what the hell do i do?

[phattestlewt]

so heres the story

im a freshman at UCI and am currently a bio sci major. I have been doing great in my science classes and very well in my other classes. However, i decided i want to be a non-trad pre-med so that it can free up alot of my time.

Mind you, im not trying to take an "easy" way out, im just relieving some of the stress that will be put on my shoulders eventually with ochems and upper-divs.

Because i am in a UC, i will have to double major in bio sci and something else, just so i can make sure i get priority enrollment in my pre-med classes (becaues of the budget cuts, smaller class sizes =[ ) and when im in my 3rd of 4th year i plan to drop my bio major and finish up my secondary major

with that said

what are some majors/minors that complement a pre-med student. i am interested in African American studies, humanities, i like to read and write and think but i am also open to various ideas and interests. sorry for the long email

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[mspeedwagon]

If you plan to pursue medical school soon after undergrad, my strong recommendation is to take the classes while you are an undergrad at your home institution. As a biology major, applying as a non-traditional without having pursued another career, you are at a huge disadvantage and here is why: after you graduate you will have to post-bac your classes (which is expensive), not to mention that most formal post-bac programs will not admit you (most require that you have not taken any science. You will have to explain why you were a biology major and did not take the pre-med classes, and this will come under scrutiny.

However, if there is another career you want to pursue that is not medicine for a decade or so before applying, then pursue that and major in that. Not taking the o-chems and upper division courses in undergrad looks bad, especially as a bio major. Many of us non-trads either took all the classes as undergrads and pursued another career, or majored in something completely different and came to medicine after a change of heart.

so heres the story

im a freshman at UCI and am currently a bio sci major. I have been doing great in my science classes and very well in my other classes. However, i decided i want to be a non-trad pre-med so that it can free up alot of my time.

Mind you, im not trying to take an "easy" way out, im just relieving some of the stress that will be put on my shoulders eventually with ochems and upper-divs.

Because i am in a UC, i will have to double major in bio sci and something else, just so i can make sure i get priority enrollment in my pre-med classes (becaues of the budget cuts, smaller class sizes =[ ) and when im in my 3rd of 4th year i plan to drop my bio major and finish up my secondary major

with that said

what are some majors/minors that complement a pre-med student. i am interested in African American studies, humanities, i like to read and write and think but i am also open to various ideas and interests. sorry for the long email

 

[LaTortuga]

In my humble opinion, there really aren't any majors/minors that complement the pre med student. There are common majors like bio and neurobio, but in my first year class, there are students from all sorts of majors like political science, engineering, chem, philosophy, etc. You need to figure out what your passions are and go from there - if African American studies or the humanities float your boat, go for it! I did a double major in biology and philosophy and that seemed to work out well (mind you it took me 5 years to graduate) but the most common question I got during med school interviews was "So why philosophy!?"

Be careful with dropping your biology major during your 3rd/4th year. It might come up during applications and interviews.

My suggestion would be to consult with a pre med adviser at your school to get their advice on how to plot out your path during undergrad.

And one more thing, you mentioned: "However, i decided i want to be a non-trad pre-med so that it can free up alot of my time. Mind you, im not trying to take an "easy" way out, im just relieving some of the stress that will be put on my shoulders eventually with ochems and upper-divs ..." What are you going to do with that extra time?

The only reason I ask is deferring some of those classes to relieve stress may just come back to bite you in the behind later. I thought undergrad was insane with ochem and the upper division courses, then I hit first year of med school and the pace + volume of material is 10 times more hectic than it was as an undergrad. However, figuring out good study strategies and time management in undergrad has made it easier for me to adapt to the pace of med school. So ... I guess all I'm trying to say is fitting your premed stuff into undergrad may not be such of a bad thing. Sure the stress level will be higher, but you'll learn valuable skills to help you prep for med school and you'll save a boat load of money by avoiding having to take those courses via a post-bac program.

Good luck

 

[docelh]

Need more info.

When and where are you planning on taking the pre-reqs and MCAT? Are you going to pursue a different interim career and for how long?

 

[phattestlewt]

i dont think i made my self to clear so here it is:


when i am done with up lower-divs classes, gettin into upper div shouldn't be too bad, so around my 3rd year-ish i planned to drop my major

but two of you mentioned that picking up a major for which you did not want to pursue a career in looks bad, that makes me discouraged from wanting to major in anything now =(

what if i major in something like African American studies or international studies because i enjoy learning about those things, would Med school look down upon that too, because i don't want to become a professor or lecturer on African American studies i just find it highly interesting and also thought that it could be a good boost to my application because it shows uniqueness

thoughts?

