Any Pre-Med mathematics majors wanna share some advice?

[Ilikespidey]

Hi there, this is my first post on SDN! I’m a freshman college student in Texas majoring in mathematics as a pre-med. I know college major doesn’t really matter for med school admissions. But my major in particular is somewhat more difficult than others given the rigor (then again I see other majors like physics and engineering just as difficult in terms of coursework imo).

But I still want to do it, and I am willing to put in the effort it takes to do well in classes. I just want to receive some advice from those who’ve been down this particular path, given that not a lot of people do it. Such as what advice would you give for proofs, taking math and pre-med coursework at same time, studying, etc.

The reason I’m making this post is because I want to have a good GPA just to keep the door open for me at Texas med schools (sorry if that sounds stupid lol). Honestly anything a 3.7-3.8 or above is good for me. I of course am planning out putting in time for clinical experience and more for ECs.

For context I’m taking Calc 2 this sem and I’m likely to get an A. My math advisor suggested my math coursework by semester goes as: Discrete Math -> Lin Algebra + Probability -> Number Theory -> Real Analysis. My GPA first semester was a 4.0. Hope to do good second semester.

Thank you for your input!

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[obiwan]

In all honesty, there isn't really any magic formula. Its just about putting in the effort and having good study habits/organizational skills since you are having to juggle between your major course load on top of the extra courses for the pre-med requirements. Consider maybe offloading some of the pre med courses over the summer if it gets too much to handle with your math courses.

Graduated with an engineering degree so I fully understand what you're going through.

 

[deleted1136042]

As a generic biology major pre-med, I'm curious why you want to major in mathematics if you are pre-med

 

[Ilikespidey]

As a generic biology major pre-med, I'm curious why you want to major in mathematics if you are pre-med

Just a decision I made when thinking about what I want to study for four years. I liked learning calculus and wanted to learn more. I wasn’t too keen on doing bio. I know to some it might be risky to do, but to me it’s fine if I make it work. Also I have a scholarship associated with my major so if I switch out I will regret losing it lmao.

 

[wysdoc]

As a generic biology major pre-med, I'm curious why you want to major in mathematics if you are pre-med

Because if you love math, you get it.
If you love math, you'll do well in math and enjoy college.
There is no "allowance" though from most med schools, as in "oh, engineering and physics are hard majors so a somewhat lower GPA is the same as a 3.8 Bio GPA".
Because you will have to take the same # of bio courses as other premeds, you might want to lighten your load by doing a couple of summer semesters.

 

[Sure25]

My advice if you want to do medicine dont waste your time with Math. I was a math major and ended up switching. its very hard to get "A" specially in your higher level courses. I was taking classes with Graduate students and I absloutley love math I even took courses after graduating but your GPA will be lower (if your not really good at math). Public highschool mathmatics does not really prepare you for college. Do a major you love but keep in mind you will be making your life harder trying to complete pre-reqs. Also higher level math has proofs. So I enjoyed things like calculus but when I started to taking more abstract courses (like set theory) I was not as interested.

If you have a dream do everything to make it happen. Do not make your life harder than it already is. Being a pre-med is not easy you have other responsibilities other than courses. My advice a 4.0 in math and 4.0 in biology are the same. Sucessful math majors are just as passionate about math as sucessful biology majors about their field. Do not make your life harder and listen to the advice given.

 

[icedsoylatte]

I had no problem majoring in Stats. I had to take all the classes you mentioned + upper-class stats classes except number theory. I did well in those classes and raised my science GPA. It definitely took a lot of effort because you have to take all the prerequisites in addition to difficult math classes.

Do what you will be happy to do. I do not regret majoring in Stats - I chose statistics because I want to obtain MPH degree in biostats in addition to MD.