What should I major in?

[foreverLaur]

I don't think I am nontraditional, just a bit different

I pushed my dream of becoming a doctor out of my head when I started college because I didn't want to be in school that long and I didn't want to be working that many hours. After 1.5 years of college, I was reintroduced to my dream and realized I can't imagine doing anything else.

I'm transferring to Ohio State for numerous reasons and the long story short is that I can't thrive at a school I am unhappy at. Therefore, I'm going to Ohio State where I know I'll be happy.

I've decided to complete my accounting major because
1. I am half done with it
2. Doctors typically go into private practice and that means running a business. Accounting is the backbone to any business.

I also know that I love science and I'd love to major in something science related instead of just taking premed coursework. So I am also getting a degree in something sciency.

Science has definitely always been what I had natural talent at and a strong interest in. I had the highest grade in Honors Chemistry and Honors Biology in high school. I had a 34 on the science portion of the ACT (32 cumulative). So now it comes time to decide what science major to pick.

I believe I have narrowed it down to Molecular Genetics and Microbiology although Zoology and Biology are still viable options.

How do I pick? I have read as much as I can find about them, but I haven't really taken any coursework in them to make that decision. All of them provide the coursework required for admission to medical school and all of them have opportunities for research.

Anyone have any guidance on how to pick a science major?... or my next couple years in general...

Thanks in advance!

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[DoctaJay]

I am still a little confused as to why you want a full second major in the sciences? If you were going into a career in reserach (PhD), then I would say go with Molecular Genetics (everything is molecular now). But since you want to be a clinician (MD), who also does research (which can easily be satisfied through doing a residency/fellowship that requires research) then you really don't need to get another full major. You accounting major will set you apart already, and if you ace the MCAT and your GPA is good,then you are fine. Are you looking into applying MD/PhD? If then, then I guess it would make sense to get some more science classes and get some research experience, but still, you will be taking all the classes you need for grad school in your 1st two years of grad school. So I guess I'm advising that you not go through with the full fledged science major; and if you absolutely believe that you must, choose a major like cell and molecular biology, molecular genetics, biochemistry, etc. Alot of current research involves studying organisms on the molecular level.

 

[foreverLaur]

Part of it is because it is more hours that will boost my GPA (it isn't as high as it should be and is capable of being). Another reason is that I enjoy it. I just intend to get my MD. If that fails, I've been looking into Physical Therapy or something else medical related. If all else fails, I wouldn't mind teching high school science (talk about a 180 in working hours).

Will having two majors (one accounting, one science) not help my attempt to get into medical school? The more hours, the research experience, and the higher GPA won't help?

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Part of it is because it is more hours that will boost my GPA (it isn't as high as it should be and is capable of being). Another reason is that I enjoy it. I just intend to get my MD. If that fails, I've been looking into Physical Therapy or something else medical related. If all else fails, I wouldn't mind teching high school science (talk about a 180 in working hours).

Will having two majors (one accounting, one science) not help my attempt to get into medical school? The more hours, the research experience, and the higher GPA won't help?

The double major itself won't help, but the elevated GPA might. But then again, this is coming from someone who is a triple major (due to interest in three fields).

 

[trevagandalf]

Part of it is because it is more hours that will boost my GPA (it isn't as high as it should be and is capable of being). Another reason is that I enjoy it. I just intend to get my MD. If that fails, I've been looking into Physical Therapy or something else medical related. If all else fails, I wouldn't mind teching high school science (talk about a 180 in working hours).

Will having two majors (one accounting, one science) not help my attempt to get into medical school? The more hours, the research experience, and the higher GPA won't help?

Of course it will.. but as an accounting major you should know that you have to take into account the opportunity cost for everything. Yes, more hours, more research, better GPA will help. But it depends, how low is your GPA right now and how much can it improve? Will you get a publication out of research?Meanwhile, you might be able to do other things that you enjoy that you might not have opportunity to do if you pursued another major. Will taking an extra 2 years of your life studying just to get another major be worth it? Or would it be better if you say, volunteered at Peace Corps for 2 year ( I wish I could do that, but i'm not a US citizen ) or got an education degree (since you want to be a teacher). These might be things that you also will enjoy.

But yeah, if you want an opinion straight up I'd say molecular genetics because this is definetly one of the forefronts in medicine and is required right now in many different fields and widely used in research. However, it really depends on you (I for once, hate anything molecular, so I'd personally go with microbiology).