What are my chances? And advise on choosing major

[JJ96]

Hi everyone,
I am a college sophomore with a current overall GPA of 3.75, a science GPA of 3.62, and a non-science GPA of 3.85. (if sociology is not considered a science subject)
As you can see, I am actually much better in the humanities subjects than the science subjects, and my biggest interest lies in the humanities subjects such as literature. I am currently a science major, because even though science might not be my biggest strength, I do enjoy it more than a lot of other subjects such as pure math or engineering... And the way my school does this major is unique for it gives us an internship in the last semester of senior year...
That being said, right now I cannot make up my mind in whether I should change my major to a humanity (my biggest strength and interest) or stay as a science major. The reason for why I am rethinking my major now is because I did bad in Orgo 1 this past semester, for I got a B in the end, which was the lowest grade I got after I came to college. I heard many people saying that I should major in something I am passionate about and best at, for that will help with my GPA, and I do know several cases of people who have majored in non-science subjects such as economics or spanish, and they both ended up going to Harvard medical school. I have also heard that humanities majors might even have an advantage, for 50% of medical school acceptees majored in the sciences, and 50% majored in humanities, and since much fewer applicants majored in the humanities, they actually have a higher chance. I was wondering if this is true or not?
On the other hand, I am worried that if I switch to a humanities major, I might not have a great of a chance to make up and improve my science GPA, and the effect of one low grade in a science subject would bear a much greater consequence. Can anyone give me some advise on what I should do now?

Another question I have is that if in the end I ended up staying as a science major, I might end up take up a humanities minor. I was wondering if this would lower my chances of getting accepted into a decent medical school? For initially I considered minoring in public health, which is also science-based. But since recently I realized that I should also explore some of my interests during the couple of years I have in college, and that I should aim at becoming a more well-rounded person, I am considering minoring in the humanities instead of public health. Can anyone give some opinion towards this? I am concerned because I realize that there are many talented individual out there whose strengths lie in the sciences, and are taking on double majors or even triple majors in hard core sciences. I obviously cannot do that, for my strength is not in the sciences to begin with.

Lastly, (sorry for the extremely long post), I was wondering if anyone can help me calculate my chances of getting into a decent (top) medical school? I have not taken the MCAT, and I am involved in a medical related club at school (hopefully I can obtain a leadership position in the coming years). I spent last summer researching in my university's lab and volunteered in a local hospital during the weekends. I am hoping to continue to volunteer in either the same hospital or another hospital or both next summer, and I am thinking of participating in study abroad or other medical related programs and continue to work in the hospital or lab in the coming years.
I am mostly worried about my B in orgo 1. I am looking at some of the top medical schools, such as Tufts, BU, Mount Sinai, UPitts, and of course the Ivys. I was wondering if you guys can help me calculate my chances? (If I can manage to keep up a good GPA and even increase it). Do you guys think I have a chance at these schools?

So sorry for the extremely long post. Much appreciated for your helps!

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[Law2Doc]

1. Sociology is not a science.
2. Med schools don't care what you major in, so long as you do the prereqs. So major in humanities if you like and do better in humanities -- no brainer.
3. Minors don't count. Unless it would make your parents proud on graduation day I wouldn't bother.
4. Nobody can give you odds on getting into a top med school before you even have an MCAT score. And even then there are lots of factors. It's not clear from your post if your ECs are significant or the bare minimum cookie cutter ECs everyone has? Anything unique that sets you apart? And you'll need good essays and LORs. And good interviews. My bet is you'll want to apply broadly and not get your heart set on a small handful of schools. But nobody can tell you chances at this juncture.

By asking so early, it telegraphs that you are smart enough to be worried, and know you need to step up your game from here on out. Yes you can absolutely survive a B in orgo but you definitely want to not slack off and keep the GPA high. Membership in a club, a few weekends of volunteering and a summer of research doesn't exactly make you jump off the page. You want to be involved in running the club, have tons of cool volunteering and shadowing stories to write about, and do enough research to at least get yourself on an abstract or poster, to get looked at by the biggies. And if you have any unique interests, hobbies or talents run with those because that will separate you from everyone else with good numerical stats and average ECs.

 

[piii]

Omg you got a B? You don't have a chance!

/s

Someone's major has never had a bearing on someone's admittance. Schools don't care what you major in.

Do what you're passionate about. Get good grades.

Your chances at getting into med school are 0% until you have an MCAT score, so post again after you have one.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Repeat after me: A B is not a bad grade. A B is not a bad grade. Relax. You should definitely work hard to keep your GPA as high as possible but a B is not going to keep you from getting into med school. If you truly feel like Orgo is your weakest area, then seek out extra help for Orgo 2. Get a tutor, find classmates to study with who get the material, ask for extra help during office hours, etc.

Major in whatever interests you that you can do well in! Med schools don't care either way. If you're interested in humanities and that's where your strengths lie, that sounds like a great option. Don't count on it to give you an advantage, though. What's going to make you stand out is a high GPA, high MCAT, great EC's, strong LORs, etc. Even as a humanities major, you will still have a chance to boost your sGPA. You just need to devote time and energy to doing well in your prereqs and maybe add in a few extra science courses that you know you can do well in, if you need a GPA boost.

When it comes time to apply, choose schools wisely. The "top" med schools are a reach for almost everyone, even people with perfect stats. You don't need to go to an Ivy to become a great doctor.

 

[Law2Doc]

Repeat after me: A B is not a bad grade. A B is not a bad grade. Relax...

When it comes time to apply, choose schools wisely. The "top" med schools are a reach for almost everyone, even people with perfect stats. You don't need to go to an Ivy to become a great doctor.

Well, if you want to go to a "top" school, you really want to get "mostly As"; viewing a B as not good enough is a good attitude.

However, I would echo what you wrote in your last paragraph. Every US allo med school is a pretty decent launching pad for residency in nearly any field. Your abilities will dictate how competitive a field/program you will get more than your med school name.

And down the road you'll be known not as X med school grad but as the guy who did his training at Y or fellowship at Z. So once you get into residency the value of your "top" med school washes away anyhow -- the guy who went to a lower ranked school and then your same residency will have totally caught up in pedigree.

As an example, If you watch the old Dr. 90210 shows you'll see Dr. Rey, one of the stars, frequently wearing a Harvard sweat shirt, and drinking from a Harvard coffee mug on his desk. Harvard was his one year fellowship, after more modest med school and residency elsewhere-- but that's the laurel he wears now. You become as good as the last place you've trained or worked. Nobody cares where you went to undergrad once you are in med school and nobody will care where you went to med school once you are in training, and so on.