Hi I'm currently a senior in High School who looking for a career in the medical field. Recently I've been researching things about College and Medical School. Also Ive been looking into different majors. Many website says I have to major in Biology, Chemistry or Premed for medical school. Do I have to have a major in one of those? Does it matter what I major in as long as I take the prerequisites courses? Also, if you could go back in time would you change your major and why?
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While a Biology major will be the most helpful, med schools do not care what your college major is, only that you do well. So major in whatever interests you the most.
At my undergrad, many pre-meds majored in psychology or related fields. They liked it because it complemented the sciences well, while still remaining distinct. They took the prerequisite courses along with their major.
Some universities have biologically inclined majors that are not pure biology. Examples include neuroscience, molecular bio, etc. These are worth considering if you are interested in the fields. I personally majored in neuroscience and was very happy with it-I wanted to study both psych and bio, specifically the intersection of the fields, in undergrad-and the neuroscience major was great for this. Neuroscience itself has many subfields which can be cool too.
A note about the prereqs: some medical schools have required prereqs and then recommend certain other courses, including upper-level science courses, humanities, etc. I'd say it's a good idea to take these too. If it's included in your major, great, but if not, see if there's a way to incorporate them into your coursework as well. It's generally very doable to do these + prereqs + another major if you want to.
The pre reqs are the only thing u need to do.
i agree
Do whatever you want. I would recommend psychology or another humanity as the current "meta" for getting the best possible GPA in college as well.
Biomedical / Biology from what I heard is the best to prepare you for the curriculum but I have also heard some medical schools like to see a diversity of the types of students applying... I saw a finance major asking if that was a problem the other day, but I think that would be an interesting combination. But, you still have to adequately prepare yourself for the MCAT and other studies pertaining to that area.
Do not be a 'premed' major, as those tend to backfire and do poorly on the MCAT (the standardized test for medical schools). Note that schools well known for getting kids into medical schools don't even have that major as an option! Your major should be something you can get a good GPA in (3.6 minimum, preferably more), that allows you to take the med school prereqs (math, English, Bio+Lab, Chem+Lab, Orgo+Lab, Biochem+Lab, Physics+Lab) and that works with your backup plan. If you couldn't get into med school (as is the case for many qualified applicants), what would you want to do? Pick a major for that.
