I'm starting undergrad this fall as a public health major but I'm thinking of switching to a behavioral neuroscience major instead because it has more MCAT-related courses and instead doing public health as a minor. In general, is this major and minor good for studying for the MCAT/getting into med school?
Should I do a Public Health Minor?
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I cannot emphasize enough, as someone who has now graduated college and went with my heart into a major I loved, to choose what you want to study. Don't major in something because it seems good for the MCAT. I assure you, zero medical schools will see BNS and give you extra points for it. If you love public health, do that. If you love art history, do that. You will get more than enough of a base in MCAT knowledge by taking the medical school prerequisite courses anyways and when you start studying for the test in earnest, you'll fill in the gaps with any review materials you end up using. BNS won't help prepare you any better than any other major because of this. Best thing is, if you decide medicine isn't for you, you won't be stuck in a major you don't really like.
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For the love of god, please just choose a major/minor that you are actually interested in rather than because you think it will help you prepare for the mcat or medical school admissions. It doesn't help.
Also, I wanted to add since you are majoring in behavioral neuroscience due to its supposed benefit for the mcat, the nervous system section of the MCAT is so surface level and such a small portion of the test that basing your major on that is a terrible decision. This logic can be applied to every single major you can choose that will apparently help you out in the mcat. The mcat tests such a large scope of knowledge, everything it covers is relatively surface level. Any major you pick will be 100x more indepth and, as a result, a waste of time.
Also, I wanted to add since you are majoring in behavioral neuroscience due to its supposed benefit for the mcat, the nervous system section of the MCAT is so surface level and such a small portion of the test that basing your major on that is a terrible decision. This logic can be applied to every single major you can choose that will apparently help you out in the mcat. The mcat tests such a large scope of knowledge, everything it covers is relatively surface level. Any major you pick will be 100x more indepth and, as a result, a waste of time.
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Major in something you love and will do well in and help build your GPA. Don’t worry about the MCAT now and really don’t major in something because you think it will help with the MCAT.
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As above, major in what you love. There's some benefit to breaking the mold--my art major was somewhat unusual so it made for an easy ice breaker on my interviews. I did great on the MCAT and all I did was take the pre-reqs, do the practice tests, and study Examkrackers (not sure if that's still around) for a few weeks (I took all my pre-reqs over the course of one year and got A/A-'s, so everything was pretty fresh). N=1 there obviously.
Minors are useless--they really are. No one cares about them, and honestly it looks kind of silly when I see a minor listed on someone's resume. Most of the time I even forget I had a minor. That's how useless it was. The only reason I even got the minor was it had been my major before I changed, so I'd already met the requirements of the minor.
My earnest recommendation is to:
1) Major in something you really enjoy and would be happy to study further/pursue as a career if you can't get into med school.
2) Take the pre-reqs. And know that material well--get A/A-'s, and retain that info (it's amazing how much you forget after even a few months)
2) Forget double-majors, minors, etc., and just take whatever electives you find interesting/always wanted to learn more about. That'll take you much further in life. My religious studies courses were among my favorite and still most helpful. If you want to take advanced science courses for fun/interest, then go for that, but don't take them for the MCAT. It'd probably be more worthwhile to just sit in on the pre-reqs again/use that time to re-learn them.
Minors are useless--they really are. No one cares about them, and honestly it looks kind of silly when I see a minor listed on someone's resume. Most of the time I even forget I had a minor. That's how useless it was. The only reason I even got the minor was it had been my major before I changed, so I'd already met the requirements of the minor.
My earnest recommendation is to:
1) Major in something you really enjoy and would be happy to study further/pursue as a career if you can't get into med school.
2) Take the pre-reqs. And know that material well--get A/A-'s, and retain that info (it's amazing how much you forget after even a few months)
2) Forget double-majors, minors, etc., and just take whatever electives you find interesting/always wanted to learn more about. That'll take you much further in life. My religious studies courses were among my favorite and still most helpful. If you want to take advanced science courses for fun/interest, then go for that, but don't take them for the MCAT. It'd probably be more worthwhile to just sit in on the pre-reqs again/use that time to re-learn them.
