Best courses to take for MCAT and most useful major for premed

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Most useful premed major that will get you a good job even if you don't get into med school


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fvtvrist

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Hi, I am a freshman currently in a "mid-year crisis". I am a biology major, however I just don't see what I will be able to do with it if I don't get into med school. I am considering switching over to business administration pre-med or chemistry pre-med. Which do you think will be the most viable, or are there any other majors that are better?

Secondly, what classes do you recommend to be the most helpful for the 2015 MCAT, (obviously besides gen biology, gen chemistry, psychology, sociology, organic chemistry, physics)?

I am worried since my undergrad institution is not too well known it will create an issue for me when being viewed as an applicant to med school, especially because I received C+ grades in general chemistry and biology (which was an extremely tough class because our professor based every test and quiz off the MCAT). What do you guys think?

Lastly, I want to be dermatologist, are there any med students who are training for dermatology right now or any current dermatologists with any advice? How competitive is it, what classes are best, etc. Thanks!

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Biology (Molecular/Cell Biology)
Biochemistry
Chemistry (Orgo, Gen Chem)
Physics
Statistics (Biostats or Psych stats)
Psychology (General overview)
Sociology (General overview)
Neuroscience
 
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especially because I received C+ grades in general chemistry and biology

This is what you need to worry most about at the moment.
 
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Your questions one at a time:

1. Getting a job? There are no guarantees. You don't go to a target school for the big industries so you would have to carve your own path; none of them will be as linear, obvious or as straightforward as medicine (even if they are better suited to you or even less challenging). I have no advice to offer beyond that.

2. Classes that are helpful for the MCAT are the same classes required to get into medical school. Take Biochemistry before the MCAT no matter what. Other courses that could potentially help are: Genetics, Mol or Cell Bio, Physiology. The content you learn in these classes will be less helpful to you on the test than your ability to think and reason about data, knowledge presented to you, and words. If you take memorization heavy coursework, this will cost you some in the exam and not earn you enough to make it worthwhile. Learn to think.

3. The school you go to will not keep you out of medical school. Your undergrad is unimportant unless it is extremely selective and you are applying to elite private medical schools.

4. Figure out how to improve in your coursework. 3.7+ is the goal, no more Cs if you want to stay in this game. As and A-s with a very small number of B+s sprinkled in should be your realistic goal.

5. It's cool that you are interested in Derm but don't go to medical school if the only thing you want to do is Derm. You are probably going for the wrong reasons.
 
Whatever classes you take, stop getting Cs in core classes. I had a few Cs early on and slacked overall more than I should have in college. It was a double whammy because my GPA was lower than it should have been and it took me longer to gain the fund of knowledge necessary to rock the MCAT. Learn it well now, and thank yourself later.

On another note, though, I always recommend philosophy classes to undergrads. I double majored in phil and a hard science, and the critical thinking you develop from even one or two classes is pretty handy on any test and in any field. AAMC doesn't keep data to back this claim up, but philosophy majors do really well on the LSAT (top scoring major), GMAT, GRE etc.
Sauce: http://www2.gsu.edu/~phlkkk/foryou.html
 
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Maybe it's because I myself double majored in basketweaving and... advanced basketweaving so the idea of DOING anything with an undergrad major is extremely foreign to me. :lol: I'm always a bit confused when people ask about which majors are best for career opportunities if medicine doesn't pan out. Most college grads don't end up working in the field they majored in and it's pretty hard nowadays to have any sort of viable career options with just a bachelor's degree. I would think that regardless of your "Plan B major" (Bio, Chem, Business, etc.), you'd probably need to get a master's at some point to improve your career prospects. So if it were me, I'd choose the major that I enjoy AND can do well in. As you'll see repeated time and again on SDN: med schools aren't going to cut you any slack for having a low GPA in a challenging major.

I would focus on improving your grades in the prereqs. Those C+'s aren't doing anything for your science GPA so you may need additional good science grades to boost it. Doing well in the prereqs and studying effectively is your best bet for getting a good MCAT score.
 
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Most useful premed major that will get you a good job even if you don't get into med school

Easy. Go for business administration because you have marketable skills. However, it is not a premed major, simply because a premed major doesn't exist.
 
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