saying you won't be a good doctor if you only care about medicine/science/biology; but, the converse statement isn't true.
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Pre-med isn't really a thing; it's just a collection of classes. O chem/physics/bio are not likely to make one a good doctor...
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You're joking, right?
(As in, seriously, you created an account to repeat someone else's joke?)
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I minored in Religious Studies and at some interviews it was a conversation topic, but I doubt it seriously helped my application.
Minors are generally a wash - they neither help or hurt.
Minors are generally a wash - they neither help or hurt.
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Lol. Two people try the sarcastic "the world will end if you do something not related to medicine" post and both times someone immediately doesn't pick up on (edit: or is cautious of) the obvious sarcasm. Got to love premeds. 😀
Oh and to answer the original question: minors don't matter. There is no reason to go out of your way to get one. Take the classes you are interested in and if you happen to get a minor from it then bonus. But noone will ever care about it. (they may care about the classes but the minor is immaterial)
Oh and to answer the original question: minors don't matter. There is no reason to go out of your way to get one. Take the classes you are interested in and if you happen to get a minor from it then bonus. But noone will ever care about it. (they may care about the classes but the minor is immaterial)
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Well first, I'm not a premed. But I meant that more as who bothers to create a new account to repeat a lame joke made earlier in the thread. But that said, there are insane premeds who actually believe that stuff, so you never know.
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That's part of what I meant. You can't be sarcastic on this forum because there is usually someone who actually believes the ridiculous crap you are trying to post as a joke. Premeds are hilarious.
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I'm not premed either and while I got the sarcasm, there are people new to this site that wouldn't get it.
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I AM premed and I got the sarcasm. Despite that fact that I knew it was sarcasm, the OP may not have caught on. There are premeds that believe EVERYTHING you do between now and MS HAS to be medically related. While we know it doesn't, others may not. I wanted to point out that the poster was wrong-regardless of whether he or she was being sarcastic.
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If it's something you enjoy, go for it! I think it can help, since medical schools like to see well-rounded applicants. Besides the token bio major/chem minor, I decided to take an extra year and got minors in music and religion because I enjoyed those subjects and knew I wouldn't get a chance to take classes like that once I entered med school. Every single interviewer brought up the minors and asked questions about them, and it gave me a chance to give them more insight into my personality, leadership, communication skills, etc. A couple interviewers even told me about their own musical interests and their thoughts on spirituality in medicine! I definitely think it helped.
If you like history, minor in history. It'll make your application more interesting and give you something to think about besides just science, science, science.
If you like history, minor in history. It'll make your application more interesting and give you something to think about besides just science, science, science.
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Basically what everyone said, it doesn't matter. Med schools realize people have interests outside of medicine (and want them to have those interests), but since everyone has something "non-medical" on their application, it doesn't really help; not everything on your application is going to "help" or "hurt" you.
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I was shadowing on Tuesday and I used renaissance history to stun the surgeon because I knew the order of Henry VIII's wives and what happened to them. (He was playing Wakeman's "Six Wives of Henry VIII" in the OR.) You never know what information will ever come in handy! I certainly never expected to say "Divorced Beheaded Died Divorced Beheaded Survived" in the OR and then go into a discussion of "Catherine of Aragon" (his favourite song) while watching a surgeon do lipo for 5 hours.
(I took a second major in medieval/renaissance studies so I am all into majoring/minoring in what you love.)
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You're allowed to be interested in things that are not "sciency."
Military History and Chemistry minor newf.ag checking in.
🙄
