<p>So if the two criteria are MCAT score and GPA, is premed the best choice?</p>
<p>I've heard some people only do premed courses in order to have a nice GPA and take a max of 4 courses per semester in order to maintain that nice GPA.</p>
<p>If I did MCDB then could I still maintain a really good GPA? I want to be super prepped for the MCAT and have a good GPA when I finish college and apply for med school.</p>
<p>I really wanted to be a math major because I like it and I've heard that math majors tend to do the best on the MCAT. Why is it that chemistry or biology majors don't do as well? The majority of the test is chemistry. </p>
<p>I really want to study either cell biology, applied math, or chemistry as my major and complete premed. I just want to pick the one which will maximize my GPA and MCAT score by this point. They all seem like cool majors to me.</p>
<p>*So if the two criteria are MCAT score and GPA, is premed the best choice?</p>
<p>I’ve heard some people only do premed courses in order to have a nice GPA and take a max of 4 courses per semester in order to maintain that nice GPA.*</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>what are you asking? </p>
<p>What do you mean by, “is premed the best choice”??? </p>
<p>No one can only take the premed prereqs in order to go to med school. Who are you “hearing” that from? No one can “only do the premed courses.” </p>
<p>Generally all medical schools require:
General Chemistry with lab: 2 semesters
Organic Chemistry with lab: 2 semesters
General Physics with lab: 2 semesters
General Biology with lab: 2 semesters
English: 2 semesters
Calculus: 1 semester</p>
<p>SO , yes, you could major in Math and then just make sure you cover the above courses as well. I am assuming when you say “Premed” you mean something like Biology or Biochemistry or soemthing more conventional.</p>
<p>Math majors do well on the MCAT not because they major in math but because math majors tend to be smart enough to do well on the MCAT. </p>
<p>It’s not cause and effect, it’s the self-selecting nature of the major. Sort of like Harvard grads get into medical school at a high rate not because they went to Harvard, but because they were smart enough to get into Harvard in the first place. (Although there’s probably a halo effect for borderline candidates.)</p>
<p>Classics majors often do well on the MCAT because the kind of person who does well in The Classics often have the thinking skills to do well on the MCAT.</p>
<p>There’s a recent post from a senior Bio major who’s now upset that he didn’t major in something else. He did very well on the prereqs, but he hated the non-related material in the upper division Bio classes, and now his GPA isn’t high enough.</p>
<p>Majoring in math (with appropriate electives) may be helpful in having better backup job and career prospects than biology in case you do not get into medical school.</p>
<p>Yes, you should major in what you enjoy the most, that will probably lead to the highest GPA. MCDB would probably be better in the sense that you have to take most of the pre-med classes for that major anyway, rather than trying to fit them in as electives. </p>
<p>Just make sure you find the pre-med advisor as soon as you hit campus wherever you go and follow their advice to the letter, particularly for first semester, freshman year classes. That way you aren’t behind from day one or overloaded later on.</p>
<p>Personally, I would NOT major in bio as a premed…Premeds have a very difficult time getting into med school (and that’s after surviving the premed gauntlet!). </p>
<p>If you end up not going to med school, what would you do with a Bio degree?</p>
<p>Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology</p>
<p>Don’t forget that with the new MCAT and the new med school requirements, students will need one year of English (Composition, First Year Seminar, Writing Intensive…), plus some social science such as Psychology, and Sociology (or American Studies and/or anthropology) with at least one class in your curriculum diversity-focused. Although not officially required, I’ve been told a biochem class is recommended.
You can major in anything, even Medieval Literature. It doesn’t matter as long as it’s rigorous , that you do well in all the science classes, and have a high GPA.</p>
Mostly self-selection. Electrical engineering majors have a better average MCAT than math majors, even though the MCAT doesn’t cover electrical engineering. The individual subjects sections within the MCAT do show a better correlation with similarity to major. For example physics majors top the physical sciences section. English majors top the verbal reasoning. However, biology majors fall near the bottom for the biological sciences score. I suspect that biology is the common default major for pre-med, with the most overlap with pre-med requirements, aside from chemistry, which the majority of pre-med students report as being more challenging than biology. Students who choose a more difficult path, with less overlap and/or more challenging courses, tend to be more talented than average. There also may be more of a weeding effect in majors that have a reputation for being more challenging to maintain a high GPA.</p>
<p>
As you complete the pre-med requirements, you’ll need to take math, biology, and chem classes. If your college permits open enrollment, you could decide after having completed some classes in all 3 areas, thinking about which is most enjoyable/interesting. I agree with the earlier posters that you should also consider which of these areas would be helpful for your career goals/interests, if you do not go to med school.</p>
<p>"'you could decide after having completed some classes in all 3 areas, thinking about which is most enjoyable/interesting. I agree with the earlier posters that you should also consider which of these areas would be helpful for your career goals/interests, if you do not go to med school. "
Copying dATA10’s point because it bears repeating. Many students give up on the premed path and among those who manage to finish only half get into med school. So think of what you could do with your major if you didn’t get into med school: work for a while? In what? Try again or give up?</p>
<p>It’s interesting that we tell kids not to be too focused on getting a specific job based on a specific degree in college on certain threads, yet on the pre-med threads, we always tell them to take a look at the end product if they don’t make it into medical school.</p>
<p>There’s probably a happy medium, but I’d say don’t take anything you hate thinking it will get you into medical school, but at the same time, realize that if you don’t make it, you need to have a backup plan. If you use your schools pre-med advisor, you should probably have a good idea if you’re going to make it or not by the end of your sophomore year, plenty of time to switch majors, or pick a practical one if you’re at a LAC.</p>
The advice tends to be not to worry about linking a liberal-arts major to a job, not to pay no attention to their future job. When I write a post to a liberal-arts major wondering what they will do with their History or whatever major I always also include advice that the student find a career direction while in college. To quote my boilerplate post
So for premed the advice is really in the same vein. If your med-school plans don’t pan out, what will you do?</p>