I am a junior at CUNY-Brooklyn College. However, up until now I havent chosen a major until recently as computer science. Up until now, Ive only been completing the science pre-reqs and some core classes/electives. I have a 3.7 GPA and havent taken the MCAT yet. now after taking the intro c++ class, I just feel miserable about computer science. My family just pressured me into taking it because it is a safe degree to have in case med school doesn't pan out, but I find the material dreadfully boring, not to mention I hate math. I really want to major in history, its my passion next to medicine, but everyone says I'm insane for doing that. Sometimes I think theyre right, I mean how many jobs for history majors are there out there? More than anything I want to go to med school, even if it means going DO or MD in the Caribbean. I feel like I can only raise my GPA with a history degree not to mention Id finish college quicker as it is a small major compared to computer science. But the idea of being stuck with a useless degree terrifies me. If I were to switch my major to history though, Id most likely minor in something like biology or biochemistry just to squeeze in some advanced science classes. Whatdo you guys think? Am I better off as a history major? On a side note, I realize that Brooklyn College isn't exactly top of the heap in terms of undergrad institutions but I transferred here after a year in a private university for financial and geographical reasons. Will going to such an unknown outside of NYS school hurt my chances tremendously of getting into a med school? Thanks.
I need advice
- Thread starter ShaggyAce
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Switch to History. The best way to make sure med school "doesn't pan out" is to increase your risk of a bad GPA by having a major you have no interest in. If med school actually didn't pan out, there wouldn't be anything stopping you from going back to school to get a more useful degree. Getting a history degree doesn't preclude you from getting another degree if you end up not going to med school, so there is no reason it should terrify you.
Don't worry about a minor, take some advanced classes if they interest you, but don't worry about declaring a minor unless you want to for your own benefit (whatever that might be) as adcoms won't care.
If you have more interest in the history classes and think you can maintain a higher GPA in the history classes than you could the computer science courses, you would absolutely be better off as a history major.
GPA and MCAT will make schools notice you, whether or not your school is known. As long as your MCAT score matches your 3.7 gpa, they won't have any reason to doubt your abilities just because they haven't heard of your school before.
I have a BA in history myself, and you are right, it is a useless degree, but it didn't hold me back from getting into med school, and it wouldn't prevent me from getting a more useful degree.
Your school won't hurt your chances at most medical schools. Your GPA looks good, though it could be higher. What is your sGPA like? I would definitely major in history if that's your passion. It's going to be impossible to get a good GPA in a major that you hate, so by majoring in CS as a backup plan you may harm your chances of getting into medical school. Plus, if you hate CS classwork, you'd probably hate being a computer scientist, and what kind of backup plan involves you hating your life? Your GPA is reasonably competitive for medical school, so IMHO there's no need to be looking for a backup plan at this point. Keep getting good grades, major in what interests you, and give medical school your best shot. I majored in philosophy and will be attending med school in the fall. I'm very glad I majored in what I was passionate about.
