Want to get into med school; how's this plan?

<p>I initially chose to major in chemistry (L&S) when I applied to Berkeley, thinking that getting into my top med school (UCSF) would be easier because i chose this major.</p>

<p>However, after reading on the forums, it appears that to get into med school, the only important factors are your GPA and your MCAT. Chemistry, from what i observed, is very difficult, and to be honest, I have only a little interest in. Computer science however, is a field which i am very interested in. I hear that it is hard, but i believe my interest in the field will help me through the difficulties.</p>

<p>So now, here's my questions:</p>

<p>1) Can I take CS classes despite not putting it down for my major.</p>

<p>2) Would getting into med school be more difficult for some reason because I'm a CS?</p>

<p>3) I hear there are things you MUST take for CS as a freshman if you even hope to obtain a BA in four years; is this true? If yes, what classes, and are they difficult to get into?</p>

<p>4) Is the mean GPA for CS higher than that of majors like chem/bio? (I debated between these two because in my mind, i thought med schools would be more impressed with me studying a field that pertained to medicine)</p>

<p>1) yes
2) you'll have to take med prereqs, which are all unrelated to CS.
3) dunno
4) look at thecampusbuddy.com</p>

<ol>
<li>Here are the classes you need.</li>
</ol>

<p>General</a> Catalog - Computer Science (Letters & Science)</p>

<ol>
<li>thecampusbuddy is good for looking for easy professors, but there is too much missiing data to offer reliable mean GPAs for different majors. Med schools don't actually favor bio/chem majors over any other people, fyi. If CS is what you like, then go ahead and major in it.</li>
</ol>

<p>If you have little interest in chemistry, DO NOT major in it, especially at Berkeley. Major in CS and take the pre-req courses for med school (which include 2 years of chem... sorry) and that will be the best thing you can do for yourself and getting into med school.</p>

<p>Taking CS and premed pre-reqs for lower division sounds painful.</p>

<ol>
<li>yes, you can take w/e class you want...</li>
<li>is this assuming that your still majoring in chem and taking cs classes? if so, then yes</li>
<li>am i misunderstanding this question? i'm pretty sure half the students do not even take a cs course the whole four years and still graduate.</li>
<li>in l&s, i'm guessing cs is about the same as chemistry. but maybe not eecs and chem in coc.</li>
</ol>

<p><em>sighs</em> just major in what you want. if you have no interest in chem, how are you going to get good grades? med schools don't really care what major you are, as long as you take the prereqs,mcat,some ecs.</p>

<p>take the lower premed reqs first, see how you do, especially in bio and ochem, then decide. and remember, ucsf is everybody's top med school!</p>

<p>thanks enormously everyone!</p>