<p>I just recently graduated from high school and have had interests in medical for a long time now. But the situation is, I come from a middleclass family and we're not sure if we can afford the medical school. So I was thinking of majoring in political science (which I'm also very interested in) and going on the premed track. That way, if med doesn't work out for me, I would still have other options. The question is, is it too much to handle? I know there are alot of required classes for premed and I heard Poly Sci classes can also be tough. I'm a B average student with all As in science classes in high school. I'm afriad I won't be able to handle the course works. Also, what do you think of my plan for a student from not-so-well off family? Thank you! :)</p>
<p>Political science major degree programs usually leave enough extra schedule space to take the pre-med courses in (and some of the pre-med courses can fulfill science breadth requirements that you would otherwise need to take anyway). Check the college, counting courses/credits for the major and breadth requirements and pre-med courses to see how doable that is.</p>
<p>Premed typically involves two semesters each of bio, chem, physics, and orgo. If you have a decent amount of AP credit or lax enough area requirements, you can probably finish that all in the first two years before you have to take the more specialized classes for your major.</p>
<p>Also, as for whether med school is too expensive, if you have been accepted to med school (a big if) you shouldn’t be afraid to take out loans. Most of the people I know going to med school (some at top schools) are paying for most of it with loans, knowing that once they’re done with residency, they will be making 200k+ for the rest of their life (depending on their specialty).</p>
<p>I’m not sure whether a degree in political science would open up more options than an undergraduate degree in biology/chemistry would.</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone whose family paid for medical school. They all took out large student loans.</p>
<p>I actually didn’t know about the loans. Thankew! Are they available for international students? I’m interested in those liberal arts schools like Amherst and Colegate. Do you think my plan of studying two fields will be doable for a person of my grades?</p>
<p>Loans are loans are loans. There are various types of loans. It depends on the school and various factors. It shouldn’t worry you until you actually get into med school. That’s a long time from now, and there’s always a good chance you will have changed your mind by then.</p>
<p>Studying two fields might be tough. Your best bet is to take classes in both fields your first year, and then specialize in the field you find most interesting and are the best in.</p>
<p>@Difuzttt, have you checked out the pre-med forums on here? One of the first things you should know is that it’s quite rare for international students to get into med school. It’s something to keep in mind, but otherwise as terenc said, that’s a long time from now. :)</p>
<p>Thank you everyone! I’ll check out the forum. :)</p>