What is/was your undergrad major

CharlieBarley said:

and do you feel that your degree prepared you adequately for the MCAT and/ or med school? I'm sort of going back and forth whether a BIO degree is the best way to go, as opposed to a BSN degree, so at least if I don't get in to a med school I'm not stuck teaching life science to 8th graders. Thanks for any insight.

Click to expand...

I think no matter what you major in, your med school pre-reqs should give you a foundation for the MCAT. Of course, additional studying will still be required to do well. But everybody is in that boat even if you are a science major.

I majored in chemistry and yes I didn't have to put a lot of effort into that section of the test. So if you major in biology it might help you, but probably not as much as you think.

As far as BSN, I mean it's smart if you are majoring in something that will give you a back-up if medical school doesn't work out, but will you be happy?

Med students come from all walks of life so the only advice I can give you is major in something that you enjoy and excel at and everything else will fall into place. I don't think majoring in something that you think might potentially help you with the MCAT is a good idea because there are prep courses and a plethora of prep materials out there to help you with this if you really need it. Chances are you're going to have to study your ass off anyway, just like the rest of us, to score well on the MCAT.

PEN15 said:

I think no matter what you major in, your med school pre-reqs should give you a foundation for the MCAT. Of course, additional studying will still be required to do well. But everybody is in that boat even if you are a science major.

I majored in chemistry and yes I didn't have to put a lot of effort into that section of the test. So if you major in biology it might help you, but probably not as much as you think.

As far as BSN, I mean it's smart if you are majoring in something that will give you a back-up if medical school doesn't work out, but will you be happy?

Med students come from all walks of life so the only advice I can give you is major in something that you enjoy and excel at and everything else will fall into place. I don't think majoring in something that you think might potentially help you with the MCAT is a good idea because there are prep courses and a plethora of prep materials out there to help you with this if you really need it. Chances are you're going to have to study your ass off anyway, just like the rest of us, to score well on the MCAT.

Click to expand...

i was an economics major and only took the basic requirements for the mcat and got a 31 (8 V 12 P 11 B) so it doesnt matter what you major in. You dont need to be a bio major to score well on the MCAT. You just need to be smart and study your butt off.

I was a boring old Biology major. I have no complaints. Even if it ended up not helping too much at all, I would still be happy I selected Bio as my major, because I truly find it interesting.

There are actually more interesting jobs that you can acquire with a bachelor's in Biology. You should check it out, really interesting stuff.

Part of me wants to just endorse what allen said. As an undergraduate, I did philosophy and German, philosophy and medical ethics in graduate school, and psychology as a post-bacc. 32T overall score (11VR, 11PS, 10 BS). Pick what interests you, get the pre-reqs done, and study, study, study for the Beast. On the other hand, I think it's important to have a back-up plan just in case, so perhaps you might consider pursuing both - the bio (specifically upper level bio courses like physiology, biochemistry, and genetics) will help with the MCAT, the BSN will get you patient contact, and will provide a viable career for you if things don't pan out.

Ditto to allehn. Granted I don't have any acceptances to speak of at this point (August MCATer) and I'm only tightly holding on for dear life to one interview invite, but here's my take:

Major in what you love. Don't decide on a major just because you think it might help you get into med school/prepare you for the MCAT. You can (and will) study separately for the MCAT and while a few advanced bio courses may help you score well, they aren't essential. Instead, by studying what you really enjoy you'll presumably do better in your classes which equals a better GPA and thus a better shot at getting in the first time around. That being said, I would consider not working towards a BSN degree unless you do really want to go into nursing since you may have to explain why you studied nursing in college and then applied to medical school instead. If you do, however, have an interest in nursing and aren't sure about whether you want to be an RN, NP, PA, or MD for instance, then I suggest doing some brief shadowing and maybe just focusing on your core school requirements before commiting to a major degree program. Also, just because you graduate with a BS/BA in whatever doesn't mean you can't turn around and do another program - That's what accelerated BSN/MSN programs and post-bacs are for. However, while there's a lot of loan forgiveness with the accelerated nursing programs, unless you work for the university and are okay going part-time, post-bac programs can be crazy expensive.

Sincerely,
Anthropology Major [after declaring (and dropping) a chemistry major, (ditto declaring and dropping) English major, and thinking about biology, urban studies, and sociology along the way] - Tied together with a very competitive MCAT score.

I did biology, mostly because I truly loved(love) the subject and really enjoyed much of the coursework. Its not the most practical degree thats for sure, but I don't regret it.

Electrical Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering double major + a minor in Chemistry.

I ended up with a 31Q on my MCATS (12VS, 10PS, 9BS). Probably could have done better on MCATS but that has more to do with studying and less to do with the major.

