Pre-Med degree advice?

[DreyA]

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Hello, I am a high school student seriously considering entering the medical field and becoming a doctor. I know that to become any kind of doctor, one must first get a bachelor's degree, meet certain prerequisites, and then apply to and complete medical school. From what I have read here and elsewhere, the pre-med degree can be anything at all as long as the prerequisites are met (usually organic chem, gen chem, physics, bio, and English), and having a non-science science degree can actually be an advantage. There are plenty of people on SDN who have economics, engineering, or other degrees. My question is, how did you all fit in your prerequisites, since many degrees (like economics) do not require chemistry or physics or bio? Did you have to take summer courses or an extra semester or something? And what would you recommend to a student who is thinking about going for a non-science degree and applying to med school? Thanks

 

[Dreamislandcaptive]

In non-science majors you have electives and other classes you take outside your major so all you need to do is plan your schedule well. Also maybe taking summer classes to make your college experience less stressful. You may even graduate early depending on your major if you take summer classes. For example I am looking at majoring in History and I have a lot of space for classes outside my major.

 

[tjo422]

It's dependent on the college you go to. At almost every program you will have electives, and you can choose which classes to take as your elective. If you choose your pre-med requirements as your electives, you are good to go. Some schools mandate you take a certain amount of classes in various subjects as part of a core curriculum, so you don't have as much freedom and may have to take a class or two in the summer, or take more credits than usual.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Moving to hSDN

 

[Crayola227]

yeah don't expect a 4 year degree to take 4 years to get in a lot of cases

 

[confidentandgood]

My question is, how did you all fit in your prerequisites, since many degrees (like economics) do not require chemistry or physics or bio? Did you have to take summer courses or an extra semester or something?

I'm a literature major. Never had to take a summer course and will be graduating on time. It all comes down to researching what you need to take and working out a schedule. I actually had room left over to take music/acting classes.

And what would you recommend to a student who is thinking about going for a non-science degree and applying to med school?

No matter your field of study, the common goal is to keep a high sGPA/cGPA. The competition isn't getting any weaker.