Collage Major/Pre-med Questions

[PoloniumHigharc]

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Hello everyone,


Currently I am a junior in high school, and I'm interested in going to university of Pittsburgh for Pre-med. My ultimate goal is to become a Psychiatrist, and I am aware of the difficult road ahead, and the amount of time it requires. But my struggle is not with my decision of becoming a psychiatrist, rather of how to go about it. With great interest comes many questions.
From my understanding every collage student declares a major in their junior year. And every pre-med student must accomplish the med school requirements. Therefore, would it not be easier for a Med student to choose a science major? After all not only would some of the classes overlap, but also one would respect to gain more exposure to significantly more advanced science classes, which will help him further in Med school, but more importantly get a good score on the Mcat. Which brings me to my next point.
The Mcat is a very important test, so one would be sure to pass it. Therefore, if any individual decides to major in anything other than a science course, they would have to take an additional number of classes to reach the same level of preparation. A list of classes I've found from a former Pre-med student is as follows...
I would choose a single major that you love and include the following:
Core:
General Biol I/II
General Chem I/II
Organic Chem I/II
General Physics I/II
Biochemistry I
Genetics or Cell or Molecular
Physiology
Cell or Molecular or Micro or Immunology or Virology or Histology
Intro to Statistics
Calculus I or Statistics II
Intro to Sociology
Intro to Psychology
Choose 2-3:
Developmental Psychology
Biological Psychology or Neuroscience or Perception
Abnormal Psychology
Personality
Choose 1-2:
Bioethics
Dying/Death/Afterlife
Health Law/Politics
Medical Economics
Medical Anthropology
Infectious Disease
Epidemiology
"And taking these classes", he said, "will prepare you for the Mcat"
Looking at these classes does intimidate me, I won't lie. Would taking these classes be beneficial, overkill, or simply useless? Any substitutions, or any other advice regarding this situation? Granted if you were great at science and/or loved them, this problem would be of no concern, but I have a different passion, and so I have a different problem.
I enjoy sciences, and I am fairly good at them too, but by no means are they a passion of mine. I love psychology, and i really want to major in it at University of Pittsburgh, yet by doing so I feel like I would sacrifice a lot in the "Medical Department" And so i decided I would do a double major in Psychology AND Biology, this seemed like a good idea at the time. Than I did more research and I found that this was a horrible and insane idea. After all, doing a double Major, a minor in Spanish, and the Pre-med requirements, it would be impossible to accomplish in 4 years, plus it would be a lot of money. So would a double major be worth it, or a bad idea? Also I've heard that Psychology is sort of a cliche Major. That it is easier than most majors, therefore medical schools look down on it. Is this true, or fake, if so what can i do about it?
Medical schools sound self-contradicting. I've heard people say they look down on psychology, yet they want well rounded students in areas other than core sciences. And since Psychology is considered a Political Science, I assume it would fit well in the "well rounded" argument. So would they not favor a psychology student? Is it because of the rigor of the course work, or something else. Would taking additional more rigorous science classes like 300/301 Bio help with that?
Lastly I am curious about what I could do to look better to medical schools. I heard volunteer work, and overshadowing would be very good. But what about the Thesis Projects I keep hearing about. A person on another forum on this website stated that doing such a project would be even better than a double major. Though I don't understand what it is, and how it works, or when to start it. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.
Here is some Personal info that may be of any use:
-I am currently a Junior in High school at a public school
-my unweighted GPA is 3.5+
-weighted GPA is far Past a 4.0
-I take CAS classes (center of accelerated learning)
-Also AP courses (collage courses)
-I am very good at English, Psychology, Foreign languages.
-I am decent at sciences ( But i enjoy them )
-I have trouble with advanced maths and physics
-I have not yet taken the SAT, I will be very soon
-I am a natural born citizen of Romanian (Located in Eastern Europe) Came to US when I was 9
-I speak 2 fluent languages, and a third pretty well
-I am 17 years old
-I am a Male

---------Thank you for all the help I very much appreciate it
-------PoloniumHigharc

 

[nysegop]

Major doesn't matter (there are a few exceptions tough, for instance nursing or other health specific majors are not recommended). Major in art. It really doesn't matter, just take the premed courses as electives. The MCAT only tests on the premed core courses for the most part. Majoring in a science will only help you slightly. Proper studying and good professors are the keys for doing well on the MCAT. More and more medical students are coming from majors such as art, english, philosophy, and history.

If you want flexibility in your schedule but to also have a solid science foundation look into "soft sciences" such as sociology and psychology.

 

[BABSstudent]

First off, learn the difference between collage and college. While you are looking it up, look at the difference between then and than. You repeated used the words wrong which is a pet peeve of mine.

Now, on to your questions.

Medical schools are going to look at your GPA and not really at your major. If your GPA is higher than the cutoff point then your application moves on to be reviewed. If not, it is rejected without being looked at. Therefor, pick a major that you will enjoy because you will get high grades in it.

It is possible to do a double major in 4 years, but it is hard and will require taking 18 credits (normally the max allowed) per semester.

If you choose a non science major, just add the additional prereqs for medical school as electives. That means you get a grade but it doesn't count towards anything towards you major because your major doesn't require them.

As for volunteering, again do what you like because you will be able to write about positive experiences much better and be more energetic about them. How you are able to reflect on the experiences is just as important as what you did. If you have a reason to go international for a project, then do it. I went abroad to volunteer because I am a Spanish major and wanted to practice translating in the moment. You can read about it on my mdapps located below my avatar. The experience was called Hearts in motion.

Finally, the special project/thesis thing you are talking about is normally for the honors college students. The reason why these are looked upon highly is that the students conduct their own research (many times from bench research of their own) and then they write a big paper. Sometimes the students can publish a paper from their research which is a huge plus.

Medical schools like research experience because they want to have research dollars brought in and publications help their name get prestige. Therefor, they want to admit students that have experience doing research because it increases the chances that their students will publish something. Research isn't a big part of all medical schools but some, including the one I start at in the fall, have it as a requirement of graduation.

 

[survivordo]

Pretty similar outcome independent of your major in terms of med school acceptance. I actually did an entire post on this topic on my blog including a quick statistical review. You can find it by clicking the link in my signature and then looking for the post "Ask Survivor DO: Which Major is Best for Medical School?"

Survivor DO