I know Major Doesn't Matter BUT...

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I know Major Doesn't Matter BUT suppose you have two students, hypothetically speaking.</p>

<p>One is a Biology major, the other is a Psychology or History major. Both do the same things: research, volunteering at hospitals, tutoring, etc. and both take the premed prereqs. Both get the same GPA and similar MCATS.</p>

<p>My questions would then be:</p>

<p>1) Who do you think the medical admissions committee would favor more?</p>

<p>I'm seeing people saying they would favor the Psych or History major over the Biology major but then that would mean the Biology major is in a way at a disadvantage. In fact, I would even argue that the Biology major is even penalized for their affinity towards science. Above a diverse medical student body, isn't the medical admissions comittee mainly looking for people who enjoy science or can at least handle it? I'm not saying Psych majors can't handle it but a Bio major with a high GPA shows his science background.</p>

<p>2.) Are medical schools more lenient on Humanities Majors?</p>

<p>By this, I mean, do they expect less of them when it comes to research and volunteering because these people tend to have other interests on the side which the admissions commitee is aware of?</p>

<p>3.) Is Psychology even worth a major to pursue? I feel like nowadays a lot of premeds go into it....</p>

<p>4.) Could being a Biology major at a low-tier school hurt you?</p>

<p>I'm actually in this situation and I feel that I do not have access to A LOT of sources. In fact, I just went to my career advisor who gave me the death stare when I asked her to help me look for internships. So yea, I do LOVE Biology, but I feel that I am limited with what I can do based on my school's resources.</p>

<p>Please, I don't want to be ripped apart. I just want to hear people's points of view. I find the selection process more fascinating than actually enrolling at medical school haha :)</p>

2

<p>a.) Two candidates with identical applications other than major will likely be treated the same, usually both rejected. Sometimes both accepted. The odds of having the two of them fighting over a single spot are basically zero.</p>

<p>b.) Note that when we say “major doesn’t matter”, that’s WITHOUT adjusting for GPA. So English majors tend to get into med school at similar rates to Biology majors NOT holding GPA constant.</p>

<p>c.) If you are applying for a top research school, they will want you to do research, no matter what your major is.</p>

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<p>Would a biology major need a higher or lower GPA than an english (or in my preference, a psychology) major?
Thanks!</p>

4

<p>You need the magic 8 ball to answer that definitively. You could formulate decent hypotheses on both sides. Therefore you will get a lot of anecdotal info. Heck, I can give you one myself. I know of a girl who got into Yeshiva 5-6 years ago. Her mom told me that she had open her covered first semester grades to justify her sGPA.</p>

5

<p>The girl in the example I gave is an Writing Seminars major.</p>