Hello! I’m a high school junior with no prior knowledge of programming. I’ve always wanted to go to medical school but I dont know what to major in. Bio is what most people do but computer science also sounds interesting and is a good back up option if i dont get into med school. Which major should i choose? and will i get into a top college with no prior experience of coding but have taken courses such as: AP Cal Ab, AP Stats, and 750+ on the math portion of the SAT?
If Medical school is your ultimate goal, pick a major that you can excel in academically. Top grades are needed to apply to Medical school but having a backup major/career is also essential.
Many CS students going into college do not have prior programming experience. Since you are a Junior, you still have time to try some on-line programming classes or AP Computer Science at your HS to see if CS is worth pursuing. You will still need to squeeze in some of your Medical school pre-req’s if you plan to major in Computer Science. Also make sure you enjoy Math, since CS is heavy on Math courses.
Which top schools are you targeting? And yes, doing well in AP Calc, Stats and on the SAT should prepare you as CS major. I would also look into taking a Physics course prior to graduating.
I’m targeting UCLA, UCB, and UCSD
Thanks for responding @Gumbymom
Choose whatever major you like, I don’t think med schools will care, as long as you get the prereqs done, and you get good enough grades.
When it comes to CS, an intro course assumes that you have not even seen a line of code before. You will not be in the minority when you take an intro programming course. If you can get programming experience prior to college, great, but if not, don’t sweat it. CS is much more than just software and programming: there is a theory side (which is very math heavy), an infrastructure side (including hardware, servers, etc.), and more.
Grades, MCAT, prereqs, and letters should be your mantra. As @umcoe16 said, they don’t really care about your degree. Things like music and art are becoming more common. You just need high grades, a high MCAT, all the prereqs, and good letters. Chose a major that won’t hinder getting great grades. Even though engineering and its relatives are attractive as backups, they can Be hard to get good grades, and thus hinder the primary objective. Also, dig more deeply into schools professional school placement. Some schools with great reputations do an exceptionally poor job at getting students to the next level.