<p>True. But a straight Biology major or Chemistry major also doesn’t have a clear-cut career path either, unless it’s research/grad school. French majors can get jobs; it’s not impossible! The point directed at the OP is that there’s no major you NEED to have for med school. And that a business major could work. Your post just bolsters that. A business major would be great, then.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not if that back-up plan is a vocational major (which are one reason why some students don’t get into med school). </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, it is true. (All academics are prestige hounds.) </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While many may agree with you, only the opinions of those on the admissions committees count – and they frown upon vocational majors.</p>
<p>@Bluebayou Is that including all med schools? I emailed my state public medical school (OU) admissions office about majors. It said it gives absolutely no preference. I might be able to understand that it isn’t the same for elite med schools, but do you have proof?</p>
<p>Nope, no “proof”. And none exists. Think about it. What is your public med school gonna say to that question? What can they say? They can only provide one, politically-correct, answer. </p>
<p>The question you need to ask them is how many business major applied last year, and how many were accepted?</p>
<p>And then, do your own research, here on cc, and on other sites that focus on premeds. Look up acceptance rates on amcas’ site.</p>
<p>And once you have all that information, think critically about medicine, it’s calling and it’s requirements. The conclusion is obvious.</p>
<p>(It’s been this way for decades. You want into the club, you gotta pay your dues, as others have.)</p>
<p>No, there’s no proof. Statistically, of course, you’ll see a preponderance of science majors, just because that’s how the numbers fall out. I’m not sure what bluebayou’s point is; he/she seems to have a chip on his shoulder or some kind of agenda I’m not understanding; he seems angry about this. I’m not sure what the “obvious conclusion” is that he is talking about. </p>
<p>There’s no reason you can’t major in business, is the bottom line. I don’t think it will hurt you. The med schools tell you there’s no reason it will hurt you. Med schools often want more diversity in their classes. If your prereqs are good and you pass the MCAT, you’ve done all you need to do. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks, jaylynn. I’ve been a little puzzled at the direction this thread has taken. </p>
<p>I’ve got a son who has been offered assured admission to UNC’s undergrad business school, who is also pursuing pre med. We have quite a few MD’s in the family, and I’ve never heard of any prejudice against business majors in med school admissions. I’d be interested to look at any links that provide proof of an anti business attitude in med school admissions.</p>
<p>The cc premed is a great source of information/anecdotes, by current med students who have successfully run the premed gauntlet. Read some admissions books by former deans. Speak to the premed advisors on campus, particularly those that write the Committee letter. Check out sdn on which a real live adcom posts from time-to-time. The information is consistent.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not so sure what could be puzzling. With as competitive as med admissions are, one needs to be all-in.</p>
<p>Okay, why didn’t the admissions office tell me that vocational majors are frowned up if it was true? If med schools only wanted to get students who majored in an academic discipline, they would say so. The information you’ve been quoting is from forums that anyone can post on. There are also plenty of posts on the web that claim the opposite of your opinions. All of the information you’ve shown is subjective. But if the actual med schools say any major is fine, I’ll take their word for it.*</p>
<p>How can you possibly be so sure that med schools assume that a student majors in business only because it is vocational? What if the student is genuinely interested in learning about business? If medical schools don’t want vocational majors but don’t say it, what do they have to hide?</p>
<p>And med schools understand that people have more than one interest. That’s why they don’t require everyone to major in Biology. That’s why some of them offer MD/MBA and MD/JD programs. Just because students have a passion for medicine, it doesn’t mean they don’t like other things. Are you saying that students who don’t major in something medicine-related are not passionate for medicine? This is why students can major in something else entirely different and still take pre-med courses to get into med school.*</p>
<p>People can still get jobs with “academic” majors. If med schools want people who are “all in”, they would either accept only Biology majors or keep the outdated “Pre-medicine” major for all the pre-meds to take. Today, the rejected students with academic degrees still find jobs related to their major. Same goes for “vocational majors”. Med schools can’t really assume why a student majored in Business. So what do they do? Ask them during the interview. BUT the interview isn’t even given if the applicant’s MCAT and GPA (which are MUCH more important than major) are good enough. Let’s think about this. Would a med school not even interview a student with great MCAT/GPA if he or she majored in something “vocational”? Yes, it would. Let’s place MCAT and GPA well above major choice in order of importance of the med school application, as it should be.*</p>
<p>You can give me stats of applicants with certain majors having lower acceptance rates, but how can you show me that med schools reject students because their major doesn’t indicate that they’re “all in”? Stats never give the whole story. And since we don’t know the reasons behind the percentages, we can’t assume that the one reason is because med schools hate vocational majors.*</p>
<p>There is no major that can’t teach a skill that is somehow related to being a good physician. Med schools know this, which is why they give applicants the chance to major and learn about something different than medicine. They understand that medicine can be more than just science. Why would they discriminate against Business? Because it gives better job prospects than an Art major? Med schools don’t think: “Oh my gosh! This applicant is majoring in something that gives good job outlooks! That must mean that he/she doesn’t truly want to become a doctor!” Business majors might give you better job opportunities (which is a plus), but it still teaches material like an “academic” major would.*</p>
<p>Applicants already show enough commitment by becoming qualified to apply to med schools in the first place. Majoring in something academic to show the admissions people that you are going “med school or bust” or “all in” in order to increase chances of getting admitted is completely absurd.</p>
<p>It’s puzzling because some excellent medical schools have joint MD/MBA programs, so clearly THEY see the value of combining business with medicine. And those joint programs are fiercely competitive to gain admission to.</p>
