I want to go to medical school and become a psychiatrist, but I don’t want to study something like biology in my undergrad. What I really want to study is theatre, with a minor in biochem to fulfill entrance requirements. Would this work, or should I major in something more science related? I am a strong math/science student, if it matters.
So long as you have completed all the pre-med requirements, your major doesn’t matter. At all.
You biggest issue will be time management since theater requires considerable outside the classroom hours (rehearsals, auditions, etc). Consider carefully whether you can manage those time demands with those required for labs and pre-med ECs (research, community service, clinical volunteering, etc).
Not saying it can’t be done (D1 had a classmate who was a music performance major with biochem minor–he made it work…), but you need to be aware of the many demands on your time both will place on you.
40% of medical school students were not STEM majors (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). You can major in anything you like, just as WayOutWestMom says, as long as you complete the pre-reqs.
it should work.
Unfortunately, my experience is somewhat limited in this area, though. My D. was opposite - she graduated with Zoology major, Music Composition minor. One thing for sure - her Music minor was the most common topic of her Med. School interviews, everything about music, from classical pieces to the pop bands, she was having a ball at most interviews while being a bit disappointed with the fact that she was not asked more about her 3-year Medical Research. So, I can see that your study of theater may actually bring some positive results. In regard to psych, D. also considered it for some time, so she took many Neuroscience Classes in UG which were very interesting for her. However, do not get too attached to any specialty yet, got to rotate in Med. School and then decide. D. was disappointed with psych after rotating and switched to something else.
I would recommend to check with the pre-med advisory at your college. They are the most familiar with the specifics of the programs at your UG.
I wouldn’t major in theater as a premed and this is why. While there is nothing wrong with the major per se, the issue is that theater is very demanding time-wise (rehearsals, productions, etc) and that is very unforgiving.
You may find it hard to dedicate the needed time to the premed prereqs during those first 2-3 years of college.
Hi I’m new to college confidential and wasn’t sure what thread to post this in.
I just got accepted to Barrett ASU under a biological sciences major in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I want to be Pre-med but want to choose a major that I’ll enjoy and will provide me an alternate, high-paying, enjoyable career if med school doesn’t work out. I really like economics and was wondering:
- Is Economics a good major for pre-med?
- Should I choose the economics major in the W. P. Carey school of business bc of alumni and job networks or pursue the economics major in the liberal arts and sciences college?
- Should I double major or minor in biology in addition to Econ to be better prepared for the MCAT/ Med school?
Can you please not spam the forum asking the same question in multiple thread.
And since you’re not the OP (original poster), you’ll get better responses if you start your own thread.
@WayOutWestMom I’m sorry, I just picked a couple threads I thought were relevant and posted. I didn’t know it was seen as spamming, does everyone see all the recent posts in one place? I’m new, I apologize!
@Shenreice Go for it! Yes theater major is pretty demanding so you may want to take a gap year (which most ppl do anyways nice) so that you will have all 4 years to spread out your pre-reqs. I am gonna be starting a psych residency hopefully this summer and i know a lot of psychiatrist/psych applicants i ran into during interview trails majored in non-science majors compared to other specialties- i know for my home hospital’s psych residency- over half majored in humanities/social sciences including a theater major.
@flatironthoughts econ major is a pretty difficult major- college econ (esp upper level econ like econometrics) is very different from AP econ/intro econ classes- they are very quantitative and calculus heavy. And you don’t necessarily need to double major to keep your options open- ex. you can major in biology and take few classes in econ. even if you don’t end up going to med school and want to go into business, a plenty of companies will want you esp companies now are increasingly want someone with technical/science background with data/quant skills with advances in the economy.
@hchun301 thank you for bringing up the difficulty of the Econ major, I didn’t actually think of that because my liking of it was based off my AP macroeconomics course. Do you think I should major in biology and take enough classes to minor in Econ so companies can see it on my diploma? Or should I just take the classes and not minor?
Minors are not listed on your diploma, only your major.
Economics at some colleges is very math-intensive. (Requiring at least through differential equations.) But that varies by program and whether or not the student intends to pursue graduate econ. There are math-lite econ programs that only requires 2 semesters of calc. But econ is quantitative field. Check to see specifically what ASU requires and what options econ offers within the dept.
What is your purpose in wanting econ? As a Plan B in case you aren’t accepted to med school?
If that’s the case, taking a few econ courses isn’t going to do you a whole lot of good unless you get some practical experience by doing business/finance internships during summers. When employers hire, they don’t ask to see your transcript; they look at your CV (curriculum vitae). A bio major with a few scattered econ classes isn’t going to be more immediately employable in business/finance than a straight up bio major. In both cases, you’ll need relevant work experience (or a very strong math/analytic background**) to enhance your desirability to employers.
** Analytic skills are critical if you want to work in finance–which is why you see many people with degrees like physics, mathematics, statistics, engineering, comp sci and even meteorology working in the financial industry.
@WayOutWestMom As a high school senior, I’m already taking Multivariable Calc/Diff Eq (Calc 3) so the math shouldn’t be too difficult for me. The plan is yes, to go to business school if med school doesn’t work out but I would also like to take some classes in college to figure out if maybe I prefer a business career more than pursuing a career as a doctor. I feel like I won’t be able to know until I do some hands-on internships in both environments.
Do you recommend remaining a bio major until I finish my first semester of college and then make any major changes? I really do enjoy bio and learning about medicine, but my parents are encouraging me to choose a major that will help me be successful if med school doesn’t work out.
MBA programs generally expect 2+ years of full time work experience before you apply. Planning to go directly from undergrad to a MBA program is a poor idea.
Are you required to commit to a major as freshman? Most colleges don’t expect (indeed most don’t allow) a student to declare a major until midway through sophomore year. You can take a variety of GE and intro level major classes freshman year and see what you prefer. Take gen chem freshman year instead of bio because the required chem sequence for pre-meds is the longest. (You need only 2 semester of bio, but 5 semesters of chem.) Take a intro level econ class each semester. Fill in the rest of your schedule with easy classes (freshman writing, maybe intro psych or soc). If you are feeling particularly ambitious, you could even take intro bio, gen chem, econ and a GE. Since you already have the math completed, this frees up some space in your schedule to explore.
There are no formal/organized hands-on internship for medicine. You get clinical exposure through physician shadowing and clinical volunteering–both of which you’ll need to arrange yourself. Business internship are more formalized and are typically arranged thru the university.
BTW, remember you can always come back to medicine later if you decide that’s where you heart lies. There’s not a time or age limit for starting med school.
@WayOutWestMom Thank you so much for your detailed response! At ASU, we were required to apply to the school of our choice, and I picked the school of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the biological sciences major but I believe we can change it quite easily. I will take what you said into consideration, thanks so much!! And I know I can come back to med school, but with the long path I really want to make a for-sure decision as soon as I can so I can enter the workforce at a reasonable age after my residency and such.
So long as your degree program is within the same college, changing majors is easy. It only requires a couple of signatures on a form.
Good luck!