I am currently a senior about to graduate with a degree in government and public policy. I never once ever entertained the idea of going to med school. However, I have always loved the medical field and I love to help people so much and I am fascinated with the human anatomy. I just never pursued it because I did not think k was smart enough. However, once I got to college I have maintained a 3.9 GPA and have gotten more confidence. A good friend of mine is a current family physician and he said that he went through med school with some guys that were English majors in undergrad.
My question is, is there any possible way at all for me to still go to med school even though I will have a degree in government and public policy? Or, is the only option to go to get my masters in “pre-med” and then test for the MCAT?
If neither of these are options can someone please let me know what other options are available for me? Thank you very much!!
The typical pre-med course work includes about four semesters of general and organic chemistry, two semesters each of general biology and physics, often calculus and statistics, and some upper level biochemistry and genetics courses. This can be done alongside any major by pre-med students, but if you have not been taking them since the beginning of college, you would have to take them as a visiting student (preferably at a four year college from the point of view of medical schools) after graduation.
If you do go into politics and policy, there are still major policy problems in health care that may need solving, such as the cost and complexity of the health care system. The US spends by far the most per person on health care (including both government and private spending) but does not have better outcomes overall than other rich countries that spend significantly less per person. Perhaps that is a way that you can help lots of people with respect to health care.
There are quite a few people who decide on med school after they’ve completed college or nearly completed it. You won’t be able to start next year, but most don’t start right after college either so you won’t be unusual.
@WayOutWestMom knows a lot about the whole med school process and your options - far more than I know with specifics.
Otherwise, make an appointment with your Pre-Health department at your school and someone there ought to be quite helpful too. If there’s room in your schedule, you can start some Pre-Reqs next semester.
Meanwhile, see if you can shadow some doctors. It will give you an idea if med school really is the right path for you, plus, it’s 100% needed for successful med school applications. A Pre-Health advisor at your school should be able to point you in a direction to set this up. You will likely have to make contact, but they should know where you’re most likely to be successful asking.
You absolutely can go to med school without a typical “pre-med” degree. But you’re going to have to put some work into preparing for med school.
First and MOST important–
Have you done any volunteering in clinical settings (hospitals, nursing homes, public health clinics, standalone surgical or dialysis center, Planned Parenthood, Healthcare for the Homeless etc) where you interact with actual patients? (Family members don’t count!)
This needs to be your first step because medicine isn’t about anatomy or studying the human body, it’s about dealing with people who are sick, injured, chronically ill, mentally ill, elderly demented, physically disabled and dying. And all their family members.
I’d hate to see you spend years of your time and lots of $$ only to find out you’re hate dealing with patients.
Once you have done some volunteering and are sure you want to pursue medicine, then you need to start taking science classes.
You’ll need 2 semesters of general chemistry w/ labs, 2 semesters of organic chemistry with labs, 2 semesters intro bio with labs, 2 semesters of intro physics (either algebra or calculus based) with labs, 1 semester of biochem, 2 semesters of “college level” mathematics, one semester of which must be statistics (thru the math or a science dept. Stats for social science or business doesn’t address the same methods and topics you need for med school.) Plus a semester each of intro psych and intro sociology.
If you have the time, a few extra useful classes are: genetics, anatomy & physiology, and the sociology of healthcare.
Besides the above coursework you’ll need to complete the ECs expected of all pre-meds: clinical volunteering (200+ hours is typical); non-medical community service with disadvantaged groups (200+ hours is expected); physician shadowing (50-60 hours, some of which must be done with primary care doctors); leadership roles in your activities.
For the science coursework, you have 2 options. You can attend a formal post-bacc program for career changers OR you can do a do-it-yourself post bacc at any convenient college.
The formal post-bacc route is more efficient, but it also costs more. It requires full time enrollment for about 2 years. But these programs often offer structured volunteering opportunities, MCAT prep classes and personalized advising.
Choose Career Changer as the type. Career changer programs are for those students who haven’t any or have only taken a few science/math classes.
The do-it-yourself option is less expensive and you can do it part-time if you want to.
One of my daughters was career changer (she was a physics major). She and her sister both had lots of non-“pre med” majors in their med school class. Everything from agriculture to women’s studies and everything in between, like music performance, Italian, English lit. theology, business…
The agriculture major is a MD/PhD and in training to do gastroenterology. The theology major is an oncologist, the English major is a surgeon, the Italian major is a pulmonology specialist who is completing her PhD in public health. The applied music major is a rural family medicine practitioner.
Right now it is very difficult to get an med school acceptance. Only about 35% of those who apply get an acceptance.
Make sure if you do go down this route, you have some other career options that you’d be happy with because there are no guarantees when it comes to med school admission.
