<p>From what I understand, either pure or applied math can be very helpful in thinking skills needed for medical school, but which is safer? i.e., if I cannot enter medical school, will an applied or pure math major help me land a job in a non-medical related careers? </p>
<p>I do not anticipate being a mathematician, though I do enjoy doing math.</p>
<p>For medical school, it doesn't matter what you majored in. Major in something you like.</p>
<p>I don't know how it is for math majors in the real world after graduating, though.</p>
<p>Applied math will be more useful in the job market.</p>
<p>As long as you have the pre-reqs, Medical Schools could care less about your major. However, an applied math major can help you land an engineering/financial/computer science job while I doubt a pure math major can.</p>
<p>Applied math will be more useful once you become a doctor. If you get involved in clinical trials, modeling of biological processes, etc. it is very useful to have some sort of quantitative background. Applied math is also easier, so you will likely have a higher GPA, which will look good on your application.</p>
<p>applied math is far easier than pure math.</p>
<p>I have always heard of med students picking the easiest major to inflate their GPA...</p>
<p>So go with applied math.</p>
<p>Most math majors have to take both pure and applied classes, so don't pick one branch of math just because you think it will be "easier". But I agree that applied is more relevant.</p>
<p>applied math is pure math stripped of its most abstract topics and reinforced a little with some classes from CS.</p>
<p>Talking from the point of view of who's "most prepared", you're better off doing a pure math major with a minor in CS. You will be exposed to all the math classes (which applied math misses quite a few of the hardcore classes) and also have that "applied" bit from the CS minor.</p>
<p>But then again, you asked for Med School. So I dont know.</p>
<p>Well, if the med school thing doesn't work out, then applied math is better because pure math majors have a hard time getting jobs compared to applied math majors.</p>
<p>I don't think you can make such a categorical statement. Many quantitative hedge funds actively recruit pure math majors from top schools. DE Shaw, for example, sponsors the Princeton Math Club (which is decidedly geared to those interested in pure math) and holds information sessions on ArtofProblemSolving.com, a website geared toward high school students interested in pure math.</p>
<p>Just do whichever you like. I don't think picking whichever math can be wrong, since majoring in either pure or applied math shows that you have a very good quantitative skill (of course, I know nothing about med-school admission, though). If you're interested in pure math (more theories and proofs, less applications and calculations), go for it. If not, pick applied math (more applications and calculations). My school actually offers "design-your-own" option, where you can mix pure and applied math classes, so you might want to talk to your advisor about that, if you can't make a decision.</p>
<p>But if you're thinking of getting a math-related job, you might want to think about becoming a biostatician, since you probably have a good knowledge of biology. I don't know too much about this feel, but I've heard some good stuff about it (and in this case, you might want to think about applied math).</p>