<p>Hi guys. I'm hoping to get a bit of advice and/or opinions from the rest of you out in the CC world who have already gone through the pains of college admissions or are struggling with them now like I am. </p>
<p>I'm set on pursuing a career in medicine after I graduate from college, but I'm not particularly sure what major I should declare. The typical choice (I'm assuming) would be something like Biology, Biochemistry, or Chemistry. I love biology, but I don't particularly want to be one of the millions that take that route to medical school. And so I'm thinking of majoring in either Accounting or Finance, but I've never heard of it being done before. Is this sensible/practical? Pros/cons? </p>
<p>(Don't get me wrong--I'm not choosing Accounting or Finance just for the sake of avoiding being like other people. I actually am interested in these subjects. But I do also have to consider the possibility that I won't get into medical school and have to find some other career path! And I've been told that job opportunities are much more plentiful with an Accounting/Finance major than with a Biology major.)</p>
<p>I don’t see why you couldn’t major in accounting or finance as long as you take the classes required for medical school admissions. Why don’t you call a couple medical schools admissions offices and see what they say.</p>
<p>Also check to see what will help you get the highest possible score on the MCATs.</p>
<p>I think it’s an excellent idea even if you ultimately become a doctor… Some of the most dreadful tax returns I have had to do have been for doctors. I’d love a doc who had some basic understanding of accounting and finance ;)</p>
<p>I think my biggest concern is that accounting and finance have nothing to do with medicine. All the course descriptions I’ve read emphasize that they prepare students to end up in strong business vocations, but since I’m not planning on going into business, I don’t know what I’d do…(if that makes sense at all. There’s just this feeling I have that I can’t describe.)</p>
<p>medical school dosent have required majors so you should major in whatever you like. i talked to a doctor from duke medical school and he said as long as you stand out from the rest, you have a good shot at getting in. he told me they have turned down plenty of science majors and accepted plenty of odd majors including extremely wierd majors like dance majors.</p>
<p>Job opportunities with Accounting are plentiful, yes. One question for you, though. Isn’t GPA a very important factor in med school admissions? Accounting may not be at the same difficulty of Engineering or Chemistry, but it’s the most difficult business college major. So if you did choose Accounting, it might somewhat affect your GPA. Not to discourage you from doing Accounting or Finance, but I wanted to bring that to your attention in case you hadn’t thought of it.</p>
<p>In general, people feel accounting is the most difficult business major, but I say it depends upon the person. I found accounting to be easy. What I found to be a pain are the projects I had to do for marketing and management. Of course, organic chemistry topped all for pain.</p>
<p>I know that GPA is definitely one of the most important factors in med school admissions, but from what I’ve been told, if you like a particular subject, you tend to do better in it. So I have relatively good feelings about this. I could be completely wrong, though, and end up switching to biology haha. </p>
<p>The required classes include intro to marketing and a couple of management courses. It’s been ages but I remember having to do projects I didn’t care for.</p>
<p>As a business major, you take ‘core’ classes in every business discipline in addition to your major requirements. In fact, there were so many at my school that I thought I’d never get done with them.</p>
<p>How many credit hours is the pre-med coursework? You may want to take a look at the degree plan for business majors to see if you might have to take more than the minimum number of credit hours to graduate (120ish) with a business degree and the pre-med courses.</p>
<p>I would advise against a business major unless it is health related (health care management or finance are probably OK). Medical schools tend to stear away from candidates who wish to enter the field to make money as a goal. Probably because the lure of unscrupulous practice in the profession can be considerable. Selfless service is desired, and a broad exposure to liberal arts and sciences is a definite plus. Also, anything that feels like “technical” training is not a positive, and accounting might be considered as such. </p>
<p>Most of the physicians interviewing you will have some administrator yanking their chain about margins, cost containment, etc. these days, and do not have pleasant associations to such topics. </p>
<p>All that said, many MDs get MBAs after medical school!</p>