Science major MCAT scores vs. Non-Science major MCAT scores

[Ottovon]

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I'm entering my sophomore year in college and I'm still undecided what I want my major to be. I'm pursuing the pre-med track but I was thinking of majoring in a non-science field. What I'm worried about, though, is how much that would affect the material I need to learn for the MCAT.

I know that the MCAT tests Genetics and Cell Bio and those aren't pre-req courses, but they are classes you need to take if you are, say, a Bio major. But if someone is going to major in Asian Studies, is there more of a disadvantage come exam time?


Thanks.

 

[Suenya]

I have no idea what the average scores are for physical sciences vs social sciences vs humanities vs arts. Unless you have a lot of trouble with the early science material, you can learn everything you need to know for the MCAT from the ExamKrackers books.

If you have alot of trouble with sciences (or need alot of additional material to learn but eventually do well in class) you might want to take deeper classes. You don't have to major in something to take some advanced classes at most schools, although I know there are exceptions.

You could also double major.

My undergrad concentrations were psych, philosophy, and religious studies. My MCAT was pretty high. Granted, my undergrad has cell bio and genetics actually BE the prereq bio classes, so I took them anyway. I don't think they particularly helped over just reading the ExamKrackers books though. I can't say enough good things about them.

 

[muhali3]

Look at the 30+ MCAT thread. Many of the people who even received 36+ were non-science majors. It really depends on what materials you use and how much practice questions you do. The genetics and cell biology on the MCAT does not require an entire class.

 

[mmmcdowe]

So much bias and self selection, but:

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table18-facts09mcatgpabymaj1-web.pdf

 

[Geekchick921]

Look at the 30+ MCAT thread. Many of the people who even received 36+ were non-science majors. It really depends on what materials you use and how much practice questions you do. The genetics and cell biology on the MCAT does not require an entire class.

Agreed. I know I am an outlier, but I have a BFA in theatre and got a 14/11/14 on the MCAT. The only additional science class I took beyond the basic prerequisites was A&P (physiology was very helpful for the MCAT, anatomy significantly less so). I did not take a prep course nor did I drop a few hundred bucks on a set of EK or BR prep books. My post in the 30+ MCAT thread as well as other posts I've made on the MCAT board have my study sources if you're interested.

 

[Neurocentric]

Since you can major in whatever you want, I don't think there is an advantage or disadvantage based on major.

I choose to be an English major. Does that mean I suck in Bio or any other sciences? Not really. Same goes for a Bio major being horrible in English. Just study hard and pursue whatever major you want. There isn't a specific major that is going to help you ace the MCAT. You don't have to major in something you hate just because you think you'll have an edge on a certain section of the exam. Does that make sense?

I'm not very good at explaining things sometimes.

 

[XeReX]

I'm entering my sophomore year in college and I'm still undecided what I want my major to be. I'm pursuing the pre-med track but I was thinking of majoring in a non-science field. What I'm worried about, though, is how much that would affect the material I need to learn for the MCAT.

I know that the MCAT tests Genetics and Cell Bio and those aren't pre-req courses, but they are classes you need to take if you are, say, a Bio major. But if someone is going to major in Asian Studies, is there more of a disadvantage come exam time?


Thanks.

Half of the students that enter prestigious medical schools are non science majors.
But i think that its a plus point if you are a major in biological sciences, like i am majoring in Physiology and Neurobiology and i have to take Biochem, Genetics and Cell biology as a requirement for my major.

 

[Dr2B4Ever]

.

 

[barcoderider]

I was a psych major and scored 14PS, 12VR, 14BS so...I don't think it matters.

 

[DrDre2001]

This really only boils down to the science major having about 4-5 more science classes before he takes the MCAT (on average, for the average student who takes the MCAT his junior year).

Those classes will likely be something like: genetics, cell bio, molecular bio, biochemistry, physiology


To me, you'd be fine if you took physiology and maybe biochemistry. The other classes go into way too much detail to be of any major use on the MCAT. So, you can stay majoring in music or whatever else, and just take physiology and biochemistry and you should be fine.

 

[Ottovon]

Oh alright. Whether or not being a science major or not helps for the MCAT had confused the hell out of me about what I wanted to major in (and I didn't want to make any regrettable decision). Thanks for all the insight, it definitely makes things clearer.

 

[boggvir]

I don't think it matters as long as you pay attention in the pre-reqs.

 

[wanderer]

You'll be fine for the MCAT with just the pre-reqs. Since my bio sequence did not adequately cover physiology I used Campbell & Reece for those chapters. If you can study independently, it makes more sense to do that than to take physiology as a course.

 

[OtoHNS]

Major in what YOU want to major in and are most interested in. That is the only reason you should choose a major.

 

[Ottovon]

Major in what YOU want to major in and are most interested in. That is the only reason you should choose a major.

Yeah but that's all ideal. Practicality needs to come into play too.

