What do you think is better?

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bdelpy58

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Hi everyone. I'm new here, and kinda need some help. I'm planning on going to medical school (just like the rest of us), and need some advice. I am currently applying to the UC campuses of california as a freshman for the upcoming fall, in 2009. I was talking to my cousin, and told him that I was going to major in biology. He told me instead that I should major in an easier field, such as english, and fulfill the minimum requirements set by medical schools by taking classes on the side (physics, chem, bio). I don't know what to do. Would it make any difference? Should I apply as an easier major to have my chances of entering the university better? what do you guys think? Please help me out...all responses will be appreciated. thanks.
 
Your major doesn't matter to medical schools. Take what interests you, because then you wont hate college. Plus, if you enjoy the classes, it makes it easier to study, which leads to higher grades. 😛

Just my $0.02 🙂
 
bdelpy58 said:
Hi everyone. I'm new here, and kinda need some help. I'm planning on going to medical school (just like the rest of us), and need some advice. I am currently applying to the UC campuses of california as a freshman for the upcoming fall, in 2009. I was talking to my cousin, and told him that I was going to major in biology. He told me instead that I should major in an easier field, such as english, and fulfill the minimum requirements set by medical schools by taking classes on the side (physics, chem, bio). I don't know what to do. Would it make any difference? Should I apply as an easier major to have my chances of entering the university better? what do you guys think? Please help me out...all responses will be appreciated. thanks.
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Major in something that you are interested and so that way you can do well academically. Major in biology if you like science and believe you can do well. If not, go with what you enjoy.
 
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Ok...thank you guys. I think I'm gonna major in english 🙂 or something easy...hahah. thanks again 🙂
 
English is fine, but I would not just major in it because you think it will be easy. Choose something you really enjoy. Medical school is not going to be easy, and a difficult undergrad helps prepare you for Med school.
 
Word of advice - don't assume non-science means easy. At some schools, English is probably a joke major, but remember that just because it doesn't involve a discussion of enzyme kinetics or formal charge doesn't mean there's no work in a given course. But then I'm a philosophy major, so I guess I'm biased.

Let me just say, my science GPA is higher than my major GPA, so again; non-science doesn't make it a cakewalk. If you don't like English courses, don't be an English major because you think it'll be easy. Pick something you enjoy and are good at - remember, this is your last chance to study something completely unrelated to medicine!
 
I want to go into the med field, and am planning to pick a major that will increase my chances of admission to UC (university of california). I am not going to put down biology...but something else...what do you guys think? I was thinking english, business, or something else... 🙂
 
bdelpy58 said:
I want to go into the med field, and am planning to pick a major that will increase my chances of admission to UC (university of california). I am not going to put down biology...but something else...what do you guys think? I was thinking english, business, or something else... 🙂
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pick the major that you are interested in, not the one that you think will get you into med school. med schools really don't care what your major is.
 
You need all your prereqs, a high GPA, and a high MCAT. Start volunteering and get involved in some research.

Your major doesn't really matter.
 
I'm not sure how it works for this undergraduate school in particular. Are you applying to a specific college within the university that will determine your odds of acceptance or are they "just wondering" what you would major in if you were accepted?

In any case, choose something that interests you, something that you can use if one day you discover that medicine is not right for you. The responsibility lies upon you in researching different majors and what you can do with them.


And just FYI: I'm guessing that blankly asking anonymous users on an internet forum what you should major in when they have absolutely no idea who you are, what your interested are, etc. will not earn you the responses you desire. I only tell you this because such things happen a lot around here and some users tend to get a bit disgruntled about it!

Good luck!
 
so you're a high school student who is applying to undergrad - thus, you might be posting in the wrong forum... but, i'll offer my 2 cents anyway.

yes, you can increase your chances of gaining admission to an undergrad school (like a UC) by applying under an "easier" major. do some research, and find the absolute least popular major at the schools you would like to attend, and then apply under that... most of these "understudied" departments are starving for students, so even if you're a little under the mark, they might be more inclined to take you because you have an interest in something that most others don't.

math/science/engineering majors are harder to get into (generally speaking)
 
Medical schools aren't really interested in majors because they know many students really just focus on the pre-reqs, do not finish the actual degree, and apply to medical school. Students generally sign up for the science majors simply because many pre-reqs fall within those majors. You'd be better off doing something that you enjoy, rather than what we think medical schools would like. After all, you're going to be doing that major for years 🙂.
 
PornStarPreMed said:
so you're a high school student who is applying to undergrad - thus, you might be posting in the wrong forum... but, i'll offer my 2 cents anyway.

yes, you can increase your chances of gaining admission to an undergrad school (like a UC) by applying under an "easier" major. do some research, and find the absolute least popular major at the schools you would like to attend, and then apply under that... most of these "understudied" departments are starving for students, so even if you're a little under the mark, they might be more inclined to take you because you have an interest in something that most others don't.

math/science/engineering majors are harder to get into (generally speaking)
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I'm unfamiliar with this type of admissions process. Do most schools do this? Could he or she still change their major in the future if he or she so desired?
 
