<p>Hey guys.
I'm an incoming freshman to Notre Dame and I'd like some input on going the Premed route. To be honest, I've never really been that science-oriented (I've always gotten A's, but they definitely took some work). Also, I haven't taken Biology or Chemistry since sophomore year of highschool and I really don't remember much of it. I was originally going to go the business route, but recently I feel like in twenty years, I'll be glad I put in the extra work in college and am now able to 1-on-1 directly help people.
I'd like your input:
Despite not taking those classes in a long time, and not remembering much, if any of it, will it be doable (and not hell) for me to take a Premed curriculum?
Do you think it would be worth the extra work (if you think it's even realistic), rather than to pursue a business degree?
Also, what is it I hear about having to declare another major such as Biology?
Lastly, since only 80% of premed students get accepted into med school, what do those other 20% do?
Thank you very much for your input!</p>
<p>Well, first of all, if by “not science-oriented” you mean science courses just take some extra work for you but you love them and you feel the work would be worth it, pre-med might be a reasonable choice. If you mean you don’t like science, you should probably avoid medicine. Yes, there are other aspects of it, but I can tell you now that the science part doesn’t just go away after undergrad.</p>
<p>Notre Dame does offer a strictly “pre-med” major (“science pre-professional” or “SCPP”) unlike some other schools. However, in general, I feel like majoring in an actual science makes more sense than going strictly pre-med because the courses are generally more challenging and it give you much more flexibility if you don’t get in to medical school or decide on another career path, but that may not be the best option in your case if that isn’t what you are interested in. ALPP (arts and letters pre-professional) or science-business may make the most sense for you if you are torn between pre-med and another option. Either one would give you the necessary pre-requisites for med school, but with ALPP you also complete an arts and letters major (for instance, you could do econ or whatever else you are interested in) and with science-business you also take some business classes. That way you would have experience in another area if you decide against medicine or don’t get in to medical school.</p>
<p>Your number is wrong- only about 47% of students who apply to medical school are accepted, used you meant to say that 80% of ND students ate accepted.</p>
<p>Our advice to our own college kids is to keep options open. You can do just about anything with a science or pre-professional degree (including going to law school or working in most business fields), but you can’t apply to medical school if you choose a business major lacking the necessary prerequisites. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself with the premed science classes – the worst thing that can happen is that you realize that science and medicine are not for you.</p>
<p>those 20% jump</p>
<p>So I actually only know 1 person well from ND who applied to med school and didn’t get in and she only applied to MD/PhD programs (to be fair, I was a biochem major and the med school acceptance rate is higher among biochem majors than for SCPP/ALPP). She went on to work in a research lab and continue on to graduate school I believe. Another friend of mine was accepted but decided med school wasn’t for him and is now in business working for Target Corporation. I think finding other employment or education opportunities is much easier for those with a science degree than a strictly pre-professional one, though I’m sure it’s not impossible.</p>
<p>I totally understand what you’re coming from. You like science classes, but realize that they are a lot of work. In college, it only gets worse. While I am Science-Business pre-med, I would suggest you look into the Arts and Letters Pre-Health program. It makes you take the med school requirements and additional science classes, but not as many as Science Pre-Professional or Science Business or even Bio, Chem or Biochem. It also makes you take a A&L primary major, which is really a differentiator when it comes to interviews and such. </p>
<p><a href=“https://al.nd.edu/majors/arts-and-letters-pre-health/[/url]”>https://al.nd.edu/majors/arts-and-letters-pre-health/</a></p>