<p>Hi, I'll be a senior in HS this fall, and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do in college. = ) I am 90% sure as of now that I want to major in Music Ed(choral). I don't want to be a performance major because I feel like I won't be able to connect with as many people and make a difference. I just finished Chemistry in HS and found that I thoroughly enjoyed it! So that had me thinking about venturing into the medicine field, particularly pharmacology. Again with the helping people! Now, I know for a fact that I will be majoring in music when I go to college, but what are the possibilities of being able to complete the required pre-med courses for future consideration of med school? I know music majors have TOUGH schedules, and this makes me doubt that this is even plausible for me because I would have to work harder as it is in just music; I have only been fully immersed in music for 4 years. I see myself as an underdog. Who knows how much I might struggle with the advanced theory and piano in college! Also, I know that there is a pharmacology major in college, but is that the only path available? Thank you!</p>
<p>i’m choral music ed as well. At schools like Northwestern/Lawrence, you can easily get a 5-year dual degree in music ed + an academic field. At IU, there is a BSoF which lets you major in music plus an outside field. I know a few people doing both music and pre-med, and from what I hear, it’s extremely stressful and time-consuming. Also another thing to keep in mind is that a 5 year program is a whole other year of tuition and board. What I’d say is, if you’re 50/50, choose one and choose the pre-med track. You can always keep music as a hobby, and you can more easily get a stable job in the medicine field. The reverse is not true. But if you REALLY want to leave both options open, go for it!!</p>
<p>You can go to medical school on almost any major, pre med is not a major per se, it is a pre professional program. I forget the exact requirements, but usually it is a year of non organic chemistry, a year of organic, usually a year of physics, several semesters of math and a year of bio (at least, they may require zoology, not sure). It might be difficult to fit those in with a music ed major, though some of those also help knock out core course requirements. The other option is to take what you can as an undergrad to fulfill requirements then post grad take whatever courses you need to fulfill med school requirements. A number of schools offer programs for graduates to do just that, fill the gaps needed for med school admissions. </p>
<p>You actually might have a benefit in being a music ed major, a lot of pre med students major in chemistry or biology, being in something like music or music ed may help differentiate students (there are some statistical reports that say music majors of any kind have the highest or among the highest acceptance rates to med school). </p>
<p>As far as Pharmacology goes trying to dual major with that maybe very, very difficult, I seem to recall it is a 5 year program by itself and has requirements for internships, I suspect that may almost impossible as a dual major (don’t take my word on that as gospel, that is just my impression)</p>
<p>I would suggest taking summer classes to make the pre-med+BM more do-able.</p>
<p>You can probably take two semesters of Bio and two semesters of Chem and two semesters of math and one semester of physics at a local tech/jr college/community college fairly inexpensively. Plus you could take some of the other gen ed requirments during the summers, like eng 101/102, and any history/psyc/socio classes that are required.</p>