<p>I am a senior. I've committed to intensive science research throughout my entire high school journey because I've always felt that being a scientist is my career destination. I do have some decent awards and my bio teacher is willing to write me a decent recommendation, but recently I've discovered that perhaps lab is not for me; maybe my abilities will best be shown if I am a doctor (I've done lots of careers tests (including an official one) and scientist and doctor have always been the top two choices; I know those tests may be inaccurate but the consistency probably shows something). But biology and pre-med are quite different and I don't have that much hospital-related ECs. Should I stick to biology when it comes to intended concentration, but change my major as soon as I get in? I feel it's a bit hypocritical in this way but I don't have any significant ECs to back the other decision (pre-med) up. </p>
<p>P.S: I know that according to many CCers, concentration is not very important but I do want to talk about the specific features that colleges have about my intended major in "Why this college" essays. </p>
<p>Don’t be so worried. People will not expect you to put yourself into a box so soon. You do not have to have medical experience in HS to hope to be a doctor.</p>
<p>Do the schools you are applying to all HAVE “pre-med” majors? Many if not most pre-med students major in Biology anyway (or Chemistry, or even English, actually). </p>
<p>My husband is a doctor and always wanted to be. He majored in Biology. He did a lot of research. He did a lot of research even after he became a doctor. His career has mostly been in patient care, but he still respects research.</p>
<p>You are not in as much of a quandary as you think. It’s OK. In your essay, talk about what you care about, and don’t fear the results.</p>
<p>^But what kind of research did he do? The projects that I have been working on have almost nothing to do with human diseases. I do love and respect research but I don’t think I can do it for the rest of my life.</p>
<p>Yes, most of the schools that I am applying to have pre-med majors. I find that pre-med allows me to take more electives and therefore brings me a broader understanding of different fields than biology.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I understand – change your major to ??</p>
<p>The most likely major for most Medical School applicants and acceptances is Biology partially because a some Med Students thought that would look good, but mostly because the type people who want to go into medicine are naturally attracted to Biology (Human Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, etc) so it’s a nice fit for personality and interest. There are certainly many other ways to get to the same end whether through Chemistry, Biochem, Math, Physics, English, Finance, Music, Engineering and the occasional true Pre-med major (the last is only offered at some universities). </p>
<p>You could easily change your mind again since many if not most college students change their major at least once. After you get to college and see what the field is like plus what your long term options are whether it’s Med School or Biology Grad School or something else entirely. </p>
<p>Go to University with an open mind and find something that interests you and go for it. I can’t tell you the number of friends who ended up 4 years into the Process and decided they didn’t want to go to Med School even after they were accepted. They were doing it b/c they had told everybody in thh 9th grade they were going to be a Doctor, or their parents were so happy, or Family encouraged it, or they were scared they were too far into the process to change. </p>
<p>2 people in my 1st year Medical School class dropped out mid year and decided it just wasn’t their goal and another after 3rd year clerkships – they were passing and by all accounts doing well, but decided they weren’t happy for a variety of reasons.</p>
<p>Half of the intended science majors graduate with a degree in something other than science. It is not unusual for HS & college students to change their minds about their major as their interests change. Who knows, when you get to college your passion for being a scientist may be reignited.</p>
<p>It is good that commitment is important to you, and that you have a conscience about potentially misrepresenting yourself on a college application. Your application is about who you are and what you have accomplished much more than where you want to end up after college. Don’t short change your accomplishments to date just because some uncertainty has crept in.</p>
<p>There are few if any colleges or universities that have “pre-med” majors. They have pre-med advisors and committees. But pre-med is not a major. One majors in anything they want, as long as they meet med school requirements for admission. Most major in bio or chem or exercise science or nutrition science. But you can major in anything, even humanities, as long as you have the course requirements of english +/- writing, chem, organic chem, calc, physics, bio, anatomy/physiology +/- genetics/biochem etc.</p>
<p>What do you not like specifically about biology? Are you scared that you’ll be observing specimen under a microscope for the rest of your life? There are other things biologists can do… just to name a few pretty awesome fields, there is biophysics and biotechnology that advance materials and other such technologies (like circuits, for example) that incorporate natural structures and things like that. There is also evolutionary biology and genetics, or even neuroscience and if you have a knack for programming or you’re interested in using computers to build scientific models, there are tons and tons of things you could be doing. I’ve listed a few interesting fields but with a bit of thought and some poking around, I could make a huge list of things that a biologist could work on that are mind-blowingly awesome.</p>
