Do Medical schools look down on Education Majors?

[SweetBurger]

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I am interested in an education major just because i have heard it is extremely easy to keep a high gpa without much work. This would allow me to spend lots of time volunteering at the local hospital and doing research. I have also heard that communications major is easy so I'm considering that.

 

[SweetBurger]

Edit: If i could i would probably be a chemistry major because that's what I truly love. I just don't want it to murder my gpa.

 

[sonofva]

i suppose if you do this you'll still have four years to figure out what you'll tell the admissions committee when they ask why you bothered to major in education if you didnt intend to teach.

 

[mcloaf]

Edit: If i could i would probably be a chemistry major because that's what I truly love. I just don't want it to murder my gpa.

Then be a chemistry major. Life's too short to waste time studying something you don't care about because you're too lazy work hard at something you like.

i suppose if you do this you'll still have four years to figure out what you'll tell the admissions committee when they ask why you bothered to major in education if you didnt intend to teach.

All OP has to say is that he/she was interested in education and enjoyed it, end of conversation. Med school interviews don't include a portion where you have to justify your course of study under aggressive questioning from interviewers. It's not like they call out music majors for not becoming professional musicians.

 

[Totoro Po]

I am interested in an education major just because i have heard it is extremely easy to keep a high gpa without much work. This would allow me to spend lots of time volunteering at the local hospital and doing research. I have also heard that communications major is easy so I'm considering that.

I would suggest that you pursue a major you are genuinely interested in and not one because "it's easy". It's also important for you to consider that medical schools don't only look at you cGPA but your science GPA as well. If you enjoy chemistry, then go ahead and try your best within that field. It's not that medical school look down on any specific major- premeds just generally have science-related majors since this route happens to coincide with the prerequisites medical schools ask for. That and taking extra science courses helps prepare you for the MCAT.

So, what I'm trying to say is that if you are interested in being an education or communications major, feel free to do your best in that course of study. Just remember, to apply for medical school, you'll have to take those courses in addition to the science/math prereqs the medical schools require.

 

[Isha2018]

I think it's beneficial to have a well-rounded college education. As long as you put in the time to get great grades in your science pre-reqs and get a good MCAT score, major in whatever you'd like. If you're just doing education or communications for their ease, prepare to be wasting your time. Do what you enjoy. I can't imagine sitting through classes on the pedagogy and psychology of teaching just because the class is 'easy.' That would be sooooo boring.

Plus, as an education or a communications major, you will be doing A LOT of writing! I hope you're ok with that. Not only that, you will spend A LOT of time interning in an educational setting for your last year with an education major. Your classes may be easier, but they will be very time-consuming. You could be spending the time honing your science skills.

My first bachelor degree is in history, which I loved. However, I can really say that the only things I gained from the degree that help me now are my writing skills, and my critical thinking skills. I had to go to nursing school to actually get a well-paying job.

Anyway, do what you like. However, don't just choose based on ease. Mediocrity sucks and laze will only bite you in the rear-end sooner than later!

 

[Isha2018]

Edit: If i could i would probably be a chemistry major because that's what I truly love. I just don't want it to murder my gpa.

🙂 Have more faith in yourself! You can do hard things if you're considering medical school!! 🙂

 

[SweetBurger]

Thank you Guys for all the wonderful responses. I will take into consideration everything you guys have said.

 

[organdonor]

My wife is a teacher. As was stated above, although it will be easy to maintain a high GPA, an education major will NOT give you any free time your senior year as you are interning/student teaching. It would be an unwise choice since you wouldn't be able to take any other classes (you'll be interning all day) or leave time for volunteering, shadowing, interviews, etc. This would be the same reason that nursing would be sub optimal for a medical school applicant as they have a similar schedule with clinicals. With both of these majors your senior year is usually set in stone with you being required to attend an off campus site all day without any flexibility or ability to add anything.

 

[Moose A Moose]

I am interested in an education major just because i have heard it is extremely easy to keep a high gpa without much work. This would allow me to spend lots of time volunteering at the local hospital and doing research. I have also heard that communications major is easy so I'm considering that.

They don't give a damn as long as you've taken care of your prerequisites, and have a solid GPA/MCAT. Some quality extracurriculars wouldn't hurt either.

 

[EvenStevens]

I hear that it is frowned upon but won't affect your admission in a big way, reason being that for such a field as education the time training should be spent on those who intend to make a career out of it.
But again , as Moose said they don't REALLY care

 

[VisceralFlame]

I wouldn't recommend putting all of that time into a degree that you're not interested in, especially if it's largely to guarantee that you maintain a high GPA. If you're passionate about chemistry, you should definitely pursue that! You may regret putting hundreds of hours towards education when you're in the middle of the degree. If you put the time into learning the material, you'll maintain a high GPA and be better off for the future. Medical school is extremely fast-paced and intense. I think you'd be hindering yourself by not using undergrad to test yourself, see how you learn best, practice your study habits, and enjoy your time in college. Plus, learning additional background information will only help you in medical school.