Do what you love. Like what other people have said, that's the most important thing. In fact, I think medical schools prefer candidates who are a little different

biomed engineering for me and while my mcat isn't spectactular (32Q) most of my friends are 35+ scores. spectacular program if you want to apply the science you learn to make medical devices. i loved it, most did, some didn't depends on if you can handle the engineering side. downside to bme is that there are less jobs for them if you plan on laying over for a year than if you majored in chem.e or physics

I'd agree that you should major in something that interests you and not worry about what might help out more on the MCAT. I have an interest in medicine even though I don't know if I'll end up applying to medical school. Right now I'm taking prereqs for getting a BS in medical technology because I think it might be something I would enjoy doing. If I decided to go to medical school I would have pretty much all my sciences with this degree, but I would also have the choice of making a career out of it which is why I picked something that I thought I might enjoy.

I majored in economics because I liked it and I got A's in it. I also trained as a nurse in the Army, and I think it actually helped me in studying for the MCAT (got a 37 P). If you think you would like the nursing classes more than something else its a good option. Just remember that you can really major in anything as long as you take the med school requirements. One other nice thing about becoming a nurse, you can pick up registry shifts and make good money anytime you have a free day. I did it before starting, and even during med school for extra money. There aren't many things you can do that will pay you good money even on short notice (I would sometimes call the same day to get a shift so I wouldn't have to plan it in advance in case I was tired or didn't want to work). But if you hate it, all the money in the world won't make it worthwhile.

ICCONFETTI said:

Electrical Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering double major + a minor in Chemistry.

I ended up with a 31Q on my MCATS (12VS, 10PS, 9BS). Probably could have done better on MCATS but that has more to do with studying and less to do with the major.

Do what you love. Like what other people have said, that's the most important thing. In fact, I think medical schools prefer candidates who are a little different

Click to expand...

ECE + BME at Carnegie Mellon? That's hardcore, man.

I agree with everyone on this thread. Major in what you are most interested in. If it's a non-science major (I was international relations as an undergrad), make sure you plan far enough ahead so that you can fit in all the prereqs. I even did pretty decently on the MCAT after taking the prep course. Unfortunately for me, IR/pre-med meant a lot of summer school, but there are obviously ways to make it work without having to do that. Plus, you may give yourself interesting opportunities going for a random major. Being IR gave me the chance to study abroad because all of the classes I took satisfied requirements for my major. I dunno if I would have had much of a chance to otherwise...

future_dr_house said:

downside to bme is that there are less jobs for them if you plan on laying over for a year than if you majored in chem.e or physics

Click to expand...

Do you have a career center? Companies in all fields love BMEs.

TakingBakSunday said:

Do you have a career center? Companies in all fields love BMEs.

Click to expand...

Not without experience.

BrettBatchelor said:

Not without experience.

Click to expand...

True in some cases. A summer internship can never hurt.

Chose to major in Biology and a minor in Philosophy because this is what I trully enjoy, for med school or not for med school I would do this any ways. The point is that you need to major/minor in something that you like and find interesting, not just major in something because its a backup. That set aside you can do many many things with a Biology degree, if med school does not work out suck it up and take the gre and get a doctoral in like Anatomy or something. Huh that's what I would do!!

I have a B.S. in Geology, taking only the basic pre-med req's and got a 31R on the MCAT. I also decided later (than most people on SDN anyway) that I wanted to go to med school, but I don't think that the Geology degree hurt my preparation. Plus, I got to go on some really cool field trips.

I think it's best to do what you like in undergrad, after all it is 4 years of your life and you need to like what you are doing so you don't get burned out or bored.

R.P. McMurphy said:

only found jobs with this degree using connections.

Click to expand...

this is so true. my interviews have all come from connections, not independent job searching. and yes we have a career center although i think they were really busy watching our team win a nat. championship....i didn't have much luck using them. anyway, these posts digress from the OPs question.

OP, choose what will inspire you to do well, if you can't think of anything that sounds interesting (highly unlikely) then go with a standard business degree or bio degree

You do need to pick a major that interests you. My major was picked because I wasn't sure I wanted to go into medicine. After working in the field for 5 years, I decided it WAS what I wanted - so I had my clinical experience and a solid science/healthcare undergraduate education.

Do what you want - but make sure you know your options! I was a Bio major with emphasis in Micro - but my advisor told me point blank it would be tough to get a decent job. So I transferred schools and went into Medical Technology. I really enjoyed the coursework and subsequently enjoyed the career I had. Now I'm a med-student. Take the path that suits you.

Definitely pick a major because it interests you, rather than because you think it will help on the MCAT. If you dislike the stuff you're studying, you'll procrastinate and do poorly. (At least, that's me.) And if you want extra coursework for the MCAT, you can usually always take the random other classes like biochemistry, anatomy, advanced physics, etc.

