Non science majors an advantage???

[DrArsenic]

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I was thinking about going to medical school with an economics degree. I was wondering if this can give me an advantage? I heard that medical school look to have students from broad backgrounds.

Has anyone else done this?

Thanks in advance for any responses.🙂

 

[DD214_DOC]

It doesn't matter, major in whatever you like -- just do well in it.

 

[Buminie]

Hi,
Just my two cents.
Even though it does not matter what major you have when applying to med sch, it is always better to have a very strong science background so everything is not completely foreign to you. I went to a conference at NYU and this particular issue was brought up. Non science majors for some reason do better on the MCAT thus get in but struggle a lot with their classes when they get in.

So my advice, have what ever major you want cos in opinion it is important to do what you want and also something marketable incase you decide to work before med sch but take a lot of science classes e.g. Biochemistry. It is not a prequisite for med sch but it is usually in your best interest to do it......so i was told.

 

[VienneseWaltz]

I have a master's in economics, which helped me. I got the degree, though, b/c I love the subject (esp. health econ) and am interested in applying a practicing physician's insights to health policy problems. So, to the question, "Can I get into med school with an econ degree?" Absolutely. But for the question, "Should I get an econ degree so that I can get into med school?" the answer is No.

If you love economics, go for it and be sure to take extra biology electives (at least 2 or 3 beyond general), especially biochem. Otherwise, major in what turns you on. Good luck!

 

[IndyZX]

im a BA economics, pre-med.

the only courses im taking beyong the minimum are genetics and either vert phys or cell bio. (but only b/c i need 12hrs of bio lecture + 2hrs of bio lab for texas med schools)

 

[Unda Presha_TX]

Hey, what's up? I'm an Economics major too. Not a thing to worry about. Mick Jagger was an Economics major, he's got a very successful career. Arnold Schwarzenegger was an Economics major. He didn't turn out too bad either. The point is, if you are musically inclined and have muscles the sky is the limit. 🙂 Seriously though, I don't know anybody else in Economics at my school (UT) that is a Pre-Med. I hope you get into Med School.

 

[DrArsenic]

Well I have already started on most of my lower division econ class and I think its a great subject. I have also completed my one year of general chem and bio. Just wondering if they might consider an econ major more favorably since so many people apply with science majors.

 

[Street Philosopher]

Your major can be one of those extra ingredients that adcoms use to season their diversity stew.

 

[IndyZX]

so its agreed, econ is the shiznit.

 

[osar92]

I am an econ major also but with a botany double major
I think econ helped out with the mcat on verbal passages since Im pretty used to trying to get through crappy economics journal articles for my classes... but other than that, im not sure your major can really give u an advantage over someone else, but i think it could bring up some more interesting interveiw questions

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Originally posted by Street Philosopher
Your major can be one of those extra ingredients that adcoms use to season their diversity stew.

Nicely put, SP.

indyzx, if you can squeeze in biochem, I would do it. Everyone tells me that's the most useful UG course for med school. They go through an undergraduate semester of it in about 3 weeks, so the people who haven't seen it before tend to have a rough time of it.

 

[lisa13579]

From everything I've read, it seems as though medical schools love to say they have former lawyers, musicians, professional athletes, etc, etc. as medical students at their school. I have a degree in fine arts and decided after I danced professionally that I wanted to go to medical school. I think if you have a strong science gpa and good MCAT score (so they know you can handle the curriculum,) a background that helps you to stand out will only help in the admissions process.

 

[Madjimbo1]

Definitely true, and it's another opportunity to distinguish yourself in the interview by saying how my major has given me unique perspective X about issue Y. Let them know that you think medicine isn't practiced in a vacuum and that you'll be better equipped to deal w/ the real world than all those other science pre-med clones (I was one) that have been interviewing.

 

[Papking]

Unless they changed the policy since I entered medical school one year ago, any college major can be accepted. There are some prerequisite science courses to take and the MCAT.

I had a German major with a French minor in undergrad. That was exactly what I wanted and I loved it. I recommend foreign language majors to everyone. They are a great way to get to know people and the world around you. They teach you to communicate well and to charge into realms of knowledge which are foreign to you.

One major plus to a languages major is that travel is essential. The best way to learn a language is to be in that country. The schools recognize this and sponsor many study abroad programs, which is a great way to experience a whole new facet of life.

The learning process itself can be tailored to your interests. To improve my German, I played video games, watched movies and hung out at parties with Germans.

You also have a lot of freetime to explore other interests and to do lots of interesting volunteer work in a clinic or hospital, so you can get a better idea of what medicine is.

I believe that you should not start college saying how do I get into medical school. If you are like this, you will start medical school saying how do I get into residency. Then you will start residency saying how do I get a job. And in between you will miss out on much of what these incredible experiences are offering. Do what you want to do and do it greatly. When you apply to medical school, they will recognize who you are and what you have done.

