<p>Any advice out there? My D's just starting her freshman year of college and seems to be determined to do the premed requirements along with another degree. I know there are lots of approaches. Some actually wait until after getting their undergrad degree and then finish the med school prereqs at their state school. Others take them during the summers. My D seems to not want to do it this way - wants to finish the med prereqs in tandem to getting her bachelors degree. She is at an Ivy where there is no grade inflation - it will be tough to pull off a really high gpa.</p>
<p>In terms of passion - it would be evolutionary biology or anthro or economics. She is attracted to medicine for the tangible service to others and the relative financial security. Also the potential to work in government policy and public health.</p>
<p>I guess the basic question is: Does the undergrad degree even matter in med school admissions? Our impression is that gpa is paramount and then MCAT scores. Would she be best off choosing an undergrad major that is least taxing to her and allows her to do the med prereqs and still keep a good gpa? In her case this would probably be a history or other social science major. She is very talented in these areas but unfortunately doesn't want to pursue them in a professional context. </p>
<p>This is reminding me of the high school scene of balancing extracurriculars and course challenge with gpa. Still the same dance, really.</p>
<p>Any insights would be really appreciated - thanks!</p>
<p>My son was an economics major, now in his first year of medical school. In my view, medical school should have no influence on choice of major. Medical schools take all majors, and any major at an Ivy will be respected. The other issue you raise is should your daughter select a major where she has a better chance of getting a higher GPA. On the one hand, GPA is critical, and so you could strategize in this way. The broader picture, however, is that you'll likely get the best GPA when you're happiest, which will happen when you major in what you are most interested in. My son did the full ecomics major and his pre-med requirements in 4 years, and it worked just fine. His medical school roomate was a biology economics double major. My advice is to choose what you like best, and not over strategize. Be happy and work hard in college, and medical school probably work out.</p>
<p>What I tell my students is that they should major in something they enjoy/are passionate about because they'll do well. Students from any major can get into med school so long as they also have the "required" pre-med courses - organic, biology, physics, calc, etc. Some med schools have said they like to see students from divergent majors because they feel they are more well-rounded than the standard Bio and Biochem majors. I have friends who are doctors who majored in, among other things, Chemical Engineering, Psychology, English, Spanish, History, and Philosophy.</p>
<p>Most students are able to fit the pre-med courses into their curriculum no matter the major but depending upon your D's school/curriculum, she might plan to stay a bit longer (an extra semester or 2) to fit everything in OR, as some of my friends and students have done, graduate with their degree in whatever and THEN go to another university (often public so it costs less) to take those required courses. (This usually happens when someone decides "late" that they want to go to med school.)</p>
<p>I had always heard that bio was, counterintuitively, the "worst" major for premeds, because the med school admissions committee would have a pile for the bio majors and a pile for the other majors. This advice came from my grandfather, who used to sit on med school admissions committees. But he last sat on them a few decades ago. So I would take it with a grain (or a tablespoon, perhaps), of salt, and let it be overridden by any advice you might get from current med school admissions people.</p>
<p>If she's at a school with little to no grade inflation, it's going to be hard, no matter what major she chooses. Having myself gone to a top school known for hard grading, I saw that the people who did the best were frequently not the ones with the "easiest" majors, they were the ones in majors that they really cared about. Of course, not everyone was of equal ability, but even among those of (compared to the rest of the student body) mediocre ability, the ones who really cared about their particular major did better than the others. It's a lot easier to make yourself put in the studying time you need to succeed to the best of your ability if you really like what you are doing.</p>
<p>If possible, I would also recommend that she get involved in medical extracurriculars - Red Cross, volunteering at hospitals, joining the school's EMT fleet (if they have one), doing clinically-oriented research, etc. Grades and MCATs are paramount, but med schools like those sorts of activities well, especially ones that actually expose the students to blood and guts and the messiness of clinical work.</p>
<p>I'm not sure there is a 'best' way. My niece got into a top medical school with a comparative literature degree. The doctor I saw last week was a political science/Asian Studies major. The only thing these folks had in common were excellent all around grades, including tough premed classes, high MCATS and some impressive medical-related internships.</p>
<p>you might want to peruse the pre-med forum on these boards. This topic has been discussed many times, and the answer does not seem to change: it does not matter.</p>
