<p>Throughout HS I thought I wanted to get an MD and perform medical research; I just got into Harvard, and I assumed that I would concentrate in Molecular and Cellular biology. However, I've slowly been getting more and more intrigued by consulting - I may not be understanding the field, but it sounds like a job where you solve interesting problems for a living, which is very attractive to me. Anyway, if I want to hedge my bets, would it make sense to do some sort of double-concentration (does Harvard allow that?) in MCB and whatever consultants major in (History? Economics?)? </p>
<p>I've also read on some of the major consulting firms' websites that they actively recruit from all fields of study in college. Does that mean some of them hire biology majors? For biology-related consulting?</p>
<p>I realize this should probably be posted somewhere else, but there is my question about whether it is possible to do a double-concentration at Harvard, and I know that some of the more prestigious firms recruit specifically from the Ivy League, so people on this board might be more familiar with my particular situation.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any information!</p>
<p>You have a few options to consider:
- Double Concentration: Harvard’s approach to a double major. One can only concentrate in two separate fields by writing a thesis that synthesizes the two fields.
- A social science concentration with pre-med requirements: You could also pursue a degree in a social science while still doing all the pre-med requirements which would cover all your bases in terms of post-graduate career paths. (I definitely knew a few Government w/ premed concentrators).
- An MCB degree: Harvard College posits itself as a liberal arts institution, and employers looking to hire from Harvard are aware.</p>
<p>Long story, short. Any path you take should keep you eligible for both of your potential career paths.</p>
<p>" An MCB degree: Harvard College posits itself as a liberal arts institution, and employers looking to hire from Harvard are aware." </p>
<p>Not sure what you mean by that. But anyway, it seems like the way to go might be to do a regular social science major in history or economics while fulfilling the the premed track. Both these tracks appeal to me intellectually, so I should be set for whatever I decide to do after graduation, be it med school or a consulting internship etc. Thanks!</p>
<p>If you’re considering both med school and consulting, your best bet would probably be to concentrate in MCB or some other life science concentration. Majoring in a social science would particularly help in actually getting a consulting job, because some of the most important factors in the consulting recruiting process are GPA (not dependent on your concentration) and your case interviews (which you have to prepare for on your own). Plus, healthcare consulting is a pretty popular field right now, and many bio concentrators end up entering the field.</p>
<p>It’s important to note that Harvard has joint concentrations, in which one studies the intersection of two fields (for instance, someone concentrating in Physics & Math would, at least in principle, be interested in mathematical physics). This is in contrast to a more standard double major, where one just has to satisfy all of the requirements for each of their two majors. Some concentrations don’t permit students to do joint concentrations. These concentrations include most or all of the bio ones, Economics, and History. So, in your case, you probably wouldn’t be able to combine MCB with History or Econ as part of your concentration. </p>
<p>Another option would be to concentrate in MCB and pursue a Secondary Field (essentially a minor everywhere else) in either Econ or History.</p>
<p>Hm, it seems hard to go wrong with this decision. If I concentrate in MCB, obviously that helps with med school, and apparently I could still do consulting. If I concentrate in history, that’s better for consulting jobs (and my GPA would likely be higher). I guess the question then is this: if I concentrate in history, and still take all the usual premed classes, am I at a disadvantage in medical school applications compared to peers who concentrated in MCB?</p>
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<p>Consultants major in whatever they want to major in, which is what I suggest you do. dbc made a good point about GPA but honestly I would only use that to decide between two concentrations that you are equally interested in. 12-14 classes is a lot of time to devote to a perceived GPA boost.</p>
<p>And as a Harvard student who has taken both social science and science classes, I say perceived because while I’m sure the average GPA for social sciences is higher than that of the hard sciences (and to a lesser extent, the life sciences), this is not because social sciences are easy to do well but because they’re hard to do poorly. Meaning the worst students in Orgo are going to get low Bs and Cs but the worst students in a History class probably won’t get below a B unless they fail to complete assignments. On the other hand, it’s not unusual for 2 students out of 20 to get an A in a History class. Keep that in mind if you’re playing the odds with GPAs.</p>
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<p>I can’t fairly answer that because I don’t know a ton about med school admissions, but I can say that satisfying pre-med requirements with a non-science concentration is certainly possible but difficult. It will probably eat up most if not all of your electives, and may necessitate a summer course or two. This is the case for one of my roommates.</p>
<p>Another concentration option for someone in your position would be History & Science, which allows you to count both premed and Hist of Sci classes for concentration credit. I think that its a pretty popular concentration for premeds who don’t want to concentrate in some form of bio.</p>
<p>Ooh, dcb that does sound cool. Well, I don’t have to declare freshman year, so I will probably just play it by ear. I am genuinely fascinated by both history and biology, so either way I won’t end up unhappy. And in terms of electives, I don’t really mind not having them, or taking summer courses (I do live in Cambridge!). Thanks again for all the very helpful information/suggestions!</p>