Undergraduate Major

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Leviathan One

Leviathan One

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I am soon going to have to select a major for college. Aspiring to be a surgeon should I be in a certain field or does it really matter what I do as long as i take the minimum required classes the get into medical school?
 
Leviathan One said:
I am soon going to have to select a major for college. Aspiring to be a surgeon should I be in a certain field or does it really matter what I do as long as i take the minimum required classes the get into medical school?
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It makes absolutely no difference what your major is. You only need to do well and take the required courses for a Med School app.

Personally I would recommend you major in something other than the sciences. Philosophy, English, Anthropology, History...whatever. Take something fun and interesting and set yourself apart from all the Bio majors applying to Med School.
 
Toutie said:
It makes absolutely no difference what your major is. You only need to do well and take the required courses for a Med School app.

Personally I would recommend you major in something other than the sciences. Philosophy, English, Anthropology, History...whatever. Take something fun and interesting and set yourself apart from all the Bio majors applying to Med School.
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Alright thanks for the response i was just really curious on that. So you would not take premed?
 
Leviathan One said:
Alright thanks for the response i was just really curious on that. So you would not take premed?
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There are very few actual "pre-med" majors

Many people take pre-reqs on top of an entirely separate major, and it's definitely doable

Just make sure you can do well in the major. 3.7 Psych >>> 3.3 Physics
 
gonnif said:
A premed program? Or a premed major? Most schools have a track for premeds that is designed to be completed in conjunction with multiple majors. But any major can be taken along with prereq courses
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My undergrad has an actual “pre-med” major. Produces very few graduates, as people in it realize there are better ways to get to med school than a major that provides nothing for you if you don’t get into med school.
 
Psych, Soc, English, and philosophy will prepare you best for new mcat if taken alongside heavy sciences. Psych, soc, and English will help your gpa. Philosophy is a different beast. Recommend those

Edit: Be wary of colleges known for grade deflation.
 
I would highly recommend you do not pick the premed major. During my summer working at an ambulance company, I ran into several people who received that major, were unable to get into medical school, and were unable to get a job doing anything but working on the ambulance making $12.50/hr. Many of those majors are biology degrees without any of the lab courses that you would need to get a job working in biotech. You might want to think about what you would want to do if you could not get into medical school and pick a major that would set you up for a career in that field.
 
I am a chemistry major, and chemistry is truly my passion, which is why I chose it for a major. However, back when I was young and naive I thought it would impress adcoms because it is one of the more intense and difficult majors. I am somewhat jealous when my non-chem major pre-med friends get to take algebra-based physics while I'm taking a calc-based physics class that is notorious for its drop rate. My other pre-med friend only has to take calc 1, while I have to take calc 1-3 and potentially differential equations too. And although I love chemistry and would never want to switch my major, it is harder to get a good GPA compared to some of the "easier" majors. At the end of the day, adcoms really aren't going to care that I took honors physical chemistry for super-geniuses and got a B when only one A was given out. So while you should follow your passion, remember that GPA does matter and as for your major, not so much.
 
Loved psychology, neuroscience. I had philosophy as a minor. My undergraduate time was precious. I wish I had read more, studied more literature or political theory.
 
Pagan FutureDoc said:
There are three things you should consider for a major as a pre med

1.) do I enjoy it?
2.) can I excel in it?
3.) if I don’t get into med school does it give me a plan B I can see myself doing for the rest of my life?
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Wow lots of good feedback from you guys I really appreciate it, I asked mt uncle who is a 5 year neur and he just told me he majored in film . Now I have a lot of thinking to do on my major.
 
Your choice of major should have nothing to do with your medical aspirations. Your primary goal in college should be to earn a degree that will allow you to be gainfully employed and happy at the bachelor's level. If you do make it into graduate or professional school, that's great! But have your contingency plan in place from Day One, and choose your undergrad major on the assumption that you won't make the cut. That's much safer than putting all your eggs into such a competitive and uncertain basket.
 
HomeSkool said:
Your choice of major should have nothing to do with your medical aspirations. Your primary goal in college should be to earn a degree that will allow you to be gainfully employed and happy at the bachelor's level. If you do make it into graduate or professional school, that's great! But have your contingency plan in place from Day One, and choose your undergrad major on the assumption that you won't make the cut. That's much safer than putting all your eggs into such a competitive and uncertain basket.
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This is good advice. I would also suggest that you carefully evaluate yourself after freshman year. For example, I chose a “soft” major that I enjoyed after being undeclared my first year because I got A’s in gen chem and gen bio, and knew I could get at least B’s in all the pre-reps all the way through. At that time I wanted to go physical therapy school, but I knew if I didn’t reach my goal (PT is insanely competitive), pharm, podiatry, genetic counseling, OT, etc would for sure be something I could do with a 3.5ish GPA. Graduating with an artsy major and all your science pre reqs opens a lot of doors as long as you have a 3.25+ science GPA and preferably above 3.5.

Conversely, if you struggle in your early classes and professional school is a toss up, maybe choose something with practical applications while you continue to try to excel in your science courses.

Edit: changing majors is common in college! I changed majors more than I changed girlfriends... one vs zero. Good luck!
 