Yes, you can still decide on med school, if that’s what you want. There’s most definitely no such thing as a master’s in premed. You’ll have to take the standard premed classes at a 4 yr college, and do very well in them before you can apply. You’ll also need to do some clinical work, maybe some clinical volunteering, too.
As a first step, I would recommend enrolling in premed track Intro Chemistry, and maybe also premed track Intro Biology for next (spring) semester. See how you do in those. If you do well in them, then assuming that you have family support so that you can live at home for free and not hold a job, plan to do more over the summer and next year at a nearby 4 yr public college, if you can’t afford to do it at the college you’re currently at. If the course offerings don’t line up with that for the summer, maybe you can do both semesters of Physics over the summer, and continue with Bio and Chem in the fall.
You will need two semesters of Bio, two of general Chem, two of Physics, and two of Organic Chem, all with lab. The reason I recommend starting with Chem is because you need 4 semesters of it. Some people can get this all done in 15 months - a summer and two semesters. You will also need some math and English (but you’ve probably already done those), and perhaps a semester of psychology - it depends upon the school. And you’ll need to get very good grades in all of this, and do very well on the MCAT. Even if you were able to take two science classes in the spring semester, the earliest you could possibly enter med school would be fall of '25, and more likely, '26. BTW, med school is EXPENSIVE, too.
There are post-bac premed programs at colleges, but the private ones can be expensive. It won’t really make much difference where you take your premeds, as long as it’s at a 4yr college, not a community college. There’s surely a premed advisor at your current college. I’d advise you to make an appointment with them and talk with them about your options.
You do have a chance at this. Your high GPA from undergrad will help. If you were good at science and math in high school, this might be an option for you. If you were not very good at science and math in high school, then another option for you might be to get a nursing degree, and try to become a nurse practitioner. There are BA to BSN programs at state colleges, that can get you your BSN in about 18 -24 months. Then a year or two of bedside nursing, then go for your NP certification, and you can pretty much practice independently, without MD supervision, in many areas of medicine.
You don’t need a “premed” degree. All you need are the prerequisite classes. They vary somewhat from school to school. Med schools see so many Bio and Chem majors, that they just start looking identical. Seeing an English major actually stands out. I’d say, go for it.
Are you saying the prerequisite courses vary from medical school to medical school? Or are you saying that the prerequisite courses vary in offering from one undergrad to the next.
There are somewhat standard prerequisite courses for all medical school applicants. As long as those are taken, one can major in anything they choose.
Not sure I agree that an English major will stand out for medical schools. I think the medical schools don’t really care what you major in.
For example, some med schools don’t require ochem 2 if the student takes biochem. A few med schools require Calc 2 and other UL math classes; most don’t. Some med schools specifically require classes from the English dept in order to fulfill the writing skills requirement for med school.admission; others will accept any coursed designated as writing intensive by the individual college. Several med schools required additional UL biology coursework beyond Into Bio 1 & 2. (OSU require anatomy. Duke requires cellular biology or genetics)
A number of med schools no longer require specific admission coursework, but have competency-based admission standards that allow students to demonstrate the required competencies through a variety of means.
Applicants must have completed a baccalaureate degree, or its equivalent, from an accredited college or university in the U.S. prior to matriculation. The school has no specific course requirements, although Spanish and statistics are recommended. Strong applicants will have distinguished themselves in their chosen field of study and have demonstrated competency in the sciences at the time of their application. Please see the MSAR for recommended coursework (Spanish and statistics).
@WayOutWestMom since there is some variation amongst medical schools…how would a prospective medical school applicant know what to take…or not take?
Of course you can! My cousin is an internationally known concert pianist and started medical school at age 32. He’s now a 3rd-year resident in internal medicine and met his soon-to-be wife (RN) at the hospital!
First make sure you really want to do this. The burnout rate for physicians is considerable. Thats why med school committees want to see shadowing or other experience in dealing with patients.
Second, how do you feel about rote memorization? Lots of the first two years of med school involves memorizing. You have to be good at it. Some people don’t like it.
Finally, have you considered delaying your graduation until you fulfill premed requirements? This would enable you to get a committee letter from your undergrad institution. Often better than getting letters from a post-bac or DIY program.
The Caribbean MD programs are notorious for being money pits - highly suggest to avoid at all costs.
But in general, the old standbys work for most med schools: bio, gen chem, ochem, biochem, math/stats, physics, writing skills, intro soc, intro psych.
Plus every pre-med should, at a minimum, check the pre-reqs for their in-state public med school(s) because that’s ALWAYS every pre-med’s best chance for an admission and their least expensive option.