Did you know you wanted to be a physician before choosing your major, during, or after?

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Merchan93

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Hey SDN

So quick question. I'm starting uni this spring semester and i'm having thoughts on what i should major in. My advisor tells me to go biology because it satisfies the most pre reqs for med school while getting my bachelors but in all honesty i've always had a curiousity for mechanical engineering. My plan is to go mech E and take the pre reqs as my electives but my question is this. For those of you that majored in different subjects other than sciences, did you know you wanted to become a MD when you chose that major? or was it something that just came about during or after your college journey?
 
I want to become a DO 😉

But yes, I've been interested in Medicine since HS. I started as a biology major -- like you do -- then switched to psychology after becoming interested in it from taking an intro course. I figured that what I'd learn in psychology would be more applicable than "plants of the coastal plain", etc., and I've found that to be the case. I graduate this December.

Engineering is characteristically a very GPA deflating area of study -- be aware.

College is exciting. Make the best of it!
 
I never really considered medicine until I got with my wife, she comes from a family of doctors. I started mulling the idea of becoming a doctor shortly before I went back to college but, I wasn't 100% set on the idea until my junior year.

Don't major in biology alone unless it really intrests you and you have an idea of how to use a bio degree if you don't get in. Major in something you've like and can see yourself doing if medicine doesn't pan out. However with all the prereqs as minor or second major in bio isn't bad.
 
I'm a freshman in college and I chose to go the biology route. I'm often worried that it will appear somewhat boring to the medical school admission board, but honestly I have always loved biology, so I would likely have taken it anyway even if I wasn't interested in becoming a doctor. I would advise you to choose the major you feel most passionate about, and start off first semester with some basic science courses and see if you can handle the course-load. I've heard of much stranger and more useless majors than ME
 
I was pre-vet entering college as a Biology major. I ended up picking up a double major in psychology and was later chosen for a pilot-research program. I did clinical research through Brown and after being able to work with patients in that capacity, I started mulling over the idea of starting a career in medicine. My desire to enter medicine was then affirmed when I began my internship in an ED and later became a scribe.

Funny how things end up working out during college, but it eventually lead me to the right career path!
 
Choose something that'll get you a job of you don't get into med school (hint: not a life science)
 
I did have it in mind when I choose my major: Physics. I figured I could go knock out the prereqs as science electives. However, I could go to graduate school and study Engineering or graduate Physics--possibly being a Dosimetrist. That is, if Med School didn't work out for me. Ultimately, I was not completely sure what I wanted to do. One thing I do regret is not shadowing a Physician(s) earlier on in college because that would have cleared things up for quickly. However, I went to a school with no Engineering School.

Preferably, you might want to major in something that could give you an alternate career if Medicine doesn't work out for you. Engineering can be quite hard to keep >3.5, so I would be careful on that one.

However, I will say that you could go to grad school for another career as a back up depending on your UG major and taking the prereqs. That could be your back up. For example, my dad has admitted people with degrees in Chemistry into his University's Master in ChemE program before (My dad is a Professor of ChemE, btw).
 
Merchan93 said:
Hey SDN

So quick question. I'm starting uni this spring semester and i'm having thoughts on what i should major in. My advisor tells me to go biology because it satisfies the most pre reqs for med school while getting my bachelors but in all honesty i've always had a curiousity for mechanical engineering. My plan is to go mech E and take the pre reqs as my electives but my question is this. For those of you that majored in different subjects other than sciences, did you know you wanted to become a MD when you chose that major? or was it something that just came about during or after your college journey?
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I took both into account at the same time. When I started Uni I wasn't sure if I was going to end up with a BS, PhD, PharmD, or MD/DO, but I knew I wanted to study some sort of life science. I ended up choosing Biochemistry over Microbiology because I thought of it was more "rigorous", and thought it would be viewed as such among potential graduate schools. When I got to my senior level biophysical chemistry courses I wanted to shoot myself for not choosing microbiology.
 
Going into college I was not interested in going into medicine and was instead interested in either doing chemical or mechanical engineering. I choose chemical engineering because I really enjoyed chemistry and math. I wanted to do stuff in renewable energy but when I learned more about the politics and all that goes into it I looked into medicine and picked up an option in bioengineering junior year (after getting into pro school). My interest in the bioengineering classes created a nice transition into the possibility of becoming a physician. From there I spent time shadowing, focusing on medical courses, etc, and mulling over the idea of becoming a physician until I fully committed to it at the end of my junior year. I wouldn't take the time I spent back realizing that I didn't want to focus on energy and instead of bioengineering. However, I wish I would have shadowed before my junior year so I could have switched into bioengineering since it would have been a fairly easy transition at my school and I may not have had to spend an additional two quarters. The ChE program is among the most rigorous at my uni but it was something I really enjoyed and was well worth the additional effort. I also had a friend switch from mechanical Engineering to bioengineering because the schedules are jammed packed and it's hard to find space in the engineering program for the prereqs (besides BioE) without spending an extra year. But like any major, if it's something your passionate about and willing to put in the effort to maintain a good GPA I would say go for it.

Some of the advantages of going through this path is that there are many opportunities to be an intern or work in hospitals with medical devices which gives you great exposure to what docs do, healthcare, and it helps you pull your leg out of some of the debt you can accumulate. It also does a great job at preparing you to be a critical thinker. However, the downsides is that it's very demanding of your time so it's challenging to balance it with EC's and volunteering.
 
It wasn't even on my radar until after I finished school and was beginning my career as a therapist. Even then, I didn't consider it seriously until this year, I'm about 6 years out of college now.
 
