I saw a discussion about this somewhere and was hoping for some extra opinions.
Someone mentioned that many Vanderbilt pre-meds are neuroscience majors because it’s more relevant to medicine, but someone else stated that it was much harder as well.
Is it worth it? Given that medical schools don’t really consider majors when looking at applications, there is a GPA risk (I have heard about many people that did a neuroscience major, although they weren’t vandy students, and ended up not being able to attend med school because their GPA was too low)
There are two things to consider when choosing a major for premed
1.) The difficulty of the major. Probably the more important of the two. Theoretically, it would probably be best to be a Blair kid since they have the highest GPAs, but that’s obviously not always possible. MED SCHOOLS DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR MAJOR. DO NOT BE A CHEM MAJOR JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK IT WILL IMPRESS ANYONE. All you need is a high GPA and to take all the prereqs. Period. Nobody is going to be impressed because you took the hardest classes possible.
2.) What your major will do for you if you don’t get into med school. You don’t want to think about this, but this is happening to some of my friends right now. They have bad GPAs because they took hard majors, can’t get into med school. They’re stuck with bio/psych/chem/neuro majors. Not much you can do with that besides research and teach. Nothing wrong with that, but they all wanted to go to med school, not stay in a lab their entire life.
If you like neuro though, just major in it. That should be the most important thing I think. Just major in what you like.
They won’t necessarily have to stay in a lab their entire lives (people who “really” want to do medicine work hard to place themselves in a position to try again through working, post-baccs, various types of masters degrees, even doctoral degrees. Those who were doing for the ego boost seem to resign or “settle” for something permanently and these people probably honestly are better off doing that than chasing something they may actually not be into. Most determined folks who stumbled in undergrad pull through eventually if that is truly what they want)…just throwing that out there. Longer routes, rather voluntary or involuntary for medical school are becoming more common, and I honestly think that is a good thing for those entering professional school (of any kind) though many people like to equate that time with “money lost”. However, often times folks make money in gap years, perhaps raising some before the onslaught of debt many will take on when entering. Also, most science majors if creative enough can pivot toward business, industry, or entrepreneurship. I think people get in trouble when they think they want to go to med. school mainly because it is some default path to security and success if you are interested in science (and thus see their major as a set of hoops as opposed to an experience that develops skills or an opportunity to get mentoring and professional development advice). That reasoning almost always leaves to trouble and poor planning/close-mindedness about the potential of a STEM degree.
I advise STEM freshmen to keep an open mind and not constantly think “pre-med” as primary designation for their interests. Even sticking to “pre-health” is honestly more open-minded. And you should indeed keep your interests and possibilities of it in mind without pre-med in the back of your head. Common sense: Work hard enough and choose an optimal schedule (no matter your major) such that you can perform optimally and get the skills you need to be successful on say, the MCAT, if you are to end up choosing that route. I would avoid choosing all courses with mainly the grade in mind though. A few truly challenging courses may actually pay off in many respects (especially if you do well…perhaps a really strong rec. letter for whatever you plan to do? hint hint. And maybe mentoring from an instructor that respects a student who does solidly in their course? This can pay off and be priceless at the same time).