Studying for the MCAT with a humanities major

[john7991]

I was told by someone here that you don’t have to major in a science topic to get into a medical school.

What I find hard to understand is how some humanities students score highly on the MCAT but the only courses they took related to the questions on the MCAT are the prereqs for med school.

Are the prereqs sufficient for preparing for the MCAT?

As a humanities major, would it be wiser to take the prereqs when you begin as a freshman or as a sophomore?

I know that you have to study on your own time regardless of what you major in. I just find it difficult to understand how humanities students develop the intuition needed for the MCAT without majoring in science.

It’s like humanities students are focusing on their chosen major and focusing on textbooks about science to the side. Why not just major in biology and get everything over with? Or major in biology and then take some humanities courses if that’s really what you love.

I do love humanities and learning about the world and society, I do know that I want to become a doctor, but I think it’ll be harder to major in something non scientific and then study for the MCAT.

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[Dobermann]

The prerequisites classes cover everything you need to know for the MCAT. Non-science majors take these classes, so they are well prepared for the sciences covered on the MCAT. I would also argue that non-science majors are likely better prepared for CARS because they do significantly more critical reading in their classes.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Pre reqs cover everything you need. I was a CS major and did well.

 

[Goro]

I was told by someone here that you don’t have to major in a science topic to get into a medical school.

What I find hard to understand is how some humanities students score highly on the MCAT but the only courses they took related to the questions on the MCAT are the prereqs for med school.

Are the prereqs sufficient for preparing for the MCAT?

As a humanities major, would it be wiser to take the prereqs when you begin as a freshman or as a sophomore?

I know that you have to study on your own time regardless of what you major in. I just find it difficult to understand how humanities students develop the intuition needed for the MCAT without majoring in science.

It’s like humanities students are focusing on their chosen major and focusing on textbooks about science to the side. Why not just major in biology and get everything over with? Or major in biology and then take some humanities courses if that’s really what you love.

I do love humanities and learning about the world and society, I do know that I want to become a doctor, but I think it’ll be harder to major in something non scientific and then study for the MCAT.

They're smart.

Major in something that interests you and ideally provides you with a Plan B

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Critical thinking should be the result of a good college degree and is a necessity for success as a health care professional.

We've known this for at least two decades: The Mount Sinai Humanities and Medicine Program: An... : Academic Medicine . Update in 2010 (has a 2020 update been published?): Challenging Traditional Premedical Requirements as... : Academic Medicine .

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Like others have said, master the fundamentals in the prereqs and it matters not your major. Also, some non-STEM majors have such a strong background in reading and analyzing literary works they inherently crush the Verbal/CARS with much less effort than the average STEM colleague. Back in the day there was a stat that philosophy majors on average outscored the bio majors.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[KnightDoc]

I was told by someone here that you don’t have to major in a science topic to get into a medical school.

I know that you have to study on your own time regardless of what you major in. I just find it difficult to understand how humanities students develop the intuition needed for the MCAT without majoring in science.

I do love humanities and learning about the world and society, I do know that I want to become a doctor, but I think it’ll be harder to major in something non scientific and then study for the MCAT.

You're right. All things equal, the MCAT is easier for science majors. It's important to keep in mind, however, that all things aren't equal. Some people are just smarter than others, or are better standardized test takers, at managing their time, being disciplined and staying focused for months on end, etc., etc., etc. All of that goes into the hopper when determining MCAT performance.

The prereqs provide the foundation necessary to be able to prepare effectively for the test. More importantly, they are required by the schools because they provide a common baseline to judge applicants against each other, and to assess readiness, along with the MCAT, to perform academically in med school. As far as timing goes, it doesn't matter when you take prereqs, as long as you take them before you begin preparing for the MCAT. I took the MCAT as soon as I was done with them, just so they were as fresh as possible in my mind.

Beyond that, while majoring in a science might make studying for the MCAT a little easier, it won't help you get into med school if your heart isn't in it and you don't do well. And, as you heard, it simply isn't necessary. Doing well in whatever you major in, plus the prereqs, plus effectively preparing for and taking the MCAT, really is all you need to do, at least academically, to have a successful application.

You don't need to develop intuition to do well. You need to learn the science, and then learn how to take the test, which is a skill set onto itself. The skill comes with extensive preparation and practice. And you absolutely do not have to be a science major to learn the science. You just need to take the classes and absorb the material. Upper level classes are great, and certainly provide greater context and reinforce material, but they are definitely not necessary to do well, as evidenced by all the non-science majors who do well, in addition to all the science majors who don't.

