Hello,
I am a rising senior applying to a rather long list of selective, elite colleges. My extracurriculars are primarily focused around healthcare (HOSA, Hospital Volunteering, Medical Internship) with small focus in Business/Law (member of FBLA, founded a Law Club at my school). At some of the schools I am applying to with strong Engineering Schools and BME programs, I will be applying under Biomedical Engineering, which is a major I really like, so I think I will be fine for those schools (about 3-4). However, for the vast majority of the schools I am applying to with not as competitive BME programs, I will likely be applying to their respective Colleges of Arts and Science. However, I am not sure what major I’d like to apply under. I’ve heard that a simple biology major is too competitive, and if you don’t get into med school, your degree is basically worthless. I’ve been heavily pressured by my parents and peers to choose a college major that I am interested in, and if possible, pays well too. Any advice? Thank you!
Are you pre-med? There are two components here:
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Majors, in and of themselves, do not pay well (or poorly). It’s the job you get that pays. Some majors are more likely to lead you to certain kinds of jobs, but that’s because they generally teach you skills that take you into those jobs - skills you can also learn other ways. I’m not going to sit here and say that biology has an equal number of opportunities as, say, math or computer science. But at the same time, a biology major isn’t “worthless,” and a well-equipped biology major can find a job she likes and does well at.
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You can major in anything and go pre-med. Or into the health field in general. Health is a huge, sprawling field that needs so many things.
If you are interested in engineering and science, consider also:
Physics - medical physics is an actual profession in its own right (you can get an MS in medical physics and become a medical physicist, who does imaging and nuclear medicine; the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that physicists who work in hospitals and other healthcare facilities average over $163,000 a year. They released a special publication on medical and health physicists: [url=<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2011/summer/art02.pdf%5Dhere%5B/url”>http://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2011/summer/art02.pdf]here[/url]. Physics is a more marketable physical science major than biology or chemistry.
Math/statistics - There are lots of options for the mathematically-inclined in the health field. Math and statistics are the main components for epidemiology and biostatistics. Epidemiologists track disease and health patterns over large populations and work for federal, state, and local health departments/government agencies, as well as private hospitals and clinics, consulting companies, and occasionally nonprofits and NGOs. They average about $70,000 a year. Biostatisticians use math and statistics to help solve health/medicine-related problems; they work in a lot of different settings and average about $80,000 a year. Both of these jobs require a master’s degree (an MPH, or in the case of a biostatistician, an MA in statistics will work too). Actuary is another potentially health-related career you can do with a math degree; actuaries help evaluate risk and set pricing for insurance. You can make health insurance your specialty. Actuaries average about $97,000 a year. Actuaries combine math/statistics and finance/business together.
Computer science - There are so many applications of CS in health and medicine. There’s bioinformatics, which is the development and use of software for processing and analyzing biological/health data. There’s developing software and hardware programs for use in the medical field - like new electronic health records systems, or devices for doctors to keep track of appointments, or reminders for patients to take meds.
Economics - Health economics is a huge subfield of economics, and understanding the economic influences and impact of health is really important. Lots of government agencies, NGOs, nonprofits, hospitals, and private firms hire economists to analyze trends in spending and other economic behavior within health (on the macro and micro level). An economics major can also potentially progress into a career in healthcare administration/management, which can be lucrative as well.
When applying to the CAS at most of the elite colleges, the main benefits of naming a possible major before you enroll are that 1) your first advisor is likely to be in that department and 2) if there are space limitations in a class in that subject that you want to take in the first year, at some schools you will get a bump up the list.
Both you and your parents (not to mention your peers) need to know that no matter what you put down when you apply to a CAS, you will not formally be in that major until at least second semester first year, more usually sometime in your second year. So this is truly not something you have to decide until you are actually there, and have taken some classes.
Also, if you are applying to 3-4 Engineering/BME programs, but there is still a “vast majority” of other colleges, you are almost certainly applying to too many colleges. There is a point of diminishing returns- and people do run out of steam on essays.