Question about a major, and what route I should take?

[lilmiscassie92]

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OK so right now I am doing my 2nd year of pre-med. I am currently a biology major, but I am thinking of changing to either kinesiology or psych and just doing the pre-med reqs along with it. I read and was told by my pre med advisor that alot of students even with history or english majors get into med schools, and it helps you stand out because you spent more time in school, as well as bring up your GPA. I was set on going to medical school, but now it seems like any kind of route seems okay with me. I wouldn't mind going to dental school and specializing, or podiatry or any kind of professional level position in the health care. I know podiatry and dental schools are not as competitive as med schools, do you think it's acceptable for a student, when the time comes to apply, applied to all all of these types of schools and sees which they get into? If I were to go into med school i would only be interested in dermatology or psychology, would the other positions (dentists/or any kind of dental specialties like ortho, podiatrists, optometrists) make decent money?

 

[Dexter12]

OK so right now I am doing my 2nd year of pre-med. I am currently a biology major, but I am thinking of changing to either kinesiology or psych and just doing the pre-med reqs along with it. I read and was told by my pre med advisor that alot of students even with history or english majors get into med schools, and it helps you stand out because you spent more time in school, as well as bring up your GPA. I was set on going to medical school, but now it seems like any kind of route seems okay with me. I wouldn't mind going to dental school and specializing, or podiatry or any kind of professional level position in the health care. I know podiatry and dental schools are not as competitive as med schools, do you think it's acceptable for a student, when the time comes to apply, applied to all all of these types of schools and sees which they get into? If I were to go into med school i would only be interested in dermatology or psychology, would the other positions (dentists/or any kind of dental specialties like ortho, podiatrists, optometrists) make decent money?

If you don't mind me asking, what is your cGPA and sGPA?

 

[lilmiscassie92]

If you don't mind me asking, what is your cGPA and sGPA?

I have only taken one science class so far last semester when I declared bio. My adviser said my science GPA was about a 3.1 and my overall GPA is a 3.6

 

[CopToEM]

OK so right now I am doing my 2nd year of pre-med. I am currently a biology major, but I am thinking of changing to either kinesiology or psych and just doing the pre-med reqs along with it. I read and was told by my pre med advisor that alot of students even with history or english majors get into med schools, and it helps you stand out because you spent more time in school, as well as bring up your GPA. I was set on going to medical school, but now it seems like any kind of route seems okay with me. I wouldn't mind going to dental school and specializing, or podiatry or any kind of professional level position in the health care. I know podiatry and dental schools are not as competitive as med schools, do you think it's acceptable for a student, when the time comes to apply, applied to all all of these types of schools and sees which they get into? If I were to go into med school i would only be interested in dermatology or psychology, would the other positions (dentists/or any kind of dental specialties like ortho, podiatrists, optometrists) make decent money?

Major in whatever you want to major in. Statistically, most pre-meds are Biology majors so therefore most matriculates are Biology majors. The advantage it gives is real but most agree by the end of the first year everyone is on a level playing field regardless of background.

I don't know anything about Podiatry School but can tell you that Dental School is definitely more competitive than Medical School. There are less programs, less seats and lots of applicants. In terms of competitiveness, I've always been told it's Dentistry > Veterinary > Medical School.

Lastly, if your Science GPA is low, you may want to consider sticking with a science based major for sure. It's the only way to pull it up.

 

[Dexter12]

I have only taken one science class so far last semester when I declared bio. My adviser said my science GPA was about a 3.1 and my overall GPA is a 3.6

well, the science courses only gets harder but this shouldn't discourage you. I'm sort of in the same boat. I'm a history major with a biology minor. I have a cGPA: 3.2 and a sGPA of 2.9. I plan to re-take bio 1 and cell bio so hopefully that will push my sGPA above a 3.0. If you want to major in pysch or whatever, that's fine. Try taking the rest of your pre-reqs and if you seem to do fine. Then apply to medical school if you wish

 

[Brocimus]

Undergrad is the only time you will have for a long time if you go into medicine to study whatever you want. Take advantage of it. That being said, you will most likely prolong the time you spend in school before graduating. I majored in Business, took all the required and most recommended science courses, and ended up with about two years worth of extra credits than I needed to graduate. If I had to do it over again, I would probably have majored in Physiology and just taken whatever awesome classes that I wanted to.

 

[SLC]

I always advise people to do something unique and something they're passionate about for a major. The reasons for this advice are two fold:

1. You need to treat your undergraduate degree as a backup in the likely event that you don't get into medical school. It's very competitive and most people who start out on the pre-med track don't finish it. They either find other things that interest them, or decide that it's too hard and give it up. If you make it to the point of applying, you've made it a long way already.

But from there, you still have a very small chance of making it in. To give you an example, my school last year had over 5,000 applications for 100 seats. So if you made it, you represent about 2% of the total applicant pool. Many were accepted elsewhere, no doubt about it. But ultimately only 2% of the applicants are actually attending this year.

Point is, the odds are against you in this process. Find a degree that you would be happy working in after graduation in the event that medical school doesn't work out. Nothing would be worse than putting 4-6 years of hard work in, only to be stuck in a field you didn't ever plan on having to work in at all. Too many pick biology because it's the fastest route to being ready for medical school apps.

2. If and when you do apply for medical school, your #1 goal is to stand out. One of the best ways to do that is to have a non-traditional major on your application.

Admissions committee people look at a lot of applications, and a lot of them are biology majors. It's gotta be tough to remember the good ones in a sea of sameness. If I were reading stacks of generic average GPA, average MCAT applications, I'd have a tough time remembering which ones I thought should be interviewed. If I saw an average GPA, average MCAT Theater major in there you bet I'd remember it. That's interesting right there! First thing I'd want to know is why in the hell does this guy want to be a doctor. And my interest is thusly piqued. Those types of people get a lot of interviews. Imagine having a unique major with above average stats and you can see where I'm going with this.

I did a degree in Health Promotion. I like public health work, I like advertising, and I like teaching. This degree was awesome for me because I could have been very happy in it had I not made it to medical school. It also taught me some very good skills that traditional majors don't give you that I know will help my future patients.


I think you should switch your major to something that excites you and makes you happy. YOu'll do better all the way around if you do.

SLC

 

[Kuba]

If i did it all over again, I would prob do philosophy or something. Major in whatever you're interested in. As long as you take and do well in your pre-reqs you'll be better off.

 

[Mbeas]

do you think it's acceptable for a student, when the time comes to apply, applied to all all of these types of schools and sees which they get into?

I suppose it's fine to do that, but I recommend more shadowing and soul searching to find your true passion. And I wouldn't say you are only interested in either derm or psych as a 2nd year pre-med. These are two very different fields with very different board score averages.

But, I definitely agree with the above advice. Major in what you are most interested in.

 

[ManBroDude]

terms of competitiveness, I've always been told it's Dentistry > Veterinary > Medical School.

I'd love to see some stats on this.

 

[CopToEM]

I'd love to see some stats on this.

This is what our Pre-med advisor posits, I have no idea how valid it is. I can tell you that we are fairly even on Pre-med and Pre-dental and I know a lot more current med students than dental students.

I'm sure the data is easily found. Number of seats and total applicants. Calculate the chance of acceptance based on those numbers.