 

[docelh]

OP,

There is nothing wrong with not majoring in Bio. Tons of m school applicants are non-science majors.

But I don't think this post belongs in this forum, as this forum is for older students who have taken significant time off and are re-applying many years removed from college. You're a freshman. Not that the post is unwelcome, but I had processed it and the intent of your inquiry differently.

 

[NTF]

But I don't think this post belongs in this forum, as this forum is for older students who have taken significant time off and are re-applying many years removed from college. You're a freshman. Not that the post is unwelcome, but I had processed it and the intent of your inquiry differently.

Agreed. Moving to pre-allo.

OP, you can major in anything you want and still be an excellent candidate for medical school. Major in anything that both interests you and that you can excel in.

 

[Hifey]

so heres the story

im a freshman at UCI and am currently a bio sci major. I have been doing great in my science classes and very well in my other classes. However, i decided i want to be a non-trad pre-med so that it can free up alot of my time.

Mind you, im not trying to take an "easy" way out, im just relieving some of the stress that will be put on my shoulders eventually with ochems and upper-divs.

Because i am in a UC, i will have to double major in bio sci and something else, just so i can make sure i get priority enrollment in my pre-med classes (becaues of the budget cuts, smaller class sizes =[ ) and when im in my 3rd of 4th year i plan to drop my bio major and finish up my secondary major

with that said

what are some majors/minors that complement a pre-med student. i am interested in African American studies, humanities, i like to read and write and think but i am also open to various ideas and interests. sorry for the long email

Hey there

UCI senior here Alright so I'm not sure I quite understand what you're getting at with dropping of the major and what not. Bio sci lower divs at UCI (except for the bio lab) basically fulfill pre-reqs. If you want to double major and not take forever, I suggest Psychology and Social behavior. It's a small major so it won't take too long and the classes are pretty easy/interesting/repetitive. If you're talking about just doing the bio major to complete the pre-reqs and then dropping it because you don't want to take the upper divs, that is a different story. However, you may have a hard time getting into labs. And if you think that enrollment is hard at UCs... community colleges are even worse. Let me know if this answers your question at all since I'm not quite sure what you were asking.

 

[phattestlewt]

well i figured that if i drop my bio major after ive done my lower div classes, my uppder div classes are not going to be hard to get into, i still plan to do my upper div classes, just without having a priority enrollment

does that make sense?

 

[Hifey]

well i figured that if i drop my bio major after ive done my lower div classes, my uppder div classes are not going to be hard to get into, i still plan to do my upper div classes, just without having a priority enrollment

does that make sense?

Upper div bio classes would actually be difficult to get into, especially the bio labs. enrollment for most of these is limited to majors only at first and since people need to take the class to graduate, they don't drop. two of my upper div classes this quarter were 30-50 people max.

 

[Quester]

Sry to hijack the thread, but is it alright to not even have a major?

 

[apumic]

Sry to hijack the thread, but is it alright to not even have a major?

You're going to need one to graduate....

 

[Quester]

You're going to need one to graduate....

I will. It's just that it's an interdisciplinary program, so I'm not specialized at all.

 

[GoodmanBrown]

I will. It's just that it's an interdisciplinary program, so I'm not specialized at all.

That's fine. If you get all your pre-reqs in, do well, and seem well-rounded, you'll have a good shot.

 

[GoodmanBrown]

well i figured that if i drop my bio major after ive done my lower div classes, my uppder div classes are not going to be hard to get into, i still plan to do my upper div classes, just without having a priority enrollment

does that make sense?

I think I know what you're saying. You'll:

1) Become a biology major starting out to get priority in lower-level sciences classes such as biology, gen. chem, o. chem, physics, etc.

2) In your 3rd year, you'll drop the biology major, under the assumption that there are fewer upper-level biology majors and classes will be easier to get into

3) Do a major that's more enjoyable to you, something in the humanities.

I don't know jack about the UC system, but I'd be surprised if the upper-level classes are really easier to get into. As you go up in levels, often classes get smaller. So, even if you have a smaller group of students wanting to get in, the significantly smaller class sizes make it just as hard, or harder. Another poster seems to say the same thing.

I would suggest just not taking many upper-level biology courses. I mean, you won't need them as pre-reqs for school. If you're not interested in them, it's not that big a deal to take a bunch.