<p>Here's another thing to think about: Many more students start as pre-med than end up applying for med school. The attrition is huge, and not always for academic reasons. Some kids learn that the life of a doc is just not for them. (and that is part of what college is about - self discovery). This all argues for focusing more on personal interests and less on pre-med. There are many paths to med school, and most of those paths take more than 4 years, so....</p>
<p>My D. is pre-med in combined program. They were told during information session that any major is fine. We have kids with Music, Latin, Engineering and other unrelated to medicine majors. We also attended some sessions for other schools where representative from Medical School mentioned that they prefer Biomedical engineering major, since it is known that engineering major is more academically challenging. Not all pre-meds are inclined to take up engeering which might negatively affect GPA. The most popular pre-med major at my Ds school is Zoology, it is the one that my D. has chosen. Also, most pre-meds in Ds school have minor. Ds minor is Music Composition. I heard that all of it is not that important for Med. School Admission. The most important are undergrad. GPA and MCAT score. But D. is not there yet, she is just a sophmore.</p>
<p>Well, now I feel so smart for going ahead and asking this question here because I got really good answers. Funny how it's so easy to overlook something as obvious as majoring in what you honestly like because you'll probably perform better in the long run. </p>
<p>I love that lots of physicians majored in fields like literature and political science. Makes me think this really might me the right direction for my D.</p>
<p>Son (junior) majoring in economics and enough chem to major in it (no double majors allowed) at ivy with grade deflation. Fun. Doing his pre-med requirements in the summers along with research. Daughter (senior) a classics major minoring in Latin and dance doing her pre-med reqs throughout the 4 years and working at the hospital. Will take a year after graduation to take some "recommended" upper division biochem/micro/anatomy&phys and some more research. She has completed all her "required" pre-reqs but following her brother's advice is going to take what he has been taking during the summers. </p>
<p>My new son in law is a first year medical resident. He went to Loyola New Orleans on a music scholarship- won the organic chemistry prize freshman year and did all his pre-med requirements along with his music major. Did very well in med school and has a great residency placement.</p>
<p>My roomate's boyfriend at Harvard had no problem getting into med school with a degree in economics. (Of course I don't think it hurt that he graduated summa cum laude.) My husband does admissions for the MD/PhD program at one of the NY area med schools. He doesn't care what your major is. He looks at (more or less in order of importance), MCAT scores, grades in science courses, overall grades, research experience/recommendations (this is as much for the PhD. portion of the admissions as the Med School part.) Interviews are also important, if you can't explain your research experience that's a huge minus.</p>
<p>BTW no grade inflation at your child's school? Less than in the recent past perhaps, but really all they've done is made it a bit more difficult to get the honors designation on the diploma. They are still giving out lots and lots of A's: The</a> Harvard Crimson :: Opinion :: An ?A? For Grading</p>
<p>^ mathmom - that was my understanding, too - I think my D is getting intimidated by what she's hearing from other students. I think she's got a little bit of an exagerrated sense of the difficulty. Hope so.</p>
<p>The idea that certain majors are superior to others in terms of med school admissions is largely a myth in my opinion. This is especially true if they are not majoring in a subject out of weakness. Don't overthink it too much. The tentative plan of mammal's daughter sounds great.</p>
<p>Mammall: Your daughter should email the pre-med advisor at her school if she has specific questions. However, I will add that any major is fine. Many students just do the pre-med requirements along with their majors.</p>
<p>Mathmom mentioned research and I think students thinking of applying to Medical School look into research; something easy to do over the summer.</p>
<p>My son, a first year medical student had no interest in research and is not one to do something just because someone thinks it will look good. We tried to tell him that most schools wanted to see research on his resume, but he still didn't care. He figured if he has good grades and great MCAT scores that he would be golden. Well guess what; he was wrong! After speaking to the Dean of Admissions after his rejection at our state school, he was told his interviewer didn't like that he had no interest in research. Not only did he not participate in research during his undergrad, he must have mention that he had no interest during his interview; a big mistake!!</p>
<p>After completing a Master, my son decided to take a year off and work in a research environment and reapplied to medical school. All the difference in the world the second time. Part of his success is, I believe, he was a bit wiser about admissions, but also he had grown as a person tremendously. He was more confident, more polished and wiser. Even now, he says taking that year off was the best thing he ever did. With all the training a person goes through for medicine, what is another year or two later until you get into private practice if that is what you want to do.</p>
<p>As far as majors, I believe Tulane has the largest number of Music majors; they love students that can play a musical instrument!</p>