So I’ve been looking into double majoring in Biology and Psychology. I’ve already declared my bio major and want to also major in psychology. My school doesn’t offer a minor in psych and I heard it would be useful to take it for the MCAT. I also want to open my own practice in the future maybe and was thinking if a business administration major with bio would be good too. Would taking psych or business with bio be good? Pro’s and con’s? I’m also thinking of having a Spanish minor as well, do you guys think the work load would be too much?
If there are any other useful majors I can take with Biology or minors please let me know!
You don’t need a double major or minor at all to apply to medical schools.
But if you are going to add something…add something that has the potential to get you considered for a job after you get your bachelors…and that is not psychology (requires a masters at least).
@WayOutWestMom suggestions ?
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If you become a medical practitioner, there should be lots of seminars designed specifically for managing a medical office. Much better than general undergrad business courses.
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The days of the independent solo practice are long gone. It’s just not economically feasible anymore. (The economies of scale apply to medicine just like everything else.) Very few still exist; most have been sold to or absorbed by large group practices. Even physician-owned democratic groups are a dying practice model. So unless you plan on opening a one-stop-FM-shop in very small town in a very rural area or a a concierge cash-only FM or derm practice, you don’t need a business degree.
Basically there are 4 types of physician employment today:
- academic (physician are directly employed by a teaching school hospital) or direct government employment (with the IHS, VA or Federal Bureau of Prisons)
- corporate management groups (physicians are contract employees for a for-profit corporation who then sells their services to a hospital or group of hospitals)
- democratic physician owned practice group (a type of large group practice where physicians are shareholders and part-owners of the practice. The practice then contract the services of their physician group to a particular hospital or group of hospitals. New hires typically spend several years of being an associate–hourly paid contract employee–before they are invited to become a partner. Not all associates advance to partner status, and becoming a partner often requires a some sort of “buy-in”. )
- large group multidisciplinary medical corporation (think Kaiser in CA)
Unless a physician works for #3, they really have very little say/influence on the day-to-day business practices. Nearly all physician-owned democratic medical groups hire a full time professional business manager (usually MBA w/ experience in medical administration) to run the business side of the group.
Adcomms are not interested double major or minors of applicants. Really. They, Just, Don’t. Care. At. All.
So unless your Plan B career option requires a psych degree, why are you trying to spread yourself so thin?
My school doesn’t offer a minor in psych and I heard it would be useful to take it for the MCAT
The MCAT requires only the knowledge one may get from a single introductory psych class.
The undergraduate courses that are reflected in the Psych/Soc section of the MCAT are introductory Psychology (65%), introductory Sociology (30%), and introductory Biology (5%).
If there are any other useful majors I can take with Biology or minors please let me know!
Mathematics is always useful because it provides for more Plan B career options.
Other useful majors/minors: Data science. Computer science. Statistics/biostatistics. Bioinformatics. Spanish language (enough so that you are comfortable conversing w/ native Spanish speakers on wide variety of technical and non-technical topics)
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I would like to also suggest that you take at least one course in personal finance. You need to learn about loans, budgeting, financial planning, retirement planning, etc. You will definitely need these kinds of information regardless of the career you pursue.
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