 

[SnowyMoon]

I was told by someone here that you don’t have to major in a science topic to get into a medical school.

What I find hard to understand is how some humanities students score highly on the MCAT but the only courses they took related to the questions on the MCAT are the prereqs for med school.

Are the prereqs sufficient for preparing for the MCAT?

As a humanities major, would it be wiser to take the prereqs when you begin as a freshman or as a sophomore?

I know that you have to study on your own time regardless of what you major in. I just find it difficult to understand how humanities students develop the intuition needed for the MCAT without majoring in science.

It’s like humanities students are focusing on their chosen major and focusing on textbooks about science to the side. Why not just major in biology and get everything over with? Or major in biology and then take some humanities courses if that’s really what you love.

I do love humanities and learning about the world and society, I do know that I want to become a doctor, but I think it’ll be harder to major in something non scientific and then study for the MCAT.

I have a bachelors and master's degree in a humanities field.
My MCAT score is well-balanced in the mid 510s. I did not study for CARS.
I took all my prereqs, then studied for the MCAT while finishing a very time-intensive master's degree.
n=1, but the prereqs were enough.

Do what you will enjoy. Just make sure you put in the work during your courses and when MCAT studying comes.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

I have a bachelors and master's degree in a humanities field.
My MCAT score is well-balanced in the mid 510s. I did not study for CARS.
I took all my prereqs, then studied for the MCAT while finishing a very time-intensive master's degree.
n=1, but the prereqs were enough.

Do what you will enjoy. Just make sure you put in the work during your courses and when MCAT studying com

Exactly. Worst thing you could do is take a major you don't enjoy and be stuck with it if apps don't go well. My n=1 is that I took Chemistry because I generally enjoy science, but per my undergrad they said something like 50% of Chem majors don't end up doing chem and the diploma opens doors to a variety of other fields so if apps didn't go well, I could lateral into so many different places in the science world.

Good luck!

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[jhmmd]

You just need to take the classes and absorb the material. Upper level classes are great, and certainly provide greater context and reinforce material, but they are definitely not necessary to do well, as evidenced by all the non-science majors who do well, in addition to all the science majors who don't.

On the whole though, more science majors do well on the MCAT than non-science majors. It is time that we address this myth that humanities majors make better doctors. Like you said, it doesn't matter what you major in. On the other hand, it is difficult to go through so many years of training in the sciences if one does not enjoy/is not good at science.

 

[SnowyMoon]

On the whole though, more science majors do well on the MCAT than non-science majors. It is time that we address this myth that humanities majors make better doctors. Like you said, it doesn't matter what you major in. On the other hand, it is difficult to go through so many years of training in the sciences if one does not enjoy/is not good at science.

It's difficult to make a blanket statement like "more science majors do well on the MCAT" because of selection bias. Overall, your statement is dubiously supported by AAMC data. If we're talking just humanities majors then it isn't well-supported at all. Things get a bit more mushy if you sincerely mean all non-BCPM majors, instead of the topic of the thread.

https://www.aamc.org/media/6061/download

No one is saying explicitly that humanities majors make better doctors. It is being said that humanities majors AND science majors can become competent and well-regarded physicians. If you want to major in science, more power to you.

To your last sentence, this has nothing to do with choice of major, as premeds are on the whole expected to have a year of bio, chem, physics, and some level of experience in ochem/biochem/math. I highly doubt someone who is not good at science makes it through this gamut without being dissuaded or steered another direction. Whether or not someone enjoys it is a personal choice that can't be assigned to a specific major.

 

[Dobermann]

On the other hand, it is difficult to go through so many years of training in the sciences if one does not enjoy/is not good at science.

It's an interesting stance to assume that individuals who choose to major in a non-science either do not enjoy or are not good at science. Many both enjoy and are good at science, but also enjoy another non-science field. Many also recognize that medical training is long and deeply scientific, and therefore want to use their undergraduate education as a unique time to be able to explore a non-science field alongside their prerequisites while they still have the chance before committing to all medicine all the time.

 

[frosted2]

My best advice is to pay attention during your pre-requisite courses so you don't have to re-learn general chem or physics while studying for the MCAT... trust me on this one. Its much easier to make sure you actually master the material the first time, then come time for the MCAT ideally it is just honing your exam taking skills and learning how they ask questions/reviewing old content.