Take a major where you can take some cool classes. I regret being a biochem major.. I loved the science but if I could redo I would major in physics and learned some nerdy laws about space!
 
THEBACKANDFORTH said:
Psych, Soc, English, and philosophy will prepare you best for new mcat if taken alongside heavy sciences. Psych, soc, and English will help your gpa. Philosophy is a different beast. Recommend those

Edit: Be wary of colleges known for grade deflation.
Click to expand...

Math and stats majors actually perform best on the MCAT. Wut wut.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Math and stats majors actually perform best on the MCAT. Wut wut.
Click to expand...

I actually have seen that data! I tend to think that smarter individuals pursue those majors and that further increases mean MCAT. But aside from that, taking some psych/soc/english would be beneficial. Especially english! CARs really is difficult for a lot of people.
 
Well do most practicing physicians really have a use for any of those higher level math classes?
(Calc 2, 3 ect)
 
Oh wow I never realized that was the initial reason or it .
 
There has been a lot of good advice here, primarily, "doesn't matter," but I would like to second/emphasize the idea that you shouldn't take the "pre-med" option whatever that is. It doesn't amount to much in the real world if, God forbid, you don't get into medical school or later decide to do something else. It also isn't at all unique. Even with a "standard" bio major (which is what I did) there is usually more room for customization and adding minors and pursuing interests. Plus pre-med things are usually filled with unrealistic zealots/gunners/delusional people.

Take whatever you want and add a bio minor to get some credit for taking all the pre-reqs.
 
My advice would be to pick something unique that you love learning about. I was a biochem major and I kind of regret not choosing something else like physics, earth science, etc (things that I will never learn about in med school). Just my 2 cents
 
THEBACKANDFORTH said:
I actually have seen that data! I tend to think that smarter individuals pursue those majors and that further increases mean MCAT. But aside from that, taking some psych/soc/english would be beneficial. Especially english! CARs really is difficult for a lot of people.
Click to expand...

Agreed. My math degree required a good amount of reasoning and analysis in my upper level courses. But I also did a minor in Shakespeare, so that helped.
 
Just to be sure if I were to major in film, for example this would make no difference as long as I take the pre-rec classes right?
 
Major in Finance or computer science if you are good at math.

Should be easier than an engineering degree and will be useful in case you don’t get into medical school (or change your plans).

Make sure you do well in your science courses and MCAT, and you’ll be golden
 
Leviathan One said:
Alright thanks for the response i was just really curious on that. So you would not take premed?
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If your school has a 'pre-med' major then that's a different story.
But, to sum it up: there is a pre-med track.
2Semesters/3Quarters of : General biology, General Physics, General Chemistry and Organic chemistry. All including a lab.
With recommended courses of: Statistics, Biochemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology (and/or Microbial/Virology), Genetics, etc.
Take the courses listed above.
Don't do Biology for the sake of getting into medical school... I know plenty of people who equate Biology major = premed major.
Study something you love! Undergraduate is like a buffet of your choice 😀
My recommendation for a major is:
are you interested in a rock or want to know about it? Well, contact your Earth/Planetary Science department today! Earth Science is so fun, you can major in it!
 
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Geo16 said:
are you interested in a rock or want to know about it? Well, contact your Earth/Planetary Science department today! Earth Science is so fun, you can major in it!
Click to expand...

1D3CF31A-D2DE-423B-97C5-A76DD6B958A7.jpeg
 
Geo16 said:
If your school has a 'pre-med' major then that's a different story.
But, to sum it up: there is a pre-med track.
2Semesters/3Quarters of : General biology, General Physics, General Chemistry and Organic chemistry. All including a lab.
With recommended courses of: Statistics, Biochemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology (and/or Microbial/Virology), Genetics, etc.
Take the courses listed above.
Don't do Biology for the sake of getting into medical school... I know plenty of people who equate Biology major = premed major.
Study something you love! Undergraduate is like a buffet of your choice 😀
My recommendation for a major is:
are you interested in a rock or want to know about it? Well, contact your Earth/Planetary Science department today! Earth Science is so fun, you can major in it!
Click to expand...

This sounds like an easy way to boost your sGPA

Edit: Plus, at parties, you have an easy conversation starter with girls. Hi, my name is Leviathan, and I like rocks.
 
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Every time I see a thread asking about what major to choose in undergrad, I always write the same thing: it doesn't matter. I wasn't a science major and it hasn't hurt me. I am also in my last year of surgery training and many of my colleagues have diverse backgrounds as well. Do what genuinely interests you and take the necessary pre-reqs. Cheers.
 
Anybody know if there is any sort of stigma regarding online undergrad school that medical schools would look at? I have a pretty decent job and the hours would fit perfectly to allow me to complete my undergrad degree (applied mathematics) in my off time through an online college. I know most medical schools require “chem/physics/bio with lab” but I could do those all in a 1 year accelerated course at a top 10 school near me before applying for medical school. Anyway, wanted to know if getting an online undergrad degree would “look bad”, so to speak.
 
I have no experience with this personally but from what I understand it would be best to do work "in the classroom" so to speak. More likely to be taken seriously. If you do something online, it absolutely needs to be accredited. I would still vote for enrolling in a brick and mortar institution, even if it allows you to do most of your work online.
 
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