<p>Wondering what people think of the idea of having a History Major, but with plans to go to Medical School.</p>
<p>Just get the prerequisites done</p>
<p>What are the prerquisites for the Medical School at UF?</p>
<p>From the UF Medical School website:
Basic Science Requirements: The minimum science admissions requirements include basic introductory courses and laboratories in the following subjects:</p>
<p>Biology - 8 semester hours (12 quarter hours/lab)
General (Inorganic) Chemistry - 8 semester hours (12 quarter hours)
Organic Chemistry - 4 semester hours (2-3 quarter hours)
Biochemistry - 4 semester hours (6 quarter hours)
Physics - 8 semester hours (12 quarter hours)
There are no substitutions or waivers for pre-requisite courses. </p>
<p>For students who desire additional background in science, courses in genetics, microbiology and physiology might be considered. It is not necessary to choose one of the sciences as a college major. We welcome applicants with either nonscience majors or substantial work in liberal arts fields.</p>
<p>Just for emphasis...remember to take a biochem course for UF Med. They are one of the few schools that requires it before you matriculate. Also certain schools require calc 2, but not UF.</p>
<p>As for additional science course, I highly recommend a physiology class and genetics, esp the former.</p>
<p>Well your in luck: UF's History Department offers a History of Science option. I was a history major and some of my class mates were in fact pre-med. </p>
<p>You just may have to deal with the Santa Fe slackers.</p>
<p>dont do a history major. You will be laughed at. There are so many students who will be doing majors such as engineering, biology and other more challenging majors. They will have the same or higher GPA than you, so the admissions will not be able to get a judgement on your intelligence. Honestly, you wont get in doing a history major.</p>
<p>
[quote]
dont do a goddamn history major. You will be laughed at. There are so many students who will be doing majors such as engineering, biology and other more challenging majors. They will have the same or higher GPA than you, so the admissions will not be able to get a judgement on your intelligence. Honestly, you wont get in doing a history major.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I disagree. Medical schools don't care what you major in. Once you have the numbers, EC's, LORs, and PS, it doesnt matter. Also majoring in the more time consuming majors like engineering and chemistry are risky because your GPA might get low and thats bad when applying to med school. Many people I know major in psychology, nutritional sciences, and anthropology for that fact. I know at least 3 psych, and 4 nutritions majors that have been successful of getting in this year. However, it is always possible you might be a 4.0 biochemistry or microbiology major.</p>
<p>I can guarantee you that if there were two students, with equal scores and GPAs and nearly identical extra curriculars; except one was an engineer and the other was a history major. The admissions people will take the engineer.</p>
<p>There is a reason that engineering or other majors of the sort are "risky". They are harder, and to do well in those requires you to be smarter. Medschool likes smart people</p>
<p>Since personal statements will definitely be different there wont be two identical applications with different majors. And even then, medical schools interview all the applicant they consider for admissions so if that engineering cant hold a conversation and explain why medicine then who will be getting in. Also many medical school interviews ask non-traditional questions such as current events and ethical questions. History major tend to read more about other things (i.e. newspaper, books for fun, etc) than engineerings do.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Medschool likes smart people
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yeah they do, but smart doesn't equal engineering. Why do English majors then have the highest MCAT average? The neurosurgery surgery resident I shadowed was a psychology major.</p>
<p>history majors are renowned for being indicative of wanting an easy time through college
that's EXACTLY the sort of LACK of commitment that medical schools abhor
I know because my brother AND cousin ditched their science majors for history majors because they weren't doing well
one of them is now a crack addict and the other is having trouble making ends meet</p>
<p>and you are so full of **** about english majors having highest MCAT averages
show me the numbers and I'll believe you</p>
<p>Psychology is considered a science (although not a very strong one)</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that harder classes ALWAYS look better. Showing that you put effort and long-term commitment into your college education is priceless. Getting a non-science major without a very good reason almost certainly will label you as someone who is attempting to glide easily through college, lowering your chances of getting into medical school. </p>
<p>And before anyone says "history is just as hard" or "english is just as hard", it's not. And I know it's not. And you know it's not. Or you're a moron. Watch Avenue Q; English majors are absolutely pointless.</p>
<p>The safest route to go would be an engineering major unless you're certain you can pull off a 3.8 or higher since you have something solid you can fall back on.</p>
<p>None of the academia majors offer any sort of alternate routes except for teaching positions which are painful to secure (I know because my sister tried to do that)</p>