 

[247_sandwich]

I was told by someone here that you don’t have to major in a science topic to get into a medical school.

What I find hard to understand is how some humanities students score highly on the MCAT but the only courses they took related to the questions on the MCAT are the prereqs for med school.

Are the prereqs sufficient for preparing for the MCAT?

As a humanities major, would it be wiser to take the prereqs when you begin as a freshman or as a sophomore?

I know that you have to study on your own time regardless of what you major in. I just find it difficult to understand how humanities students develop the intuition needed for the MCAT without majoring in science.

It’s like humanities students are focusing on their chosen major and focusing on textbooks about science to the side. Why not just major in biology and get everything over with? Or major in biology and then take some humanities courses if that’s really what you love.

I do love humanities and learning about the world and society, I do know that I want to become a doctor, but I think it’ll be harder to major in something non scientific and then study for the MCAT.

I can't speak on medical school/MCAT entirely since I went the dental school route. I'm in my 4th year of dental school for some perspective. I was in the Navy and got out, did a major in Psychology, and later went on to do a Post-Bac in San Francisco for 1.5 years to do my prerequisites for dental school. While I was there, many other Pre-Med students that career switched were also doing the same thing. Many had a BA/BS in soft sciences or business and were there to simply get the prerequisites done for their MD/DO programs. Simply put, all that matters is the BCP/BCPM GPA. Since many like myself only did the minimum (roughly 40-semester units) of science to apply; often our GPAs were significantly higher compared to those who had majored in Biochem/Chem and were in the program to bring their science GPA's up.

That said if you already have around 120 units of science and did poorly or average it is significantly harder to bring that science GPA up compared to someone with no science background doing the same thing. My cohort had roughly 60 students, with about 20 being on a dental track and the remainder on the medical track. I would say about 80- 90% got into programs of their choice, or a program for that matter the first time applying. I can't remember any pre-med student friend of mine in the program saying they were unprepared for the MCAT, that said studying for the MCAT and DAT is very material-specific and often you're using test-specific material to study for that exam. Having a science foundation obviously will help, but it's not necessary to major in science to do well on those entrance exams.

To sum it up. The "easy route" is to major in a non-science. Do well and get a high GPA, and then do well on your BCP/BCPM GPA. 40 units at a 3.8 GPA looks a lot better than 120 units at a 3.3 GPA. Schools don't care what you majored in. Take in mind, going this route will prolong starting medical school by about 2 years when you consider the application cycle. However, most people take a gap year anyway so waiting 1 year to get a solid GPA is really insignificant.

** I mentioned a post-bac because at the time I was applying 2018 your core sciences had to be done at a 4-year university. So doing them at a community college is not favorable; however, doing the Post-Bac program satisfies the 4-year institution requirement.

Cheers mate! and good luck!

 

[Kokonaut]

Chiming in here as a non-trad and person with a social science background, bachelor's and later master's level. I was initially intimidated by the idea of going back to school to satisfy the hard-science prerequisites, but found I enjoyed them a great deal when I took them. By all means try to absorb everything you can (I kept all my notes and binders), but I think the humanities and soft science helped out in fact. My score was also in the mid-510's and CARS was my highest (130) though generally they were quite balanced. I also didn't study for CARS whatsoever.

It is totally doable.

 

[hopkinsgal2022]

Dropping the perspective of a biochemistry major who now as an MS4 is very thankful for that degree. Majoring in biochemistry (and consequently TAing general chemistry in college) set me up extremely well, not just for the MCAT but also for medical school coursework. Having taken many college courses beyond the prereqs—multiple semesters of biochemistry, physical chemistry, anatomy and physiology, and several advanced bio courses like genetics, microbiology, immunology, virology—made studying for the MCAT a breeze (I scored 52x) and also meant that much of my first year of medical school was simply diving into greater detail on classes I had already taken in college. I watched my med school classmates who had been humanities majors struggle much more in first year, and I had more free time than they did for other quality of life things, for getting involved in research early, etc since I didn’t need to spend quite as much time studying.

Majoring in humanities is absolutely still a great option if it’s what you’re passionate about, and to provide you with a non-healtchare backup plan if you decide you don’t want to pursue medicine after all. But I won’t sugarcoat that I’ve experienced distinct advantages as a result of my undergraduate education.