Hey! I’m interested in going to med school after undergrad. For undergrad, I was wondering if I could double major or major and minor in music and a languge and complete the pre requisites. Is this a good option in your opinion or should I take more science courses?
For any given college, you need to add up the following:
A. Courses/credits needed to complete your major (and minor or second major, if any).
B. Non-overlapping (with A) courses/credits needed to complete the pre-med requirements.
C. Non-overlapping (with A and B) courses/credits needed to complete other degree requirements (e.g. general education requirements at the college).
If A + B + C <= the total number of courses/credits that you can take within the expected time there (generally 8 semesters), then it is doable.
Great summary of logistics above. I would recommend one major (no minor or second major) in these other areas (fun stuff) and a more science oriented focus (beyond prereqs) primary major. Maybe a major in biology and minor in music or double major, etc. At least start out this way. Although your plan may be a bit more fun, taking more science classes will test your ability and interest in (at a basic level)pursuing med school. Not really about admissions as you can do that with prereqs and any major you want, but actually seeing if you really want to go to med school (so many change course along the way- which is good if they learn they’re not interested or don’t want to put in the time / effort).
As the poster above says, it’s “doable”, but is it the sensible thing to do? Up to you of course.
Thanks! @ucbalumnus that really out into place how to figure it out! Generally speaking how many credits are there in a semester? And @rickle1 that’s exactly what I was thinking about before (and right now). I was just thinking that there are a ton of bio majors applying to med school but you are right in the fact that it could provide a good foundation.
pre-med requirements can overlap courses/credits needed to complete your major (and minor or second major, if any). This is the exact reason so many pre-med students choose a major like Biology. Your college does not care if you plan to use some of the courses to meet the requirements when applying to med school.
Now in this specific case whether you can find classes that work for your intended Music & Language majors that overlap with med school requirements is a matter of what each college you consider requires. Colleges require even students with your majors to take a certain amount breadth classes and to have a minimum number of units to graduate so if you are careful you can pick at least some classes that satisfy pre-med requirements and these at the same time.
The most common credit system is the semester-hour system, where a typical full time course load is 15-16 credits per semester, and 120-128 credits to graduate. The most common credit value of typical courses appears to be 4, although 3 and 5 credit courses exist, and some colleges may have 3 or 5 credits as the most common credit value. Some colleges just count courses, with all courses being the same credit value. Such colleges may specify 30-32 courses to graduate if each course is equivalent to a 4 credit course at semester-hour colleges.
The typical pre-med courses include 11-13 BCPM* courses, or about 44-52 credits in many colleges. In addition, there are writing courses and social science courses that are required or recommended by medical schools, probably about 4-5 additional courses, or 16-20 additional credits in many colleges. As noted, a major in biology typically covers nearly all of the pre-med science courses (and the non-science courses could fulfill general education requirements), so it is “convenient” in that respect, although a biology major would have to take additional upper level biology courses to complete the major. But around half of applicants and matriculants to medical schools have primary undergraduate majors other than biology.
*BCPM = biology, chemistry, physics, math
Your post history shows you are freshman in high school. It is nice to think ahead but really focus on the high school experience and make sure you have a solid foundation that prepares you well for college. Take biology, chemistry, physics and the math sequence your high school offers. Explore different career options and do research on different occupations in healthcare if that is an area you would like to explore. You are at least 8 years away from med school and a lot can change in that amount of time. Medical schools are not going to be looking at what you did in 9th grade.
In college you can major in anything and take your premed classes along with it but your first priority is to acquire the skills necessary to get to that point .
Agree with @raclut that it’s important to build solid foundational skills in hs, premed or not. Med schools don’t require one to take the most rigorous courses, majors, etc. Academically, med schools req a BS/BA and premed reqs. Besides premed reqs, what you fill your dance card with (aka classes/majors/minors etc) is up to you. Just do well academically, fit in time to prep and do well on MCAT, participate in ECs, have a college life, etc, all the while keeping in mind that there are only 24 hours in a day. Although a semester system (15 weeks) is most common, if you attend a school using a quarter system (10 weeks), the shorter duration can be GPA crushing if not prepared from day one… Sure it’s okay to take more science courses that are not part of your major/minor, just do well. Taking more science courses may be important if you stumbled in some premed science reqs, but are typically not required, nor do they give you a head start on med school, nor will they necessarily tend to awe med schools. Most importantly, enjoy rest of your hs years.