Undergraduate majors/University question - I know this has been asked

[Rysukosan]

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I know this has been asked before but I feel I'd get better answers for myself if I asked personally. I was wondering what everyone majored as an undergrad? I am trying to figure out the best route to go. I was contemplating doing bioengineer.


My plan is to go to a community college for my undergrad and transfer to a university for my med school pre-req and finish off my major but the problem is I'd probably run into some of those majoring in BE and I was told on more than occasion that doing pre-req at a community college don't look as good as doing them at a university, is this true?



I was also wondering if it'd be a good idea to learn some of the pre-req for medical school now? I have a lot of iPad apps that are very useful on learning some of these pre-req for medical school. I even have mcat study apps that I can study with beforehand, thoughts?

 

[PreMedOrDead]

If you already knew this was asked, why are you asking it instead of referring to the other threads? First step towards not annoying your professors and fellow classmates is to never ask questions you can easily figure out on your own. In the case of online forums, if it's a generic questions answered 100x (and even so when you type the title into the "Create a Thread"), you're going to get trolled.

AKA

If you're not triple majoring hard sciences,taking 3 labs bare minimum a semester, getting a 4.0, doing research with pubs, and attending a top 5, off to the Caribbean with you.

Reality: CC credits are fine as long as you get a 4 year degree in the end. You're going to have the do well on the MCAT (30+/80th percentile+) but it's very doable. Your actual degree does not matter at all.

Also, don't learn more than you have to at this point. Hammering in prereq/MCAT material is a waste as you're going to forget it and you're going to lose a lot of happiness time you could spend elsewhere (like volunteering, shadowing, starting up groups/nonprofit work, etc), especially since you will be taking a whole different version of the exam and all your prep material is wrong.

 

[Freesia88]

If you already knew this was asked, why are you asking it instead of referring to the other threads? First step towards not annoying your professors and fellow classmates is to never ask questions you can easily figure out on your own. In the case of online forums, if it's a generic questions answered 100x (and even so when you type the title into the "Create a Thread"), you're going to get trolled.

AKA

If you're not triple majoring hard sciences,taking 3 labs bare minimum a semester, getting a 4.0, doing research with pubs, and attending a top 5, off to the Caribbean with you.

Reality: CC credits are fine as long as you get a 4 year degree in the end. You're going to have the do well on the MCAT (30+/80th percentile+) but it's very doable. Your actual degree does not matter at all.

Also, don't learn more than you have to at this point. Hammering in prereq/MCAT material is a waste at this point, especially since you will be taking a whole different version of the exam and all your prep material is wrong.

🤣🤣

 

[BABSstudent]

I know this has been asked before but I feel I'd get better answers for myself if I asked personally. I was wondering what everyone majored as an undergrad? I am trying to figure out the best route to go. I was contemplating doing bioengineer.

Pick whatever you want to major in. I picked Zoology and Spanish, but that was only because I enjoyed them both. If you enjoy it, chances are you will do well in it. High GPA is what your end goal is, so pick something enjoyable so you can achieve it.

My plan is to go to a community college for my undergrad and transfer to a university for my med school pre-req and finish off my major but the problem is I'd probably run into some of those majoring in BE and I was told on more than occasion that doing pre-req at a community college don't look as good as doing them at a university, is this true?

Doing pre-reqs at a community college doesn't look nearly as good as doing them at a university. The reason why is that classes at community colleges are way easier than at a university. If you really have to do work at a community college, then do it. However, going to a public university is not much more expensive (especially if you do the FAFSA and get scholarships).

I was also wondering if it'd be a good idea to learn some of the pre-req for medical school now? I have a lot of iPad apps that are very useful on learning some of these pre-req for medical school. I even have mcat study apps that I can study with beforehand, thoughts?

Don't bother learning it now. Learn it as you take the courses. It sounds like you are not even a freshman yet so why would you bother learning stuff that you will not need for a few years. Learn it as you are taught it. And never start studying for the MCAT until you are about to take it. You will learn that these are precious resources and once you use them, you can't really reuse them. Save those until your junior or senior year (depending on when you take the actual MCAT).

 

[Rysukosan]

Thanks for all the responses I will take it all into account. As for just doing a search I feel my post was more then just asking about pre-med majors. I also feel I get different answers from different people that have different thoughts on the subject so I get a better idea on the subject at hand when posting about it rather then just doing a search.

 

[Aerus]

Thanks for all the responses I will take it all into account. As for just doing a search I feel my post was more then just asking about pre-med majors. I also feel I get different answers from different people that have different thoughts on the subject so I get a better idea on the subject at hand when posting about it rather then just doing a search.

Doing a search would have yielded you the response:

"Major is whatever you like. If you're interested in the subject, you're more than likely to do better on it than some random major that you believe looks 'good'. High GPA>major choice."

That's the answer you've been given. There is no correct choice.

Also, if you're planning to go into Bio engineering, I really hope you're going into it because you want to see if you'll love it, not because you believe it sounds good. Adcoms could care less about major choice, as long as you have a high GPA to back it up and can explain why you chose it (passion, interest, etc.).

 

[MDwannabe09]

I'm a biochem major, but only because I really like biochem! I hear so many stupid pre-med people I go to school with saying how much they hate their major but they "have to have it to get into med school". Pick something you're genuinely interested in, and if it happens to be non-science, just take the science requirements for med school/MCAT and you'll be fine.

I transferred into a good 4 year university after being in a CC for a couple years. I saved a ton of money, had some excellent teachers, and don't feel like I'm at a disadvantage academically to my friends who've attended the university to begin with. If you care about your classes and put in the work, you can get a lot out of a CC; however, the pace and expectations of the university I'm at now are levels above some classes I took at the CC, so be prepared. It's really not an issue if you put in the work though.

Every single medical school admissions person I've talked to has said that the pre-reqs I took at the CC will not be looked unfavorably at as long as I get a good MCAT score, did well in those classes, and prove I can do well at the university.

Good luck!

 

[lobo.solo]

CC credits are fine.
Nobody cares what you major in. Do something you would enjoy.