How do I convince parents that I don't want to do pre-med?

Parents Forum
21

Tell them that economics graduates generally have much better job prospects than biology graduates, so majoring in economics give you a much better backup option if you do not get into any medical school. Biology is not likely to be any better than political science in job prospects either. Of course, you can do pre-med in any major.

However, since your parents have absolute veto power over your college choices unless you get a full ride merit scholarship somewhere, you may want to tilt your application list in that direction, so that if they want to control your major and such, you may have an option that breaks the financial aid dependency on your parents for college funding.

http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html

22

"They basically think if I major in Econ, I’ll be an “accountant-nobody” "
I think this sums it up right there. They aren’t really interested in your job prospects. They want to be able to brag about having a doctor in the family.

So you becoming an accountant is what they claim they’re afraid of? I think the job prospects for accountants are better than those for science majors with mediocre grades who didn’t get into med school. Perhaps you can do some research and convince them of this.

23

It’s easy, tell them you faint at or don’t like the sight of blood. It worked for some kids in my family.

24

I have several friends whose parents are Asian immigrants, and here are the ways they’ve dealt with this:

-Went to medical school
-Tried pre-med courses and did poorly
-Planned for medical school but burnt out
-Compromised and double majored
-Negotiated for a different major–something in between what they wanted and what their parents wanted
-Settled for something they also didn’t want to do but was better (to them) than medical school (computer science, engineering, law school, working in the family business)
-Just went with another career path despite what their parents wanted

In my experience, it’s a lot about prestige, but all you can do is come up with a good alternative plan. Don’t just say “I don’t want to go to medical school, I’m not good at science classes, I really love this other field, etc.” Research potential majors and job prospects and come up with another plan. They may still not approve, but be specific about what you want to major in and what you want to do with it. Plans always change, but having something to argue with will help. If you really want to argue for this, put in the time and do the research. It’s not enough to just say that you don’t want to do it.

Best of luck. I know it can seem hard and frustrating, but at least, they’re giving you a chance to convince them otherwise. And it’s not a horrible exercise to get a good idea of what your possible career paths could be after college.

25

I like brantly’s idea. Let’s expand on it. Are there professionals your parents respect? Like CEO/CFO’s of large companies? Find out what they majored in and where they went to college.

I agree that you could do a lot better as an econ major than a bio major. Go to the colleges’ websites and look for the section for both biology and economics. Most colleges list typical jobs that their economics and biology majors have gotten. Most colleges also have job fairs – find out the employers who come and what type of majors they are looking at. You can even call the departments directly and ask these questions. Find out what type of summer internships an economics major gets. Google is your friend.

So, you can tell your parents that you’re majoring in economics, outline all the classes you’ll be taking, describe the internships you plan on having, and then give them a list of employers and job titles held by recent economics graduates. You could even go further, explain how after 2-4 years you would apply to business school.

The only hitch in this plan is that to be a successful econ major, you have to do well in calculus. Do you think you can handle calculus better than chemistry/biology?

If you want to go the poli sci route – what do your parents think of lawyers?

If your parents are being honest with you – if all they want is “a detailed plan of what I will study, how I will find a job, what kind of jobs I am looking at” – that is very doable. You just have to do some research. If this means a lot to you, then do the research. It’s all online.

26

BC and NYU have stellar undergraduate business schools. Would they be more apt to send you there if you were enrolled in those departments instead of majoring in economics and poly sci? I know it is very difficult to transfer into the business school at BC ( not impossible though) but not sure about NYU. Maybe this could be a compromise if you can get your guidance counselor or a friends parent to flesh out the opportunities you would have if enrolled in a business program. I also just heard that BU got a huge endowment to their business school and my friend was very impressed with the program. Good luck!

27

I would tell them that you want to compromise…you want to major in economics but will take the pre-med pre-req courses. I think it will work itself out…if you are not good in science you will struggle in those classes.