I did not consider medicine until 1.5 years after I graduated college. Towards the end of my undergraduate I thought I wanted to go into public health, which is what started my interested in health, medicine, etc...
 
I knew I wanted to be a physician, but it had little bearing on my major. I knew I would minor in chemistry because the requirements for med school made that automatic. I toyed around with choosing between psychology and philosophy and settled on psychology because the choice of classes fit better with my interests and the teaching staff was stronger. My bio department professors are really into plants, so I knew that was not the way to go.
 
I wanted to be a doc (now a DO) since I was about 5 years old. Broke my arm, thought it was cool that the bones would grow back together, said I wanted to be a doctor!
 
I knew I wanted to become a doctor in early high school. My choice of major changed in the middle of college (slightly) and was mostly influenced in what I found interesting.
 
I knew as early as 7th grade and stuck with it every step of the way. I think this gave me a huge boost as I was able to graduate a full year early from undergrad. What I have figured out is that your major doesn't necessarily matter as long as you perform well in your required classes. Shoot, at my university we had a 100% acceptance to medical school from art majors (there were like 2 ever).
 
I knew that I wanted to be a physician since I was a young kid. I'd watch surgeries on those cable channels, while the rest of my family gagged at the sight of blood.

My parents advised my siblings and I to get the best science and liberal arts foundation while in K-12, and I think we did. When it was time to go to college, I knew that I'd be on a premed track, but I also knew that many people get weeded out, so I had a back-up plan. I chose my major, chemical engineering, because I loved it enough to be able to accept that a career in that field might be my Plan B.

In the end, I'm glad I was a ChemE major because engineering is a problem-solving major.
 
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Merchan93 said:
mechanical engineering
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If you wanna do it - do it. Engineering does have a lower GPA overall. I think my class for chem E had an average of 2.85 GPA? But it's a great backup plan if you don't go into med school immediately. At least you wouldn't be out of a job either during your gap years or if you decided not to go to med school.


J Senpai said:
I want to become a DO 😉
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Why? I'm sorry, I've never met a pre-med who set a goal to do DO. I'm not saying DO is bad or anything - but let's be real, in general (and probably undeservingly so) DO is viewed inferior to MD. Residency is harder to get with DO than an MD (Not impossible, but there is a stigma).
 
moisne said:
Why? I'm sorry, I've never met a pre-med who set a goal to do DO. I'm not saying DO is bad or anything - but let's be real, in general (and probably undeservingly so) DO is viewed inferior to MD. Residency is harder to get with DO than an MD (Not impossible, but there is a stigma).
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If in general, you mean amongst the premed population, esp. of this site in particular, then yeah.

I chose the route because I like the history of the degree, as DO schools enrolled women from the get-go, before they were generally allowed into allopathic schools -- as a martial artist, I'm attracted to OMM, I appreciate the institutional emphasis on prevention, primary care and the biopsychosocial model of healthcare, and I am especially competitive for any DO program I'd like to attend, keeping my regional options open.
 
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moisne said:
If you wanna do it - do it. Engineering does have a lower GPA overall. I think my class for chem E had an average of 2.85 GPA?
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That seems even low for ChE. That's kinda interesting considering that the pro school GPA cut off is typically quite a bit higher. I would think the avg GPA to increase despite how much more challenging pro-school courses are because of their general interest.
 
Bruskie_77 said:
That seems even low for ChE. That's kinda interesting considering that the pro school GPA cut off is typically quite a bit higher. I would think the avg GPA to increase despite how much more challenging pro-school courses are because of their general interest.
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Yeah I thought it was low too. When someone told me, I couldn't believe it. I knew bunch of people in the 2.8's range that got 6 figure jobs - so I can't say I doubt it. (All in petroleum ofc, the research and small private sectors got paid a lot less).
 
moisne said:
I knew bunch of people in the 2.8's range that got 6 figure jobs.
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That makes me think people like that who get hired and cause things like the BP oil spill/exxon track record. I noticed that it wasn't always what you know but who you know that allowed quite a few students to land those big jobs (like Petroleum). I knew someone in the program that got a position with BP his junior year and ever since that he tanked, resorted to cheating, etc. He picked it up at the end but that's probably the worst time to tank because the classes actually matter the most. Which is great that medicine is so challenging that it weeds out that type of mentality.
 
Bruskie_77 said:
BP
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Gosh they have like the longest interview process. Pay is awesome though. They were the only that gave my hypothetical interview questions.

"Quick... if XXX happens. what would you do?" - NOTHING related to engineering.

XXX could be like, you spilled coffee while driving
XXX could also be - you lost your pen in the desert
XXX could be your friend says a balloon is blue but it's actually red...
 
Answering OP, I wanted to pursue medicine way after I chose my major in sophomore year. Before that, I was also considering research, and many of the post-docs were really nice but it seemed like such a solitary life.
 
I knew I would pursue medicine before college. Majored in humanities anyway. I definitely know a few mechanical engineer premeds who made it to medical school. I don't think their GPA suffered.

I took the premed prerequisites (+ some like biochem) that way I didn't waste my time with the extra courses to fulfill the bio major, like botany or ecology - no thanks 😛
 
I've been premed since I was maybe 5 (dead serious). I had huge posters in my bedroom of the various organ systems and instead of a coloring book I would color in a black and white copy of Netter that I carried everywhere. I didn't have too many friends when I was younger....

In any case I would say don't do straight bio since its such a cookie cutter major that nearly every pre-med under the sun has. Mechanical Eng sounds awesome if you can keep your GPA up. If not you could always Bio major with a minor in engineering or something!
 
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