<p>Let's say I pursue a Chinese major at UCLA (I'm Chinese, I don't speak it but I can learn fast) and get a superb GPA like 3.9+, take my pre-med requirements and get at least A-'s, get a killer MCAT (which I'm going to study on my own) and do all the research and volunteering. Will med schools take a let's say bio major with the same GPA and MCAT over me?</p>
<p>I think I may actually be interested in learning about my own culture.</p>
<p>So basically what I'm saying is would an inflated major like Chinese kill my application down the road when compared to a hardcore science or is my GPA the determining factor?</p>
<p>Statistically speaking, major doesn't matter. Science majors get in in the same percentages they apply.</p>
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<p>My advice: I would say that there's only one thing you should look for:
Be able to explain why you are majoring in that field.</p>
<p>That's the crucial thing. Find a subject you are passionate about and be able to explain why you are passionate about it: do you find it important? Intellectually stimulating?</p>
<p>This is why I'd usually recommend against premedical students being, say, basket-weaving majors; it is hard to convince a medical school that that is a useful area to study. I'm an economics major; I've been able to explain (I think compellingly) to people how that links to medicine, how that plays into my interests, and why it's important to the world at large.</p>
<p>People will probably cut you some slack if you are a biology or chemistry major; they probably will not expect you to have a dynamic, interesting explanation for how that links to medicine.</p>
<p>Find something you feel you can explain and defend enthusiastically when interviewed about it. Maybe that's Chinese, or psychology. Maybe it's biochemistry. Maybe it's something entirely different...</p>
<p>... but find something that you love, and something that will in some way make you a better doctor. If those instructions sound broad, it's because they are.</p>
<p>Yeah, what BlueDevilmike said.</p>
<p>I was a sociology major, and in my interviews I explained how and why I chose that as my major, why I loved it, and then how it related to medicine. One of my interviewers actually asked me how I might apply what I learned from sociology to a patient that he made up...</p>
<p>As long as you can explain why you're taking it, and since you are chinese, that you're not just taking it because it is easy for you (since most may assume that you already know the language), then you should have no problem.</p>
<p>But the key is pick something you're passionate about, and will enjoy, b/c you're not going to love all your pre-med requirements, so you might as well take something you enjoy.</p>