Likely Incoming Freshman Pre-Med at Emory: Majors, Grading, Classes, General Advice

I know this question was probably asked before… Emory is my top choice for pre-med, and second, comes WashU. I am debating between Human Health in Social Sciences and NBB. I read on Quora that social sciences major is easier to have at least an A- than natural sciences. Is this true? Is there anyone who has been to Oxford College as an NBB or Human Health major? How were your first two years? Could you PM me with advice on course selection, professors, and general advice for Oxford? Also, how is pre-health advising? Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone that has been to Emory for pre-med…I’d love to get to know about your advice/experiences!

Do not choose a major BECAUSE it is easier to make a grade. That is a trap, because if you don’t like the content, you will likely under-perform in that major. Also, on average, upper division requirements in those majors require substantially more graded work and critical analysis skills to do well, especially versus those who seriously enjoy those areas/already had very strong writing skills (you will write and read a lot more per course and it can eat lots of time). Just choose a major that you’d like and do the best you can in it. You can find plenty of specific courses (in and out of STEM) to pad your GPA if it comes down to that, but DO NOT choose a major based upon that.

Note: It is the humanities that have a lot of grade inflation (some suggest that this is because they bleed enrollment numbers). Many social science majors (and especially economics) don’t grade but so much higher than STEM when you consider the entirety of the required courses (and not just the intro. and pre-med associated courses). It is just not worth it unless you think you like those subjects. Many think that departments like political science and psychology at Emory often defy their expectations of ease. It seems clear that they are trying to maintain some sort of academic standards so plenty of the TAs and faculty are known for high standards/harsh grading when it comes to writing and whatnot and usually those are among the best classes (not to mention, you only get one instructor choice in a lot of the social science intro. courses). If you feel inclined to dodge those courses, then why bother with the major? Choose something you are willing to more fully immerse yourself in and perhaps do an honors thesis (ECAS does not offer Latin honors based solely upon GPA. You have to hit a GPA threshold and do a thesis in your primary major to earn Latin honors) or senior project in. As for STEM courses and all that. I have an entire thread on that where I broke down a lot of it years ago at the top of this sub-forum I think. The advice in it for the most part still stands.

@BobChee If you have a passion for the social sciences, then go for it. You can still go to medical school with that major. A couple of years ago, when I was touring Emory with my son, they were telling the story of one of their graduating business majors who was going to medical school. When I think about the business school required classes, which are curved, leading to tougher grades, and combine that with the core pre-med courses. I think that kid must have worked his butt off. The thing is that he probably had a passion for both areas (and is probably incredibly bright). What Bernie says about choosing an area you are willing to immerse yourself in, I think he’s talking about the same thing, passion. If you are just going through the motions, you may as well just be passing through.