Bachelor degree?

[MommyMedStudent]

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A friend and I were debating on whether or not you have to have a Bachelors degree to get into medical school. Do you all know if that's true? I am still trying to decide on what to get my BS in but I can't find anything that yells "You would love me!!"

 

[LifeTake2]

Technically NO.

However, in all reality YES.

Medical schools (at least quite a few) state they will accept someone with 90+ hrs w/o a degree. But as competitive as medical school admissions is, the chance of getting in is probably less than getting hit by lightning.

Not sure who wins the argument.

 

[mauberley]

I'm not aware of any schools that explicitly require that matriculants hold a bachelor's degree, but there's usually a minimum number of undergraduate credits you are required to have completed.

That having been said, I believe it's rather rare to find a med student without a bachelor's.

 

[EdLongshanks]

A friend and I were debating on whether or not you have to have a Bachelors degree to get into medical school. Do you all know if that's true? I am still trying to decide on what to get my BS in but I can't find anything that yells "You would love me!!"

You can apply to medical school before you complete your bachelors. All of the schools that I interviewed at asked me when I would graduate. Once I was accepted, I was sent an acceptance package that contained the requirement that I complete Organic Chem I. Graduation was not required, but I am completing my bachelors anyway.

Many people graduate after they are accepted, even though it is rarely required. It feels wrong to work toward a bachelors for years and then fail to complete it for lack of a few credits.

Having said that, I would be surprised if very many medical schools would accept you if they were aware that you did not intend to graduate undergrad

 

[ejw5075]

I think the MSAR has a section under each individual school that tells you whether they require a bachelor's or not. But the avg credit hours they require is usually 90+ which is pretty darn close to a bachelor's.

I was accepted during my senior year of undergrad, and the acceptance letters specifically state that acceptance is conditional, including completion of current coursework (in my case BS) but this also includes graduate programs if you are currently in one.

And just another thought, which hopefully you wouldn't need to consider, but what if med school didn't work out? There are people who drop out and without a bacehlor's you are back to square 1, no?

 

[MommyMedStudent]

No I totally understand, btw I was on the side that you do need a degree, having said that I made the argument that what if med school didn't work out and she (being 18 😉 ) stated that if she had what it took to get accepted into medical school then she knew she would make it through.....ahhhh the age of innocence 😉

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

I agree with what other people are saying:

Most schools do not technically require a bachelor degree.

If you read biographies of physicians who went to medical school in the 1940s or earlier, you'll often find no mention of a completed undergrad degree. That's very rare now.

-----

I wanted to add some clarification. Individual schools could potentially choose to require a degree, but (from what I understand) medical schools are not themselves required to require a bachelor degree.

This is why the MD and DO degrees are each considered to be a "first professional degree" in academic lingo: the MD or DO can be your first degree in the academic sequence.

The same cannot be said for a PhD. To gain regional accreditation as a PhD granting institution, the school itself is required to require that their PhD students already have some other degree.

 

[Wheelwash]

Hello, I hate to dredge up an old thread but this is about the only thing I could find in relation to my question after searching. I understand what the replies on this thread are saying about finishing your degree anyway.

My question is do you know anyone that you go to medical school with/practice with that do not have an undergrad degree?

Thanks for any more replies!

 

[JESSFALLING]

There's a kid going to WVU w/o a bachelors right now....but I think he came from the ivys and his dad is a physician. He also probably had near perfect grades and awesome ECs and awesome LORs. Unfortunately for most of us, we fail in one or more of these areas and thus, we need to complete a bachelors....

I don't know if this will help, but here are a few 'ideas' for interesting majors. You might try taking a class in each department (maybe you have already) and then see if one fits your interests...

Biology [Okay....maybe it's not 'unique', but it fulfills all of the premed requirements!]
Psychology [I think this is an awesome premed major! So many helpful classes 4 MS!]
Philosophy or Religious Studies [These are interesting majors that touch on the most important and fundamental issues humanity faces {i.e. ethics, love, hate, etc.}. Such majors tend to score very high on the MCAT due to the logical/reasoning abilities they acquire in their studies.]
English, History, Theatre/Film [Though a bit easier than Philosophy, these majors will also broaden your horizons and may also brighten your studies.]
Nutrition [Often overlooked, nutrition allows you to understand the human body on a very physiological level.]
Exercise Physiology [Like biology, it covers many of the prereqs....and you learn about the body's functions. Good major for DO OMT prep.]
Business or Economics [These majors would be very helpful for you if you decide to open your own practice in the future. Economics majors also tend to score well on professional exams.]
Political Science [This would also be helpful for you, esp. if you focus on the intersection of health policy, law, and administration.]

Edit: Also, see if your school offers a "Special Major". If they do, then you can create your own major from classes that you find interesting!

Good luck!

 

[isoquin]

No, sorry. This is not a practical route to being accepted into a US med school. I'm sure you could find a few rare exceptions. However as someone else mentioned, the odds are severely stacked against you.

 

[Wheelwash]

Thanks for the replies guys!
As far as the 'Special Major' I may have to look at that tomorrow.
Right now my major is Biomedical Science.

This place sure is giving me a lot of information! Thanks again for the thorough
and friendly responses🙂