Chemist0157 said:
Medical schools aren't really interested in majors because they know many students really just focus on the pre-reqs, do not finish the actual degree, and apply to medical school. Students generally sign up for the science majors simply because many pre-reqs fall within those majors. You'd be better off doing something that you enjoy, rather than what we think medical schools would like. After all, you're going to be doing that major for years 🙂.
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I have to disagree with this point. I am confident that most schools require you to earn a degree before matriculating. Of course, if you meant that you generally won't have graduated with a degree by the time you apply, then that is correct for the majority of applicants.
 
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Does anyone know if I'll be able to change my major to something else after I get accepted? For example, econ to say bio?
 
That depends on your undergad institution. It also depends on the major you want to transfer into. At my school, there are some majors that are easy to change into and some that are extremely hard. Each major has a minimum GPA (from undergrad), and some require you to have taken classes in that major before you put in the paperwork to switch.
 
Chemist0157 said:
Medical schools aren't really interested in majors because they know many students really just focus on the pre-reqs, do not finish the actual degree, and apply to medical school. Students generally sign up for the science majors simply because many pre-reqs fall within those majors. You'd be better off doing something that you enjoy, rather than what we think medical schools would like. After all, you're going to be doing that major for years 🙂.
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i'd like to think you are right. i have a friend who goes to a college that doesn't confer majors and he is getting a lot of interview invites.
 
bdelpy58 said:
Does anyone know if I'll be able to change my major to something else after I get accepted? For example, econ to say bio?
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If you're already planning on switching over to the biology department, then why don't you just apply to that college? I've yet to get an answer to the question you have just stated, but it seems to me that many students would take advantage of the system by applying to an major in which it is easier to get accepted and then switching majors later, as you seem to be doing. Still, I would advise you to apply to the major that you legitimately want do so you're not stuck with an acceptance in a major in which you have little or no interest.
 
Endocannabinoid said:
I have to disagree with this point. I am confident that most schools require you to earn a degree before matriculating. Of course, if you meant that you generally won't have graduated with a degree by the time you apply, then that is correct for the majority of applicants.
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Many medical schools only require 3 years of undergraduate education. I've actually interviewed with several applicants who had not and were not planning to finish their degrees. I would think that a degree could help getting oneself into medical school, but it's actually not required. Go figure.
 
In terms of the UC Application, I know some schools' majors are more difficult to get into (such as UC Berkeley's Engineering). Having said this, if your goal is to get into a UC, you might as well pick an obscure major to assure an acceptance. You can always transfer departments when you are in. For instance, my roommate was undeclared and transferred into Engineering as a sophomore at UCLA.

However, in terms of med school, your major most likely doesn't carry any SIGNIFICANT weight. However, I would say with all else equal, (and if I were an adcom) I would assuredly pick an english major over a biology major--not because the english major individual is more qualified, but because they would likely add more to the diversity of the incoming class.

Still, your major is something you have to live with for four years -- so do something you love!
 
Chemist0157 said:
Many medical schools only require 3 years of undergraduate education. I've actually interviewed with several applicants who had not and were not planning to finish their degrees. I would think that a degree could help getting oneself into medical school, but it's actually not required. Go figure.
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That's very interesting! I'll have to look into that a bit more. I have heard that most medical schools only require 3 years of undergraduate education, but I never realized any would allow you to matriculate without a degree.
 
thegetupkid said:
Having said this, if your goal is to get into a UC, you might as well pick an obscure major to assure an acceptance. You can always transfer departments when you are in. For instance, my roommate was undeclared and transferred into Engineering as a sophomore at UCLA.
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What is it that keeps everyone from taking this approach to admissions?
 
yeah in Canada you can get into med after 2 years of undergrad.

It's ridiculous! There's 18yro's in there!
 
bdelpy58 said:
Hi everyone. I'm new here, and kinda need some help. I'm planning on going to medical school (just like the rest of us), and need some advice. I am currently applying to the UC campuses of california as a freshman for the upcoming fall, in 2009. I was talking to my cousin, and told him that I was going to major in biology. He told me instead that I should major in an easier field, such as english, and fulfill the minimum requirements set by medical schools by taking classes on the side (physics, chem, bio). I don't know what to do. Would it make any difference? Should I apply as an easier major to have my chances of entering the university better? what do you guys think? Please help me out...all responses will be appreciated. thanks.
Click to expand...

I made a thread called "easy major". Guess what, the responses I received on SDN all tell me to choose a major I am interested. So basically, the easiest major for you to get a high GPA is to study something u r interested.

Good luck
 
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jefgreen said:
English is NOT an easy major.
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Everyone I know who was an English major would beg to differ. It's widely known as one of the easier majors available. I'm not saying it's always easy at every school for everyone - I'm sure you could take some seriously hard classes if you wanted to - but it's typically way less demanding than most.
 
When you explain to people why you choose a major what can you say besides that you liked it and thought it was interesting?
 
Emmet2301 said:
When you explain to people why you choose a major what can you say besides that you liked it and thought it was interesting?
Click to expand...

-what you plan to do with your major
-who influenced your decisions to decide on your major
-what classes you like that made you decide on your major
-what classes interested you that fall under the category of your major
-specific info on how you chose your major

ect.
 
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