Unique Mix of Major and Minor?

[I_Right_I]

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Anyone out there who has formally studied a unique mix of major and minor (or double major)? I was Bio/Classics, and was wondering who else has done subject material on unrelated ends of the academic spectrum. Even better, have you interviewed and received a nod from the ADCOM for your diverse interests? I'm hoping it could somehow work in my favor at a later date.

 

[Mariel]

My major is biology and my my minor is linguistics. At all of my interviews, I was asked about what linguistics was because none of them knew exactly what it was. After explaining it to them, they thought it was an interesting mix.

 

[sprinkibrio]

Spanish major, bio minor. Everyone thinks it's great, everyone asks if I'm fluent, everyone thinks it's useful, everyone wonders why I did it. Mostly I just like Spanish.

 

[HumbleMD]

Biochemistry Major, Anthropology minor in Latin American Studies. I've definitely talked about it during the in the interviews, and it has seemed favorable, but hell if I know if it has anything to do with my acceptances.

 

[Law2Doc]

Spanish major, bio minor. Everyone thinks it's great, everyone asks if I'm fluent, everyone thinks it's useful, everyone wonders why I did it. Mostly I just like Spanish.

Smart. In a number of states, there is no more useful premed major than spanish. You will use language skills far more than most of the undergrad science courses.

While majors/minors don't really matter, if you really wanted to wow schools major in spanish, minor in stats, and pick up the prereqs as a nonsci major.

 

[DrMichelle]

I'm a PolySci/Chem myself. I love it, and honestly did it becasue I am interested by the subjects.

It has only helped me in my interviews, as I want to get involved in healthcare policy and am applying to MPH programs too.

 

[zerlina]

Vocal Performance/Psychology major, Chemistry minor. I've talked about my academic versatility in every interview thus far, and everyone seems to think I'm quite interesting, for good or ill.

 

[MrBurns10]

I was a philosophy major with biology and chem double minor. It definitely was interesting to most of my interviewers...I guess there's a reason why philosophy majors have the highest rate of acceptance to med school (besides that there's not too many of us). They really do like uniqueness.

 

[etf]

i don't think it would matter. adcoms don't even care if you have an interesting double major - chemistry and english, for example. all that matters is the grades you get.

 

[seadizzle]

Math major (financial math concentration), chem minor

yes, everyone hated me in pchem

 

[Green Arrow]

My first time around I was a Creative writing and English double major and I am just now finishing up a molecular biology degree. Yeah, I definately think a diverse background works in you favor in he eyes of the adcom, and I guess on a personal level as well. Once we start medical school it's going to be nothing but biological sciences for a long time.

 

[Stolenspatulas]

Anyone out there who has formally studied a unique mix of major and minor (or double major)? I was Bio/Classics, and was wondering who else has done subject material on unrelated ends of the academic spectrum. Even better, have you interviewed and received a nod from the ADCOM for your diverse interests? I'm hoping it could somehow work in my favor at a later date.

Adcomms dont care what degrees you get... just that you were truly and sincerely interested in what you studied.... i think with your combination it can only help if the interviewer for some reason is interested in classics.

 

[ryandote]

Adcomms dont care what degrees you get... just that you were truly and sincerely interested in what you studied.... i think with your combination it can only help if the interviewer for some reason is interested in classics.

Disagree. While you can get in with any major, I firmly believe that adcoms appreciate educational diversity...especially if you still rock your science classes and MCAT to show you've got what it takes to academically succeed in medical school.

I'm obviously biased with a double major in Economics and Biology, but all four of my interviewers so far have commented on the Economics degree in a favorable light. It has also lead to a brief healthcare policy discussion with 3/4 interviewers, which was a good topic for me because I was comfortable with it. Maybe that's an additional advantage for a different major -> interviewers are curious about it and give you a chance to talk about something you understand.

OP asked about majors unrelated to medicine, but Econ, Spanish, and Anthro are all proximally connected to medicine. Medicine is so broad that you can find a way to emphasize it in almost any field of study.

That preceeding was a comment by ryandote, and the opinions implied were his alone.

 

[mrs.smith]

B.A. Film Studies then B.S. Molecular Biology. Most think interesting, but one interviewer was very... ummm... annoyed/angry that it was not on the path to medicine and kept bringing it up at random times during the 1 1/2 hr interview.

 

[SoFla62]

I'm a double in cell and molecular bio and communications. It always gets asked about so I think that it's a positive. I get to explain my interest in film.

 

[jash0624]

Math and Bio double major, Religious Studies minor

 

[BNSN]

Biomedical engineering major. Minors = chemistry, math, and biology. Math minor is 80% built into my curriculum, bio is 50%, and chem is 50%.

