Pre-med Microbiology with a minor in a Foreign Language?

[RuralPhysician8]

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Hello everyone, I am new to this forum. I am a high school senior about to move into the second semester of his final year in high school; so far it looks like I will receive my diploma with a 4.0 average, college credits already under my belt, and several hours of community service. I have already been accepted to every pre-medical program I have applied to, I understand this is not the greatest acheivement (especially when you did not apply to any extremely competitive schools), and I am pretty sure I have decided which one to attend. To get to the point, I was thinking of majoring in microbiology because I have noticed that it seems to fit very well with my selected school's pre-med curriculum and I am pretty interested in the field. I am also considering minoring in Spanish because I am very interested in practicing in underserved rural areas (no one could figure that out by my username, lol) in both the U.S. and parts of Latin America. I would appreciate any feedback on whether or not this seems to be an adequate pre-med course of study.
Thanks.

 

[Life Sucks]

This sounds crazy, but why don't you do the spanish and do mission trips to those latin american countries. I know it sounds crazy, but the board seriously hate seeing the science majors, and love a liberal arts type such as music or spanish. Plus do something that you like, don't do a major because it looks good.

And the reason I'm sayin this is that I met with an admissions board member at a SNMA meeting at Meharry for region x and he stated what the boards look for.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

This sounds crazy, but why don't you do the spanish and do mission trips to those latin american countries. I know it sounds crazy, but the board seriously hate seeing the science majors, and love a liberal arts type such as music or spanish. Plus do something that you like, don't do a major because it looks good.

And the reason I'm sayin this is that I meet the board at a SNMA meeting at Meharry for region x and he stated what the boards look for.

Thanks, I am considering a major in microbiology because I am finishing up an Anatomy and Physiology course where I have become interested in the role of body cells and bacteria in fighting disease as well as how they contribute to homeostasis on the systemic scale, not just because it looked "cool". This question has probably been asked a million times, but how can a non-science major perform well enough on the MCAT to compete with other students who have followed a science based curriculum? Also, while I have come to enjoy Spanish and I love my community service activities, I am still extremely fond of science and think it is a crucial part of my education.

 

[Life Sucks]

Well, studies just show that they do well, but I can't tell you why.It could be just the precentages of Bio, Chem,and Phys majors that take it over the other majors; so those majors will have more below average takers compaired to the Liberal majors which most don't do medicine and that one smart English major aces it. That's just how things are, but I'm sure it can be more factors then that. But if you like micro, do it! If you like it, the grades will follow.

 

[sector9]

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum. I am a high school senior about to move into the second semester of his final year in high school; so far it looks like I will receive my diploma with a 4.0 average, college credits already under my belt, and several hours of community service. I have already been accepted to every pre-medical program I have applied to, I understand this is not the greatest acheivement (especially when you did not apply to any extremely competitive schools), and I am pretty sure I have decided which one to attend. To get to the point, I was thinking of majoring in microbiology because I have noticed that it seems to fit very well with my selected school's pre-med curriculum and I am pretty interested in the field. I am also considering minoring in Spanish because I am very interested in practicing in underserved rural areas (no one could figure that out by my username, lol) in both the U.S. and parts of Latin America. I would appreciate any feedback on whether or not this seems to be an adequate pre-med course of study.
Thanks.

Your plan sounds fine to me 👍

 

[xroc]

Well, studies just show that they do well, but I can't tell you why.It could be just the precentages of Bio, Chem,and Phys majors that take it over the other majors; so those majors will have more below average takers compaired to the Liberal majors which most don't do medicine and that one smart English major aces it. That's just how things are, but I'm sure it can be more factors then that. But if you like micro, do it! If you like it, the grades will follow.

The MCAT only tests knowledge pertaining to the pre-med requirements. Everyone applying med school needs those, regardless of their major. Aside from this knowledge, most of the exam tests your ability to think on your feet and apply new knowledge, which is not necessarily something that gets trained by taking upper level science courses.

 

[Funke]

It's really important to major in whatever you enjoy the most, and if that is a science, go for it! College takes a while, and for me, majoring in Humanities was the best thing I've ever done. It's what I love. I've heard of plenty of people that only took the 4 basic sciences and did great on the MCAT. You don't need any more information than those classes, and humanities classes teach you how to think and reason in a different way than science classes do. The only thing I've consistently heard on this forum is that biochem helps a lot with the MCAT. It helps to connect and solidify concepts and makes you more fluent in the language. Hope that helps!

 

[RuralPhysician8]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I am a huge science nerd but I also love history and geography; so I might try to just squeeze in an extra fine arts class here and there since I already have credits for some of the first year courses. And I will definitely try to find a good mission trip to Central America at some point.

 

[Tots]

I was a microbiology major and it was awesome!! I always recommend to freshman that they don't commit to a major right away - use your elective time to take a broad range of classes. I say this because I have seen one too many people taking classes they didn't want to take just to finish a minor. The minor in and of itself is not particularly valuable but the classes you take can be valuable. That being said I think Spanish is definitely helpful and it could open doors for ECs.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

That being said I think Spanish is definitely helpful and it could open doors for ECs.

