At first, I was thinking of taking a major in communications because I know having good communication skills would be very beneficial. Then I thought of being a nursing major?
What you would like if you decide not to go to Med School.
I don’t really know what to do if I don’t end up going to med school just because it has always become a goal of mine to become a doctor, and no matter how weird it is, I can never really see myself doing another career/job other than a doctor.
Nursing is not a good pre-med option. The classes you would be taking are not good prep for the MCAT’s and in some cases, will not qualify as covering off the med school admissions requirements.
With low acceptance rates for both MD and DO schools, you do need to have a Plan B, maybe C too. Conventional wisdom says to choose a major you like…because then it may be easier to keep your GPA high.
Typically you will have a year or two to declare a major, so as long as you are taking the med school required classes, you will have some time to decide.
Agree that nursing will not work. Maybe consider some quantitative type majors such as math and applied math…good job placement out of undergrad. What about engineering?
Bio, neuroscience, chem, psych, history…all could work, but may require grad school to access some of the best career options, should the med school thing not work out. What would you do with communications major if med school didn’t work out?
You can enter medical school with any major. Choose a major that interests you and still allows you to fulfill the class requirements to apply to medical school. I myself got a BS & MS in engineering and worked for a few years before returning to medical school. I only had to take an additional year of Biology and Biochem to apply.
Nursing majors are only for people who want to be a nurse.
With Pre-med you can take any major you want as long as you take courses such as:
2 semesters of inorganic chemistry with lab
2 semesters of organic chemistry with lab
2 to 3 semesters of biology with lab
2 semesters of physics with lab
1 semester of biochemistry
2 semesters of English composition
1 to 2 semesters of calculus
1 semester of statistics
1 to 2 semesters of behavioral sciences
People often take Bio or Chem majors (or Biomedical or Chemical Engineering) as there is a ton of overlap…but you could take Communications or Psychology or Medical Anthropology or anything you want.
You have to be good in math and science to be pre-med…so you can’t avoid those classes. I would also think about “What if I didn’t make it to med school…what major would I want?”
My daughter has always wanted to be a doctor and couldn’t see herself in any other career either. She volunteered at the ER in HS. She majored in Psychology in undergrad and took all the pre-med courses…but senior year, she was taking OChem and a Biology at the same time and realized that the stress to do well was just too much…she didn’t want to have that level of stress for the next 4+ years…she was also spending all her effort on schoolwork but didn’t volunteer nor be in clubs in college (she could have done that after college though).
Right now she is working at a doctor’s office gaining experience/exposure to medicine and will see if there are some master’s programs in medicine that appeal to her.
My chemistry teacher told us that biology majors are all put into a “pile” for med school admissions. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but it’s interesting to consider. You want to stand out in admissions, not be like everyone else.
I wouldn’t recommend nursing. I feel like biochem and chem are some good options. You could do engineering or physics or even history, as long as you get a good GPA and take the premed requirements.