<p>^ The History Program is very strong at UF. They have alot of courses that pertain to US Foreign Policy and Latin American Relations. The only problem is that alot of SFCC students transfer into the major and they dumb down the discussions (that or they never speak or do any of the readings).</p>
<p>All of my close friends in the major ended up going to quality graduate programs and Law Schools. If you major in History then you will want to find a clique to study together with.</p>
<p>FYI: I switched from Economics to History my Sophomore year. I also minored in Classics. Overall it was a great experience.</p>
<p>You know what they say, those who cant do engineering go business. Those who cant handle business go history. </p>
<p>History isn't regarded as a major that has incredible intelligent people. Medicine is a science, and getting a history major with hopes of getting into med school is completely pointless. Either take something that compliments medschool or take something that you can fall back on (engineering).</p>
<p>
[quote]
and you are so full of **** about english majors having highest MCAT averages
show me the numbers and I'll believe you
[/quote]
</p>
<p>AAMC:</a> FACTS Table 18: MCAT and GPAs for Applicants and Matriculants to U.S. Medical</p>
<p>Mean MCAT among applicants:
Biology: 27.6
Humanities: 29.1
Math: 29.3
Other: 26.9
Physical Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Engineering): 29.6
Social Sciences (Psychology, Economics, etc.): 27.6
Health Sciences: 24.6</p>
<p>So not quite the highest, but certainly higher than Biology. By a lot.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Post #7:Honestly, you wont get in doing a history major.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>From the same [url=<a href="http://aamc.org/data/facts/2007/mcatgpabymaj07.htm%5Dchart,%5B/url">http://aamc.org/data/facts/2007/mcatgpabymaj07.htm]chart,[/url</a>] a little math (dividing matriculants by applicants) gives the following admissions percentages:</p>
<p>Biological Sciences 41.5%
Humanities 48.4%
Math and Statistics 36.0%
Other 39.1%
Physical Sciences 47.7%
Social Sciences 43.0%
Specialized Health Sciences 31.6%</p>
<p>
[quote]
I can guarantee you that if there were two students, with equal scores and GPAs and nearly identical extra curriculars; except one was an engineer and the other was a history major. The admissions people will take the engineer.
[/quote]
No, they'll look at essays, interviews, letters of recommendation, MCAT score split, BCPM GPA, caliber of research, first.</p>
<p>
[quote]
history majors are [...] EXACTLY the sort of LACK of commitment that medical schools abhor
[/quote]
Except for the 48.4% who get in, higher than any other subcategory of majors.</p>
<p>
[quote]
one of them is now a crack addict and the other is having trouble making ends meet
[/quote]
Oh, and there was this one guy who studied math who eventually became the Unabomber. So don't major in math, either.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Watch Avenue Q; English majors are absolutely pointless.
[/quote]
Are musicals now considered good sources?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Medicine is a science, and getting a history major with hopes of getting into med school is completely pointless. Either take something that compliments medschool or take something that you can fall back on (engineering).
[/quote]
I haven't found many majors that spend all their time praising and flattering medical schools. Unless you meant complements, in which case it seems pretty clear to me that you'll learn all the biology you need in medical school, so history or English or economics or sociology is an excellent partner to the science involved in medicine.</p>
<p>k, now I want to see the percent of applicants that applied with said majors and actually made it in</p>
<p>and on your last point, who is going to do better in med school?
The guy who already took biochem and microbiology, or the guy that decided to study Dostoyevski or however that's spelled</p>
<p>1.) ... isn't that the whole point of my post #15?
2.) Studies on the subject have been conducted. Care to guess what the results were?</p>
<p>what are the overall percents*</p>
<p>and yeah, I would; I love being proven right</p>
<p>I have no idea what your post says. Nonetheless, the studies are here:</p>
<hr>
<p>National Academic of Advisors for the Health Professions:
Abstracts</a> Online
[quote]
Gert H. Brieger, MD, PhD: "For decades it has been known that students who major in non-science fields perform as well as science majors who go to medical school."</p>
<p>Rebecca E. Johnson, MA, and Ellen R. Julian, PhD: "There seems to be a consensus that having an undergraduate non-science major does not negatively affect a student’s academic performance in medical school and residency selection (Dickman, et.al., 1980; Canaday and Lancaster, 1986; Hall and Stocks, 1995; Smith, 1998)."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>There are conflicting studies on the first two years of medical school -- some say that science majors do better, but from Medical Education: <a href="http://www.med-ed-online.org/pdf/F0000115.pdf%5B/url%5D%5Bquote%5D">http://www.med-ed-online.org/pdf/F0000115.pdf
[quote]
</a>
Christopher Duffrin, PhD, CHES, EMT-P; Darlene Berryman, PhD, RD, LD; Jennifer Shu, MD
In a study of 1,135 medical school graduates Gough found that science-based and non-science based students had no significant difference in performance in the third and fourth years of medical school (clinical years), and no significant difference in successful completion of medical studies.
[/quote]
</p>