<p>Ok so I will be entering in the fall of 2009 as a psych major in the honors program. The thing is that I also want to take the medical school requirements as I think (at this point at least) I would like to be a neurologist. Has anyone else gone through this or anything similar? Do you have any suggestions as to which psych courses are good/bad and when to take them?</p>
<p>I don’t know about the psych courses but I wanna recommend that you take a science major (biology, neuroscience etc.) if you are serious about becoming a neurologist. When it comes time for medical school, they will look at your courses and not only make sure that you have the pre reqs but also check to see if you are serious about the medicine field shown through the extra science courses you took from your major. With a psych major you might have somewhat of a disadvantage 4 years later when it comes time to apply for medical school.</p>
<p>I was gonna mention exactly what the master said when i saw your post an hour ago but didn’t know how to break it to you that your better off in a gung-ho science major.</p>
<p>it seems apparent that you certainly do want to be a neurologist, they deal with spinal problems and generally the nervous system as a whole.</p>
<p>I would recommend following through with possibly biology or biochemistry (life sciences basically…heck even nutrition maybe) just for the purpose of medical school and for the sake of preparation.</p>
<p>of course everyone knows even I, a math/engineering student, can apply to med/dental if I finish the orgo/bio sequences but I would consider myself at a somewhat disadvantage to the students who are bio majors and have much more relevant coursework…
yes i do consider completing these course sequences to leave my options open for consideration…but its not my #1 priority whatsoever, if it were I would certainly reconsider to majoring in the life sciences.</p>
<p>and i bet you would do better on the Mcat…</p>
<p>but do not under any circumstance make your decision on these 2 replies you have received…but do weigh it into a sound decision.</p>
<p>another thing to consider is that YES these are hard hard majors, take chemistry 1 during your first semester…most seem to be up for an eye-opener.
I STRONGLY recommend this. as it will sway your attitudes towards certain things if you have a bad experience…sorry to be a downer</p>
<p>So I’m going to have to disagree with the two poster above.</p>
<p>Stick with the psych major. The ADCOMs dont care what use major in. They care that you finished the pre-reqs, got a good MCAT, did significant research (top/mid tier schools), and have the clinical exposure needed (whether it be from volunteering or shadowing). Community service also help with primary care-focused schools like FSU. </p>
<p>I have many friends that had a easier time during admission season, b/c they were able to attain a high GPA. Many slowly took the prereqs so the grades would be high, which might not be possible with other majors. The requires are not the much for psych, so you have a lot of space to take additional classes like genetics (w/ Wayne preferably), microbiology, eukaryotic cell structure, and others. Some psych majors even decide to double major if they have the time and truely interest in those two majors. </p>
<p>Other easier majors you might also consider, which I know some current med students did include nutrition, anthropology, and health sciences. You can major in biology, microbiology, biochemistry, etc if you want, but only do it because you are interested in those subjects. It wont give you that much of an advantage in anything. </p>
<p>Some classes like recommend (personally taken and good references) include Chemical Senses and Behavior (PSB 4654), Psychobiology of Abnormal Behavior (PSB4065), Developmental Psychology (DEP3053), and Behavioral Neuroscience (PSB3340).</p>
<p>I would highly recommend you do some research, esp if you do psych. They have a ton going on. You just have to find a lab/group that interest you. Also check out the McKnight Brain Institute I know a couple of people who did research with PhD (neuroscience), neurosurgeons, or neurologist.</p>
<p>thanks everyone for your replies. I guess I’ll have to speak with the psych advisors when I go up to preview next month. For now I think I’ll stick with the psych major, as I am more confident in that currently, but who knows what will happen later on. I definitely agree with the research thing though, I think national merit is giving me like 1,000 dollars for research? I’m not really sure how that works but I’ll figure it out. and thanks for the class recs! I am really looking forward to abnormal psych and neuroscience.</p>
<p>From the UF website:</p>
<p>What should I pick for a major when I go to college?</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter! There is no specific major for which medical schools are looking.
You should pick something you find interesting, whether it is science-related or not.
It is NOT recommended that you major in a specific health profession training program such as Physical Therapy or Nursing. These are professional programs that prepare you for a specific profession OTHER THAN being a doctor.</p>
<p>I certainly hope what we read on the UF website is correct. </p>
<p>My D was debating between either math or physics as a major in college. She ultimately wants to go to med school (at this point leaning towards radiology) but was encouraged to follow her favorite subjects for her major. She completed AP Physics B and AP Physics C in HS as well as the AP Calc class.</p>
<p>Last year, she scored a 36 on the ACT math component and decided to pick math as her major. I certainly hope this doesn’t prohibit her from getting into med school in the future. Yes, she intends to load up on science classes as well. But, her thoughts were to start with classes that she really enjoyed and math classes fit the bill. </p>
<p>Hope they clear this all up for us at preview.</p>
<p>another question…does an academic advisor work with you at preview or do you simply register what classes you would like to take? and if i want to speak to a psych advisor, when should i do that?</p>
<p>I have a somewhat related question as far as major…
Currently I am signed up for the biochemistry major. However, there is an equally likely chance I may graduate with a neuroscience major instead. Will med schools hold it against you that you changed your major after first semester of frosh year? </p>
<p>I know it sounds silly, but…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No, they wont.</p>
<p>definitely not.</p>
<p>Oh and one more thing-</p>
<p>for all of you kids that are taking required medical school courses, did you take intro to chem before taking the general chem 1 and 2? I don’t want to take it, but quite honestly i remember nothing from chem. also, the chRA said i could test out of intro, but i’m still not comfortable with that. any suggestions?</p>
<p>I didn’t take it because I took AP chem, so I was comfortable with my chem background. If you are uncomfortable I would start with the intro class. If you are starting summer, that would be a good class to take.</p>
<p>yeah i feel like i should take the intro, but i feel like that will put me farther behind in the chem sequence. that means I would take general chem 1 in the spring and then general chem 2 in the fall, right? wouldn’t that be difficult?</p>