<p>Does taking pre-med as undergrad makes higher chance of making med for grad school?
just curious.</p>
<p>Because i heard you don't need to take pre-med if you want to go to med for grad.</p>
<p>I am not so sure about that</p>
<p>what are your opinions? : )</p>
<p>1) premed is a track so if you want to do medicine you will have to complete a certain set of courses. </p>
<p>2) i heard you don't need to take pre-med if you want to go to med for grad.
No.</p>
<p>You should start your research here:
Pre-medical</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>
<p>I actually have a book about it somewhere. It doesnt really matter what you major in, as long as youre "passionate" about your major. All you need to do is complete the classes you need for med school, which differs a bit from school to school, but you basically need some math, bio, chem, physics, something computer-y (i dont remember), and maybe some other stuff.<br>
I read that actually its the humanities-related majors that get the most acceptances (though maybe just because theres so many of them), but i suppose if you major in chemistry or something itll be easier for you to in med school when they touch on that.
what WILL increase your chances are community service, research, an excellent GPA, and an amazing MCAT score. developing a rapport w/ someone who may have some weight with admissions officers probably wont hurt either.
Medicine, i think, is more about the passion to heal people (as cheesy as it sounds), not necessarily the passion for science or esoteric knowledge of random factoids of the human anatomy. Plus, if you major in something like art history you can talk more knowledgeably about that with patients who like art, i suppose (i mean, im sure there are more ppl who can converse at least a bit about their favorite pieces of art/museums/whatever than the latest scientific breakthroughs, but i could be wrong).
and you'll be around science-y things throughout your undergrad experience, and then some more in med school, and then prolly some more as a doctor (those medical journals) so it'll be something different if you decide to do something like russian/comparative lit/anthropology/something fun that isnt science-related.<br>
but if youre a die-hard science fan, then by all means major in something science-y.
good luck!</p>
<p>Wow!</p>
<p>inthemistylight you are my hero. </p>
<p>Thanks for the information.</p>
<p>Ps: you mean so i should i major in chemistry to increase the chance of going </p>
<p>into med in washington university in st. louis?</p>
<p>@rifelife</p>
<p>During orientation last year, I went to the Chemistry Open House, and from what Professor Buhro (genchem 111 professor) told me was that most of the top premeds at WashU are Chemistry (Biochemistry track) majors, simply due to the rigor of the curriculum. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you need to major in chemistry, or a science at all, to necessarily increase your chance of getting in, since being one of the best premeds academically doesn't mean that you'll be the best applicant (considering that there are other factors such as your personal statement, interview, etc.). Don't major in chemistry unless you legitimately like it, and you won't really know whether you should major in it until after 1st semester of Sophomore year since organic chemistry is very different from general chemistry. For example, I never even thought about majoring in BioChemistry until after I took Genchem 111 and 112 and Genchem lab 151 and 152, along with Bio2960, all of which i really enjoyed (well, the labs themselves suck since I had them Saturday morning and they're long, but I liked the exams). Even now I'm not sure whether I should major in it though until after taking Orgo and Bio2970. Assuming those go alright, I think i will. The point is that you can't go into the mindset that I want to be a Chem major because it looks good, because, quite frankly, if you dislike the classes, you won't do well in them...and trust me, the classes get harder and harder.</p>
<p>If you want statistics about what %age and how many ppl with different majors got into Med School, look on the statistics section of the AAMC website. It's got everything there, although not for a specific med school. I'm sure those statistics are posted on individual Med School websites.</p>
<p>ack! no! thats not what i meant at all!<br>
if you really really REALLY love chem and are good at it, then by all means be a chem major. like shobit said, being a ___ major wont increase your chances of getting in. doing well in your major (and in classes in general) will. You could be an egyptology major if you really want to, and as long as you do well in the premed classes and all the other things that make you look like you could be a good doctor (research, service, grades in general, and i suppose leadership wont hurt), when its time to apply for med schools you have at least as good a chance of getting in as the biochem major. (maybe a better chance, even. how many egyptology majors do they see every year? how many biochems? they might remember you better, even if nothing else about you stands out.)
im just saying having in-depth knowledge of a certain aspect of science may help you WHILE in med school, as in you might not have to study as hard at some parts. do what you enjoy in undergrad. if its science, do science. if its not, do something else. youll get plenty of science the next 8+ years w/o actively seeking it out.</p>