<p>So for all you pre-med people...is it more to your benefit to have a science-related major (such as biology, chemistry, etc.) as opposed to some other major (in the arts, business, etc.)? Is possible to have a non-science major and fulfill all pre-med requirements without overloading on homework and classes? And by the way, what are the pre-med class requirements?</p>
<p>It might be possible to select a non-science major and not be overloaded. But it depends on a number of factors:</p>
<p>The major:
- How many free electives does the major have? Some have 20+ hours of free electives, which you can use to fulfill pre-med requirements). Some only have 9 hours (such as business majors at my school). This would mean that you would either have to load up on the course hours or take hours during the summer.
- How much overlap is there between your major of choice and the pre-med requirements? Obviously, the more they overlap, the easier it will be to obtain them.</p>
<p>Your university:
- Does your university have General Ed. requirements? - Some schools require you take at least 2 semesters of science courses regardless of major. This could be to your benefit, if you elect to the Science majors' science class as opposed to the Gen. Ed. science class. </p>
<p>Timing:
- You might be able to handle 19 hours of course load, if you are taking pre-med courses in addition to some of your lower level courses of desired major.</p>
<p>So, for instance, it would be easier for me at my school, to fulfill pre-med requirements if I selected Communication Disorders as my major (which has lots of free electives and overlap) as opposed to a Business major, which has no overlap and little free electives.</p>
<p>In any case though, it might be hard for you not to overload yourself on at least a few semesters without taking Summer courses.</p>
<p>The pre-med requirements in general are: (but do vary from school to school)
2 semesters of Gen. chem + lab (8 semester hours)
2 semesters of O. Chem + lab (8 semester hours)
2 semester of Phys.+ lab (8 semester hours)
2 semesters of Gen. Biol + lab (8 semester hours)
Some English (usually around 6 semester hours)</p>
<p>As far as if it's beneficial, I hope so. I hope that some of my advanced biology courses will help me more than my Poli Sci classes that I'm taking. I found that some the advanced biology courses, while not at all necessary, helped me have a familiarity with some of the material on the Biology passages on the MCAT. </p>
<p>As far as beneficial for MCAT, I have no personal experience yet, but a medical school that I'm interested in has recommended these courses, and I have highlighted the ones that I have taken in bold while being a Biology major.</p>
<p>biochemistry, cell biology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, computer sciences, embryology (developmental biology), histology, mathematics, microbiology, molecular genetics, physiology, statistics (epidemiology).
Selection from the following arts and humanities courses is recommended: economics, English, ethics, foreign languages, history, philosophy, psychology, public speaking, sociology.</p>