Incoming college freshman majoring in music

Bulerias

New Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Hello,

I am wrapping up high school and will be starting college this fall. Though I can't officially declare my major yet, the plan is to major in music as pre-med, i.e., take all the medical school prerequisites while getting a BM in guitar performance. I am very overwhelmed by the amount of courses I will need to take to satisfy both requirements, however...is something like this doable? I'm looking at the University of Minnesota's medical school and it doesn't seem like their requirements are unrealistic (if one's major is biology or chemistry, that is) --

http://www.meded.umn.edu/admissions/prerequisites.php

My main hope is that I will be able to balance the life of a musician -- occasional performances, gigs, tours -- with the life of a perpetually-stressed pre-medicine student. I've been playing classical, flamenco, Brazilian, and jazz guitar for over 10 years, have a couple CDs out, and play regularly at local venues. I'm looking to continue on this path relatively unscathed by the rigors of med school prereqs. Is this possible, or am I headed toward a dead end?

I realize this is quite a broad question, but any personal experiences and/or advice would be greatly appreciated...

P.S. For the record, my GPA in high school stands to be a solid 4.0, granted that I get above a C on each of my remaining assignments...

Members don't see this ad.
 
You'll be able to do it. Plenty of ppl do. But with the huge music load you'll probably be taking close to a full load each semester. The biggest thing to do first year is make sure you get into General Chem I first semester so you'll be on track to have your prereqs done for the MCAT. Being a performer will help you out by you having tons of EC stuff to finish your degree. It will also give you something to talk about at interviews. You only need to take the minimum courses required to do well on the MCAT and in med school. Unfortunately all of your electives will go to science classes so you won't have the chance to take other things you may be interested in.

But you'll do fine, just keep your GPA up.
 
You'll be able to do it. Plenty of ppl do. But with the huge music load you'll probably be taking close to a full load each semester. The biggest thing to do first year is make sure you get into General Chem I first semester so you'll be on track to have your prereqs done for the MCAT. Being a performer will help you out by you having tons of EC stuff to finish your degree. It will also give you something to talk about at interviews. You only need to take the minimum courses required to do well on the MCAT and in med school. Unfortunately all of your electives will go to science classes so you won't have the chance to take other things you may be interested in.

But you'll do fine, just keep your GPA up.

Thanks for the reply. I will have to add Chem I to my first semester schedule...but that will put me at 17 credits. Is that doable?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Thanks for the reply. I will have to add Chem I to my first semester schedule...but that will put me at 17 credits. Is that doable?

I take 18 every semester on top of Track and Clubs and ECs. I also take piano so I have to make time to practice that. It's doable as long as you manage your time. If you're worried just drop a core class to get it in. Otherwise you will get a little behind and may be pushed to prepare for the MCAT. But that is just my opinion.
 
This is one subject that I have a lot of experience in, and i thought i was the only person crazy enough to try to juggle music and a bunch of science classes ;) This could be a long post, so bear with me...

I'm an oboe major at Michigan State- going to graduate next year with a BA in music- and in the past couple years I've been taking science pre-reqs, originally for vet but now for nursing. Balancing both is doable, but to be honest, very difficult because music school pretty much consumes your life. Like you, I had a good HS gpa- a 3.98 - but I've found its difficult to put 100% into both things in college; my college gpa as a senior is 3.75. There are many things to consider; I don't want to scare you, but there are some factors I didnt initially realize that make things difficult.
First, music schools' curriculums are usually pretty structured, so you can't always drop a class to make your load lighter; usually you have to take certain classes at certain times, etc. Also, there are lots of things you have to do outside of classtime, like practicing for chamber ensembles, individual practicing (here we're expected to practice at least 3 hours/day) and studio classes. I was originally a performance major but switched to BA in music because you don't have to take quite as many core music classes, leaving room for the pre-reqs (also, scheduling-wise, many of the music classes conflict with science classes).
Another thing to consider is taking a lot of the pre-reqs during summer semesters when music classes arn't offered...this has helped me a lot to get everything in. Hopefully this helps, and don't be afraid to PM with more questions!
 
My only tip is too balance your time between music and pre-reqs/science classes well. Med schools will like a music major with a good pre-req GPA's and good MCAT score. I think you can do it as long as you stay focused. I wish the best of luck to you!
 
I take 18 every semester on top of Track and Clubs and ECs. I also take piano so I have to make time to practice that. It's doable as long as you manage your time. If you're worried just drop a core class to get it in. Otherwise you will get a little behind and may be pushed to prepare for the MCAT. But that is just my opinion.


Be careful OP, for it truly depends on the school/ person / classes. At my school I do not think that it is within the realm of possibility to do what the above poster stated. Music would make this even harder. You don't want to screw up your first semester, so I would pick the safe route and go with fewer credits. If it is easy, you have 7 more semesters that you can fill up.
 
Top