Help deciding a major for pre-med

College Majors
1

<p>I'm definitely going to be going into college as a pre-med, but i'm not exactly sure what major to pick.</p>

<p>i've been thinking of majoring in business admin or econ because i'm worried i won't get into med school so i want a degree that i can use right after college. I've also been thinking about psychology.</p>

<p>Would either of these majors be a good idea to take as a pre-med? and does anyone know if the subject material of these majors would be harder or easier to maintain a higher gpa than say a biochemistry major?</p>

2

<p>You can major in anything as long as you get the pre-med requirements out of the way. Quite a few Duke pre-meds major in econ. As for GPA, that depends on how grades are distributed. Science classes are usually graded on a curve, so it is usually harder to get a high grade in them.</p>

3

<p>Undergraduate school matters too, for grades no?</p>

4

<p>Yes, definitely. For example, some colleges (like JHU and MIT) cover up first semester grades. Some colleges are on the A/B/C scale, and some have +/- grading. A few, like Hampshire, don't give out grades at all, preferring to write out written evaluations. It all depends on where you go.</p>

5

<p>Here are the topics that will be covered in biological and physical sciences on the MCAT.
<a href="http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/topics.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/topics.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>My opinion is that you are going to need to know this much organic chemistry to do well on the MCAT, you might as well be a chemistry major if you like chemistry at all.</p>

<p>I just don't see taking that much biology and that much chemistry and then taking all the courses needed to major in econ.</p>

<p>If you want to go to med school, you can. If you don't get in straight from college, work a year in a somewhat related field or go to grad school for a year in a somewhat related field and apply again in a year and YOU WILL GET IN SOMEWHERE.</p>

6

<p>if you are <em>definitely</em> sure you will be going to med school, then stop worrying about not getting in. You will get in somewhere. It may take a post-bacc, some time off working/volunteering in clinical settings, a little extra coursework, a masters degree, etc., but you will get in somewhere. </p>

<p>so stop thinking about majoring in something you dont enjoy or you cant get a gpa in. gpa and interest go hand in hand. study whatever you want. the amt of time you save choosing a related major is minimal. dont let that make your decision. outside of medicine, this may be your last chance.</p>

7

<p>I need to disagree with some of the points raised here.</p>

<p>First, trust me, there are plenty of people who don't get into medical school. There are people who apply 3, 4, and 5 times and don't get in. The current acceptance rate is only 45%, and application numbers are currently increasing faster than the rise in the number of available slots. Even with focused improvements to one's application, there are and will be plenty of individuals who simply do not possess the characteristics need to gain admission (or at least don't have the resume to prove they have those characteristics). And that's just for the people who actually apply. The attrition rate for being pre-med is extraordinarily high, even for people who, as freshmen, are determined to be physicians. From that first gen chem test, to agonizing biology labs, to organic chemistry, to the MCAT, there are a thousand places where someone may decide that medicine is just not worth it and change their major. </p>

<p>Second, of all the sciences, organic chemistry is the least number of questions on the MCAT. Physical Sciences is 50% Physics and 50% General chemistry. Biological Sciences is 75% Biology and 25% Organic Chemistry.</p>

<p>Third, the AAMC says that proper preparation can be achieved simply by taking one year each of gen chem, organic, biology, and physics - the way the science is tested on the MCAT actually penalizes the bringing in of outside knowledge. I used to teach MCAT prep for Kaplan and routinely had to tell the science majors that they needed to leave everything they knew at the door and focus simply on what was presented in the passage. The MCAT is not testing at anything beyond an introductory level.</p>

<p>Fourth, the data shows that major has no bearing in admissions - the majors of matriculants are in the exact same ratio as the majors of applicants. While there are some schools that have expressed a desire for certain types of applicants, in the overall scheme of things, major does not matter.</p>

<p>Fifth, the extent of grade deflation is largely over-emphasized. The actual impact it might have on a single person's GPA is not as large as it is made to seem, and I believe exists as more of a relic of population size than anything else. BlueDevilMike, another poster on this board, has done some interesting research comparing the average GPA for accepted students at known inflationary and deflationary schools and can find no correlation between the two (ie, the average GPA of accepted students at some inflationary schools is actually lower than that at known deflationary schools).</p>

<p>Finally, I agree wholeheartedly with s1185's last point - go with a passion, don't choose anything (school, major, etc.) based on how you think it might help you in getting into medical school.</p>

8

<p>Wow, thanks everyone. Thanks bigredmed for that very thorough explanation, which covered all my future questions and worries.</p>

<p>This really has put things into perspective for me as to what my next four years will be like. I really appreciate all your help. I don't really know my passion yet, but I guess I'll be figuring that out soon!</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the PDF link JJG and the great post bigredmed, this stuff really helped me out too.</p>