Pre-Med//Pre-Law insecurity

Colleges & Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>Hey Everyone-</p>

<p>I was accepted ED to Trinity '12, and for my whole life I've thought that I would go into a career in medicine. In fact, that's one of the big reasons why I applied early to Duke: great volunteer/research opportunities at the hospital, high med school acceptance rate, etc. A huge portion of my "Why Duke?" supplement was dedicated to my passion for medicine.</p>

<p>Here's the kicker: over the past couple of months, I've become less and less interested in pursuing a career in medicine and much more interested in pursuing a career in law. I've been on my school's Mock Trial team for several years now, and it might be because I'm captain of the team this year and because we have a great shot at going to nationals, but recently I've found it much easier to picture myself as a lawyer than a doctor. Mock Trial is my passion. I love preparing for court. I love arguing in court. I love objecting. I love giving a convincing closing statement. In short--I love Mock Trial.</p>

<p>I'm unexpectedly loathing AP Biology (it's my worst class and I find it really boring) and my favorite class all year has been "Civil Rights and Civil Liberties," in which we view U.S. Supreme Court cases over the last century.</p>

<p>Now, I don't really have a specific question to ask you all, but I'm definitely concerned as to my future career choice. I don't want to rule out medicine, but I certainly want to pursue my passion for law as well. I guess if I had to ask some questions on this thread, they would be:</p>

<p>a) Are you someone/do you know someone at Duke with this same Medicine v.s. Law concern?
b) How does Duke rank in terms of law/pre-law?
c) Is it normal for a Duke freshman to not know what career path to take? Can Duke help me with my course of studies in the fall?
d) WHAT SHOULD I DO??</p>

<p>I'm probably exaggerating, but it's just so weird for me because, for the last ten years, I thought my career was set in stone as a doctor, and the more I think about it, the more I want to back out of that career choice and go into something involving law. I'm not used to this whole "unsure of my future" concept, and it's making me feel very, VERY insecure.</p>

<p>Any advice/feedback would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Great post, i would like to know the same</p>

3

<p>You SO don’t have to figure this out now. Start out with a course load that will let you go in either direction, and see what you’re loving. For example, your first couple of semesters you can do the usual gen chem stuff (or whatever you’re starting from) and also do some poli sci or whatever you would normally do to get going on the major you think you would want to do if you decided you wanted to go to law school and not med school.</p>

<p>Med schools love students with majors outside of the usual. And remember that healthcare needs doctors that understand business and can run a department, doctors who understand public policy and can advocate with government for the needs of healthcare, etc. So lots of doctors have 2nd degrees, like an MBA, or an MPh, etc.</p>

<p>Also, remember, the world is full of very successful people who never went to either med school OR law school.</p>

4

<p>You can explore both directions and many more before you have to decide. Certainly, pre-law and pre-med are not your only options, but to your original question, Duke can prepare you well for either. You do not need to be a bio or chem mahjor to apply to med schools, nor do you need to major in poly-sci to apply to law schools.</p>

5

<p>I could copy/paste this post all over CC… gah.</p>

<p>I seriously think that if one were to present the entire world with every profession/academic study path available and had each person choose what would most interest them…maybe 5 people would legitimately choose medicine AND law. (Now, many more would legitimately choose one or the other.) However, due to today’s omnipresent emphasis on prestige and societal perception, half the people in America believe they want to pursue at least one of these two careers, most all on pseudo realistic pretenses. It’s annoying to say the least.</p>

<p>Solutions:
1a. Stop deceiving yourself
1b. Stop putting public perception and “the gaze” above your own ambitions
2. Open your mind
3. Use college as a base platform to explore different career opportunities
4. Follow your heart</p>

6

<p>p<em>hp</em>fan:
I don’t think there is anything wrong with considering a career in law or medicine from the get-go of one’s undergraduate life. The ideal of pursuing many interests without regard to career is both liberating and noble, but it does not need to, nor should it, come at the expense of practicality and reasonable planning. That is the very reason so many students aspire to these two fields - the fact that they are both practical and interdisciplinary.</p>