And now I propose a dumb question, what is an EC? Also, if you are a science major and have chemistry, physics, etc... already in the curriculum, should one consider not using a pre-med program and just follow that major? The main reason I ask is because there is a college closer to my home that has a great microbiology program but it groups the pre-med students with engineering students for calculus and other higher maths; I have heard that these courses are not only rather difficult but more focused on the engineering professions than others.

 

[sector9]

And now I propose a dumb question, what is an EC? Also, if you are a science major and have chemistry, physics, etc... already in the curriculum, should one consider not using a pre-med program and just follow that major? The main reason I ask is because there is a college closer to my home that has a great microbiology program but it groups the pre-med students with engineering students for calculus and other higher maths; I have heard that these courses are not only rather difficult but more focused on the engineering professions than others.

EC stands for extracurricular activities, so volunteering, shadowing, research, etc that you do in college that gets put on your application for med school

What exactly do you mean by a "premed program"?

I know that some schools offer a "premed major" but I personally wouldn't recommend that. Over half of students who apply to med school don't get in, so if you happen to not get in, then you would be stuck with a "dead end" major

You shouldn't need above calculus for premed requirements. And I don't think you'd need higher than that for microbiology either, right? Even if the math situation at the school isn't ideal for premeds, you shouldn't rule that school out because math is really a small part of premed coursework in the grand scheme of things

 

[RuralPhysician8]

EC stands for extracurricular activities, so volunteering, shadowing, research, etc that you do in college that gets put on your application for med school

What exactly do you mean by a "premed program"?

I know that some schools offer a "premed major" but I personally wouldn't recommend that. Over half of students who apply to med school don't get in, so if you happen to not get in, then you would be stuck with a "dead end" major

You shouldn't need above calculus for premed requirements. And I don't think you'd need higher than that for microbiology either, right? Even if the math situation at the school isn't ideal for premeds, you shouldn't rule that school out because math is really a small part of premed coursework in the grand scheme of things

By pre-med program I mean that instead of a major the school allows students to take pre-medical courses (chemistry, physics, etc...) and still select a major, whether they choose biology or english does that effect their ability to take pre-medical courses. By looking at the course descriptions at the school in question, both the microbiology major and pre-med curriculum include chemistry, physics, biology, & labs; there is a one class difference, the microbiology major has courses in statistics while the pre-med curriculum includes calculus. As long as I have the required courses and a solid MCAT score, would it really matter whether or not I was classified as pre-med?

 

[sector9]

By pre-med program I mean that instead of a major the school allows students to take pre-medical courses (chemistry, physics, etc...) and still select a major, whether they choose biology or english does that effect their ability to take pre-medical courses. By looking at the course descriptions at the school in question, both the microbiology major and pre-med curriculum include chemistry, physics, biology, & labs; there is a one class difference, the microbiology major has courses in statistics while the pre-med curriculum includes calculus. As long as I have the required courses and a solid MCAT score, would it really matter whether or not I was classified as pre-med?

Ah I see. No, it really wouldn't matter at all as long as you can take the classes (at my undergrad, some classes were only available to students from certain majors so the "premed" designation may help in that regard. However, this would be a good opportunity to discuss it with the premed advisor to see what he or she recommends)

 

[RuralPhysician8]

Ah I see. No, it really wouldn't matter at all as long as you can take the classes (at my undergrad, some classes were only available to students from certain majors so the "premed" designation may help in that regard. However, this would be a good opportunity to discuss it with the premed advisor to see what he or she recommends)

Thanks, I am not really interested in the school, though it was somewhat competitive to get accepted to. The main school I am looking at has a very focused pre-med curriculum, has a college of medicine built into the hospital right next to the undergrad campus, a ton of shadowing programs, and several other factors that make it the most appealing to me.

 

[Tots]

Ah in my previous post I meant I tell freshman not to commit to a minor...not a major. Haha oops! Major in what you want to, as long as you are taking the pre-reqs you should be set. Also I think statistics is a very valuable class for pre-meds(but i am biased because I did three years of biostatistics research)though realize you may need both statistics and calculus for some medical school.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

Ah in my previous post I meant I tell freshman not to commit to a minor...not a major. Haha oops! Major in what you want to, as long as you are taking the pre-reqs you should be set. Also I think statistics is a very valuable class for pre-meds(but i am biased because I did three years of biostatistics research)though realize you may need both statistics and calculus for some medical school.

Thanks, I have done some reading on epidemiology and pharmacology so I understand how statistics can be extremely useful. The medical schools I am interested in do not have a calculus requirement; however, I understand that admission requirements can change.

 

[BABSstudent]

Why just minor in Spanish? After a minor, I could only speak a few words. A minor means nothing. Make it a major or second degree if you enjoy it.

And I say that with some background since I am a dual degree student.

Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

Why just minor in Spanish? After a minor, I could only speak a few words. A minor means nothing. Make it a major or second degree if you enjoy it.

My remaining high school spanish classes are teaching me how to form conversations and I will be studying the language independently during my undergrad years. The minor, from my perception, will help me reinforce the basics and allow me to take a few more literature classes, which will likely help me with the MCAT. I have thought of dual majoring, but I am kind of paranoid about tuition costs; I will be a first generation college student and while I do qualify for several large scholarships, I want to make sure medical school is monetarily feasible. Thanks for your advice.