Nothing unusual 🙁

 

[szhao]

math, physics, computer science triple major maybe chem minor (depend if i want to take 4 courses next semester) nothing unusual

 

[BNSN]

math, physics, computer science triple major maybe chem minor (depend if i want to take 4 courses next semester) nothing unusual

Wow, quite impressive.

And kudos on the physics major. I have a hard time with goddamn pulleys and inclined planes.

Physics and organic chemistry are the toughest fields out there.

 

[szhao]

Wow, quite impressive.

And kudos on the physics major. I have a hard time with goddamn pulleys and inclined planes.

Physics and organic chemistry are the toughest fields out there.

haha thanks, bme is pretty impressive too, i actually wish i traded my phy for bme haha.

 

[airshad8]

My major is biology and my my minor is linguistics. At all of my interviews, I was asked about what linguistics was because none of them knew exactly what it was. After explaining it to them, they thought it was an interesting mix.

Niiiiice me too! I hope they ask me about linguistics at my interviews, I've been more and more interested in it lately. My major's biochem (yeah interesting woohoo) and a minor in linguistics.

 

[airshad8]

B.A. Film Studies then B.S. Molecular Biology. Most think interesting, but one interviewer was very... ummm... annoyed/angry that it was not on the path to medicine and kept bringing it up at random times during the 1 1/2 hr interview.

so he kept expecting you to not be interested in anything but the world of medicine? wow...sounds like a great guy.

 

[airshad8]

math, physics, computer science triple major maybe chem minor (depend if i want to take 4 courses next semester) nothing unusual

and you were able to pull off a 3.92 science gpa....dude you're insane!! good stuff though.

 

[Severus]

Chem and religion double major, physics minor. I usually get asked "why religion?" so at least it gives me something to talk about during interviews.

 

[alpinesunrise]

biochemistry and mathematics double major, with the possibility of a minor in linguistics.

 

[LolaGene]

Anyone out there who has formally studied a unique mix of major and minor (or double major)? I was Bio/Classics, and was wondering who else has done subject material on unrelated ends of the academic spectrum. Even better, have you interviewed and received a nod from the ADCOM for your diverse interests? I'm hoping it could somehow work in my favor at a later date.

I am a Bio and Philosophy double major and it didnt come up yet, but I have only gone to one of my interviews so far. Although, if has come up when I talked to my pre-med advisor who was an adcom at my school and he said it is looked at very favorably. So I say definitely pursue your interests👍

 

[stixx]

I'm doing a major in biomedical sciences and honours major in econ 😳 I'm just hoping they don't rag me on why I'm going for med when I clearly was interested enough in economics to risk my GPA and go honours.

 

[Arc]

Cell/Molecular Biology (Biochemistry) I want to minor in something like arts or spanish, just to expand on things...

 

[Writer1985]

Biochem and Comparative Lit double major here. It's definitely helped me on a personal level (I like being able to switch between one and the other) and provided a talking point in most interviews. However, I don't advise double majoring in such different subjects unless you are truly passionate about both of them. Scheduling can be a huge headache when you can't double-count any of your classes.

 

[Haemulon]

Biology Major, Religion Minor. No idea about its impact, if any, for med school apps.

 

[Falco2525]

Biology Major; Business Minor; Chemistry Minor....they really like my business minor

 

[Punkn]

Social Work major and Math minor

Both of my interviewers were excited about my social work background and I think it helped to set me apart.

 

[sprinkibrio]

While majors/minors don't really matter, if you really wanted to wow schools major in spanish, minor in stats, and pick up the prereqs as a nonsci major.

Yeah, Stats would have been really smart. And useful... I wish my school would have offered a minor in that.

 

[jayhawk07]

spanish and chemistry double major, interviewers seem to like the spanish

i have also learned more about how to write in my spanish classes than in any of my english classes... not that my english education was lacking, it could just be that i wasn't mature enough earlier to really understand, or that after all these years, understanding how to write has finally brute-forced its way through my thick skulll... i mention this because i think that my spanish education really improved my essays during the application process

i recommend it to anyone who's considering it

side note, the depaul game was the worst basketball i have seen in a long time

 

[bigdan]

Occupational therapy major, Spanish minor.

Good stuff.

dc

 

[YanV]

BioChem and Asian American Studies double major with a Japanese minor.

You be the judge. And the interviewers, of course.

 

[jvencius]

I got my B.A. in Russian, minor in Military Studies (hey, the AF was willing to pay for it so I wasn't going to be picky). Now I'm back in school to do my pre-reqs as a non-degree student (I've declared a Bio major just to keep the advisor happy, but I don't intend to take a Bio degree).

