<p>Ok, so these 2 are pretty different, but I'm still confused as to which I should pursue. Here is what I'm looking for: I want to gain better critical reasoning and logic skills, become a better decision maker, and emerge as an overall brighter and more intelligent thinker.</p>
<p>I will be pre-med.
Anyone?</p>
<p>What you’re describing sounds an awful like philosophy. I would go with it instead of economics if you’re looking for critical reasoning/logic/decisions.</p>
<p>^ I have to disagree with the above. You’re right, the OP could get all of that out of philosophy, but he could also get it out of econ. OP, have you even started college yet? If not, wait til your first semester and take gen ed courses along with some econ and philosophy. Major in whichever you like better. Both will help you with your goals just fine, the important thing is that you actually like your major.</p>
<p>Hell, why even limit it to econ and philosophy? There’s plenty of majors that would accomplish what you’re asking. Just go find what you like.</p>
<p>I have a deep love of both subects and I think if you have to choose one or the other you should choose philosophy. All of economics is rooted in philosophy, including the mathematics, which is rooted in formal logical systems- a branch of philosophy. </p>
<p>If it were me I would try to do a double major. I am a double major in economics and math, although I have taken two philosophy courses and will be taking another one, probably my final one, this semester.</p>
<p>Economics has more upside. I would not major in philosophy unless it was part of a double major.</p>
<p>Thanks. And I might actually minor in one of these two, not major. I’d probably have to major in a science in order to take all of my required classes for med school.</p>
<p>Anyone else?</p>
<p>Someone suggested that I major in one thing and minor in another, perhaps you can major in Economics which would provide you with real world business skills, and minor in philos. You would not need to spend much time on philosophy as far as schooling goes and a few classes you would have enough guidance in the subject matter to persue it in your own free time. Since it requires so much thinking you can be your own teacher, you must also challange your own ideas. I read alot of philosophy, take in alot of information, and dismiss information that i truely disagree with, or find a reason why i disagree with it.</p>
<p>Thanks. But if I’m going to be pre-med, which I’m really set on, I think either my major or at least my minor should be related to science. So if I only picked one… which would probably be the best to give me the reasoning/logic skills? I know it’s a tough choice, but… pros/cons of each? I don’t know.</p>
<p>I’m a (professional) philosopher, so you might think I’d be biased in favor of philosophy. But in fact, I think you should take a close look at the departments at your school of choice. Here are three things I’d consider:</p>
<p>(1) Does the economics department focus on theory and conceptual content, or is it really a de facto business department where you learn things like accounting? If it’s the former, then I think your desire for critical thinking/logic/etc. will be well satisfied. If it’s the latter . . . then not so much.</p>
<p>(2) Is the philosophy department “continental” or “analytic” in leaning? These terms might be imprecise and out of favor, but you will get more of a science-y/logic-y/critical-thinking-y approach in an analytic department.</p>
<p>(3) Does the philosophy department have some good ethics (and medical ethics) courses? If so, I might go with philosophy because having a solid grounding in ethics can open interesting doors for you as a medical professional. Think - IRB boards, etc.</p>
<p>You don’t have to major in science to be pre-med. </p>
<p>[Mount</a> Sinai School of Medicine - Humanities and Medicine Early Acceptance Program](<a href=“http://www.mssm.edu/education/medical-education/programs/humanities-and-medicine-early-acceptance-program]Mount”>http://www.mssm.edu/education/medical-education/programs/humanities-and-medicine-early-acceptance-program)</p>
<p>[Getting</a> Into Med School Without Hard Sciences - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/nyregion/30medschools.html]Getting”>Getting Into Med School Without Hard Sciences - The New York Times)</p>
<p>That’s only one school though, sorry.</p>
<p>Good point. But I just thought with the new MCAT I’ll need an even more solid foundation in the sciences. It’s testing over higher-level Biology courses and stuff. But anyways, can someone tell me the main differences between the two? Considering it’s an analytical track for both majors/minors.</p>
<p>I’m a ‘premed’ student majoring in Religious Studies (minoring in Biology), so I thought I’d chime in. Medical School admissions committees seem to love humanities majors, as the statistics in the links below show. Also, humanities majors tend to score higher on the MCAT (esp. the Verbal Reasoning Section) than many majors, including Biological Science. Also, and this is important, many humanities majors do not experience grade deflation to the same extent as the sciences…which is very helpful for premeds, as GPA is a critical factor in admissions! Overall, I recommend a humanities major over an economics major (just slightly, though, economics is a really awesome major!!!)…And, I’d also recommend an economics major over a biology major. For admission into 99% of all medical schools, you just need 12-14 classes. I’ll post them below too! Regardless of what you pick, just make sure that it’s something that you love. ***Enjoying ***your major is often the best ticket to academic success!</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/download/161692/data/table18-facts2010mcatgpabymaj1-web.pdf.pdf[/url]”>https://www.aamc.org/download/161692/data/table18-facts2010mcatgpabymaj1-web.pdf.pdf</a>
[Acceptance</a> to Medical School by Major | Knox College](<a href=“http://www.knox.edu/statistics.xml]Acceptance”>http://www.knox.edu/statistics.xml)
<a href=“http://www.colorado.edu/aac/table1.pdf[/url]”>http://www.colorado.edu/aac/table1.pdf</a></p>
<p>*
**Here are the classes needed and suggested for Medical School/MCAT Success:<a href=“I’ve%20also%20geared%20these%20around%20the%20upcoming%20MCAT%20changes”>/B</a>*</p>
<p>*Intro to Statistics
*Calculus I or Applied Statistics
(Note that only a few schools require Calculus. Many more schools require a second semester of college math. Just be sure to verify the requirements with the schools that you are interested in applying to!)
