Undergraduate Major Decision

[DoctorCheesy]

First off, let me start off by saying I'm sure people here are tired of hearing this question but I just wanted some friendly advice and maybe even some personal experiences from others that have been in my situation. I'll go ahead and preemptively say sorry if there is another post out there that resembles this one.

My situation is this, I was intending on going through my undergrad. with a B.S. in Biology and maybe a minor in something else I was interested in. What I didn't count on was actually really enjoying calculus and all my math classes and starting to really consider should I change my major to a B.S. in mathematics, with a concentration in Statistics. I understand medical schools don't necessarily care what you degree is in as long as you have the GPA, EC's, Pre-Reqs etc. complete. Plus this also got me thinking about the worst case scenario of what if I don't get accepted ever, what can I do with one degree vs. the other. I could potentially double major in the both of them but I would be going over 140 total hours (I'm transferring in with 43 because I started at a C.C.). Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. I seriously haven't made a decision yet because I actually enjoy both equally and just wanted to hear some input.

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[Monika12]

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[ConfusedChemist]

What matters most to med schools is grades. Not to sound like a Hallmark Card, but pursue the program you love the most and it'll almost always be the one you do best in. Giving you the best chances at both med school AND a career you enjoy if you don't get in (or change your mind). I know the feeling, I actually planned on taking biology or biochemsistry as a pre-med degree because I was afraid I wouldn't get high grades in chem. After this year (2nd yr) I realized I had the highest grades in phys chem, orgo, inorganic, and analytical because I was engaged in the classes! So now I'm majoring in chemistry and couldnt be happier with my choice. Take the degree you want, and your passion for learning the subject will impress any admissions committee more than the 'right' major will.
Who knows, math might even stand out in a good way!

 

[studentofsdn]

Math/stats is a hell of a lot more employable and mobile on the corporate ladder than bio. You could even take a bio minor and get into some biostats/informatics type stuff (lord knows biology labs need those people). I say take the major, but if medical school is a top priority make sure you can fit in all of your pre-reqs and get great marks in them. If you think your grades in pre-reqs will suffer at all, go bio.

 

[GallbLad]

I am a strong proponent in the bitter truth. That is, most applicants simply do not make the cut for MD. Out of 690,300 applicants, 20,055 made it to MD, which is 2.9%. For that reason I strongly advise you to go into what you want to do. Not only will this help garner better grades by spiking your interest, but it will also prepare you for your career in the future as the odds are against you.

 

[wwulf2k13]

Maybe look into a major that incorporates both subjects like biomedical engineering or biochem?

 

[allantois]

I am a strong proponent in the bitter truth. That is, most applicants simply do not make the cut for MD. Out of 690,300 applicants, 20,055 made it to MD, which is 2.9%. For that reason I strongly advise you to go into what you want to do. Not only will this help garner better grades by spiking your interest, but it will also prepare you for your career in the future as the odds are against you.

Your math is SO off. You are counting the number of applications not the number of applicants.

 

[hoihaie]

I am a strong proponent in the bitter truth. That is, most applicants simply do not make the cut for MD. Out of 690,300 applicants, 20,055 made it to MD, which is 2.9%. For that reason I strongly advise you to go into what you want to do. Not only will this help garner better grades by spiking your interest, but it will also prepare you for your career in the future as the odds are against you.

690K applicants? where are you getting this number from....... only 48,014 people applied to med school in 2013

 

[GallbLad]

Your math is SO off. You are counting the number of applications not the number of applicants.

1. My math is not off: 20,055/ 690,300 = 2.9% to two significant figures.
2. Applications come from applicants. Regardless if one sends an application to school X and school Y, s/he becomes an applicant at school X and an applicant at school Y, thereby making a total of two entries, out of which only 2.9% of the entries are successful.

 

[hoihaie]

1. My math is not off: 20,055/ 690,300 = 2.9% to two significant figures.
2. Applications come from applicants. Regardless if one sends an application to school X and school Y, s/he becomes an applicant at school X and an applicant at school Y, thereby making a total of two entries, out of which only 2.9% of the entries are successful.

you're still off. 20,055 is the number of first time matriculants, not the total number of offers made. You can't compare total number of applications submitted and number of matriculants to deduct the percentage of successful applications.

 

[gibson777]

If you definitely want to go to medical school, I would avoid math major unless you are skilled at upper division mathematics and rigorous proofing. If you don't know what real analysis, abstract algebra, topology all are, don't major in math.

You might want to look into bioinformatics or computational bio etc if you want something to fall back on, or just regular stats as long as it is a good, thorough program. It will likely include some upper division math as well though.