<p>Being a scientist is way cooler than being a doctor, and since you’ve had experience and you’re well versed in it already, I urge you to give it another chance. Unless of course you’ve just realized that you hate the entire scene altogether and you can’t even stand the notion of working on ‘projects’ for long periods of time, or if being a doctor really interests you more.</p>
<p>hss,
I suggest you go over to the PreMed Topics subforum, they have so much information and many knowledgeable posters (not that everyone here isn’t), some of whom are in Med school now and others who are in the process currently and physicians as well. A major titled ‘PreMed’ or something similar is NOT recommended as these are usually for non-physician medical professions.</p>
<p>There are several very informative sticky threads on that forum and a Search for “major” will reveal many pertinent threads, as which major to chose is one of the most frequently asked questions.</p>
It looks cooler but actually it may not be true, especially if you work for years with repetitive steps without getting any positive results. A career as a doctor will let me witness the positive (hopefully not negative) impacts that I’ve made on the patients in a relatively shorter period of time. Both are helping the humanities, but I feel that being a doctor may allow me to do more, unless I make some great discoveries.</p>
<p>Don’t get lost in too many details unless you have direct experience with a professor or department. If the school is known to have a great Biochem or Technology or Genetics program you can mention it most particularly if you’ve done something in your EC’s that mesh, but be careful not to get too foamy as it sometimes comes off as false flattery. </p>
<p>Your EC’s now also shouldn’t have to be too Human Biology or Medically relevant – anything that shows scientific interest, overall general curiosity, something that’s fun/unique/quirky, and anything showing you have ability to follow some interesting path over an extended time is often much more unique to an admission official later on than whether you went to a bunch of random hospitals and followed some doctor around for a few hours on occasion.</p>
I’ve done lots of cloning in the past few years with plants and bacteria but it but it had nothing to do with humans. So I guess I don’t have to mention pre-med at all but just to demonstrate that I am seriously interested in science?</p>
<p>Keep you options open. Your two interests are really more alike than different. Colleges do not expect everyone to know exactly what you want to study, and having a range of interests is not only OK, but in some cases better. Talk about how the colleges can help you explore both these interests before you dive deep into one.</p>
<p>I’m not seeing your point really. I hope you understand that as a physician, all you do is treat a lot of people for a lot of common stuff. If you’re going to be a surgeon, it’s a different story and I don’t think you’re considering medical research.</p>
<p>Sure science can get repetitive, just as being a doctor can. What you have to ask yourself is, what do you really want to do with your life? You say you’d like it if you made some big discoveries… by this comment I think you don’t fully realize what being a scientist entails. Which is completely fine, that’s why you try to do research in undergrad so you can get a taste of it. If you keep your grades high and do a bit of research, you have a good case for both med school and grad school. In fact, your research might help you in your med school applications, but even better, you’ll know what being a scientist would’ve been like and you won’t be turning away from something you’ve had a good interest in for a [seemingly] long time.</p>
<p>One thing I will say about discoveries, if you work in a hot field where the general direction is known, like genetics and neuroscience, you are guaranteed to come up with results no matter what. They may prove, disprove, confirm, or be something totally new and unexpected. That’s the beauty of science, because when you think about it, you really don’t know what to expect. As a doctor, yes you have that insurance, but gosh it doesn’t sound like too much fun does it?</p>
<p>^Your point is probably valid, but I may need more time to fully understand which option is better for me.</p>
<p>My parents are almost completely against me working in a lab and I’ve had constant conflicts with them. They’ve been dissuading me from doing research these few years and they may become even more resolute in the future. Perhaps my parents’ opinion has gradually had a place in my mind. I really don’t know.</p>
<p>The cloning stuff is pretty cool so play it up. I think I did a Term Paper on cloning in HS AP Biology decades ago – it was totally science fiction back then straight out of Asimov and Clarke and now it’s on the cusp of something more relevant. I had to present in front of all the AP students and about 4 teachers and a couple visitors – it actually led to a really interesting ‘discussion’ about ethics and possible long term usefulness or dangers.</p>
<p>For College it most certainly doesn’t need to be human related and quite frankly even for Med School later you are still learning basic scientific principles which you may be able to parlay into more advanced genetics in college lab/research. The fact that you’ve shown that you can handle some delicate work, follow detailed procedures, and can be trusted responsible team member can’t be discounted whether it’s part of a lab team, a surgical team in the OR, or a Medical team taking care of sick people after a major earthquake somewhere in the world.</p>
<p>What do your parents want you to do? If they would be happier with you in Med School and you really like the Pure Science part then there are plenty of options to combine the 2 fields if they both interest you (please don’t do it just because someone else wants you to – it just doesn’t work that well).</p>