<p>I was wondering what people had to say about choosing a major in college while planning to go on to medical school. I had been planning on majoring in biology with a minor in public health; however, I am beginning to hear that just about every applicant to med school is that way, and they want people who stand out. What is your opinion?</p>
<p>75% of freshman premeds NEVER apply to med school. Many “smart” kids want to become doctors, but the road to med school weeds out a huge chunk of the premeds. A’s are limited in the premed prereqs purposely to weed out the premeds (and STEM majors) who arent strong enough to continue to do well…so they are “pushed out” to get them onto another path.</p>
<p>So…IMHO, a premed should choose a major THAT HE LIKES, and is strong in, and that can lead to ANOTHER career. There is a GLUT of bio grads out there and not enough jobs. </p>
<p>Med schools don’t care what you major is…and they don’t care about minors. Don’t take anything extra that might drag down your GPA. You’ll shoot yourself in the foot.</p>
<p>My son was a Chemical Engineering premed. That was somewhat risky because that is an extremely hard major, but he is very strong in math and sciences (excellent HS teachers) so he still ended up with a very high GPA 3.99 cum/4.0 BCMP gpa</p>
<p>He chose ChemE because he wanted a career-alternative in case he decided against med school. He currently is a 2nd year med student, but he is still glad that he had the ChemE as a back-up. (lol, when his ChemE friends were walking right into $80k+ per year jobs right out of college, it sure made him question his decision…lol)</p>
<p>I don’t know if he “stood out” when he applied to med schools. He only applied to 6 and got accepted to 3, which is a pretty good outcome. (I wanted him to apply to more, but who listens to mom? lol…but his way worked out)</p>
<p>His GPA probably “stood out” because it was very high and in a difficult major. </p>
<p>What are your stats? </p>
<p>Do you have a strong science and math foundation?</p>
<p>@cwarner </p>
<p>I’m a senior in high school and going through the application process now. I have a 4.2 weighted GPA, and I am also strong in math and sciences. I have heard opinions from a ton of different people about what to major in: humanities, psychology, you name it. Really not sure as to what to do.</p>
<p>What do you love? Major in that. </p>
<p>How are you going to pay for college? what can your family contribute? have you run the net price calculators?</p>
<p>I just wanted to add…</p>
<p>We’re not even sure if SOM adcoms even really look at “major”. Maybe a cursory look. I do know that majors and other interests can be a source of conversation during interviews. there have been music majors who get questions…not bad questions…just “personal interest” questions by interviewers who are impressed by the person’s performance accomplishments. My son was asked if he wanted to pursue academic medicine (no) because of his internships that involved stem cells. </p>
<p>The first down-selection when applying to med school is done w/o human eyes (in most cases). There are minimum GPA and MCAT scores that each SOM has that first cuts down their applications (some will have different minimums for certain groups, for instance if they want more Native American med students, those filters may be lowered for that group.).</p>
<p>after that, it is human eyes looking over transcripts, MCAT scores, essays, medically-related ECs, volunteering, LORs, etc. </p>
<p>I’ll disagree slightly - major can matter in that having a non-bio/chem one can make you more interesting. From talking to pre-med advisors at numerous schools, they all encourage non-traditional majors in their pre-meds and say that it does help in the application process - if you can get past that initial GPA/test score screen. That ChemE major with a high GPA probably caught a lot of interest in the admission committees because it is different - the last thing they want is a bunch of bio/chem clones running around the med school. </p>
<p>But back to being more interesting - a huge part of the admission process is apparently the interview. Sure, you have to get invited to the interview, but once you’re in there, who’s going to be more interesting - the 50th bio/chem major they’ve interviewed or psychology/econ double major with a few work years experience under their belt?</p>
<p>^^
I don’t disagree with @MrMom62 writes. I would take it one step further. The bio major involves a lot of memorization. That is fine, but it doesn’t necessarily promote the kind of problem-solving and thinking-skills that the MCAT requires and being a good physician requires.</p>
<p>No matter what your major is…be sure to take a Philosophy Deductive Logic class…it will help you in any career…and in life. ;)</p>
<p>^^
I don’t disagree with @MrMom62 writes. I would take it one step further. The bio major involves a lot of memorization. That is fine, but it doesn’t necessarily promote the kind of problem-solving and thinking-skills that the MCAT requires and being a good physician requires.</p>
<p>No matter what your major is…be sure to take a Philosophy Deductive Logic class (sometimes called Deductive Reasoning)…it will help you in any career…and in life. ;)</p>
<p>Can you really major in whatever you want and then apply to med school? I’m not at all interested in becoming a doctor, but I find it interesting reading about other careers. Could someone study Political Science or Philosophy and apply? </p>
<p>Yes, as long as you take the required pre-med courses. That varies slightly by med school, but generally looks something like this:</p>
<p>General Chemistry
Organic Chemistry I & II
Biochemistry
Physics I & II
Biology I & II
English or Writing (Two semesters)
Calc and/or Stats (Not generally required, but recommended)</p>
<p>I think for applications starting in a few years, a psychology or sociology class will also be required.</p>
<p><<
Could someone study Political Science or Philosophy and apply?
<<<</p>
<p>yes…as long as they have completed the above classes</p>