Will having a modified science major hurt chance at MSTP?

[ImagineThis]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I guess I never really thought about this, but a friend of mine was surprised when he heard that I am applying to MD/PhD programs instead of MD-only simply because my major is not "pure science". Ultimately, I chose not to major in biology, but in "biology and society", because I thought that it would give me better access to studying the implications of healthcare within the US and abroad. Additionally, based on the structure of my university, I felt it would give me better access to the department that I wanted to do research with (cognitive neuroscience).

Will having a non "pure science" major hurt me during the admissions process? I have done plenty of research (neuroscience- so on the "biology" side of biology and society) and plan to pursue a PhD in neuroscience or maybe biochemistry, but I can't help thinking that I may run into trouble if the adcoms look at my major as a way out of taking all basic sciences (although, I obviously completed the pre-med requirements and additional science courses). Thanks for your help.

 

[Neuronix]

Will having a non "pure science" major hurt me during the admissions process?

No. This is a non-issue.

Mitigating factors here are taking upper level basic science courses (high level bio/chem) and doing significant research in basic biology/neuroscience/etc labs.

There are some MD/PhDs geared towards social science. This is a separate issue I'm purposely ignoring because that doesn't seem to be the op's intention.

Good luck!