Premed for Humanities Major

[UCStudent999]

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I have been browsing the forum for the past hour and haven't found any specific answers yet. I am planning on pursuing premed as a humanities major in college. My question is, would I be expected to take just the pre-reqs for med school or should I also take upper division courses that a bio major would generally take? I know I will be competing with alot of bio majors who will have taken many upper division courses. Will not taking any, or taking very few put me at a disadvantage? What are the recommended upper division courses I will have to take to be a competitive applicant for med school?

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Just pre reqs. Dont waste your time with upper division science courses.

 

[UCStudent999]

Just prereqs and you won't be at a disadvantage *unless* your science gpa from only prereqs is low, then I recommend adding a bio or two to try to bring it up. I'm humanities and took upper level bios because I used ap for intro, so to make up for that.

Hi, thank you for replying. So if you transfer your AP credits you will have to take upper division courses to make up for it? Wouldn't it be better to not use your AP credits then? Sorry if this is a stupid question lol.

 

[UCStudent999]

Just pre reqs. Dont waste your time with upper division science courses.

Thank you for replying! So to clarify, medical schools won't choose an applicant that has more upper div sciences courses over an applicant that has less/none if all else is equal?

 

[anyusernamenottaken]

Being a diff major prob actually helps more than hurts you. It is a way for you to sort of standout from the plethora of bio/chem students. You just need the pre-reqs to get in. EC's, GPA, MCAT, LORs, ect.. >>>>>>>major

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Thank you for replying! So to clarify, medical schools won't choose an applicant that has more upper div sciences courses over an applicant that has less/none if all else is equal?

If two students have exactly the same GPAs, the same MCAT with identical breakdowns, exactly comparably ECs, and comparable PS’s and LORs, AND they were somehow in a position where they could only pick one of the two to admit, then yes they will probably take the student with upper level science courses, since that would be the only difference.

But hopefully you can see why that’s an extremely irrelevant scenario.

 

[anyusernamenottaken]

If two students have exactly the same GPAs, the same MCAT with identical breakdowns, exactly comparably ECs, and comparable PS’s and LORs, AND they were somehow in a position where they could only pick one of the two to admit, then yes they will probably take the student with upper level science courses, since that would be the only difference.

But hopefully you can see why that’s an extremely irrelevant scenario.

and interview the exact same

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

and interview the exact same

Yes, yes. Forgot about the interview. Interviewing with the exact same interviewer on the exact same day back to back with the same answers to the same questions.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

Hi, thank you for replying. So if you transfer your AP credits you will have to take upper division courses to make up for it? Wouldn't it be better to not use your AP credits then? Sorry if this is a stupid question lol.

Maybe, maybe not.

Your AP may not have been very strong, so retaking can be a good idea.

However, if your AP class was strong, and you got a 5 on the exam, then you might consider skipping for the following reason. Many colleges heavily weed their bio and chem I and II classes, so taking higher level classes might escape some of that intense weeding. The higher level courses seem to have less or a non-existent weeding atmosphere. If you do skip, it’s probably a good idea to keep/review your AP textbooks before moving on.