 

[tr0gd0r]

You'll be fine if you chose to major in something else. Just make sure you take a physiology class before the MCAT (it scares me to think what would've happened if I hadn't done so) and genetics. Biochem would also be extremely helpful. I didn't take those last two and did fine (although Biological sciences was my lowest score) -- but I'd recommend if you can fit it in to take at least one of them. But you need physiology to do well. I think its a lot harder (not impossible) to do well on the test with solely taking the 8 required science classes for med school...

Yeah, I just want to point out that the bolded bit is not necessarily true at all.

 

[Ischemic]

Yeah but that's all ideal. Practicality needs to come into play too.

Well, since you want to take MCAT and enter medical field, that kinda answers your practicality question doesn't it?

 

[Ottovon]

Well, since you want to take MCAT and enter medical field, that kinda answers your practicality question doesn't it?

Not necessarily. If there is a significant difference in MCAT scores between science and non-science majors, then the answer would be clear that I should major in a science. But I was unsure if a gap even existed and if so, how large it was.

From what I see now, non-science majors aren't at any significant disadvantage. So it's just a personal decision now.

 

[Geekchick921]

Yeah, I just want to point out that the bolded bit is not necessarily true at all.

Well, no, but it really depends on how well the pre-req courses at your school cover the material that will be tested on the MCAT. My physics, chem, and o-chem classes covered all the material I needed for those subjects in regards to the MCAT. Biology, not so much. I'm sure it didn't help that I took Bio 101 and 102 seven years before I took the MCAT, but there is a considerable amount of systems/physiology material on the MCAT study guide .pdf that AAMC has on their website that I am sure I was not taught in general biology. Physiology helped me a LOT. The BS section of my MCAT was physiology-heavy, and I am pretty damn sure I would not have gotten a 14 if I hadn't taken Physio beforehand. IMO, if you choose/are able to take only ONE additional science course beyond your pre-reqs (which may be the case, if you're a non-science major with hefty list of major-required courses, or maybe a non-trad), Physiology would be the way to go.

 

[Ottovon]

Well, no, but it really depends on how well the pre-req courses at your school cover the material that will be tested on the MCAT. My physics, chem, and o-chem classes covered all the material I needed for those subjects in regards to the MCAT. Biology, not so much. I'm sure it didn't help that I took Bio 101 and 102 seven years before I took the MCAT, but there is a considerable amount of systems/physiology material on the MCAT study guide .pdf that AAMC has on their website that I am sure I was not taught in general biology. Physiology helped me a LOT. The BS section of my MCAT was physiology-heavy, and I am pretty damn sure I would not have gotten a 14 if I hadn't taken Physio beforehand. IMO, if you choose/are able to take only ONE additional science course beyond your pre-reqs (which may be the case, if you're a non-science major with hefty list of major-required courses, or maybe a non-trad), Physiology would be the way to go.

Thanks for all of this info. I do still have to check if my Bio class is physiology heavy because I'm taking it this year.

From what I picked up on around the forums, generally Physiology and Genetics are two classes that are recommended to take before the MCAT. Is this safe to say? If not, then Physiology and what else?

 

[Geekchick921]

I also see Biochemistry get suggested a lot.

 

[Kaustikos]

I also see Biochemistry get suggested a lot.

Definitely


Also lol at the specialized health sciences major MCAT scores

 

[tr0gd0r]

Well, no, but it really depends on how well the pre-req courses at your school cover the material that will be tested on the MCAT. My physics, chem, and o-chem classes covered all the material I needed for those subjects in regards to the MCAT. Biology, not so much. I'm sure it didn't help that I took Bio 101 and 102 seven years before I took the MCAT, but there is a considerable amount of systems/physiology material on the MCAT study guide .pdf that AAMC has on their website that I am sure I was not taught in general biology. Physiology helped me a LOT. The BS section of my MCAT was physiology-heavy, and I am pretty damn sure I would not have gotten a 14 if I hadn't taken Physio beforehand. IMO, if you choose/are able to take only ONE additional science course beyond your pre-reqs (which may be the case, if you're a non-science major with hefty list of major-required courses, or maybe a non-trad), Physiology would be the way to go.

Certainly it would be helpful if one's intro bio class doesn't cover physio. I guess I just wanted to point out that it's not like there's no way you could do well on the MCAT if you don't take a physio class, or if you don't take any other classes other than the basic 8 many schools require. It's perfectly possible to major in something "unpractical," only take the bare minimum of required courses, and do well on the MCAT (...as long as you're an effective independent studier, obviously).

 

[ThaliaNox]

So much bias and self selection, but:

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table18-facts09mcatgpabymaj1-web.pdf

This link made me giggle because no matter how much tension there is between nonscience and biology majors about who is the best, math and physical science majors still come out on top.

 

[Suenya]

This link made me giggle because no matter how much tension there is between nonscience and biology majors about who is the best, math and physical science majors still come out on top.

k. mean scores = the best.