28

You have been given a lot of great advice already, but you were asking for a plan, so I hope these questions I use with the students I work with can help you come up with a plan that matches your passions and can be articulated clearly.
What motivates you?
What makes you happy?
What are your short term and long term personal goals?
Why are these your personal goals?
What are your short term and long term professional goals?
Why are these your professional goals?
How do your personal and professional goals relate to each other?
How do your personal and professional goals relate to your motivation and happiness?
What have you been doing to achieve your personal goals?
What have you been doing to achieve your professional goals?
Why did you pick your current major?
Describe how this major helps you in achieving your personal and professional goals.

In your case, you could possibly add in a question about Why will this school help you achieve your personal and professional goals.

If you have questions that a pre-health advisor could help answer, let me know.

29

My guess is that OP didn’t get admitted to business schools at NYU or other universities with separate business schools since his/her parents were gung-ho for med school, but I hope I’m wrong.

30

This was about to be me for a while before I came to college (immigrant parents and everything), but in the end, it turns out that I am interested in medicine after all; go figure. But if I were still in that place, I could come up with a PowerPoint, with handouts and everything, haha.

  1. Find data to support the fact that it is pretty difficult to get into med school. It is even more difficult to get into *top* med schools, and I'm pretty sure that your parents are expecting you to apply to those.
  2. Show them the average GPA and science GPA for med school matriculants. Then show them your science grades from high school. If you can find out how the schools' GPAs are calculated, show them what they could expect your max science GPA to be, with the knowledge that college courses are often harder than high school courses, and that taking these courses will bring your overall GPA down.
  3. Show them the employment rates, job prospects, and average salaries for science majors who don't get into med school (they're not great if you aren't going into some kind of health field).
  4. Show them potential jobs you could get in the fields that you're interested in.
  5. Print out the major requirements for the majors you're considering (IDK why they need to see a detailed plan of what you're studying, but if they insist...).
  6. If the schools you want to attend have strong business programs, internship opportunities, places where you can get a lot of work experience that are in close proximity to the schools, and/or faculty that are prominent in these fields, list that out.

Conclude by convincing them that it’s better to have a happy and remarkably successful son going into Economics / Poli Sci-related fields than a miserable and failing pre-med son.

Backup in case they still, somehow, are so locked into the doctor thing: You could compromise by taking premed requirements. Your GPA will take a hit, but it may be worth it to convince them that college isn’t going to “straighten you out” of something you literally cannot comprehend. Double backup: Consider a job in healthcare administration. Don’t know much about it, but from the looks of it, no MD or science courses necessary, with a chance to use business and potentially impact policy. http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/Career/56/Health_Administrator

31

This is so sad to me. Even the suggestions that one can be a CEO or super this or that with an Econ degree. Why is a huge salary the end goal? Why aren’t we encouraging our children to study something they love and pursue a job they enjoy and which benefits the world?

My dad often apologized to me for not pursuing the corporate ladder in his job. He had the same job for fifty years but he loved it. I have an Econ degree and while I worked in banking I also work in non profits. So I won’t be a millionaire. But I am productive and happy.

I’m sorry the OP is being put in this position. Look around at all the people you see that are happy in their jobs. It’s not just doctors and lawyers. In fact some of them are not real happy in my experience.

32

I don’t know how reasonable your parents would be to discussing your future well-being with you at this stage. If they are not, I truly feel for you. Short of paying your own way through college, I don’t know if they see this as your decision if they are firmly grounded in their stance. I don’t presume to know your rapport with your parents, but I would hope they would be willing to listen to a well thought-out plan other than, ‘i don’t want to do this’. After all, hasn’t this been something you have known them to want since you were younger? At this point in time, talk to them about your interests and potential areas you would like to pursue. This is what college is for, to figure this out. Ask them if they would want you to be miserable and unmotivated in medicine, or motivated and excited in another major. There are too many unhappy physicians out there who went into medicine for all the wrong reasons. Tell them you’ll keep it in mind and if you decide you want to go into medicine, it will be because you want to. Good luck, I believe you will need it.

