I have heard that biology majors do not get the highest scores on the MCAT, in fact, it seems to be Comp Sci majors, which blew my mind. Although it is also true that Comp Sci courses tend to take a larger toll on your GPA than bio majors. In your personal opinion, what major should I take so that I have the highest chance into getting into medical school as well as a good undergraduate school for medicine. Is the college that I go to for my undergrad degree’s national rank for medicine even relevant? Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks!
Major in whatever you will enjoy and can do well in. I know people who have got into med schools with all kinds of majors ranging from biology to classics.
The rank for medical school of the undergrad institution you attend is not important. Many people get into med school from colleges that do not even have an med school
Your major is an afterthought in the eyes of the med school adcom
It is about the individual itself, not the major. For instance it is not that computer science prepares you better for med school, but perhaps the type of individual who chooses to be a computer science major.
@shawnspencer has it right. People absorb information differently and learn at different paces. So many pre-med kids major in bio, not because it’s a strength of theirs, or because they enjoy it - instead they major in it because they think it’s the best path to medical school. Then, those that don’t get into medical school don’t know what to do with their lives, since there are limited career paths in biology without advanced degrees, but if biology is not something you enjoy you’re not likely to obtain an advanced degree.
Familiarize yourself with the pre-requisite courses to get into medical school. As long as you take those courses and do well, you’ve met the academic requirements. I’ve seen Classics majors get into medical school. In fact, some people say that majoring in something that is intensive in reading and critical analysis is good preparation for a medical career. There is a lot of reading in medical school, and critical thinking is an essential skill for doctors.
Some medical schools appreciate students who major in the “softer” sciences, such as sociology, as they believe that can help make doctors more empathetic.
I can see how being a CS major could help with MCATs, The logical way most CS majors think often helps them on standardized tests - they can figure out how to eliminate wrong answers and work their way through to the right answer. But majoring in CS just to get higher scores is not a path to success, if you don’t have an inclination for that type of work. It could just lead to frustration and a low GPA.
Don’t try to fit a round peg into a square hole just because someone says it’s the best path to medical school. You need to figure out your best path.
Agree with all of the above. it’s the applicant not the major.
If you look at AMCAS data, the 2 majors with the highest success rate fo med school admissions are: mathematics and humanities. (see: https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstablea17.pdf) Both groups have higher median MCAT scores too. Why? because of self selection bias ( see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-selection_bias)
More than 25% of bio grads apply to med school, but less than 2% of humanities or math major do. This tells me those less than 2%ers are the ones who make a special effort to prepare for all facets of the med school application process
The only reason to possibly think about “which major” is related to your Plan B - “What do I do if I don’t make it in to med school.”
Major in what YOU like. You will do better in it and like your Plan B options better if you need to fall back on them.
The rank of your undergrad is among the least important factors adcomms look at when considering med school applicants.
See p. 14 of this document–https://www.aamc.org/download/462316/data/mcatguide.pdf
It’s an annual survey of med school adcomms and how they rank various factors when considering applicants.
What will give you the “highest chance” of getting into med school is to submit a competitive application which includes high GPAs in all courses and in premed courses, do well on MCAT, participate in ECs that show you have qualities med schools expect to see (eg leadership, compassion, altruism, show you have some idea what you’re getting into, etc), get strong LoRs, write a compelling personal statement that explains why you want to be a MD, do well on interview, apply strategically/broadly, and then after you submit your application you can keep fingers crossed and/or pray. Your major is not important to med schools. As most who start as premed change their minds and of those that actually apply to med school 60% fail to get even one acceptance, your major may be important to you as a Plan B if you change your mind or you don’t get an acceptance. Most schools will offer you the resources and opportunities you need to become a viable premed applicant; whether you do become such an applicant is more on your efforts, less on school or name of school attended.
@WayOutWestMom OP’s question was actually about something even less relevant than that. They weren’t asking about the effect of the UG’s ranking, they were asking about the effect of the UG’s affiliated medical school’s ranking.
I found the following statements quite useful