Harvard vs Stanford for Biology/BME premed

gravitas2
Sat, 11 Apr 2015 22:02:49 +0000

For those planning to be “premed” should seriously consider majoring in something outside of biology…since so many cookie-cutter premeds are in some form of biology majors…and you do not want to appear like a cookie-cutter typical biology major…

…the top med schools in particular like Stanford, Harvard, UCSF are looking for “outside of the box” med school applicants who have the potential to bring unique insights into the world of medicine…either in the practice of medicine or new cutting-edge research for the academic-research inclined students…

…those majors that are particularly intriguing/compelling in recent years have been some form of CS or engineering (chemical, mechanical, electrical, materials science, etc) since so much of medical advances have close ties to computational biology that incorporates big data analysis to solve complex medical treatment options or new avenues of drug development (big Pharma) or biomedical engineering products which can improve the lives of patients and help physicians diagnose quicker a particular problem…

…one example: chemical engineering can lead to becoming a physician or creating companies like Theranos (biotechnology company founded by a Stanford dropout) that will impact the medical/laboratory world…
http://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-blood-holmes/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/07/08/change-agents-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-blood-testing-revolution/12183437/
http://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-is-a-billionaire-2014-9

…for those interested in the practice and “art” of medicine…should seriously consider majors in English literature, art, music, classics, drama, history, political science, psychology, etc…and even economics is considered interesting…
because medical schools want to create a class of interesting and diverging opinions that bring different ideas to the approach of understanding and incorporating the practice and art of medicine…

…as long as you take the prerequisite classes for most med schools (which is pretty minimal) to prepare you for the MCATs…those interested in medicine should seriously consider majoring in areas that they are truly passionate about in college…because once you get to med school…it will be like plumbing school (you no longer will be able to taste or try different areas of study) where everyone is required to learn the same things like biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, pharmacology, infectious diseases, etc…

…and, even though you may think you may want to go into medicine NOW…you may discover other more creative/inventive exciting ways to make a bigger impact in the world…

…so, keep an open mind!