33

The point is: there are unhappy people in whichever field we can come up with. The phenomenon is not confined to medicine, law, accountancy or within corporate walls. A life-long challenge in finding stable employment while poorly compensated will make any situation worse.

OP, your parents are worried that you won’t be able to support yourself if you pursue what appears, to them, to be a field that does not lead directly to a job. Their concern is understandable, though their focus is narrowed by their immigrant experience. Your task is to help them see that you will obtain a great education, the best you can get at whichever college you attend, and you will work hard to obtain marketable skills, internships, etc., while there.

At this late stage in your decision-making, if your parents refuse to pay the extra it will take for you to attend the pricey private universities over the state flagship, it’s not the end of the world. Consider this as a valuable lesson for your personal development and make the best of it. It’s not entirely out of the question that you can transfer, is it? Good luck.

34

an “accountant-nobody”

People who know where the money goes and why run businesses.

35

I live in a predominantly Asian area (I am not) and do alumni interviews - unfortunately I see this sort of thing a lot. Like other posters have implied, show them how good you’ll be in business by doing research and coming up with a powerpoint to show them you’ve thought it through. Some thoughts for you:

  • NYU has one of the top Econ depts in the country, as well as one of the best UG business schools.
  • Tell them you will take business classes in Stern to make you more desirable to employers, and get more pre-professional training.
  • Econ majors are really just business majors who know how to write.
  • I don't have the facts at my fingertips, but I'm sure you can find data showing that the vast majority of Econ majors go into business disciplines after college. Aside from a business administration degree, Econ probably prepares you next best to get a job and go into a business environment. Very few actually become economists, and I can't think of anything less appealing (I was an Econ major...).
  • You are not defined or limited by your major, only by what you do with it.
  • As others have mentioned, you can still be pre-med in Econ - it's a track of required courses, not a major. If you do, it probably won't take long for you to move off the track if your HS performance is any indication, then you can stop torturing yourself. Personally, I got a C in Bio freshman year, that was the end of my pre-med track.

Good luck to you, I feel for your situation…

36

I went to Hamilton College. I knew a pre-med student who majored in art. He was accepted at every medical school to which he applied.

I’ve visited a lot of sites, and am throwing a lot of statistics at you to share with your parents. In essence: 1) humanities majors have a higher statistical chance of getting into med school than students majoring in science; 2) you use statistics to prove your point, then make the connection to what an economist does, see last point.

Links to charts and graphs:

This is an interesting article with lots of graphs - “The information presented here is adapted from the CMSC 838S Application Report Analyzing Medical School Admission Data by Vlad Morariu at the University of Maryland and presents medical school admission data from the Association of American Medical Colleges website for the year 2005.
Significant findings included: 1) Biological Sciences majors have low acceptance rates compared to most others and 2) by major, acceptance rates depend more directly on MCAT scores than on GPA.”

http://www.oswego.edu/academics/colleges_and_departments/departments/biology/faculty/mackenzie/homepage/advising/Pre-health_Careers/major_admission_data.html

In essence, it is the MCAT, and not the major, which matters.

If they are looking for a detailed plan to present, print out the graphs, mount them to foam-core, and get presenting. Present why your choice of major/colleges makes the most sense.

Here is another chart by the AAMC with more statistics: https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstable18.pdf

This lists MCAT scores by major, then lists the numbers which matriculate. You can extrapolate the percentages for each category of major - I found this last chart here: https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/
Perhaps you can find other relevant data.

I am not saying that you should be pre-med. I am showing you that you can demonstrate to your parents that being another major besides a science/math major is beneficial.

Also, Boston has amazing medical centers. Some top medical training goes on here.

Last, the tables here: https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/86042/table2.html
offer links which show, by race & ethnicity groups, which colleges/universities sent students to u.s. medical schools. Your favorite schools are listed.

