Best majors?

[FutureBlondeMD]

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I was just wondering what the best major(s) for acceptance to medical school are. I was originally a Biology major, but later switched to philosophy. I've also heard English majors are popular. What's your input?

Thank you!

 

[CaliGirl14]

Anthropology of course.

 

[FutureBlondeMD]

I'm guessing that's what you majored in? Haha.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

Statistics, with a special concentration in Correlation's Relationship to Causation

 

[CaliGirl14]

I'm guessing that's what you majored in? Haha.

Yupe. A) I love it and...well B) for me it's an easy 4.0 😀

 

[searun]

The best major is a major where you can excel and also enjoy the material and the subject matter. Oh, and dominate the med school prereqs and the MCAT and you will have the recipe for success.

So, in reality, there is "no best major for med school." It is subjective and dependant upon your individual abilities and interests.

 

[jeff0106]

Chemical and Biomolecular engineering. At GT, it meets all the prereqs and is a very tough major (Biochem 2 is my easiest class this semester, 17 hours).

A tough major will be good prep for working hard in medical school (or at least I hope).

 

[Medwell]

Chemical and Biomolecular engineering.

The OP asked about the best major for acceptance to medical school, not preparation for medical school.

I agree with you about preparation, but in terms of acceptance, Engineering might be the worst. It is much more difficult than almost any other major, and chances are you'll get a lower GPA. At my school, for example, you need a 3.75 to make the Liberal Arts/Sciences Dean's List, but only a 3.2 to get on the Engineering one. Whatever GPA you got in Engineering - it's a safe bet it would have been higher in something else. Even if you got a 4.0, you could have gotten a 4.0 in the other major and done something else with all that time you spent studying.

Don't think that the engineering degree will gain you any leniency in terms of GPA, either. According to my undergrad's ChemE page:

...medical school applicants have a low probability of acceptance without a reputable GPA, even if they opted for a more difficult undergraduate major. Do not expect admissions committees to utilize another academic standard because of the relative difficulty of Chemical Engineering curricula.

 

[Gloves]

IMO, I think probably english or some related major. Why? It'll give you plenty of reading comprehension skills for the verbal section. Also it's rare, and I'm guessing med schools will see your major as unique and positive and whatnot, and less of a science nerd (thus more likely to be a family doctor)

Either that or biology, because if you can do well med schools will see that you're able to handle material deep into the field. Since they recommend biochemistry it seems like they really do need this evidence.

All speculation of course. But I think we can all agree that hard sciences and engineering are the worst unfortunately but for anything else they're some of the best majors. Weird world we live in.

 

[Suenya]

Stick with philosophy. Philosophy majors end up better at reading MRIs and generally are better at physical diagnosis.

 

[Playa]

Also see if your school has basket weaving, or light saber dueling as majors. both essential skills for doctors. i did a double major in them 😉.

 

[orthomyxo]

Statistics, with a special concentration in Correlation's Relationship to Causation

👍

Chemical and Biomolecular engineering. At GT, it meets all the prereqs and is a very tough major (Biochem 2 is my easiest class this semester, 17 hours).

A tough major will be good prep for working hard in medical school (or at least I hope).

Not really true bro, sorry. Look at Step scores from the Mt. Sinai HUMED classes.

 

[Grom]

Not really true bro, sorry. Look at Step scores from the Mt. Sinai HUMED classes.

They have higher failure rates than regular matriculants, what's your point?

 

[Oncoloman]

I was just wondering what the best major(s) for acceptance to medical school are. I was originally a Biology major, but later switched to philosophy. I've also heard English majors are popular. What's your input?

Thank you!

the more unique the better...especially when you have 2000+ biology majors to choose from. Philosophy is not bad at all.

 

[Ischemic]

I'm gonna go with the swimsuit competition judge major.

 

[TLPRRT]

The best major is the major you choose that will make you happy. There's no specific major for acceptance to medical school so do what you enjoy. If you're spending the money to get a degree I think it should be something you would enjoy.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

I was just wondering what the best major(s) for acceptance to medical school are. I was originally a Biology major, but later switched to philosophy. I've also heard English majors are popular. What's your input?

Thank you!

Philosophy because it will give you an edge on VR when taking the MCAT.

 

[Grom]

I never understood the infatuation with English majors; for humanities or social sciences, I think philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and psychology are much more useful in medicine.

Philosophy would probably be good for med school admissions. You'd be taking med prereqs, so you'd have the basic sciences anyway, and I would think philosophy helps with verbal on the MCAT (writing sample too).

 

[Reaction]

I'm a Biology and Economics major. However, there is no such thing as a "best" major as long as you do well in whatever you choose=)

 

[Suenya]

Philosophy because it will give you an edge on VR when taking the MCAT.

For VR, all you need is practice reading (science papers probably would be better than philosophy), and the ability to strongly stereotype authors for the opinion pieces (EK VR strat, and totally works ~100% of the time). I think most social sciences, humanities, and many hard sciences would have enough reading of papers to get you through.

You really don't want to overanalyze thinking in the VR section. You do better on the VR if you treat the MCAT question writers as if they are a bit slow. I suspect actually analyzing it critically at all (philosophy or science-like) will hurt your score.

I can't help but make these comments constantly about VR. If it helps someone ace it it's worth it. Sorry for the tangent.

 

[MossPoh]

Philosophy because it will give you an edge on VR when taking the MCAT.

You know what else gives you an edge? Reading....

I was a German Lit and Information Science Technology major. I read a lot, but in a different language, as were my essays. I also read lots of books in English my entire life though. My first practice MCAT I got a 12 and was truly surprised people were struggling with it.

There isn't a right or wrong major. There is only the major you enjoy...and can get a job in if things don't go the way you plan. Psych is fascinating, but not much in the workplace for you when you get out.

I've found that the stuff that helped me most in medical school were not the science classes (only about 8 credits away from a bio degree), but rather the business oriented courses and my traveling experiences. I tend to look at things from different angles and approach problems differently. I may not have all the facts crammed into my head, but I can at least figure out the best solution with what I do have.