*General Biology I
*General Biology II
*General Chemistry I
*General Chemistry II
*Organic Chemistry I
*Organic Chemistry II
*Biochemistry I (enzymes, proteins, metabolism, DNA, physiology)<br>
(Biochemistry is quickly becoming a new requirement…so you might as well take it. It’s very helpful for the MCAT and your first year of medical school.)
*Vertebrate Physiology (if not covered well in General Biology)
*Genetics (a few schools require Genetics for admission)
*General Physics I
*General Physics II
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Other classes that might make you a more well-rounded student-doctor are:</p>
<p>*Introductory Psychology (good background information)
*Introductory Sociology (since it’s going to be on new MCAT)
*Child Development/Psychology (esp. helpful for Family Med. and Peds)
*Abnormal Psychology (helpful for Psychiatry rotation, among others)
*Neuroscience or Neurophysiology (helpful for MCAT and MS)
*Adv. Human Nutrition (med schools don’t have time to teach much of this…so take it!)
*Biomedical Ethics (as other poster mentioned, Ethics are immensely important!)
*Death & Dying (Usually offered by Religious Studies or Psychology dept.)
*Spanish
*Public Health/Epidemiology (good background for understanding journal research)
*Public Speaking (you will be doing a lot of this in medical school/residency!)
*Macroeconomics (…since you’re interested! Macroeconomics allows you to start to understand what the heck is going on with our Economy! I think it was one of the best classes I ever took. Make sure you take it with a good professor.)</p>
<p>Lastly, if you want to take a ‘few’ more science classes, here are my recs:
*Microbiology or Immunology or Hematology or Virology (any one of these will give you a good introduction to the “micro/laboratory science” side of medicine)
*Histology, if offered, is good to take if you want to go to a school that uses a problem-based curriculum. It gives a good overview of tissues and body systems.
*Modern Physics (if you have any desire to go into radiology or rad onc)
*Cell Biology (good to know since much of modern medicine works at the cellular and molecular level)</p>
<p>I’m a ‘premed’ student majoring in Religious Studies, so I thought I’d chime in. Medical School admissions committees seem to love humanities majors, as the statistics in the links below show. Also, humanities majors tend to score higher on the MCAT (esp. the Verbal Reasoning Section) than many majors, including Biological Science. Also, and this is important, many humanities majors do not experience grade deflation to the same extent as the sciences…which is very helpful for premeds, as GPA is a critical factor in admissions! Overall, I recommend a humanities major over an economics major…And I’d also recommend an economics major over a biology major. For admission into 99% of all medical schools, you just need 8-10 classes. I’ll post them below too! Regardless of what you pick, just make sure that it’s something that you love. Enjoying your major is often the best ticket to academic success!</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/download/161692/data/table18-facts2010mcatgpabymaj1-web.pdf.pdf[/url]”>https://www.aamc.org/download/161692/data/table18-facts2010mcatgpabymaj1-web.pdf.pdf</a>
[Acceptance</a> to Medical School by Major | Knox College](<a href=“http://www.knox.edu/statistics.xml]Acceptance”>http://www.knox.edu/statistics.xml)
<a href=“http://www.colorado.edu/aac/table1.pdf[/url]”>http://www.colorado.edu/aac/table1.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here are the classes needed and suggested for Medical School/MCAT Success:</p>
<p>*Intro to Statistics
*Calculus I or Applied Statistics
(Note that only a few schools require Calculus. Many more schools require a second semester of college math. Just be sure to verify the requirements with the schools that you are interested in applying to!)
*General Biology I
*General Biology II
*General Chemistry I
*General Chemistry II
*Organic Chemistry I
*Organic Chemistry II
*Biochemistry I (enzymes, proteins, metabolism, DNA, physiology)<br>
(Biochemistry is quickly becoming a new requirement…so you might as well take it. It’s very helpful for the MCAT and your first year of medical school.)
Vertebrate Physiology (if not covered in General Biology) or Genetics (a few schools require Genetics for admission)
*General Physics I
*General Physics II
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Other classes that might make you a more well-rounded student-doctor are:</p>
<p>*Introductory Psychology (good background information)
*Child Development/Psychology (esp. helpful for Family Med. and Peds)
*Abnormal Psychology (helpful for Psychiatry rotation, among others)
*Neuroscience or Neurophysiology (helpful for MCAT and MS)
*Adv. Human Nutrition (med schools don’t have time to teach much of this…so take it!)
*Biomedical Ethics (as other poster mentioned, Ethics are immensely important!)
*Death & Dying (Usually offered by Religious Studies or Psychology dept.)
*Spanish
*Public Health/Epidemiology (good background for understanding journal research)
*Public Speaking (you will be doing a lot of this in medical school/residency!)</p>
<p>Lastly, if you want to take a ‘few’ more science classes, here are my recs:
*Vertebrate Physiology or Genetics (Whichever one you didn’t take above)
*Microbiology or Immunology or Hematology or Virology (any one of these will give you a good introduction to the “micro/laboratory science” side of medicine)
*Histology, if offered, is good to take if you want to go to a school that uses a problem-based curriculum. It gives a good overview of tissues and body systems.
*Modern Physics (if you have any desire to go into radiology or rad onc)</p>
<p>thanks! that was great.</p>