Advise Needed from a Psychology Student

[ADDIE]

I am graduating in December with my undergrad in psychology. I basically choose this major because I was unsure of what direction I was going to take. I now know that I would like to become a child psychiatrist.

Do psychology major’s have a hard time getting into med school? Also, I am terrified of the MCAT because I have taken almost no science classes.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[sunlioness]

Psychology major is fine (I was a history major), but you need to take the science classes that are prereq's for med school. There are post-bac programs around that are designed to help college graduates do this. That's the route I went too actually as I didn't decide I wanted to go to medical school until my senior year.

 

[Chimed]

Psychology is a great major for medical school. I was a humanities major and had no trouble getting into medical school. It is all about how well you do in your science courses and the MCAT. Also, having an interesting history is helpful. Don't take the MCAT until you're finished with your pre-med classes. Then enrolling in Kaplan or Princeton Review for the MCAT is very useful. Good luck !

 

[whopper]

I have seen no humanities major labelled because of their non-science major.

However, from my own experience (& I too was a psyche major in college), it is harder doing well in the MCAT, having only taken the required courses for it. When you get into medical school, it also is a bit harder when several of your classmates have already had some of these classes before and its being mashed down your throat at a rate of 30 credits a term (22 on paper but really 30 in terms of hours spent per class).

That being said, if you really want to do psychiatry, go for it. You'll have to do a post-Bacc pre-med course and study for the MCATs.


I took the MCATs over 10 years ago so I'm sure some things have changed & I have friends who have done both Kaplan & Princeton Review.
-Kaplan tends to focus on teaching students the courses over again and barraging you with so many questions.
-Princeton Review tends to focus on memory strategies, teaching techniques that make hard stuff easy to understand.

I think its a Meyers Briggs thing. Some like one approach above the other. I do warn you though that Kaplan & PR tend to have a monopoly in the local areas where they cover and charge large amounts of cash. If you feel confident enough, simply get their review books. However if you feel you need the course, do it.

 

[Doctor J 216]

I actually know some med students who got their masters in psychology during elective time (or maybe they took an extra year, I forget). I was a humanities major as well, I think it helped a lot regarding acceptance.

Humanities majors actually have a higher rate of acceptance to med schools. This is a fact. Significantly so actually (there could be many reasons for this, another topic). Also easier to boost your overall GPA taking less hardcore science. Think about it this way. Traditionally, people went to college to learn how to "think". They learned a bunch of topics that people would now regard as less than practical like latin and philosophy. But that is what college is for. It is the only great opportunity you have in today's society to learn what you want, a true "American Scholar" a la William James. Be happy about your psychology under degree. You'll have more than enough biological sciences in the future.

Your MCAT scores may not be as great, but who knows. Take some practice tests after you finish your prereq's.

The road less traveled, and all that stuff...We always need more inspired people in the child world.

Oh yeah, the whole point of GPA and MCAT is to score the interview. At most med schools, you have a 50% chance or so after you get the interview (most of weed out is prior to this). So do enough to get the interview and dazzle them with your well rounded education. When they discuss specialty of course, say you are open minded to not offend other specialties. Good luck!