Can an English Major get accepted?

[snikklebokkle]

Hello,

I'll try to make this as short as possible. I'm 28 years old, just recently transferred from a 2-year community college to a 4-year private college. I am an English major and have decided to change directions to pursue a career as as an MD. My cumulative GPA is 3.46, I'm a Junior this year, and I have not taken Physics, Chemistry or any Math other than what is required for an English B.A.

Other info.-

I'm the daughter of a Greek Immigrant. Grew up very poor, my step-father abused me physically/mentally for many years. As a result of the beatings and being grounded from school, I did not graduate, but received my GED...since then I have worked full-time and have gone to school for the last few semesters, full-time as well. I love to volunteer (nursing homes, reading to the blind, American Cancer Society, animal shelters, etc.) I was told all my life that I was stupid, worthless, and would never amount to anything. I have surprised even myself at the grades I have received. Am I dreaming to think about a career in medicine?

I'd really like to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading.

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[Beast11]

You have answered yourself. Take the BCPM classes (you need maybe 50% of your credits to graduate to not be English anyway.), take the MCAT soon (at least a year before graduation) and keep doing your volunteerism and crafting a life story, and you will know..

Good luck

 

[sunny1]

You can major in whatever you want; med schools have no requirement on a specific major.

My advice for now would be to take a few of the prerequisites for medical school interspersed with your other classes for your major and do your best to get good grades in them. You have the luxury of just adding a few of them in with your other classes to get a feel for them and to make a good effort to do well.

The prereqs are Bio 1 and 2 with labs, general chem 1 and 2 with labs, org chem 1 and 2 with labs, and physics 1 and 2 with labs. At least one semester of math is recommended and some schools require either statistics and/or calculus; this really is school dependent.

If you find yourself doing well in the prereqs, then keep on taking them! And at that point perhaps find some time to shadow physicians to see if you like what they do and to get a better idea of the field. You could also find a volunteer position within a hospital or hospice. I'm not sure what you do at the ACS or nursing home but those sound like valuable activities as well for giving you a better idea about the medical field. Mostly just keep doing the things you enjoy volunteer-wise; it makes you you.

This may mean you have to keep on taking classes after you receive your English degree in order to finish all the prereqs or just take an extra year to finish everything altogether. All depends on how many classes you have left to complete for your English degree too/courseload per semester.

You could consider summer school to start the gen chem sequence and then take org chem the following fall. The chemistry sequence is the set of courses that take the longest to complete since most schools require gen chem 1 for gen chem 2 and gen chem 2 for org chem 1, and so on.

 

[njbmd]

Yes, English majors are accepted into medical school. Go to the AAMC website and have a look at some of the majors that are accepted. As you know, you need to take your pre-med subjects and do extremely well (no grade less than B+). At this point, you need to make sure that you edge that uGPA up too as you are below the average for matriculants.

You already have your volunteer experience and thus you main focus needs to be on getting you academics in order and doing well on the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test). Obtain a copy (or access to a copy) of the Medical School Admissions Requirements book (available at most college libraries) and make sure that you meet the requirements of the schools that interest you.

The subject matter of your major does not matter as much as you performance in said major and the strength of the rest of your application to medical school. Good luck!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Provided that your MCAT and science GPA are solid, an english major is actually an asset because it demonstrates good communication skills and well-roundedness.

 

[princekc]

Hello,

I'll try to make this as short as possible. I'm 28 years old, just recently transferred from a 2-year community college to a 4-year private college. I am an English major and have decided to change directions to pursue a career as as an MD. My cumulative GPA is 3.46, I'm a Junior this year, and I have not taken Physics, Chemistry or any Math other than what is required for an English B.A.

Other info.-

I'm the daughter of a Greek Immigrant. Grew up very poor, my step-father abused me physically/mentally for many years. As a result of the beatings and being grounded from school, I did not graduate, but received my GED...since then I have worked full-time and have gone to school for the last few semesters, full-time as well. I love to volunteer (nursing homes, reading to the blind, American Cancer Society, animal shelters, etc.) I was told all my life that I was stupid, worthless, and would never amount to anything. I have surprised even myself at the grades I have received. Am I dreaming to think about a career in medicine?

I'd really like to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading.

keep doing what you're doing..you'll do very well.

 

[notdeadyet]

I'll try to make this as short as possible. I'm 28 years old, just recently transferred from a 2-year community college to a 4-year private college. I am an English major and have decided to change directions to pursue a career as as an MD. My cumulative GPA is 3.46, I'm a Junior this year, and I have not taken Physics, Chemistry or any Math other than what is required for an English B.A.

I applied at 35 with an English BA. Also came from a community college. Don't sweat it. Adcoms view folks with non-science majors and non-traditional backgrounds favorably. But you won't get slack for a low GPA or MCAT, so be sure to maintain nice numbers for both.

 

[chebella7604]

Yes, English majors are accepted. Some med schools actually list the undergrad majors of the students from their most recently accepted class and I've seen English on the list (as well as almost every other major). As someone already said, med schools seem to like diversity and well-rounded students. An English degree is an asset.

 

[Avant]

Sure, an English major can be accepted. There are several in my class, and one person with a Ph.D. in English Lit. My undergrad degree was in Poli Sci and Comp Lit. It just gave me another slightly unusual thing to talk about in interviews, which was a positive.

 

[MedSchoolFool]

I am 37 and an English major. I started M1 in Fall of 2007 at an allopathic school. I know of at least 2 other English majors in my class, and one of them is nontraditional also..(think he's 30 or 31).

Just rock those BCPM classes and the MCAT when the time comes. Also, don't neglect putting in time to get strong LOR from professors. If your school has premed committee, definitely get an LOR from them. It amazes me how often premeds underestimate the power of good LOR's.

My GPA was very similar to yours when I applied. MCAT was 30R. LOR's were very strong. EC's were probably less than what it looks like you've done. Out of about 15 applications (including a couple of osteopathic schools) I recieved 7 interviews. I only went on 5. Final outcome: Waitlisted at 3 schools & accepted at 2.

If I did it, then I know you can. Good luck.