What is a good backup for those who cannot make it to med school? What major is best for leaving options open?
The best major for a premed backup is the major that you are interested the most and will do well in that. There is no major can be the best, if you can not perform in that.
For example, personally I cannot be in music, because I cannot read scores.
You can apply to law school with any major that requires a lot of writing (Philosophy, English, political science…)
CS has a direct path to jobs.
Economics combines both characteristics.
I’m not recommending this for a premed, because it’s a very difficult major, but my son was a Chemical Engineering major. That career path was his Plan B. Being an eng’g premed is a tough row to hoe. Eng’g can be a GPA killer, so I don’t recommend it for a premed.
For someone strong in math, that can be a good Plan B major.
My daughters both were math plus double majors. D1 was math & physics. Her backup was to go into health & medical physics. (well paying, high demand) D2 was math & biological neuroscience. Her back-up plan was a MS in biostatistics. (well paying, high demand) D2 had friends who were in bio PhD programs who were discouraged by the poor job market for bio PhDs drop out to get their MS in biostats.
Math & statistics is a great Plan B major if you have an aptitude for it. You can go in a lot of different directions–business, investment services, public health, science, government, education.