<p>Hey, </p>
<p>I want to apply to ND next year and I know I want to do the pre-med track, but I also don't want to take the normal route of majoring in biology etc. I'm interested particularly in finance or physics as a major + the track. </p>
<p>1) When I apply, do I apply directly to the CAS or the CS? </p>
<p>2) Finance and Physics are not in the college of arts and letters, so if I also wanted to major in these areas would I have to go to mendoza or the CS to take these classes?</p>
<p>3) What are the different pre-med track programs at CAS and CS? </p>
<p>I just don't know how this works. </p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>1) When you apply to Notre Dame, you apply to the university itself, not a specific college. For the first year, you are enrolled in the First Year of Studies, after which you will declare a major and enter a specific college. Even after you do that, it is possible to change later with the appropriate approvals. </p>
<p>2) If you wanted to major in Finance, you would enter Mendoza at the beginning of your sophomore year. For Physics, you would enter the College of Science. Additionally, you have to declare an intended major before matriculating in order to register for the courses you would need to be on-track and ready to enter your chosen major at the beginning of your sophomore year (this is not an official declaration and it is possible to declare a couple options so that you can prepare for either possibility during your freshman year).</p>
<p>3) There are two primary “pre-med” program at Notre Dame. The first is SCPP, which is in the College of Science, which pretty much consists of the pre-requisites for entry into medical school and a few additional science electives. The second is ALPP, which is based out of the College of Arts and Letters and consists of the pre-requisites for medical school as well as the courses necessary to complete a supplementary major within the College of Arts and Letters.</p>
<p>However, not everyone who goes on to medical school takes one of these routes. In fact, the applicants who typically perform most strongly on the MCAT are those who major in one of the hard sciences. Biology and biochemistry are the most popular options, but it has been done with chemistry and physics as well. In fact, there is a specific track within the physics department for Physics in Medicine, which is like the traditional physics major, but requires things like organic chemistry (which is required for medical school) instead of some of the upper-level quantum mechanics courses.</p>
<p>If you would like to major in something other than SCPP/ALPP or one of the above sciences, I believe you can also major in whatever you want (like finance) and still apply to medical school as long as you make sure you complete all of the courses required to apply. To go this route and make sure you get into all the required courses, you would most likely have to get departmental approval, so you would have to make sure to get in touch with the SCPP/ALPP department and the pre-med advisors as well (since they are the ones who will help in the application process). Declaring SCPP as a second major in addition to finance would probably also be an option although this might require additional time to complete your degree.</p>
<p>Actually the physics in medicine major is something that not a lot of other schools have and graduates have the highest average mcat score in the college of science.</p>