More than half of all applicants to medical school do not get in. That statistic is all over.

Copy and print the following from the BU site: http://www.bu.edu/academics/cas/programs/economics/ba/

“The major in Economics provides student with a firm understanding of core microeconomic and macroeconomic theory while at the same time providing the empirical skills that are essential to applying economic reasoning in our increasingly data-driven world. In addition to rigorous training in both theory and econometrics, students have room in their program to choose electives in economics fitting their likely targets of interest, ranging from financial economics to labor market analysis to development economics, and many more.”

State that the statistics which you shared about medical school show your intense interest in economics which is reflected in the way you researched and presented your information. You want to become more highly trained in econometrics because you know that you will be successful - you don’t want to be in the large group which does not get into medical school.

Also, any idea if you may be interested in health care economics? Big field. I found these two internships - might be fun to demonstrate your knowledge/make a connection to a health related field in your quest to try to convince them in the viability of economics as a degree: https://www.internmatch.com/internships/public-health-institute–6/health-economics-intern?show_location=314513

https://www.internmatch.com/internships/amerihealth-caritas/summer-intern-medical-economics?show_location=302954

http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/

Lots of charts, but might be helpful. Hope so!

37

Indian H and I (US) are physicians. Gifted son had/has NO interest in being a physician. Did math, added comp sci. Now working instead of grad school. We would tell people he’s too smart to become a physician. I think many physician parents would agree with that statement.

Premed is an intention, not a major. YOU choose your classes, not your parents. Our son’s last chemistry was AP in HS- can’t qualify for medical schools. Your class choice and/or grades at ANY school are unlikely to get you into medical school since you seem to lack interest in sciences needed. Downplay the medicine career path- that is a decision for later in your college career.

38

I find this ineffably sad, too. The complete inability to see the world through any lens other than the one you grew up with.

39

1° you’re more employable with an economics major than with a biology major. That’s the way it works in the US.
2° Econ + stats = among the highest MCAT scores.
=> if they want you to get into med school, letting you major in econ with a premed core of classes (ie: 2 semesters each of English, Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics, + 1 semester each of calculus, statistics, biochemistry, a diversity-focused class, psychology, sociology, and preferably a foreign language spoken by an immigrant community) is the way to go.

40

You are the only one who knows your parents, so we are not in good position to give you arguments.
Another point is what is wrong with the flagship or non-flagship in-state public. I assume that if it you are up for a pre-med track, then you are definitly very top caliber student who is up for receiving substantial Merit scholarship at some (all?) of your in-state publics. Also, it is actually the other way around. If you are to attend a Med. School, your college does not matter, you can attend cheapest college that fits you good, no need to attend any of BC, NYU, BU. On the other hand it may be important (I am just not familiar with this) what college you attend if you are planning on poli. sci or econ.

On the other hand, as a parent of medical student who graduates from med. school in May, I can tell you that if you are not fully committed to medicine, there is no way under the sky that you will succeed. Way too torturous and way too long of the road. Students are pushed to extreme limits in all aspects, intellectual, emotional, social, physical. You got to be passionale and be able to perform at the highest level under extreme pressure and still stay cool, social, pleasant…“normal”. This is the only argument I would have for your parents.

Again, another point to consider, you will feel sooo much as a fish in a water at Medical school from the demographic point. There is no question, my D’s Medical school class is predominantly Asian, most of her friends are Asian, they even gave her a title of “honorary” Chinese because she fits with this crowd so well, but not in appearance.
BTW, my D. went to in-state public, she did not even apply to any Eilte colleges after graduating #1 from rigorous private HS (#2 private HS in our state). She had fabulous 4 years at her in-state public college and had great selection of Med. Schools to attend at the end. From a parent’s prospective, her experiences there went well beyond our anticipation, we could not imagine better place for our D. She attended there on full tuitiion Merit scholarship.