Struggling at dream school, change majors?

<p>Something else to consider-- the MCAT is changing significantly in spring 2015. It will include more behavioral sciences and humanities and less math. It seems that it will be a little friendlier to those who are not science majors. I wonder if admission will become slightly less competitive due to new medical schools opening and slightly smaller applicant pool (echo boomers peak would have been 2012 college grads, declining after that?)</p>

<p>It won’t include less math since right now there aren’t any dedicated math problems on the MCAT. Math–advanced algebra at best–is currently just used to solve chem and physics problems.</p>

<p>The 2015 MCAT will still involve those types of problems along with problems involving the use of statistics. Stats will be included in all 4 subsections of the new test.</p>

<p>Here’s the descript of the 2015 MCAT 4 sub-sections.</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/mcat2015/testsections/[/url]”>https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/mcat2015/testsections/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As for the number of applicants declining, AAMC has a brief report (from 2007) that projects the number of applicants will keep increasing at least thru 2015, with the largest increases in applicants coming from women and URMs.</p>

<p>The number of new medical school seats opening will level off within the next year or 2 because there is a looming residency crunch. As of 2015, the projected number US medical grads (including those from all currently planned and approved new med schools not yet opened) will equal or exceed the number of available residency slots. (Med students cannot be licensed to practice in the US without completing an accredited residency.) Residencies are largely funded by Medicare funds so it’s unlikely there will be a significant increase in residency slots in the near future.</p>

<p>I don’t know about the new MCAT but the old MCAT is more a logic test than a knowledge test according to commentary i’ve read. You can take a practice test on AAMC website. I took one after work one day on a whim and scored pretty well especially considering I haven’t taken or thought much about bio for over 30 years. The verbal and physical should not be a problem for any engineer or scientist. IMO the bio section was the one that required special knowledge, at least on that practice test. Other tests may be different and YMMV.</p>

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<p>I know this is way off topic, but just in case someone reads this and thinks that’s possible…it hasn’t been for a long time. For law school admissions purposes, your GPA is “frozen” when you receive your first bachelor’s degree. You can NOT boost your GPA by taking graduate courses.</p>

<p>Social ghost? Yikes!! I’m very social, had a ball in college, was not in a pre-med track, had a ball in med school (okay, interspersed with some days of hell) and had a ball in residency (okay, interspersed with some night of no sleep). I know of many docs, recent and not so recent grads, who managed to have a real life during college, med school and residency/fellowship training. I hate to think of kids thinking they have to resign themselves to lives of drudgery for this. It doesn’t have to be that way!!</p>

<p>I think the son (and mom) are too focused on the future, and need to think about the present. Our entire culture is focused on our kids planning for the future, especially during the recession, but it throws priorities off. </p>

<p>There is no need to worry about whether or not to go to medical school right now. Many posters told stories demonstrating this. Med schools actually like applicants who majored in other subjects. In fact, I once read that music majors as a group have the highest admissions rate (66%)!</p>

<p>Without thinking about becoming a doctor, or any career at all, what is your son interested in studying? What is he talented in? The ideal, despite our necessarily careerist times, is for our kids to actually learn about things they are interested in, and to get some breadth of knowledge along with depth in one area.</p>

<p>I think that social and emotional development is very important at this age. Giving up options that stretch your son in that way sounds destructive to me, especially in the interest of a goal that may not happen. Granted he may have overdone it. He should choose activities based on what he wants to do, and what is useful, rather than what helps him get into med school.</p>

<p>Many many students want to be doctors or lawyers at this point in their lives. It is hard for young people to deal with uncertainty, and the job market is very complex. Focusing on these professions is a way of simplifying life. But many of these kids go to college and then run into an authentic interest that may or may not have a career result. I know one young man who wanted to be a doctor but took a class in Russian and loved it: he is now spending a year in Moscow.</p>

<p>Your son really does have a lot of time. I hope he can drop the focus on med school, and that you can too. It is not necessary. He should work hard, learn time management, pick his activities carefully, and study what he wants to study and can do well in.</p>

<p>He can worry about med school and future plans when he is close to graduating. If his GPA is too low, it is not a dire disaster. There are lots of paths in life.</p>

<p>Thank you compmom. You make a great summation. These kids are certainly pushed to focus on the future. It’s like keeping up with the Jonses. They believe if they don’t take ochem as a sophomore they will NEVER get anywhere. I want him to enjoy his time at his dream school, he is already 25% done! The EC’s he does are what makes him the person he is. He is the first person to sign up, and then quickly wants to “serve on the E board”. We will be talking later today and I plan on asking him, med school aside, what would he pick as a major? “Study what you love”. He has some advisor appointments set up, and I hope he figures things out. He actually loves history, but haven’t we all heard, "what can you do with a history degree? The focus on the future, in a way, is very real with the cost of school and the hopes of getting a job. If you listen to the masses, he’d be crazy to get a history degree vs. a STEM one. That being said, I do need to relax and have faith, knowing the kind of person he is, that he will make the connections he needs and end up doing well. But I think he may stick to his original plan this fall knowing it is a make or break semester. I don’t think there is anything I can do about that, i think it’s something he needs to figure out himself.</p>

<p>History is a great major. A BA in history, combined with internships or volunteering, can bring lots of job and grad school options (including med school). Internships at historic preservation organizations, museums, and any public history site are useful, but a history major can end up at many different companies, non-profits, government jobs, consulting etc. that may not seem directly related to history. Job ads say “bachelor’s degree required.” </p>

<p>Your son may really want to do science. Or be a doctor. But honestly he can do what he wants for a major as an undergrad and still apply to med school. There are even programs for students who need to do med school prerequ’s between college and med school.</p>

<p>It sounds like his options right now are not happy ones. But you are a wise parent I think to know that any change in course will probably be more valuable coming from him.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Listen to compmom. She is wise!</p>