success stories from non-bio majors

[pandabear]

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Hi!
I'm an undergraduate, finishing up my pre-med science pre-reqs. I shouldn't get anything lower than a B, although I may recieve a C in physics (a notoriously difficult course at my institution). Up to this point, I am a biology major. Yet, I have always loved literature and have excelled in writing/ English in general. I recently had the chance to take a Shakespeare class which sparked my interest in English/Lit again. Although I love biology/life sciences, I'm afraid that this my be my last chance to study literature. But, I'm also afraid that if I do become an English major, I may be at a disadvantage if and when I get to med school having not taken Biochem, anat/phys, etc. Also, what happens if I don't get into med school? I don't think I'd be happy teaching lit. Although w/ a bio degree I could always get a job as a lab tech or something. Whaddya think?

[This message has been edited by pandabear (edited 11-12-2000).]

 

[mophead]

Though my situation is different, being a post-bacc, I was an English major and have gotten into med school for the next year. My major was a point in my favor. Both my interviewers at Columbia, for example, were former English majors. Columbia, like many other schools, values well-rounded folks.

If you don't get into med school with an English major, that doesn't mean you have to teach English. There are lots of options. Besides the allied health fields, there is medical or technical writing, for example; journalism, advertising, law school, business, working in a nonprofit, or something completely unrelated. Like my mother always said, writing and critical thinking skills will always come in handy. Even for the MCAT (my highest of the three sections was in Bio).

 

[turtleboard]

Pandabear,

I'll assume your goal is to be a physician. Look at it this way, ALL medical schools want "well-rounded" applicants who understand the hard sciences as well as they understand Bach. While you will appear to be a break from the run-of-the-mill applicant as an English/Lit major, you must also prove your ability to carry through with science coursework. Getting Bs in Bio courses and a C in physics, no matter how "notoriously difficult" it is at your institution, just won't cut it with most AdComs.

Either stay a Bio major and take electives in English/Lit or be an English/Lit major taking many, many more hard science courses (especially physical science courses) and be sure to ace the MCAT science sections.


Tim of New York City.

 

[daveyboy]

Why don't you double major in English and Biology? Or you could just have a strong concentration in English Lit, taking the upper division courses you want to.
Anyway you look at it you are broadening your scope as an intellectual, right? If you are otherwise qualified for med school, then any extra course work that adds to your life experience will only make you stand out as an applicant. Adcoms love that stuff because they want to train doctors that can talk about something besides medicine.

 

[MikeS 78]

it is my belief that given equal mcat scores etc.....english majors enjoy a serious advantage (atleast at many schools)over their biology majoring counterparts

here is why you should major in whatever you want and avariciousness be dammed

1) there are alot of bio majors applying and few english majors, and the last thing a school that prides itself on producing leaders in medicine wants is a homogeneous class
2) Communication skills have more to do with ones success than the quanity of facts that one knows, while medicine is science intensive, it is not a career in pure science, but rather requires skill in communication and working with people....pure scientists tend to be notoriously bad in these areas
3) they can teach you all the genetics you need to know....but no medical school that i have heard of has classes in russian lit, thus this is the only period of your life you will be able to be exposed to things of this nature (unless you are the king of professional students and return to undergrad following an MD)
4) it shows an interest in learning for learning's sake as opposed to learning in order to achieve a goal (ie scoring well on the MCAT's)
5) many classmates of mine and I have discussed our humanities major (I was english) and determined that it has helped our learning of medicine far more than taking cell bio in undergrad
6) there is no undergrad class on earth that can entirely prepare you for the depth of information you are presented with in a homologous course at the medical school level
7) THERE IS ABSOULTELY NO NEED TO TAKE BIOCHEM, CELL BIO, GENETICS, ANATOMY AT ALL TO DO WELL ON THE MCAT THEY ARE NOT TESTED ONE BIT AND ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU THAT THEY WILL HELP YOU EITHER A) HASN'T TAKEN THE TEST
B) DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TEST WAS ABOUT
Though some rudimentary understanding of human physio (I learned enough in my high school class for that) is necessary....however you can learn enough of that from any decent book from Princeton review, kaplan etc with the right level of dilligence
8) medicine by definition is 7-11 years of intensive study of biology...there is no need to tack on more
9) did I mention that undergraduate classes are no where near the depth of medical school ones
10) all of my interviews had more discussion of literture than my research, my grade/mcats, why i wanted to be a doctor, ethical dillemmas etc.....and I was accepted everywhere I interviewed....everyone of them said they were glad to talk to someone who had something intellectual to talk about besides DNA and sonic hedgehog
11) in my experiences, bio majors at the undergraduate level are neurotic, boring, and often backstabbing...because they often are trying to get into med school and if you are going to U chicago (im assuming here) it is much worse than where I went to school
12) one of the best contrasts I can draw between the two options is that humanities majors almost never have a weedout class....you are in the prime of life (presumably) and the last thing you should spend you 20's doing is locked in a library saturday night studying to survive weed-out biochemistry
13) there are only 4 bachelors degrees in the eyes of employers
BS engineering/computer science
BA accounting
BA Education
BA blah blah blah

the gist is that if youre worried about majors affecting job choice...you are barking up the wrong tree.....with the few exceptions of jobs that require a minimum of technical knowledge or that have powerful unions, most employers could care less what youre major was....and have you ever worked as a lab tech, if i didnt get in i would much rather get a PHD in something that work as a pellet flipper at McGenomics

finally
14) I can't comment on the validity of this statement, however during one of my interviews the dean of admissions (my interviewer) stated that in his experience...humanities majors always made the best doctors

 

[pandabear]

Thank you to everyone who replied. I appreciate your honesty. It's a big decision and in the end I have to make it on my own. BTW, turtleboard, I said I didn't get anything LESS than a B. The majority of my bio grades are A's.

Mike S, do you mind telling me what your "stats" were? How many interviews?

[This message has been edited by pandabear (edited 11-13-2000).]

 

[Pepe]

Pandabear,
Although I wasn't a English major I was a Liberal Arts major so I do know the situation you face. In terms of being an English major and the MCAT the Dean of the Admissions committee to the medical school I got into came and talked at my undergraduate
institution. His opinion which is alot more educated than mine is that the MCAT is essentially a reading comprehension test. I don't think it is completely true but his point was that one whole section is directly reading comprehension and the bio part is at least half reading comprehension. In other words your best strength on the MCAT is an ability to read and interpret data quickly which is a skill you need in medical school.
Anyway I hope this helps.
I would say that classes like Biochem and Cell Biology won't help you on the MCAT but I took a Metabolism class and an Immunology class in undergraduate which has prepared me quite well for medical school. You could always take classes like this as electives.

 

[NUT]

Hey all! I'm in the same situation...almost. The difference being that I'm considering switching over to MIS (Management Information Systems) because I've always had a fascination with computers and business. I've done well in all of my pre-req classes, getting mostly A's and a smackling of B's in them with NO C's. I know MIS isn't your traditional pre-med major, but it is within the realm of business and I've heard that quite a few business majors get accepted. I figure that there aren't too many MIS majors applying to med school, so would this be advantageous? I know picking a major strictly for med school prospects is silly. MIS is where my interests really are and I feel I will do well in my classes, which will lead to success in any event. I'd like your input on this bewildering major and it's likelihood for success in garnering an acceptance letter. A bit of key information: I live in a state with 8 medical schools total. Most of them favor in-state applicants and I'm above average with respect to the numbers. Again, that was a little extra info to boot. I'd appreciate anyone's input.

Thanks

NUT