Stats on acceptance rates of majors?

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jonessoda

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Could anybody point me towards stats of the acceptance rates into medical school for various majors? Kind of a personal interest thing. I remember reading a book recently (I think it was Barron's Getting Into Medical School... yes, I'm a dork, aren't we all?) that stated that the major that had the highest acceptance rate into medical schools was English at 70-something percent, and the lowest were other health majors like nursing, clinical radiation sciences, and the like.

Another interesting thing it said was that, since there are so many applicants coming in from biology and chemistry, those majors are slowly slipping down in the acceptance rates.

And before anybody asks, no I'm not planning on doing something like switching to a different major just to increase my chances to get into medical school. I'm just a statistics nut.
 
upsidedown said:
ive actually heard that philosophy majors have the highest acceptance rate of the humanities... and the highest gre scores, mcat scores, hottest mates, best lifestyles, best lifes... okay not any of the last 4 things.
(i majored in philosophy if you cant tell)
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Actually, I think that was Econ/Bio double majors...
 
I hear the p value on any differences of acceptance rates between majors is no where near less than .05
 
Health science majors tend to do the worst on the MCAT and get in at a lower rate. Outside of that, I don't see an appreciable difference between majors.
 
upsidedown said:
wouldnt that be considered a science major with a humanities major?
instead of a humanities major...?
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ZING!

It is actually a soft (social) science major with a hard (super difficult) science major.


("hard science" doesn't really denote "super difficult" - it actually usually means chemistry, physics, or biology - but there is no set definition of "hard sciences. I'm just on a roll tonight.)
 
I thought bio/phys/chem are "soft" sciences and engineering disciplines were "hard" sciences...econ is humanities
 
streetlight said:
I thought bio/phys/chem are "soft" sciences and engineering disciplines were "hard" sciences...econ is humanities
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Are you playing the joke or are you serious?

That's why I said there is no standard definition. I personally don't think that engineering is generally regarded as a "hard" science because engineering is a group of its own. The context that I've seen "hard" vs. "soft" used most often is to distinguish between social sciences and non-social sciences.

But you are definitely wrong about economics. It is a social science. Here is the least respectable source I could find.
 
I believe at most schools, econ would be in the school of humanities. Also, I suppose a cooking major would be "science" since its food sciences. Majoring in fashion design? Have no fear, fashion sciences are your way to get a science major. Really...you could add the word "science" to almost anything. You could really fit a ton of humanities into "social sciences" that really are just humanities. They add the "science" to the end for academic purposes.

That's why most people would consider actual "soft" sciences as pure bio/chem/phys and "hard" sciences as any of those applied or engineering disciplines.
 
streetlight said:
I believe at most schools, econ would be in the school of humanities. Also, I suppose a cooking major would be "science" since its food sciences. Majoring in fashion design? Have no fear, fashion sciences are your way to get a science major. Really...you could add the word "science" to almost anything. You could really fit a ton of humanities into "social sciences" that really are just humanities. They add the "science" to the end for academic purposes.

That's why most people would consider actual "soft" sciences as pure bio/chem/phys and "hard" sciences as any of those applied or engineering disciplines.
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Okay, dude. You are totally wrong about econ being a humanity or being offered in the humanities department at any major school, let alone most. There IS a strict definition for social sciences, and that is what economics is.

There IS NOT a strict definition of "hard" or "soft" sciences. Apparently, your opinion and my opinion differ. However, you ought to search a few posts about "hard" sciences here on SDN so that you can be conversant in the generally accepted terminology.

Will you actually follow this link and then follow a few links within the wikipedia article to understand?
 
ryandote said:
Okay, dude. You are totally wrong about econ being a humanity or being offered in the humanities department at any major school, let alone most. There IS a strict definition for social sciences, and that is what economics is.
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Yup! Social science. Speaking as a former Econ major here. 👍
 
ok really ANYONE can edit wikipedia. please don't give me wikipedia as a source. there are many schools that have economics in the school of humanities - even at schools who have the #1 grad programs in economics. here are links for you:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/phdhum/brief/ecorank_brief.php
(who has a list under "Humanities and Social Sciences" as if they are almost interchangable)
http://web.mit.edu/shass/dspc/
(The #1 econ school's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences -- again there is a reason they put those terms together)
 
Some people here are totally missing the point.

There IS a definition of social science. There IS NOT a definition of "hard" science.

upsidedown: I appreciate your opinion on "hard" and "soft" - it is different than mine and those with whom I interact, but that is allowed. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for "social" science, becaue they are strictly defined.


streetlight: I understand your problem now. You are a freshman, so you don't have a lot of college experience. That's excusable. Also, did you end up matriculating at MIT? The School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at MIT includes the economics department. But let me assure you that economics is a social science.
 
