I have recently decided that I want to go to med school and become a Pediatrician or Physician. However, I am having difficulty choosing a major that will best fit me. I am now a senior in high school taking Anatomy and Physiology which I am sure I can get an A in. However, as a freshman and sophomore sciences were not my best subject. I got B’s in both semester of Honors Biology and C’s both semester of Honors Chemistry. I got C’s because I took a zero period hoping I would get something like Art but got Chemistry instead so class would start at 7am. Junior year took AP Physics and got B’s both semester but got a 2 on the AP exam. (Has the worst pass rate out of all AP exams). I would also like to point out that If I had the mindset that I had right now, I would not have gotten the grades I received in freshman and sophomore year. I matured, set my priorities straight, and planned ahead of my life. Which is why I went from a 2.6 GPA to a 4.33. Thus, my UC GPA is 3.875. I am scared that I won’t be able to major in a science due to my grades in high school. But I am very determined so I took Anatomy/Physiology and “weight training” which is a course to teach how muscles respond to exercise and how the human body adapts to each exercise. Also in my junior year I took AP Psychology, got an B first semester and an A second semester. Also got a 5 on the AP exam. This is like a science course but it was also based on research and history. I am interested in any majors that will help me. Or other options. Thank you.
Oh and I am a male and my SAT is in the 1300’s.
Medical schools are not really concerned about your major, as long as you take the premed courses (biology, chemistry, physics, math, English, social studies), which may overlap with some majors or general education requirements.
Choose a major that interests you and which you will be satisfied doing (in terms of post graduation plans) if you end up being among the majority of premeds who do not get into any medical school.
for UCs u might get into UCR which is solid premed bc they have less competition than other UCs, and they have early assurnace.
u shud improve SAT tho.
i also heard UCs are little better than CSUs for med school\
To understand the hill you’re considering, after college, you’re looking at completing 4 years of med school. Then depending on what specialty/subspecialty you chose, you’re looking at 3-7 more years (or longer) of training. You will say bye bye to your 20s, and possibly a chunk of your 30s before you’re a full fledged MD depending on specialty/subspecialty.
The good news is med schools do not care what you major in. You can major in art history, religion, Spanish, geography, psych, etc. Pick a major that interests you because if you like subject matter, you’re more likely to do well GPA wise. Most premeds choose bio, maybe out of interest, but also because you can complete major reqs and most premed reqs at same time (course overlap). One potential problem with say a history major is that you have to find a way to fit in premed reqs with your history reqs. A lot of successful premeds do it, so it’s not impossible.
The bad news is you not only must do well not only in all your courses, but specifically in premed reqs which include bio, chem, physics, etc. You’re simply going to have to find a way to improve your performance in college bio/chem/physics.
Your class in Anatomy and Physiology might be interesting to you now but in all likelihood you will have forgotten all of it should you get into med school.
You should have a Plan B in mind should you change your mind about med school after you start, most premeds do change.
Make sure you enjoy your senior year. Good luck
Based on your UC GPA and test scores, I would target UCSC/UCR/UCM and some of the top Cal States such as Cal Poly Pomona, SLO, SDSU and CSULB. Some of the other UC’s are UCI/UCD and UCSB are within Reach but remember all these schools will having many “pre-med” students competing for top grades.
Going to a Cal State and getting top grades, will not undermine your chances at getting into Medical school. You do however need to take advantage of the opportunities available at each school. SDSU has an excellent Pre-Professional advising center that can help stay on the right track along with helping you find Medically related EC’s.
UCR is also a very good option since they recently opened their new Medical school.
Pick a major of interest and always as noted above, have a Plan B in place.
Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19:
UCB: 14%
UCLA: 14%
UCSD: 44%
UCSB: 54%
UCD: 58%
UCI: 65%
UCSC: 85%
UCR: 94%
UCM: 96%