<p>Madboy121:
Rest assured, it is quite common for students to remain uncertain about the future. That is the reality we often face for having so many opportunities and choices available to us. Duke has outstanding placement for both medicine and law. Each year, about 85% of med school applicants and 99% of law school applicants are admitted to at least one school. Pre-professional advising at Duke is truly one of its strengths and assets, and you will have the opportunity to discuss your ambitions with knowledgeable and experienced pre-med and pre-law advisors. Furthermore, your pre-major advisor will help you to select courses in a one-to-one session and will serve as your guide during your first and second years at Duke. You may also want to consider doing FOCUS your first semester, an interdisciplinary seminar program that is offered in several multidisciplinary areas of study. The genome sciences and policy cluster may be of interest to you, since it takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of genetic medicine, looking at its social, cultural, institutional, and legal aspects.</p>

7

<p>Duke is a great school for either. I hope you understand that you don’t have to major in bio for med school, and you don’t have to major in poli sci for law school. Law schools open their doors to students from any discipline, as long as they have a respectable GPA and LSAT. Med schools don’t require a certain major, but you will need to have certain required courses to go to med school.</p>

<p>A good plan would be to major in something you enjoy, and do the pre-med track. You will be able to go to law school or med school. Or you might find you don’t want to go to med school and drop pre-med. Either way you will still have tons of opportunities available upon graduation. I agree that dukes pre-professional advising offices are very good. They will certainly help you make the right decisions along the way.</p>

8

<p>I believe that the reason why so many people aspire to these two fields is because they are wearing blinders of sheer ambition.</p>

9

<p>Lucky for you you’re going to Duke because Duke really IS great for either pre-med or pre-law. And we’re also amazing for pre-business. Don’t worry there are plenty of people like you. Dean Wilson (you’ll get to know him if you’re a pre-law) always jokes about how many pre-med students drop out of the pre-med track. The pre-law students are a select few. The losers go with business. All in jest ;)</p>

10

<p>Pre med or Pre law are both great programs as long as you follow every step Duke has laid out for you and meet every professors demands. You see their is too much structure for such a rigid course of study. Go Pre med or Pre law you are sure to succeed at duke, without fail, I trust.</p>

11

<p>Wow…thank you everyone for all of your input! I can’t begin to tell you all how much you’ve helped (even though I just did…yeah I never really understood that figure of speech).</p>

<p>I’m really excited to jump into my course advising/selection at Duke! Thanks again, everyone!</p>

12

<p>p<em>hp</em>fan-</p>

<p>I started this post trying to tell you that I don’t gauge my career options based on “prestige and social perception,” but I had difficulty posing reasons for why I’ve personally wanted to study medicine, and all I could come up with was how I’ve loved to study math and science over the years. </p>

<p>On the other hand, I feel quite differently when it comes to law. I love Mock Trial. I love reading testimony, looking for inconsistencies between sworn statements and exhibits, delivering opening and closing arguments, cross examining witnesses, objecting etc. etc. and I know that I’m good at it. I love examining the reasoning and logic behind court cases of the past. </p>

<p>Now, when I think doctor, I think about the money first, and then white coat, and being called “Dr. ______,” and then I think about the actual work. And I see it as work. With law, I see the job first, which is something that I think I’d enjoy a lot, and the money comes later. I don’t even think of the societal implications when it comes to law…I pretty much want to ignore them.</p>

<p>Your post really helped me look at my career choice solely based on my passion. I know I have a lot more experiences in both medicine and law up ahead in my life, but for the time being, thank you.</p>

13

<p>Madboy,</p>

<p>I’m so glad you took my criticism constructively. I tend to be a critical to a harsh extent at times. However, I do hope that you will, over the course of your lifetime, discover academic and other miscellaneous passions to drive your self-worth and your spirit. At the end of the day, I simply think, as I believe you do as well, that it is our inner happiness that will bring us the most joy, not how we are perceived by others. Sometimes it’s just hard to find our own little voices amid the shouts of a confounded world.</p>

<p>Good luck in all your future endeavors, and I am so thankful and optimistic for your rare, opened mind.</p>

14

<p>Madboy121,</p>

<p>One of the things you can do is to intern in the field you are interested in and talk to the people in the field. There can be a huge difference between what you think the profession is about and what you will be really doing. One of my friends was a tax lawyer for 4 years and he <em>hated</em> it because he was doing a lot of research and writing and never got the chance to interact with clients which is left to senior lawyers or partners. This is not something you’d come across by just reading “tax laywers” online. He ended up working for the county and while the pay was less, he liked it more because he was involved in the decision making.</p>