I'm double-majoring in biochemistry and comparative literature, and yes, I feel that those fields really helped me on the MCAT. But you have to study hard no matter what. Also, it's nice having two completely different majors, as it keeps my options open somewhat. My CPLT advisor was trying to get me to apply to complit MA programs as a backup in case I wanted to take a couple years off before med school to write. (Tempting!)

Writer1985 said:

Definitely pick a major because it interests you, rather than because you think it will help on the MCAT. If you dislike the stuff you're studying, you'll procrastinate and do poorly. (At least, that's me.) And if you want extra coursework for the MCAT, you can usually always take the random other classes like biochemistry, anatomy, advanced physics, etc.

I'm double-majoring in biochemistry and comparative literature, and yes, I feel that those fields really helped me on the MCAT. But you have to study hard no matter what. Also, it's nice having two completely different majors, as it keeps my options open somewhat. My CPLT advisor was trying to get me to apply to complit MA programs as a backup in case I wanted to take a couple years off before med school to write. (Tempting!)

Click to expand...

Biochem and Lit - that's pretty cool. What literary periods are you focusing on?

I was a philosophy major, got a 35 on the MCAT, and now I'm kicking ass in med school. Honestly, major in something other than the traditional pre-med majors... we'll all be on the same playing field after our first semester of med school. Everyone has to take the same pre-reqs. Might as well add a totally different layer of expertise to draw on, to distinguish yourself from 90,000 other biology/chemistry majors.

However, I really do think that all the biochem majors in my class are currently enjoying a temporary advantage, so if you want a slight head start, maybe consider that.

I was a neuroscience major and I think it has given me some edge in medschool so far. I never had to struggle with the concepts of autonomics or cranial nerves in anatomy, I know neuro and eye for histo already and some of ear, I knew neuro development for embryo, and we had alot of exposure to molecular bio and genetics via neuro so I'm pretty comfortable with that stuff. Also next semester I have a neuro class as one of my big three, which I'm sure will hit some detail I haven't seen before but I will at least be familiar with alot of it. I think it was a way to get exposed to alot of basic bio concepts in a format that really interested me and therefore made the concepts a bit easier to grasp and made them stick better too. However if neuro doesn't really interest you this woldn't really work. Honestly, just do something you really really like. If you like biochem or neuro, these do confer a small advantage to medschool (mainly there will be two nights you get to sleep or have a life that your classmates don't per block with a course relevant to it), but if you don't love them I don't think the stuff would stick anyway and you'd just be miserable during undergrad which should be fun, not miserable, at least outside the premed prereq courses.

Rogue Synapse said:

I was a philosophy major, got a 35 on the MCAT, and now I'm kicking ass in med school. Honestly, major in something other than the traditional pre-med majors... we'll all be on the same playing field after our first semester of med school. Everyone has to take the same pre-reqs. Might as well add a totally different layer of expertise to draw on, to distinguish yourself from 90,000 other biology/chemistry majors.

However, I really do think that all the biochem majors in my class are currently enjoying a temporary advantage, so if you want a slight head start, maybe consider that.

Click to expand...

Man, you are a total extensor pollicis longus

LabMonster said:

Biochem and Lit - that's pretty cool. What literary periods are you focusing on?

Click to expand...

We don't have to concentrate in literary periods as undergrads, which is great because I can take a whole range of classes in my two national literatures (English and French). But I'm pretty interested in the early modern era, the 18th century in particular -- that's the time period I'm looking at in my thesis. I guess I just like the witty comedies and the rhetorical speeches of that era. But I've taken upper-level classes in just about every time period since the Renaissance (and the introductory survey zipped through several millennia: Homer to Derek Walcott) and loved nearly everything I've read.

Writer1985 said:

We don't have to concentrate in literary periods as undergrads, which is great because I can take a whole range of classes in my two national literatures (English and French). But I'm pretty interested in the early modern era, the 18th century in particular -- that's the time period I'm looking at in my thesis. I guess I just like the witty comedies and the rhetorical speeches of that era. But I've taken upper-level classes in just about every time period since the Renaissance (and the introductory survey zipped through several millennia: Homer to Derek Walcott) and loved nearly everything I've read.

Click to expand...

I realized I asked to be stupid - but that was ridiculous.

Why 18th century?

Anyway - that's a great major, science and brains.

Major in whatever the hell you want. If you really like whatever your major is, you're likely to get better grades in your classes. The advantage of having a bio/chem/biochem/etc. major is that the first year of med school might be slightly easier. The advantage of having some other major (philosophy, history, geology, whatever) is that it will set you apart from other students and make your application more interesting when you apply.

Personally, I'm a kinesiology major (study of human movement), which I think is the best of both worlds. Our requirements include stuff like human anatomy and human physiology which will (hopefully!) help in med school, but I've also gotten asked about my "unique" major at pretty much every interview, and all my interviewers have thought it was very interesting. And I really do enjoy my kines classes more than any others.

Accounting.