Double major in which?

[Placid Papaya]

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I'm considering a double major in two of the following, currently a sophomore:

Math - help develop logical skills, problem solving; largely useless stuff; enjoyable
Human Biology - covers both social and scientific aspects of bio, medicine, society (e.g. healthcare, disease like AIDS/cancer, environmental degradation, etc.); relevant to medicine
English - develop analytical skills; helpful for massive amount of med school reading; enjoyable; highly frowned upon major

Right now I'm leaning toward Human Biology with Math or English.
Which two would you pick- personally, from an admissions perspective, and/or for med school readiness/helpfulness?

Input from premeds, med students, etc. all appreciated. Thanks

 

[paul411]

English - develop analytical skills; helpful for massive amount of med school reading; enjoyable; highly frowned upon major

No. Where are you getting your info from?

Do whatever major interests you the most (and one that you can maintain a high GPA in). The actual major won't impact your application appreciably.

 

[Escape_Goat]

I'm considering a double major in two of the following, currently a sophomore:

Math - help develop logical skills, problem solving; largely useless stuff; enjoyable

Ummmmm...

 

[Lya]

I'm considering a double major in two of the following, currently a sophomore:

Math - help develop logical skills, problem solving; largely useless stuff; enjoyable
Human Biology - covers both social and scientific aspects of bio, medicine, society (e.g. healthcare, disease like AIDS/cancer, environmental degradation, etc.); relevant to medicine
English - develop analytical skills; helpful for massive amount of med school reading; enjoyable; highly frowned upon major

Right now I'm leaning toward Human Biology with Math or English.
Which two would you pick- personally, from an admissions perspective, and/or for med school readiness/helpfulness?

Input from premeds, med students, etc. all appreciated. Thanks

As a fellow math major, I wouldn't say that. That's insulting.

Also, if you want to help for your future reading of medical school reading, do research and read literatures, not majoring in English.


Regarding which major, I agree with the above poster.

 

[dannybht]

Admissions generally do not care what you are majoring in...even double majoring. Do what generally interests you. You should just focus on learning in college right now. Worry about the rigor in med school later. To be honest college is place for learning about yourself. Just prepare when you actually get accepted to medical school.

 

[Placid Papaya]

Thanks for the perspectives!

 

[TriagePreMed]

I'm a non-trad that double majored. It was a waste of time. It never helped me get a job or in anything else.

 

[Etyan]

I'm a non-trad that double majored. It was a waste of time. It never helped me get a job or in anything else.

Nontrad here also. I've found my English degree useful (shock!) though possibly because its complement is a degree in engineering. It's been helpful in gaining employment, doing well on standardized tests, and hopefully now with my medical school app.

The most important goal as an undergrad, though, is to pursue something that interests and develops you - and for these factors to be reflected by a great GPA.

 

[SOMBound13]

I'm not a believer in double majors for premeds.

Major in what you want, and then supplement with courses that you think will help you....more English, Deductive Logic, Spanish, etc. You don't have to major (or minor) in another subject in order to take some of those classes for interest or to make yourself a stronger student.

 

[skab]

I personally chose to major in English (double minors in bio & chem) because it was a great break from my science/pre-med courses and I knew I would enjoy it and do well in it. I loved having a humanities background and it also helped with banging out all of those primary and secondary application essays. PM me if you have any additional questions.

 

[supermintyfresh]

I'm considering a double major in two of the following, currently a sophomore:

Math - help develop logical skills, problem solving; largely useless stuff; enjoyable
Human Biology - covers both social and scientific aspects of bio, medicine, society (e.g. healthcare, disease like AIDS/cancer, environmental degradation, etc.); relevant to medicine
English - develop analytical skills; helpful for massive amount of med school reading; enjoyable; highly frowned upon major

Right now I'm leaning toward Human Biology with Math or English.
Which two would you pick- personally, from an admissions perspective, and/or for med school readiness/helpfulness?

Input from premeds, med students, etc. all appreciated. Thanks

Just pick the major that most interests you, and that you know will help you achieve a competitive GPA. Most schools do not care what major, as long as you demonstrate your ability to handle the courseload, and fulfill any pre-requisites.

 

[gyngyn]

We really don't care about your major, your minor or how many you have of each. We care that you distinguished yourself in your chosen field of study and have adequately prepared for medical school.

 

[One Hip Guy]

English is definitely not a useless major. I haven't been reading a lot about medical school admissions trends lately, but remember that medical schools are starting to accept more humanities majors(or at least that was a developing trend, someone correct me if that has changed). I would say to major in what interests you. I'm double-majoring in Biology and Philosophy & Religion and I absolutely love it. I'm hoping it gives me a certain uniqueness to my eventual medical school application, but the material is awesome and that's what is really important. School can be so stressful and even more so if you aren't enjoying the stuff you're learning.

 

[karayaa]

https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/2012factstable18.pdf

Just remember, correlation is not causation ^^

Math - help develop logical skills, problem solving; largely useless stuff; enjoyable
Human Biology - covers both social and scientific aspects of bio, medicine, society (e.g. healthcare, disease like AIDS/cancer, environmental degradation, etc.); relevant to medicine
English - develop analytical skills; helpful for massive amount of med school reading; enjoyable; highly frowned upon major

I'd say (as a science-humanities double) that English would develop your logical/analytical/problem solving skills more than math, because you have to understand and communicate situations and solutions.
If you like math and english, have you thought about a human science (lots of reading, problem solving, qualitative/qualititive analysis - eg soc, econ)
Caveat: I haven't taken math past calc, so I don't know what "real math" looks like.
Human bio - that's what you're going to be doing in med school. Why not do something different now while you have a chance?

 

[kyamh]

I'm not a believer in double majors for premeds.

I don't really believe in double-majors. The whole point in a major is that you have a chance to study something really well and dive down deep. You have a chance to find something you love and dedicate your college study time to exploring the subject more. I ended college with more courses in my major than I needed to finish school because I enjoyed learning about it.

After all, a college degree means little (unless you then have a skill like programming or engineering, or management, I'm sure there are many others) other than the fact that you went to college. Having a double major (or multiple minors) makes you no more competitive in most professions than the person with a since major, no minor, but a lot of enthusiasm and potential. This is even more true for going to medical school...

Think of it this way: you can go to graduate school in any field without having majored in that field (though you will have to prove your interest another way). Clearly, the training you get from a 'major' in college means very little.