Athletic Training Major or Traditional Major?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

Hi! I am a high school senior that will be attending college in a year, and it has come time to start deciding on any majors. I am extremely interested in the medical side of sports, and because of this I am aspiring to be a sports medicine physician. Now, I have looked over many majors and it seems that Athletic Training is the most interesting; however, I’ve heard that choosing biology or chemistry is the better route for medical school. Therefore, my main concern is whether I should take the more traditional route with bio or chem, or take athletic training since I’m more interested. Also, with whatever major I choose, I will be taking the premed program along with it…

So in short:

Option A: Biology or Chemistry + Pre-med Program

OR

Option B: Athletic Training + Pre-med Program

I appreciate any input, and thanks for taking the time to read and respond!

2

Option A. It doesn’t have to be bio or chem specifically, but it has to be an academic discipline. Athletic training is not an academic discipline.

3

Thanks for the reply! Oh okay. So you think that med schools would look down on an AT major vs like bio or chem? @iwannabe_Brown

4

I think if you are really interested in Sports Medicine, Athletic Training may be an OK major depending on your college. Out of curiosity, I looked at the major at my state flagship university, and the degree is a BS, students take general Bio, 2 semesters of A & P , 1 semester of general Chemistry, 1 semester of general Physics, 1 semester of general Psychology, all of which can be taken in the discipline, like pre-med prereqs, not just Athletic Training geared courses. So I see a lot of overlap, more so than with say a straight humanities major. You would just need to fill in with the rest of the premed prereqs. Within the curriculum (at this school) there are a lot of courses on injuries and Athletic Training clinical experiences which probably would be of interest to someone wanting to go into sports medicine.

So if you choose a college/program wisely, you may be able to find a program that meets your needs - is related to your interests and prepares you to apply to medical school.

5

@dheldreth Wouldnt be surprised if that’s the exception for AT majors, not the rule though.

6

^ True. OP should carefully evaluate a program before going that route.

7

Yes, look at the req’ts for the major at different schools. At some schools, it may be a lightweight major. At others, it may include enough academic courses. Some of those kinesiology and athletic training majors look like majors for future coachs.