Actually I'm a rising junior. Thanks for helping prove my point though!
 
streetlight said:
ok really ANYONE can edit wikipedia. please don't give me wikipedia as a source. there are many schools that have economics in the school of humanities - even at schools who have the #1 grad programs in economics. here are links for you:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/phdhum/brief/ecorank_brief.php
(who has a list under "Humanities and Social Sciences" as if they are almost interchangable)
http://web.mit.edu/shass/dspc/
(The #1 econ school's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences -- again there is a reason they put those terms together)
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Okay, so you see that it is the SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES.

I see that USNEWS thinks humanities and social sciences are similar. In fact, I think they are similar. But obviously, they are not the same because MIT has a SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES instead of just a School of Humanities and Arts.
 
streetlight said:
Actually I'm a rising junior. Thanks for helping prove my point though!
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I'm about ready to call you a rising idiot. But I won't.

Humanities and Social Sciences are similar departments. So similar, in fact, that some universities put them in the same school. But you do realize they are different departments, right?
 
streetlight said:
ok really ANYONE can edit wikipedia. please don't give me wikipedia as a source. there are many schools that have economics in the school of humanities - even at schools who have the #1 grad programs in economics. here are links for you:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/phdhum/brief/ecorank_brief.php
(who has a list under "Humanities and Social Sciences" as if they are almost interchangable)
http://web.mit.edu/shass/dspc/
(The #1 econ school's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences -- again there is a reason they put those terms together)
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I don't really see where you're going with this. Yes, it's listed in the school/departments that have "Social Science" in their name. And how exactly does that mean that Econ, Political Science, Sociology, and the rest are NOT Social Science?

Of course they are more likely to put together Social Sciences and Humanities than they would Engineering and Arts, as they have more similarities - but point is, it IS social science. Just because it's listed under the same umbrella as humanities doesn't mean that it's humanities.
 
jochi1543 said:
I don't really see where you're going with this. Yes, it's listed in the school/departments that have "Social Science" in their name. And how exactly does that mean that Econ, Political Science, Sociology, and the rest are NOT Social Science?

Of course they are more likely to put together Social Sciences and Humanities than they would Engineering and Arts, as they have more similarities - but point is, it IS social science. Just because it's listed under the same umbrella as humanities doesn't mean that it's humanities.
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Thank you, I was beginning to think that my posts were looking different in Salt Lake than they were in Boston.

Seriously, streetlight, I'm not going to hold it against you. You are obviously brilliant being at MIT, and I'll just let you out of this gracefully.
 
To counter that, I consider Arts part of humanities too, yet it is also listed Arts in the title.

ok really this all is silly. it's a matter of perspective. you see a difference between social sciences and humanities, and i think of them interchangeably. the only sciences I consider stem from biology, chemistry, physics and it's applications in engineering.

p.s. there's no need for your sarcasm and trying to make me look condescending by bringing up me being at MIT. i'm not speaking from any sort of condescension. it's just what i believe is different than what you believe.
 
People on SDN find the silliest things to argue about. Do you people not have anyone to argue with in your real lives or something?

Also, since I'm an idiot, I'm going to jump into the fray: sciences, both hard and soft, use the scientific method, which is what sets them apart from humanities. Or so they say.
 
mountainhare said:
People on SDN find the silliest things to argue about. Do you people not have anyone to argue with in your real lives or something?
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No. We have won those debates long ago.:meanie: It's on to the Internet now.:meanie:
 
streetlight said:
To counter that, I consider Arts part of humanities too, yet it is also listed Arts in the title.

ok really this all is silly. it's a matter of perspective. you see a difference between social sciences and humanities, and i think of them interchangably. the only sciences I consider stem from biology, chemistry, physics and it's applications in engineering.
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Okay, I see the problem. I'm glad you realize that it's how you see things. Interchangeably.

Just realize that you see them differently than most people. That's why they gave them different names.
 
mountainhare said:
People on SDN find the silliest things to argue about. Do you people not have anyone to argue with in your real lives or something?
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Good call :laugh: Actually, I'm married, so I have somebody who has to argue with me when I want to.

mountainhare said:
Also, since I'm an idiot, I'm going to jump into the fray: sciences, both hard and soft, use the scientific method, which is what sets them apart from humanities. Or so they say.
Click to expand...

Excellent point. That's an entirely new point of discussion, but definitely valid.
 
streetlight said:
ok really this all is silly. it's a matter of perspective. you see a difference between social sciences and humanities, and i think of them interchangeably. the only sciences I consider stem from biology, chemistry, physics and it's applications in engineering.
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Listen, it's pretty easy to figure this out - when med schools ask for a letter in social sciences, have an English prof send one, and watch what happens.:hardy:
 
jochi1543 said:
Listen, it's pretty easy to figure this out - when med schools ask for a letter in social sciences, have an English prof send one, and watch what happens.:hardy:
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good thing i'm applying md/phd. i doubt that will be an issue of contention for me.
 