So, long story short: as long as you complete the prereqs, being an education major should not affect your application. But, I wouldn't pursue it if you're not passionate about it. The medical school committee is made up of actual people with their own opinions. How you push yourself to succeed and attempt different challenges likely plays a part into how they view your application. GPA statistics are not not viewed 2-dimensionally.

 

[stlrams22]

I am interested in an education major just because i have heard it is extremely easy to keep a high gpa without much work. This would allow me to spend lots of time volunteering at the local hospital and doing research. I have also heard that communications major is easy so I'm considering that.

There is nothing wrong with being an education major, study high school education and then you can choose from chemistry, biology, physics or some other science area. Then your pre-reqs are included in your degree and you have a solid back up plan. You can't just get an education degree, you need to pick elementary, middle school, or high school. I made the jump from teacher to starting medical school in July.

 

[educmeddie01]

As an education major, I'm completely offended that people think it is easy to maintain a high GPA and that there is a lot of free time. There is no free time. I wake up at 7 am and I'm in the classroom by 7:45 am preparing for the day with my mentor teacher. Afterwards, I have classes for 6 hours straight. By the time I get home, it's around 8:00 PM. I have to work on lesson plans, homework, and take care of other social and personal things.

 

[SweetBurger]

As an education major, I'm completely offended that people think it is easy to maintain a high GPA and that there is a lot of free time. There is no free time. I wake up at 7 am and I'm in the classroom by 7:45 am preparing for the day with my mentor teacher. Afterwards, I have classes for 6 hours straight. By the time I get home, it's around 8:00 PM. I have to work on lesson plans, homework, and take care of other social and personal things.

I'm sorry I meant absolutely no disrespect with this thread. This being a while back I had less informed different views on majors and how they affected your gpa and your medical school application. I was somewhat misinformed as I know someone who is completing their major in education and they are almost never busy studying and have a very high gpa. Besides that i have decided against an education major. I would rather really enjoy what I am studying and that would most likely be at this point physical/biochemistry.

 

[educmeddie01]

I'm sorry I meant absolutely no disrespect with this thread. This being a while back I had less informed different views on majors and how they affected your gpa and your medical school application. I was somewhat misinformed as I know someone who is completing their major in education and they are almost never busy studying and have a very high gpa. Besides that i have decided against an education major. I would rather really enjoy what I am studying and that would most likely be at this point physical/biochemistry.

I understand. Depending on the education program, I guess it can be easier to maintain a high GPA and not study. But I guess because I'm in one of the top 5 universities in the country, my education program is intensive and rigorous. I wish you the very best with your decided major and in Medical School!

 

[Arayh]

Physicians are teachers too.

That being said, if you are going into an education major for your GPA, that may not be the best course of action. Throughout undergrad, I discovered that it was easiest to maintain higher grades in classes that I found interesting, while in generally easier courses, if I wasn't interested, I would be less motivated to do the work.

 

[Strudel19]

They won't look down on your for being any major.

 

[andy2]

I don't think they do.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Something you may not have considered....if you don't get into med school, or have to do several cycles before you get in, wouldn't it be better to have a degree in a field you would actually like to work in? What happens if you get a degree in education or communications, have no interest in such and really only did it to supposedly maintain a high GPA, and then you don't get into med school? What if it takes you a few years to get in? What if you never get in? Your Plan B career, whether it is permanent or temporary, would now be in a field you don't give two ****s about. That doesn't sound like a good plan to me. Always, always have a Plan B. Never waste college getting an easy degree that you don't give a crap about and assume you'll never have to fall back on it.

 

[jeffreylei]

No they don't. Why would they?

 

[The Buff OP]

Thank you Guys for all the wonderful responses. I will take into consideration everything you guys have said.

Yes they will. The medical school admissions faculty will question themselves why you got an education degree which is a different career choice from medicine. Either you want to be a teacher or a doctor.
@LizzyM Can you agree with this or prove me wrong?

Edit: I know before I asked if I got my RD (register dietitian) would it be okay. But LizzyM said that would come into question to the admissions board on why did I go for that if that's a different career choice.

 

[LizzyM]

If you go for a degree that is seen as "vocational" , never practice and do premed concurrently there may be questions as to why you did that vocational degree if you really wanted to be a doctor. Some will believe that you were taking an easy major and judge you in comparison with the hard majors. That is not good. Others will wonder if you change your mind as often as you change your socks and if you'll be half way through M1 year when you decide to go to law school or the seminary.

 

[SweetBurger]

Once again guys thanks for all the great information. I have decided against an education major and I think that is a permanent decision. I definitely am going to major in whatever my main interest is when I'm done with high school.

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

I am interested in an education major just because i have heard it is extremely easy to keep a high gpa without much work.

If this is the philosophy that you hope puts you on a road to medical school then you are probably going to come up way short no matter what your major is. Challenge yourself and pursue your own interests. If you are passionate about education then I would say it's worth pursuing for a while. You might end up not wanting to be a doc after gen chem anyways and being a teacher is an awesome job (not an easy one though!)

 

[thedrjojo]

I won't harp on what others have said, but I could see it spun in a good way.

Residents and attendings are teachers, yet most don't know how to teach well nor have any formal training in it. Thus, we really could use an education major, or at least some classes in education...