 

[bearforce]

Dont believe that there are no majors which complement science majors... not true. I was a Spanish and Biology major and even though it was difficult it helped me during application season. It shows you have an analytical side and a free form/ literature side. It will def make you a more well rounded individual + you can use your language skills.
Left side + Right side of your brain

 

[slowbutsteady]

i dont think i made my self to clear so here it is:


when i am done with up lower-divs classes, gettin into upper div shouldn't be too bad, so around my 3rd year-ish i planned to drop my major

but two of you mentioned that picking up a major for which you did not want to pursue a career in looks bad, that makes me discouraged from wanting to major in anything now =(

what if i major in something like African American studies or international studies because i enjoy learning about those things, would Med school look down upon that too, because i don't want to become a professor or lecturer on African American studies i just find it highly interesting and also thought that it could be a good boost to my application because it shows uniqueness

thoughts?

If anything, med schools prefer students who major in the humanities.

Absolutely no reason to take any more science than you have to, and major in whatever you want.

My good friend was a dance major and got into Hopkins and Harvard, among others!

 

[Naijaba]

If you're just picking a major to help you get into medical school, I'd suggest mathematics. On average, math and statistics majors have the second-highest verbal reasoning score on the MCAT, the highest physical science scores, the highest biological science scores, and the second-highest GPAs!

Source:
http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table18-facts09mcatgpabymaj1-web.pdf

 

[LizzyM]

What I hear you saying is that at your school, it is hard to register for pre-med pre-reqs unless you are a bio major. But you think that you will have less pressure if you major in something else. You can major in anything you please but the real problem will be with working things out at your university so you can graduate.

I think that you were mistaken in calling yourself "non-trad". That would suggest that you go out and do something entirely different for 3+ years (teach HS, become an actor, work in pharmaceutical development) and then go back to school to do the pre-reqs. Given your current circumstances, that would be nuts.

 

[Mzeep]

Hey phatteslewt,

I went to UCI and graduated a year ago. Have you looked into their Public Health Sciences major? I know MANY premeds who chose that major (it was my major and really pushed me towards medicine).

The only thing that really differs is the physics which is not required for the major but everyone I knew that was a premed was able to get into physics before they graduated.

It's a pretty awesome major too! You can mix up bio classes with the coolest classes (Epi/health policy/pharm) I think it's a good option for premeds who don't do bio, but don't want to have an major out of the sciences. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[jboz]

Hey phatteslewt,

I actually went to UCI and graduated a year ago. Have you looked into their Public Health Sciences major? I know MANY premeds who chose that major (it was my major and really pushed me towards medicine).

The only thing that really differs is the physics which is not required for the major but everyone I knew that was a premed was able to get into physics before they graduated.

It's a pretty awesome major too! You can mix up bio classes with the coolest classes (Epi/health policy/pharm) I think it's a good option for premeds who don't do bio, but don't want to have an major out of the sciences. Let me know if you have any questions!

Just curious as to how much different Public Health Sciences is compared to Public Health Policy over there?

 

[phattestlewt]

Just curious as to how much different Public Health Sciences is compared to Public Health Policy over there?

On the flip side i have now come across a major called Public Healthy Policy and im honestly really interested in it.

Its got that biological, medical field feel that im interested but it also has aspects of political science and philosophy and psychology. so while im might be more tuned with the humanities, per se, (because i do like to read and write) i do not have to entirely give up my passion for bio sci and medicine.

So i was just wondering how that would possibly work out???

 

[austinap]

If you're just picking a major to help you get into medical school, I'd suggest mathematics. On average, math and statistics majors have the second-highest verbal reasoning score on the MCAT, the highest physical science scores, the highest biological science scores, and the second-highest GPAs!

Source:
http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table18-facts09mcatgpabymaj1-web.pdf

Sounds like selection bias to me -- people interested in getting degrees in math / stats are also people who are probably enjoy and are good at reasoning, and therefore would be expected to have higher test scores on average. That being said, I like math and stats, and I think both are incredibly useful (esp. Diff EQ and probability theory).

How is it that you can get a biology major and not fulfill the requirements? Every bio major I've looked at requires chemistry (through organic) and intro bio. Most also require physics. What's going on here?

 

[Tots]

Just curious as to how much different Public Health Sciences is compared to Public Health Policy over there?

http://pha.zotters.org/academic-information/majors-in-public-health

 

[Mzeep]

Just curious as to how much different Public Health Sciences is compared to Public Health Policy over there?

In terms of coursework, as a PHS you will be taking mostly science classes as upper divs vs. policy/health admin type classes.

For me, I wanted something that integrated both sciences and epi which I felt the sciences did really well. I actually was PHP for about a quarter but I didn't like it so much so I switched into PHS. Both are great majors, I would just reccommend PHS for premeds since they can knock off prereqs (except physics) at the same time.

Oh and the field study requirement for both majors is awesome!!

 

[Mzeep]

http://pha.zotters.org/academic-information/majors-in-public-health

wow totally missed this, you have it all laid out here!

 

[thesauce]

OP: how are you defining non-trad? I'm a little unclear.