<p>Cross posted with cottoncube, who said it much more passionately than I did.</p>
<p>Contrary to what CC seems like sometimes, med school is a short four years. Residency can last from three to about seven years. That’s it. It seems like a long time, and like some kind of pinnacle when you’re seventeen, or twenty, or twenty-four. Then suddenly, you’re out there, living a life. You get married, have kids. You’re NOT “all in”. I mean, you have a degree, and a career. But you’re just a person who’s a doctor. It’s not THAT big a deal, believe me. There are thousands of us. And we love our jobs, or we don’t, we realize we’re not all that, not by a long shot; we help people, we didn’t cure cancer, we have to take the kids to soccer, we have to pick up the dog’s poop. It’s not a calling. It’s a life, like anyone else’s. Med schools know that; they’re picky because they want people to finish the degree. They want to educate good doctors. But please, the good ones know they’re not the be-all and end-all that some very young, very naive people on CC think these schools are. </p>
<p>A little perspective, people! Good luck, OP (and Cottoncube)! You will be fine!</p>
<p>Just completeting the required courses, doing well on the MCAT, getting good recommendations, having medicine related activities and applying while pursuing a nonscience major shows a lot of desire. ANY MAJOR works for medical school as long as you meet the requirements. Your life before medical school doesn’t need to be (nor should be) devoted solely to getting into medical school. If business is your thing- great. If French is- also great. If Chemistry is- that works also (did for me, it was my one time passion).</p>
<p>I wouldn’t consider bluebayou’s opinion in this to be correct. Great post cottoncube. Physicians in practice are a diverse group with many different interests. Some even perform in musical instrument groups- rock to classical.</p>
<p>I do think there is some truth in BlueBayou’s comments. There is academic snobbery against undergraduate business majors (unless they are at Wharton or similarly prestigious program). The academically “respectable” solution for those interested in studying business at the undergraduate level is to major in economics instead.</p>
<p>Ivory tower academics are far removed from medical school- there is snobbery against choosing the physician route as well. You can’t look at this like you would grad school options. Professional school, not academics, even if some do both MD and PhD and the studies are rigorous (far more so than many grad fields).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, I’ve never seen it. Re the economics vs. business; I"m partly going from what my own father, who is a doctor and taught at a medical school in Southeastern Minnesota, said about the academic preparation of medical school students. Undergraduate study in an “academic” subject as opposed to a vocational subject was more respected, apparently. Perhaps this perception is now out of date.</p>
<p>NJSue,</p>
<p>Do you mean that an academic major is more respected than a vocational major in terms of admissions? If so, how much weight would this extra respect have on admissions? </p>
<p>Also, when you say “more respected”, would vocational majors be seen below the standards to admissions, according to your father? Or is it that AMs have an extra boost?</p>
<p>My understanding is not really different from wis75 who writes:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It’s just that the generic business major is seen as something people who have no strong academic or intellectual interests generally pursue in order to be marketable. Many people who major in U/G business are not perceived as being motivated by intellectual interest or passion. The business majors don’t have hardest coursework in a lot of schools. That’s not to say that no one can break the mold–if you have compelling reasons to be a business major, then it will make sense in the context of your own personal record. </p>
<p>A pre-med student who wants to be knowledgeable about running a business could major in economics and take some accounting classes, rather than majoring in a a less demanding “management and marketing”-type business major. It would look more impressive to some. But I doubt there is some strict rubric by which the specific major is evaluated.</p>
<p>Funny how you just dodged my questions. Please answer what I asked and also provide solid evidence about your claims that business majors are “seen” or “perceived” as such. While an economics major can help a student learn about business, finance and accounting majors can do the same. You said economics would look more impressive to some, but who are you talking about? It’s only the opinions of the admissions committees that count, and if a business major was that bad, ALL of them should frown at it, not just “some”.</p>
<p>With all due respect, it just seems that you’re just throwing out all of these opinions about what medical schools think. The way I see it, these are just personal theories that directly contradict the actual medical schools’ statement that major does not matter. If you have solid evidence that back your claims and can change my mind, then please don’t hold back. I like keeping an open mind but your generalizations about perceptions are no help.</p>
<p>Also, difficulty of major does not always mean “better”, especially for medical school. Take engineering for example. Having a major that offers the hardest coursework in the school will not help admissions if the GPA doesn’t meet the standards. And you’re not giving business majors enough credit; coursework can be very difficult. Med schools don’t look for the students with the hardest coursework. They look for ones with high GPAs.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You’re correct. These are “personal theories” based on comments from my family and having grown up in a medical environment where every grown male up and down my street was an MD in a small Southeastern Minnesota town. I am also a professor, and have a fairly low opinion of the generic undergraduate business major as an academically challenging subject of study. That’s the best that I can do. If you feel I have no credibility, you’re free to ignore everything I say. At the same time, I am in no way obliged to provide you with facts and figures supporting my views. You can do whatever you want. Good luck to you in whatever field you choose to study.</p>
<p>If you are looking for certainty and a formula for getting into med school, there isn’t one.</p>
<p>Cottoncube, you are very stubborn and argumetative for being a HS senior. If you have ideas that are obviously set in stone, then go to the school that you want and major in business. Why do you want to argue with people? You have started threads and have been antagonistic on both of them. I’m sure you know more than the posters here, so why ask anything more? It would be idiotic of you to take advice from anybody at this point since you seem to know everything. Good luck to you.</p>