Hey current/future aggies! Is is too late to switch to medicine for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Davis
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<p>Hey, first post here and all, but I have been lurking these forums for a while now like a creep lol. </p>

<p>Anyways, my TAG was approved, and I am set to transfer to UCD for Managerial Economics BS this fall. However, I am approaching a few “problems” now.</p>

<p>Here’s a little about me, I didn’t have good guidance at all after high school, but I did the whole community college thing, and did the IGETC, with a semester of business classes; all with a decent GPA of around 3.8. And I’ll be walking out of my CC after 3 years, with these 6 Associate’s, some in math & science, some in business, etc. However, when I started to mature in the school manner, I really wanted to get into either Med or Engineering, however, the realization came too late, because mainly I had “wasted” too much time at my CC. And I do not want to stuck at a cc any longer. Plus financial aid won’t cover me after this semester at the community college level anymore. </p>

<p>I understand Engineering is out of the question now right? Because that alone wants me to take up to CALC 5, and that means another 3 years at my community college :(. </p>

<p>However, I am a little bit lost on the Med side. From what I understand, as a Premed/Pre-Pharm all you have to do is those general prereqs, correct? Wouldn’t it be possible for me after transferring to UCD to take those 2 years of pre reqs, all while I pursue Economics BA (only like 60 units compared to the 120? units required for my Man. Econ. BS) and be considered a Premed/Pre-Pharm, because I understand that med schools don’t care what you get your bachelor’s in? (Mainly want to go for PharmD, but Premed, anything medicine works for me). So in my perfect world, from my very little hopeful knowledge, I would have a Bachelor’s in Economics, and I’ll have all pre reqs done for medical school, and in a couple years after graduation or directly after, I apply for Med/Pharm School. I doubt this is how it works, but this is what this post is for. </p>

<p>Is this possible for me or am I looking at this all wrong? If I can get some informative insight on this, this could shape my future for the better, and I would really appreciate it. I just want to see what my alternative major approaches are if I transfer to UCD this fall. Any hope? Any advice? Thanks</p>

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<p>too much to read!</p>

<p>But i think i know what you’re saying. You can switch out of your major after the first quarter of your first year. So even if you applied to a mediocre major, you can change it to something you prefer. You can also change it an unlimited amount of time(it’s very easy to change too)</p>

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<p>I was facing the same issue, well somewhat similar. i wanted to go to med school, however i am a philosophy major, and i realized that there was no way i would be able to finish in 2 years and do all the pre-reqs for med school. basically i realized that if i switched to biology i would be able to do it, however it would be pretty rough to finish in 2 years. i think if you did both summer sessions you could do it, but its still pretty hard. i would say drop econ, and major in bio, or something else similar. as a bio major you basically fill all of the pre-med requirements, while doing the major requirments, instead of doing a bunch of econ classes, then a bunch of pre-med classes. just curious, why do you want to go med so bad? i noticed you said anything medicine, thats why im curious. well good luck, im sure you will figure it out!</p>

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<p>Not at all! In fact, while it’s a very long-shot, you can get into med school with an econ major, as long as you fulfill the pre-med requirements. Anecdote: While I’m not pre-med, I am pre-vet, and I once talked to a 3rd-year vet student who said she graduated with an English degree, but had to work hard to fulfill the vet school requirements in order to get into vet school, and that the interview committee were intrigued by her since she wasn’t a science major like most of the applicants.</p>

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<p>@batman3 Stay a Managerial Economics Major. Simply talk to someone (like a college advisor not CC) that knows the pre-requsits for Med School and tack that course load on to your existing major. Lots of extra work, but if you are motivated you actually stand a better chance than a Biology Major at getting into a Med School.</p>

<p>A good Score in MCAT plus a Managerial Economics will make Med Schools fight over you.</p>

<p>Good Luck!!</p>

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<p>For med school, you’ll need 1 year of calculus, 1 year of physics, 1 year of general biology, 1 year of general chemistry, and 1 year of organic chemistry (1 year = 3 quarters.) It will be very difficult if you haven’t completed any of these courses yet, but probably doable (especially with summer classes.)</p>

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<p>@sopranokitty If you don’t mind me asking, why do you say it’s a “long-shot”? I thought for Pre-Pharm or Med, it doesn’t matter what you get your Bachelor’s in, as long as you complete all the prerequisites? </p>

<p>@cashparent I don’t think that would work at all, because of the 2 year limit and all? Managerial Economics is around 120 units, while the Economics major is like 60 units, which gives me room and hope to complete my PrePharm prerequisites. Right?</p>

<p>@JeSuis For the Pharmacy School I want to get into, they want 2 quarters of Calculus, 1 quarter of Physics, 3 quarters of General Chemistry, 3 quarters of Organic Chemistry, 3 quarters of General Biology, 1 quarter of Microbiology.</p>

<p>Now do you guys feel like ^^that is doable within 2 years at while pursuing a Bachelor in Economics which is around 60 units?</p>

<p>Also, my main question in addition to the previous is, if I am a declared Economics major, am I even allowed to take those prepharm classes??</p>

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<p>^^Pursuing Economics degree + pre-reqs for Pharmacy school in 2-years?</p>

<p>Answer: Hell no</p>

<p>Note, that UC-Davis goes by quarter system. Classes are only 10-weeks long.</p>

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<p>Mind elaborating? I am missing something here. I mean the Managerial Economics BS is 130 units (what I am supposed to be do when I transfer to UCD this fall) however if I change my major to just Economics BA which is only 60; and the pre pharm classes accumulate to be aroun 55-60… So in theory I would be doing the same amount of units of you think about it… Am I not seeing this correctly?</p>

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<p>@ batman: because even if you complete all the pre-med requirements, med schools tend to favor students with science degrees. The percentage of students who aren’t pursuing a science degree who are accepted tend to be a lot lower than the percentage of students who are accepted and have a B.S. degree from the sciences. That’s why I say it’s a long shot.</p>

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<p>you can, but keep in mind that lower-div science classes are hard work, especially gen chem. they’re designed to be weeder classes for bio majors, so… yeah. you’re going to be busy, busy, busy! :P</p>

<p>you’d be better off doing this in three years, just to spread things apart. generally i recommend 2 science classes paired with 2 nonscience classes.</p>

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<p>Now does anybody know if UCD will allow me to finish up in 3 years rather than 2 as a transfer? Approximately, how long would it take one to complete the 60 unit Economics BA w/ all the appropriate Pre-Pharm classes? 2? 3 years? Will UCD let me stay for 3 to complete this if it will take me longer than 2? </p>

<p>By the way, thanks everybody, I appreciated everybodys’ input.</p>

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<p>Yes, you can finish up in 3 years. After all, a lot of transfers still have to take a couple of lower division courses that weren’t offered at their JC, classes that are usually taken by freshmen and sophomores in the same major, so it’d take them longer.</p>

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<p>medical schools accept a variety of majors… from what I’ve been told you just have to take the right classes to be considered pre-med.</p>