<p>I'm a sophomore (just for one more week!) who has thought A LOT about the medical profession. I'm still not sure, however, whether I want to attend med school or become a physician assistant (or do something totally different...). Whatever I might decide later on, I don't won't to waste time like I did in the past two years and exclude myself from these wonderful careers by not taking any sciences courses (which I enjoyed in HS -- I'm not forcing myself into something I hate!). But to ensure that I have completed pre-med requirements and Physician Assistant prerequisites, I would have to major in biology and be quite close to a minor in chemistry, which would mean that I would have to stay for a 5th year of undergrad (and have pretty busy summers!). Knowing how well-informed many of you here are, I would really appreciate if you would comment on my situation. Does it make sense to stay an extra year in school to leave a number of options open (without considering tuition)? Should I just complete pre-med and major in English (already got some credits), and then if I decide on PA, take the remaining courses after graduation? </p>
<p>I'm leaning toward the bio major, but that extra year appears so daunting...</p>
<p>Also, whether I would switch to a bio major or start pre-med, I would have to take General Chem I and II during the summer, and then General Bio and Organic Chem during junior year. Would this be insane? Yes, I know, stuff like that depends on one's intellectual abilities and time management skills, as well as one the difficulty of the undergrad institution, but there still must be a trend, or so I think...</p>
<p>I hope I managed to make some sense... just really excited about the whole thing :P</p>