Majoring in Business/Accounting

[D0CTORX]

I am considering majoring in accounting or business.


My only concern is when I apply to med schools.

Most people major in science, and thus, they take multiple upper level science/math courses, biochem, analytical chem, linear algebra, etc.

I am afraid that adcoms might think I went an easier route to get into med school...




I am transferring out to a university, and have completed gen chem, gen bio, (physics will be completed at university and ochem as well)

I think I might take additional upper level courses such as; Biochem, etc. If I have electives open.

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[FrkyBgStok]

if you can squeeze a couple upper levels in there you will be better off, but other than that you are fine majoring in whatever you want.

 

[whatbout2morrow]

Include as many upper level bio classes as you possibly can, even if it is more than the required number of electives for your degree.

 

[235788]

Include as many upper level bio classes as you possibly can, even if it is more than the required number of electives for your degree.

you'll thank yourself later.

 

[D0CTORX]

Yea, I think I might add extra science courses in and push some major courses to the summer.

 

[LizzyM]

Why medicine?

Why did you choose the major you chose?

Be prepared to address both questions. Accounting is a very vocational major. Are you interested in that as a fall-back career? Why does accounting as an academic topic interest you?

 

[D0CTORX]

Why medicine?
Because I am interested in medicine, its challenging, rewarding, and through the various shadowing and experiences I've had encountering physicians, etc, I feel that this would suit me.

Why did you choose the major you chose?
Its a field in business where there are many opportunities. Also, business skills this day and age I feel are important(opening a clinic as a doc), and the concepts behind the number crunching in accounting interests me.
And, yes, having it as a fall-back career also influenced part of my decision. And I have always been more of a numbers person(in chemistry I enjoyed the math portions more so than concepts) but I also have the strength to keep up in med school.



Be prepared to address both questions. Accounting is a very vocational major. Are you interested in that as a fall-back career? Why does accounting as an academic topic interest you?

Would you see a person with this major as someone taking the easy way?

 

[LizzyM]

Would you see a person with this major as someone taking the easy way?

No, but it might raise an unspoken concern that the applicant is more interested in money than in medicine.

 

[D0CTORX]

No, but it might raise an unspoken concern that the applicant is more interested in money than in medicine.

Would there be anyway to combat that?

 

[LizzyM]

major in math or statistics or economics.

 

[Danlee07]

major in math or statistics or economics.

never understood this. what's the logic?

If you're in business, you're receiving some training to understand some aspect of the business model; at least I learned about start-ups in addition to many other things before I finalized my majors. I wouldn't say easier but rather business had much less information and more common sense (not really even intuition).

With math/economics major, I'd say you're equally like to pursue money. There is such a broad avenue of options in money-pursuing careers -- esp with math (e.g. quant,analysis, physics, etc.) including both academia and medicine. Same could be said with accounting/business which leads me to...how is this more money-driven than medicine?

To the concern, I would address this by continuing to take upper level sciences, and those courses that fulfill the electives portion of your college.

 

[LizzyM]

Economics can focus on consumer behavior, methodologies for determining cost effetiveness (big deal in medicine), and other topics that are relevant to medicine and health policy.

Accounting listed as a major would raise some eyebrows... why would someone choose that major if they are interested in science and want to help people (the usual reasons that people say that they are going into medicine)?

Go ahead and major in accounting but be prepared to justify your choice.

 

[JESSFALLING]

major in math or statistics or economics.

These are better preparation for a career in business, or medicine, or otherwise, than undergraduate business, imo. Obviously, an accounting career requires 8-9 core accounting courses, but those can be taken as a minor, or through a graduate program.

 

[Santorum Surge]

Economics can focus on consumer behavior, methodologies for determining cost effetiveness (big deal in medicine), and other topics that are relevant to medicine and health policy.

Accounting listed as a major would raise some eyebrows... why would someone choose that major if they are interested in science and want to help people (the usual reasons that people say that they are going into medicine)?

Go ahead and major in accounting but be prepared to justify your choice.

For once, LizzyM is correct. I would major in math, stats, or econ. Math and stats would give you your rigorous science coursework. Econ would give you a better understanding of the real cause of most diseases, most of the time.

P.S. If I could do it all over again, I would choose anthro, socio, econ, and/or bio.

 

[cowdust]

I majored in accounting and the primary question asked of me during interviews was this: "Why did you major in accounting and why do you want to be a physician now?"

For me, the answer was that I had little direction as a freshman/sophomore when deciding on a major and picked one that afforded a decent salary and high job placement rate. It wasn't until I interned as an auditor that I realized how little passion I had for the field, and by that time I was 15 credits from getting my degree. I found a love for healthcare by working as a CNA/shadowing/volunteering, but I lost a year and a half having to take the basic sciences, and I felt much less prepared than my peers when I took the MCAT.

Like others have posted, accounting is a very vocational degree and the upper-level classes (Accounting Theory, Audit, etc.) have very limited application to non-accounting related things. The one exception may be Federal Income Tax -- I found that class extremely useful, but only because everyone pays taxes. I think minoring in business would give you the same foundation of knowledge needed to run your own practice (i.e. financial statements, time value of money, budgets, etc.). If I could do it over again, I think I would have majored in biology or biochem.