That all being written, I would say that not having taken a lot of upper level science courses has made medical school very difficult for me. The recurrent problem is that every new course I take is completely new to me. I start out with a bankrupt knowledge base. Even so, I do not regret having enjoyed as much time as possible before being here and having used the time to actualize myself rather than taking more courses to prepare for medical school. Medical school will teach you all the academics of being a doctor. The rest you learn from your patients.

We all have our own walk through medical school as with the rest of life. In every undertaking some will find it more difficult than others. The important thing is that we learn from these experiences and continue on our journey.

 

[DrArsenic]

Wow PapKing! That was one amazing post. Thanks🙂

 

[zzeyfzz]

i was an econ major/ chem minor, and i'm going to medical school this august. i did get lots of wait lists, but i got off a wait list. and even though i had a chem minor, it really wasn't such a big deal cause all but one class that i used for my minor were classes i needed for premed requirements.

i don't really think that having a non science major helped or didn't help, but it always gave my interviewers a reason to ask me why i chose economics and why i wanted to go into medicine after studying so much econ. but as long as your grades in econ and science are good, i don't think there's a problem there. and then you get thrown into the application process like every other bio major out there.

 

[indo]

Originally posted by DrArsenic
I was thinking about going to medical school with an economics degree. I was wondering if this can give me an advantage? I heard that medical school look to have students from broad backgrounds.

Has anyone else done this?

Thanks in advance for any responses.🙂

It might not give you an advantage in admissions but it will help a lot in your career.

 

[2badr]

Originally posted by DrArsenic
Wow PapKing! That was one amazing post. Thanks🙂

Agreed!! I just like the biological sciences. So naturally that is what I am majoring in. However I am not opposed to changing my major if it works out best for me in the long run. I just haven't figured out a way to have a non-science major and fulfill all the pre-reqs for medschool.

 

[Ramoray]

I would say it isnt an advantage in actually getting an itnerview or gettign an acceptance directly but i am a finance major and in every single interview that was the majority of the discussion.. talking about finance and also relating it to med. i think it helped my interviews so indirectly helped me.. i got in 2 out of 3 palces i interviwed with late interviews.. and waited at the otehr.. i think it helped me sound unique

 

[kreno]

hi. i graduated with a bs in physiology and a ba in economics... and at each of my 7 med school interviews i was asked something relating to economics or why i majored in it or the like... and NEVER ONCE anything about my physiology major. it made me think that being that major HELPED differentiate me a bit fromt he prototypical "premed science major" types....

so i think if it's what you wanna do, ALL The better!

Econ was a great major and i'm glad i did it! i really loved it too. but if i was to choose, hypothetically, between a science major ONLY or an econ major ONLY (that is, if i couldn't double major) i would have picked science.

Econ is simply too easy, and it doesn't excercise your brain enough for something as rigorous as medical school. i dunno... i guess it's different for anyone. i mean it's not EASy but compared to what i went through to get the physiology degree, there is simply no comparison.

That was actually one of the reasons i liked econ though, paradoxically, was 'cuz it was an EASY add-on which taught me so much. make sense?

in any regard, HealthCare is the EPITOME of what economics is all about... the study of the "best allocation of scarce resources"
so it's been a great add-on!

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Originally posted by kreno

Econ is simply too easy, and it doesn't excercise your brain enough for something as rigorous as medical school. i dunno... i guess it's different for anyone. i mean it's not EASy but compared to what i went through to get the physiology degree, there is simply no comparison.

That's interesting, b/c the handful of people I know who have done both medical school and graduate economics say that medical school is much easier, no question. Med school is more time-consuming, especially in later years, but it isn't conceptually difficult ... Not having taken physiology as an undergrad, I can't comment on undergrad programs, though. It seems odd to compare the two, actually, as the "exercise" your brain gets for econ wouldn't help you with the sheer volume of information you have to process in medical school, the same way physiology would not prepare you for the abstraction of graduate econ.

 

[shikantaza]

from my experience i would say that a non-science major can confer a slight advantage... i tripled in philosophy, biology, and religious studies, and discussion during my interviews definitely focused around my liberal arts majors... and i was directly told a couple of times during interviews that seeing a straight biological science major is 'boring', though personally i think that is quite an unfair characterization... nonetheless, i liked phil and rl st much more than bio classes... my problem with the biology curriculum was that i felt like it didn't really help my speaking, writing, or thinking skills, which i think are the three most important skills that anyone should get out of a college experience... but maybe it was just my school, or me, or both... biology was the most amount of work, philosophy was easily the most difficult, and religious studies was the most rewarding... whatever, select a major you can make sweet love to...