Non-science major,how does that work?

[Psychobio Major]

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I am a non-traditional student, 27 years old, that never finished high school. I received my GED in july and am just finishing my first semester at my local community college where i have taken classes from all areas including,College Algebra w/ trig, Bio1 w/ lab, Chem1 w/ lab,screenplay writing,film studies and psychobiology w/lab.
As the semester winds down I have been receiving my grades and I have have a 95+ average in every class with a 93 in screenplay writing.

I want to be a doctor, before I started school I shadowed 2 docs (family practice and radiology) as well as have started volunteer work in a large hospital providing assistance to patients by wheeling them around or reading to them if they are inpatient.I have also been volunteering at guiding eyes for the blind for 2 years, doing transportation and reading mail/books to people that haven't mastered braille or have a difficult time holding the very large books that are supplied to them. I love the interaction and know I will enjoy being a doctor because I love people and I love the sciences.

here lies the issue, I really want to major in cinema or film studies because that is my hobby and I love film expressionism..So how does that work, with the pre-reqs needing to be done by my junior year on top of taking he courses needed for my major, is it a viable option to major in the arts? or should i just major in biology like the majority? that would be ok because i love the work involved, but I am going to be bogged down with sciences for a few years if i make it into med school and would like to expand my knowledge of the things i enjoy as an aside.

Also, Does my Guiding Eyes for the Blind count? they are not patients so it cant be taken as a clinical position..eh even if it didnt i love doing it.

Thank you for the replies 😀

 

[Janieve]

Majoring outside of the sciences and being a premed? Very possible. In fact, as long as you maintain a decent science GPA (sGPA), I don't think it'll hurt you in the least.

And you're most certainly not alone. I'm a double major, and I'll be getting a B.A. instead of a B.S. Although one of my majors is considered a 'soft' science (Cultural Anthropology), the other is about as far as you can get: Japanese Language and Literature. However, because a Chemistry minor at my school differs from the required premed classes by only ten credits, I'm going ahead and doing that too.

As for the "Guiding Eyes for the Blind", that can definitely go on your application, as far as I'm concerned. It shows compassion and/or devotion to helping others, and it shows that you are committed, given that you did it for two years - and maybe you'll keep doing it. I think it's a great EC.

Good luck!

 

[Catalystik]

Guiding Eyes for the Blind counts as a Community Service. I think is medically relevant as it shows you are comfortable with people who are differently-abled. Keep it up, as adcomms will love it.

Go ahead and major in what you love. That major gives you a way to link your hobby with medicine via medical education/information-type projects if you care to take them on. And another way to become "published" if you care to take it.

 

[Psychobio Major]

Thank you both for the replies, i had been worried to say the least about the whole issue. I didnt even finish 9th grade and I always thought of myself as a stupid person because i was disinterested and underwhelmed by the learning process in high school.

So I left home (if you could call it that) at the age of 16 and traveled around the country working and such in a variety of jobs,retail managment, welding, oil rigging, CNC and wire EDM machine work as well as construction and neon forming for corporate signs.

eh ive done quite alot and i dont want all of those things to hold me back from a med school acceptance because i didnt buckle down and learn to learn in high school and as i have only been working for 11 years that is quite alot of job changing too which may suggest that i cant "commit" to anything. I just enjoyed alot of different things..

 

[Catalystik]

That you performed so well in your classes after a long time away from an academic environemnt speaks well of you. Nicely done. To avoid the label of "unable to commit" it will look well on your application that you have ECs throughout the college years related to testing medicine as a career. You've already done some shadowing toward that end and you're gaining hospital volunteer hours, so you're on your way. The two years with Guiding Eyes for the Blind already speaks of dedication, and more years (if that's possible) will add to that impression.

 

[chman]

Hello, and welcome.

Your story sound similar to mine in many ways. I am 23, and I also got my GED and am wrapping up my time at community college.

I was amazed at how well I did once I got back in school. I kinda went back on a whim because I was really into reading and wanted to take some English classes. Anyways, I found out that I was probably just not challenged enough in high school. Enough time had passed to where I was more mature and was able to make brand new study habits.

Anyways, to your question. It is perfectly fine, as others have said, to do a non-science major. Major in what you like and keep your GPA high. Since you go to a cc, I would suggest that you take care of all of your gen-ed requirements there, and save at least some of your science pre-reqs for the four year school. If you do start them at the cc, avoid splitting the sequence up. In other words, if you start gen-chem at the cc, finish it there. It is fine to go to a cc, but med-schools often want to see that you can do science at the university level as well.

Good luck! Also, feel free to PM me, and check out the non-trad forum as well.

 

[alexlex143]

Yay! Another non-science major 🙂 I think it is very endearing if you can major in the humanities and still maintain a high gpa in the sciences. I am majoring in English and minoring in French. It hasn't been a problem for me and as long as you get the pre-reqs done, you shouldn't have a problem. I think it makes an applicant a lot more well-rounded, particularly because the adcoms will see that you can pursue several different areas and succeed in all of them.

I would suggest majoring in what you really want to. I completely understand where you are coming from. I definitely could have majored in biology and succeeded, but I love having that contrast in my academics. It keeps everything balanced and I find that one doesn't get tired of what one is doing because it's never always the same. And you are pursuing the medical road successfully thus far, with all the ECs you have done and are continuing to do, so I say go for what you love more.

 

[ussdfiant]

Majored in History, started med school at 30. Can certainly be done.

 

[futureboy]

I played in jazz band with a guy who was accepted to med school with a music degree.

 

[nonsciencemajor]

major in anything that interests you.. film studies is quite cool actually... took some classes that are film-studies related, and I absolutely loved it... and I learned a lot too!!

take year of general bio, chem, orgo, physics (try to get GPA of 3.6+)
take MCAT (try to get 30+)
get medical experiences (volunteering, shadowing)
get community service experience (volunteer at habitat-for-humanity as an example)

then apply

 

[azrael87]

Not only is the non-science major okay, it's great as long as you do well in all of your courses. You have a lot of life experience and managed to pull yourself into a solid academic mode when you needed to. You'll have lots to write about in your personal statement and secondaries, and plenty to discuss in interviews. You also show a generous nature by volunteering in and out of clinical environments. Between shadowing and hospital volunteering, you're familiar with the clinical environment.

Basically, if you can keep up the extracurricular stuff, get good grades and do well on the MCAT you'd be considered a very strong applicant. So keep doing what you're doing.

However, if you do switch your major, you may want to reconsider your ID name on the forums lol.

 

[Psychobio Major]

Not only is the non-science major okay, it's great as long as you do well in all of your courses. You have a lot of life experience and managed to pull yourself into a solid academic mode when you needed to. You'll have lots to write about in your personal statement and secondaries, and plenty to discuss in interviews. You also show a generous nature by volunteering in and out of clinical environments. Between shadowing and hospital volunteering, you're familiar with the clinical environment.

Basically, if you can keep up the extracurricular stuff, get good grades and do well on the MCAT you'd be considered a very strong applicant. So keep doing what you're doing.

However, if you do switch your major, you may want to reconsider your ID name on the forums lol.

Thank you everyone once again for the replies, Im pretty happy that i wont have to focus all of my classes in the sciences. In answer to the above: I am trying to work with the school im going to transfer to about a double major in film studies and german and a minor in biology. they said they are going to charge me alot more if i do that,but im hoping something can get worked out.