You know, it's funny as hell to watch everyone argue about such an inane topic, but back to the OP's question, does anyone have any acceptance statistics? I'm kind of curious myself. 😎
 
emttim said:
You know, it's funny as hell to watch everyone argue about such an inane topic, but back to the OP's question, does anyone have any acceptance statistics? I'm kind of curious myself. 😎
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haha what's worse? that we argued in it or that you spent your time reading the entire thing? haha just kidding just kidding...
 
streetlight said:
good thing i'm applying md/phd. i doubt that will be an issue of contention for me.
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Nice comeback. Rising junior, indeed.👍

Try listing your econ courses as humanities on AMCAS and they'll delay your verification to correct it for you. Or, try counting econ as a humanities course at schools that require a humanities course.

Actually, I think that MD/PhD often require all the MD letters and then some additional ones. I could be wrong.

At any rate, I'll let this go gracefully right here unless you want to keep the dialogue going. However, if you find yourself in a situation where it is important to distinguish whether econ is a humanity or a social science, you've been warned.

cheers 🙂

edit: Actually, I don't like to leave relationships strained. I thought about MD/PhD because I had a fantastic summer research opportunity in a drosophila lab. Any particular area you feel like you might be interested in, streetlight?
 
emttim said:
You know, it's funny as hell to watch everyone argue about such an inane topic, but back to the OP's question, does anyone have any acceptance statistics? I'm kind of curious myself. 😎
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There are definitely stats in the MSAR, and so I think the AAMC website might even have them.
 
jochi1543 said:
There are definitely stats in the MSAR, and so I think the AAMC website might even have them.
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Before I started ranting, I actually checked the AAMC website to try and provide a useful link, but couldn't find it. However, I KNOW I've seen them so I think the MSAR would be a good bet.
 
Again, not an issue of contention: if I don't take an econ class, then I don't need to verify that on my AMCAS. easy solutions!
 
streetlight said:
p.s. there's no need for your sarcasm and trying to make me look condescending by bringing up me being at MIT. i'm not speaking from any sort of condescension. it's just what i believe is different than what you believe.
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I would like to make amends. I retract the "rising idiot" comment completely and hope you'll forgive me. I was being serious about MIT, so I hope you'll take it that way.
 
agreed. SDN making arguments into friendships since ??? p.s. nice blog
 
streetlight said:
agreed. SDN making arguments into friendships since ??? p.s. nice blog
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Wish it was mine. Panda Bear is an EM resident somewhere in the midwest with a serious talent for writing and a seriously blunt tone. Always a fun read.

I was genuinely curious about what you might be interested in researching.
 
ryandote: 1, streetlight: 0

where would they put engineering? physical sciences or other??
 
streetlight said:
haha what's worse? that we argued in it or that you spent your time reading the entire thing? haha just kidding just kidding...
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Hey watch it, or /you'll/ be the one I bill for my time I spent reading this damn thread. ;P
 
Just in case anybody else was wondering, from the AAMC site linked, here's the stats with the math already done:

Biological sciences: 43.7% acceptance rate
Humanities: 53.2%
Math and Stat: 47.8%
"Other": 41.6%
Physical sciences: 53.9%
Social sciences: 45.4%
Health sciences: 34.4%
Overall: 44.4%

I'd be interested in seeing it broken down into more specific majors. Maybe in the MSAR?

P.S. I love how every thread on these forums becomes some kind of argument or other.
 
jonessoda said:
Just in case anybody else was wondering, from the AAMC site linked, here's the stats with the math already done:

Biological sciences: 43.7% acceptance rate
Humanities: 53.2%
Math and Stat: 47.8%
"Other": 41.6%
Physical sciences: 53.9%
Social sciences: 45.4%
Health sciences: 34.4%
Overall: 44.4%

I'd be interested in seeing it broken down into more specific majors. Maybe in the MSAR?

P.S. I love how every thread on these forums becomes some kind of argument or other.
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who cares? major in what you are interested in and you will be happier.
 
On the hard/soft science thing, I think natural sciences are hard science, social sciences are soft science, and engineering is applied science.
 
jjmack said:
who cares? major in what you are interested in and you will be happier.
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Yes, I'm really dumb enough to waste some of the best years of my life majoring in something I don't like and am not interested in to give me a 1-2% boost of being accepted into med school 🙄 Thank you for your oh-so-useful advice. You have truly changed my life.
 
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