Is it good or bad to major in bio when trying to go to med school?

[jjoeirv]

If someone is interested in going to medical school, does being a biology major offer any advantage or disadvantage over being some other major? It seems that if someone graduates as a biology major and is not able to get admission to any medical schools (or decides that he is no longer interested in becoming a doctor), then his job prospects will be poor with just a biology degree (few jobs and low pay).

Medical schools are inundated with applicants who majored in biology. It seems that someone who majored in some non-bio major such as economics (and took the prerequisites for going to medical school) will stand out more from the typical biology major. And, maybe medical schools want some diversity in their class by having non-biology majors.

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[Neuronix]

I think this is better suited to pre-allo, so I'm moving it.

However, in response to the op, I agree with everything said justifying not being a Biology major. I recommend any major that you want to do, realizing that this may give you an advantage both in career prospects outside of medicine and giving you a diversity advantage in applying.

 

[ndi_amaka]

There is no advantage or disadvantage as far as getting into med school. Admission committees are far more concerned about whether you did well in whatever major you decided on. They figure out how good your ability to understand the basic sciences are through your premed course grades and your MCAT score. I say do what you want. I did Human Biology primarily because it was the one major where I could do a little bit of science and a lot of humanities courses, which I love. Due to the fact that I love my major, I did better than if I had become a biochem or chem major.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Originally posted by ndi_amaka
There is no advantage or disadvantage as far as getting into med school. Admission committees are far more concerned about whether you did well in whatever major you decided on. They figure out how good your ability to understand the basic sciences are through your premed course grades and your MCAT score. I say do what you want. I did Human Biology primarily because it was the one major where I could do a little bit of science and a lot of humanities courses, which I love. Due to the fact that I love my major, I did better than if I had become a biochem or chem major.

Agreed, do what you love, but don't forget to try courses that you thought might never like. It will show that you have interest in learning new things, and that you are open to different perspectives.

I.E. Complete a major in something you will like, somewhere along the way complete the pre-req courses, and try doing a minor in something that is interesting yet different. Just a thought.

 

[prmd4555]

If you like bio and something else, do the something else or double major in both. Sure major doesn't matter, but a unique major can help you stand out. Of all the courses at my university biology courses aren't the best or most interesting, they are in other departments. Now that I know I am going to medical school where I will be memorizing lots of biology, I wish I had more time to have taken the non bio courses like poli sci, english and art history. Instead I am finishing up a biology major (along with a second major) knowing it is somewhat pointless since I will be learning a lot of this stuff next year.h

 

[powermd]

Major in biology if you are interested in research-oriented biology. Plenty of people apply with a bio major, but plenty of people also get in having majored in biology. Having said that, I believe the acceptance rate in 2000 for bio majors was 39% vs 69% for philosophy and 50% for English majors. Check MSAR. If you are primarily interested in human biology, save that for medical school where you will get a mega-dose of it. I was a bio/neuroscience major and wish I could go back and study philosophy, history, government, a language... etc.

Craig (M4)