Majoring in Fine Arts as a Pre-Med student?

[Perchperkins]

Hi everyone, I’m new to this forum. I’m 18 and I’m graduating from high school in a few months. I want to pursue a career in medicine - specifically I want to be a doctor. Initially, I was going to major in biology. But lately I’ve done some research and talked to some other college students and they said that being a biology major or science major isn’t mandatory, you can just major in anything as long as you get in the prerequisites.
They said to major in something that you’re good at. I’m good at art so I was considering the fine arts but I don’t know if that would be time consuming. I also really love Spanish and I want to learn a second language so that would be another back up.
But regardless, I love biology and I wouldn’t mind majoring in it at all. But I was wondering if taking a major that’s not in the sciences, art, Spanish etc. would put me at a disadvantage? Or should I just stick to majoring in the sciences like psychology or biology? I’ll talk to my college advisor when I get to that point but I’m just curious

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[Princeton Medical Student]

To the contrary, doing something that you are passionate in is helpful and beneficial. It'll help you stand out in the sea of bio premeds, and will also likely help to keep your GPA up. Major in whatever you want, and just find time to do all the prereqs. I recommend doing gen chem first, since that's the only class that serves to prereq other courses.

 

[LizzyM]

Sadly, the focus on GPA is so great right now in medical admissions, that the best advice I can give with regard to major is to chose what you want but be sure that it is an area where you can earn nothing less than an A- average (3.67). Better yet, 3.8 or higher.

Be award that fine arts will require some rehearsal or studio time that will not be credited in the same way as classroom time.

Also be aware that Spanish as a major may require an enormous amount of reading in the upper level classes... like an English major but in Spanish. Also expect the writing of many essays and the learning of copious amounts of Spanish vocabulary and grammar.

You are going to want a major that is not such a great time suck that you don't have "free time" for volunteering with the needy (an unwritten requirement for admission and something you should enjoy doing if you are planning a career that involves helping people in distress), getting some experience in a clinical setting, and perhaps, being involved in some research endeavor (junior year is soon enough).

 

[Perchperkins]

Sadly, the focus on GPA is so great right now in medical admissions, that the best advice I can give with regard to major is to chose what you want but be sure that it is an area where you can earn nothing less than an A- average (3.67). Better yet, 3.8 or higher.

Be award that fine arts will require some rehearsal or studio time that will not be credited in the same way as classroom time.

Also be aware that Spanish as a major may require an enormous amount of reading in the upper level classes... like an English major but in Spanish. Also expect the writing of many essays and the learning of copious amounts of Spanish vocabulary and grammar.

You are going to want a major that is not such a great time suck that you don't have "free time" for volunteering with the needy (an unwritten requirement for admission and something you should enjoy doing if you are planning a career that involves helping people in distress), getting some experience in a clinical setting, and perhaps, being involved in some research endeavor (junior year is soon enough).

Thank you so much for your detailed response! Although I’m passionate about art, it takes a lot of time and perfecting. I may be spending a lot of late nights working on art. Doing that and my prereqs may be a lot. I heard that being an art major isn’t always easy because it often depends on your professor. Art can be interpreted differently and what one professor might grade as an A+ another may grade as a B-. I think that I may do some more searching in terms of finding a major that would work with my premed journey.

 

[pinkowl250]

I was in a similar situation when I entered college. I love biology and knew I wanted to go to med school, but was conflicted because I also love French. I decided to compromise by majoring in bio but adding a French minor. The main thing is to find something you are passionate about and get good grades. The rest will all come in due time

 

[getdown]

From a practical stand point my questions are:

1. What are your job prospects like should you not end up in medical school coming out with a fine arts degree? It's well and good to major in "what you're passionate about" but you need to think about life afterwards (not medical school).

2. To follow question 1. Are you taking out loans for college? If so, how much? What will your financial situation be like afterward if you don't end up in medical school?

3. Obviously if you get into medicine than it's all fine. You'll be able to pay off whatever debt you have but if not? Food for thought.

 

[Nova6218]

A few things:

Number 1: Medical school LOVES when people take a different route than the normal biology, chemistry, etc. But with that being said, they love students like that because they love non traditional students the go into arts or teaching or something different but then something happens that pushes them to do medicine. When you go write your personal statement the story will matter so definitely think about that. If you love art then you will have a story and as long as you can connect it to medicine you will already be unique.

Number 2: Being an arts major means you will only take science classes that involve your pre reqs. Medical school looks at your science GPA so if you only take pre med science courses, then only those will be in the science GPA and if you get even 1 or 2 B's, it will bring that GPA down a lot more than if you had a TON of science courses like a biology or chemistry major would.

Number 3: I went a route at first away from science and it was more difficult for me to get research because those research opportunities were mostly held for students who were science majors. I felt like it was more difficult for me to get involved due to that, and research was weak in my application this year.

Number 4: Having less science classes than a typical biology or chemistry student will mean you will have to work hard to grab the attention of the science professors for your pre med pre reqs. You will be required to submit letters of recommendations from a science teacher. On that note, you will be able to have unique letters of recs from your arts professors which will help you.

Overall, different is better because it makes you stand out among the thousands of applications they receive. Like others have said, make sure you have time for research, volunteering, clinical experience.

Good luck