<p>i know you can do that, theoretically... but really, do med schools really want a person who just finished the requirements but is a spanish major or an architecture major or something?</p>
<p>do bio majors/chem majors have an advantage? or do they want diversity?</p>
<p>See thread: "What should a premed major in?" It'll be hard to find without a search feature; my apologies.</p>
<p>The answer is: nothing has any advantages whatsoever. Data support this conclusion.</p>
<p>BDM was an econ major, I was a Sociology major. </p>
<p>In my class there were people who graduated with the following degrees: PoliSci, History, Art, Music, Business, Accounting, Psych, Geology, Biosystems Engineering, Art History, Chem, Biochem, Bio, Genetics, Neuroscience, Physics, Spanish, Nutrition Science, microbiology...</p>
<p>I have a friend who will be applying next year who is a guitar performance major.</p>
<p>if you look on the harvard medical school site, they had someone who majored in African American studies, so yeah pretty much anything lol</p>
<p>I was told by my MD when talking about my S chances (bio/chem major) that they want to look at the whole person. So pretty much it sounds like you can have just about any background. I don't know how some of these majors would have helped on the MCAT, but maybe these are exceptional individuals.</p>
<p>The MCAT is entirely intro level science. When I was a Kaplan teacher I often had to remind the bio and chem majors that they might have learned some of the topics more in-depth, which could get them into trouble (obviously the farther you get into a subject, the more you begin to learn about the exceptions to the rules). I occasionally have students spend 5 minutes trying to tell me that the answer was wrong, but their support for their argument came from outside the passage in question...</p>
<p>English majors have highest overall MCAT scores.</p>
<p>Ummm, I wonder if I should change majors to english and psychology minor--it will surely be easier and more pleasurable than biochem with eng minor.</p>
<p>I wanted to major in biochem because it supposedly would improve my chances of getting a higher mcat score, but now that i come to think of it, bigredmed is right. I like biology and chem, but going that deep into the subject will probably be very morose and miserable, not mention that getting a high gpa would be much harder. On top of all that, med school adcoms won't even see this as an advantage!?!? i think I will be switching majors after all before I even begin.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if it is too much of a hassle to switch majors/minors before school starts when you have already announced your intended major?</p>
<p>Hey if I can ask bigredmed, which med school are you at? Wisc?</p>
<p>just heard from my S today and St louis wants him to come out and interview. whew... 1st reply out of 7 sent out, now some stress is gone. Now if we hear back from some others (wisc, mich) in the region we can plan travel. </p>
<p>I enjoy your posts and find them insightful to the process. Thanks.</p>
<p>i have a question...I'd like to major in history, but at the same time, i like science, and I want to do research. Am i asking for the impossible?</p>
<p>no. non-science majors do science research all the time.</p>
<p>and ur not at a disadvantage? i understand that a lot of labs require upper div pre-reqs or something?</p>
<p>well, i don't know in detail, only that it is common for non-science majors to do science research, but i dont know how they stack up in opportunities compared to science majors.</p>
<p>at my school we have a listing of opportunities. looking at ones that interest me (anatomy/phys/psych/med related), i'd say 50% don't require courses or experience at all, 45% require course experience (must have taken biochem), and 5% actually require you to be studying in that major. But thats here</p>
<p>In my experience not being a science major DOES hurt you significantly in getting a research position in a lab. Labs, if you're going to be doing anything more significant than washing glassware, invest a great deal of time in training you, and expect you to develop into an asset to the lab. This process is hindered significantly by not taking upper lavel science classes, which are oftentimes more experimentally oriented than intro classes. I know that in the lab in which I work, when a new student applies for a job, their major and coursework are considered heavily, and anyone applying for a position as an english major or something equally non-science is rejected outright.</p>
<p>This is of course not the rule, as it is indeed possible to get into research without majoring in a science, but it in all liklihood will be more dificult.</p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>can anyone agree with/disagree with philly's statement?</p>
<p>bump again</p>
<p>i work at a lab at emory univ and it's true--unless u make it crystal clear that you are premed and ur resume shows that u are heading in that direction (science), i think a non-science major would find a very difficult time getting into a science lab.</p>
<p>Not only that, I've met many professors who don't want premeds working in their lab, science major or not. They simply prefer science majors who are planning on grad school rather than med school.</p>
<p>What Philly said is sort of true--but I think it's also important to qualify that by pointing out that while it's hard to get a science research position if you aren't a science major and haven't taken any science classes, it's your science coursework and not your declared major that counts more when profs are considering whether or not to take you on. If you've taken some chemistry and biology (esp labs) and did decently well in those classes, you should be fine.</p>
<p>i disagree, because in all liklihood the only science coursework you'd have done are the premed requirements, which teach you little if anything of experimental design or high level concepts, even if you take the lab components (except maybe for orgo lab, depending on your school). Even if you do well in those classes, as a non-science major you are stating that that coursework is the extent to which to you intend to delve into the sciences, meaning any other concepts needed for the lab will have to be taught to you be the people you with whom you work.</p>
<p>What norcalguy said is also VERY true in my experience. Many science professors absolutely abhor premeds, many of whom they see as using them merely to expand their resume rather than as a springboard for a career in research. At my school it is incredibly difficult for a premed to get a lab position in the chem or biochem departments, simply because there is a ready supply of qualified chem and biochem majors who wish to pursue phd's and thus are preferred. Biomedical research labs are always your best bet: many have MDs on staff, which cuts down on the anti-premed bias, and the research you do is much more directly relevant to medicine, which at least in my opinion looks better on your application, particularly if you're applying to a research-oriented med school that'll want to use you as a labor source once you get there.</p>