 

[ICCONFETTI]

Major in Electrical Computer engineering + major in Biomedical Engineering + Minor in Chemistry

 

[MahlerROCKS]

Anyone out there who has formally studied a unique mix of major and minor (or double major)? I was Bio/Classics, and was wondering who else has done subject material on unrelated ends of the academic spectrum. Even better, have you interviewed and received a nod from the ADCOM for your diverse interests? I'm hoping it could somehow work in my favor at a later date.

I'm a biochemistry and classics double major, and I will be applying to MD/PhD programs. Whenever I tell people my majors they look at me funny, but they always remember them because it's such a weird combination. I don't think double majoring will help me get into med school, but I'm hoping that it will help me standout in the minds of adcoms because it is such a strange combination. Also, if adcoms ask you why you chose your combination, you could always paraphrase Vitruvius about how doctors need a full field of education just like architects, i.e. music, math, language, history, astronomy, etc. Personally, I look forward to saying how Greek is 10 times harder than p-chem

 

[kevster2001]

Biology and Chinese major. The UW interview asked why I had chosen a Chinese major

 

[LeafNinja]

Ok here's a thought:

"Your major/minor/whatever doesn't matter at all to adcoms.

Why? Because when adcoms get your transcript, they will see your major/minor as well as your courses. If you have a diverse range of courses you are good to go. If you have 10 math courses do you need a little label saying you're a math major? If you took 15 chem classes do you need a label saying you're a chem major? It's like labelling a computer with "computer.""

Especially if you go to a liberal arts school. It's not like majoring in anything will make you an expert in that field.

That is what the Dean of my school told me. What do you guys think?

 

[munnabhai]

Unlike many of you l33t people, I am just majoring BA in Plan II. My major doesn't have any minor requirements but my course selections point towards a strong interest in Biology (particularly Neuroscience/Biophysics) and a weak interest in Philosophy. I am going to be graduating with ~200 credit hours and only 1 BA to show for it :/.

While I myself am not sure how the heck to describe Plan II 😕 , here is a Wiki link describing it in more detail for those who care: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_II_Honors

I guess I'll just memorize how wiki describes it (if I run into this question during interviews).

 

[airshad8]

Unlike many of you l33t people, I am just majoring BA in Plan II. My major doesn't have any minor requirements but my course selections point towards a strong interest in Biology (particularly Neuroscience/Biophysics) and a weak interest in Philosophy. I am going to be graduating with ~200 credit hours and only 1 BA to show for it :/.

While I myself am not sure how the heck to describe Plan II 😕 , here is a Wiki link describing it in more detail for those who care: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_II_Honors

I guess I'll just memorize how wiki describes it (if I run into this question during interviews).

tension mut le munna bhai!!! sup teek hojayga!...that movie was awesome.

 

[Disarming]

I have an uncommon dilema to say the least. I'm an English major, Theatre minor and stuck in remedial math... Before I go another farther; to have a Theatre minor you must do the infamous 15 credits AND be in 2 productions.

I am a freshman, so I have a LONG way to go to say the least. With that said, I have about 8 math classes (technically 9, excluding the one in Spring I'll be taking) before I get to do Physics. Now for my question; is this possible to have an English major as well as a Theatre minor, still doing all the premed reqs and graduate in a reasonable amount of time (5yrs)??

FYI: I am going abraod next Fall and I don't care if I have to do summer school.

Thanx

 

[szhao]

I have an uncommon dilema to say the least. I'm an English major, Theatre minor and stuck in remedial math... Before I go another farther; to have a Theatre minor you must do the infamous 15 credits AND be in 2 productions.

I am a freshman, so I have a LONG way to go to say the least. With that said, I have about 8 math classes (technically 9, excluding the one in Spring I'll be taking) before I get to do Physics. Now for my question; is this possible to have an English major as well as a Theatre minor, still doing all the premed reqs and graduate in a reasonable amount of time (5yrs)??

FYI: I am going abraod next Fall and I don't care if I have to do summer school.

Thanx

you can graduate in 4 no problem, just take 2 math course and do the regular load, i mean how hard can remedial math be.

 

[novawildcat]

chemistry and math BS, economics minor. Honestly chem majors what is all the fuss about PChem? it wasn't that bad.............😀


Med school admissions people have probably seen a combination of everything, i dont know if you can call anythying unique anymore.

 

[Disarming]

They don't let you double up on remedial...

 

[szhao]

They don't let you double up on remedial...

they wont as the department or the school, what the school says really have no meaning. haha as long as the department head approves your golden. yes i realize i break a lot of rules, but forget the rules, the ones i break are stupid.

 

[Disarming]

Wicked! Thanx. You must be the Pre-med rebel! 😀