<p>OK I'm new here so I'll briefly describe what I plan to do. I'm going to start community college in a bit and I plan to transfer to a UC school which will either be UC Davis, UC Irvine, or UCLA. Of course, I will apply to a lot more schools, but these are my top three. My ultimate goal is to become a psychiatrist so I obviously need a major that will fulfill the pre-med requirements. </p>
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<li>What should that major be? </li>
<li>Which UC school do you believe has the best undergrad program that will best gear me for a career in psychiatry?
-I know that won't be emphasized until medical school, really, but still.</li>
<li>What should I do in community college to better prepare for transfer, while still keeping my chances of getting into medical school?</li>
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<p>I know it's a long shot, but this is something that I really want so thanks to anyone who answers! :D</p>
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<li><p>major can be anything you want, med schools don’t care what major you are and in fact it might make you stand out, just make sure you fulfill all prereqs for the schools</p></li>
<li><p>of the three you have listed UCLA will be the most well known, but UCD and UCI also have great science programs as well</p></li>
<li><p>To prepare for transfer just take as many pre reqs for UCs as possible. this will make you a more competitive applicant.</p></li>
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<li><p>You can be pre-med with any major, but it might be easier do (relatively speaking) majoring in something where the requirements overlap with many pre-med requisites. i.e., majoring in something like Biology or Bioengineering, while difficult in nature, would be the most direct path. There are many people who are not science majors and still get into med school though. They are very enviable (jk). Sometimes its hard to get into pre-med classes (especially at the UCs) when you aren’t a science major. IMO, Psychology would be a good major for you, or maybe Biopsychology (Psychobiology???) where offered. If you’re interested in that stuff, the Psychology major usually includes some pre-med prerequisites. </p></li>
<li><p>All the UC’s (and in particular, the ones you’ve listed) are research powerhouses. You should be able to get into research in a psychiatry-related area. Although tbh, you have to get into med school first…and whether or not one school prepares you better for the psychiatry field at the undergrad level has really little to do with the process of getting into med school IMO. Anyway, I believe UCLA is very well known in Psychology so perhaps that could be a point of consideration.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t want to look down on the difficulty on community college, but it should not be anywhere as difficult as going to a UC. I believe that view is generally shared by med school admissions people. Therefore, you should strive to get only the highest grades possible during your time in CC. You’re going to finish most of your pre-med preparation during those years so its going to count a lot. Finish ALL of your *transfer prerequisites<a href=“to%20get%20in”>/i</a> and try to finish your GEs (very helpful). Also try to get involved with volunteering and immersing yourself in the medical field. If you want it bad enough, you can do it. Personally the pre-med path frightens me so that’s not what I’m pursuing, but I know it’s definitely doable (though you might have to push the boundaries of your human-ness in the process -_-). It’s not for everyone but its good that your planning now instead of freaking out later on…incase it is actually what you end up pursuing.</p></li>
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<p>UCLA is probably the hardest of the 3 schools you listed to get through in terms of difficulty in getting into med school. That said, if you transfer there and excell you will have no problem getting accepted to med school. UCI is what I would consider a UC on the rise and very strong in the sciences. It’s location also appealed to me. this and other factors made UCI my second choice behind UCLA.</p>
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<li><p>Anything you want, though I would focus on completing the pre-med classes (so maybe a bio major). Neuroscience would probably be best, and psych might also be good too. Majoring in psych while completing your pre med classes shouldn’t be that hard.</p></li>
<li><p>UCLA probably. UCLA would also probably have more research opportunities, and since LA is so dense there are a lot more hospitals where you could get a part time job, volunteer work, or participate in a student program.</p></li>
<li><p>You should focus on competing IGETC and your pre-med lower div classes first. After you spend a semester or two at community college you’ll have a good idea what you want to major in. A good fall semester for you would be english 1a, the highest math class you can test into (or I guess Calc I, if it’s required for pre-med. Some people are more advanced but are still required to take it in college), intro to psych, and either bio 1a or your first chemistry course with a lab. Take it easy your first semester, but not too easy. If you do well that semester, then the semester after take 5 classes with 1 being another psych course (even if you decide not to be a psych major, it will still count towards IGETC), 1 being an arts/humanities class, and the other 3 being pre-med classes.</p></li>
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<p>The most important thing is to get your math and english done first, and to start sequences early. I’m not sure how pre-med stuff works at a community college, but I think my friend at Cal said for a bio major they were required to complete a year of chem before they could complete a year of bio, and only after then could they take additional requirements. So if something is similar for pre-med community college stuff, take the first class in the sequence in your first semester.</p>
<p>Oh, another thing: the most important thing for you is your GPA. ESPECIALLY for med school. Getting a job, internship, joining a club, etc, is not nearly as important as getting the highest gpa possible. You really should be aiming for a 4.0. Trust me, once you transfer there will be much better internship and club opportunities. Don’t waste your time at community college unless you already have straight As.</p>
<p>If I had a rewind button, I’d go for a BS in CS and then shoot for med school with the aim of being a psychiatrist. Consider an undergrad degree that would be suitable as a backup plan. Since apparently adcoms don’t give a rat’s ass what you major in, and given the highly-competitive nature of acceptance, a useful fallback doesn’t seem like a bad idea (provided that your GPA doesn’t plummet because you didn’t decide to major in Art History or Asian American Studies).</p>
Its hard to disagree with this in principle, but in practice I don’t think its a good course of action. Talk to any CS major, and you’ll quickly find out that it involves a ton of work getting code assignments to run. Probably one of the most time consuming undergrad majors. This means you’ll be strained finding time to do things you also need to do such as volunteer work in a medical setting, things you ought to do such as research work, and time in general to get top grades in tough courses that med schools look at such as o-chem. </p>
<p>The CC route can be done, but you need to be a dedicated student. Read thru some books on med school admissions so you know what they look for (2 things of which I already mentioned that might not be immediately apparent). Read thru a book on study habits such as “What Smart Students Know” so that you spend your time effectively. At your CC seek out other top students, because peer effects are big whether we like to admit it or not. If all your friends start assignments the nite before they are due its hard to go against the flow everytime they call to say you’re busy doing homework. And get to know some profs because you’ll need recs for med school.</p>