Which subject did you major in?

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Future Emergency Doctor

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Which subject I major in? I want to major in biology specifically for medical school. If the medical school route doesn't work out I don't know what to do with the biology degree. My main interest is medicine but my second interest is law enforcement. I honestly can't make up my mind if I should major in biology or criminal justice, law, or criminology. My plan b is to work in the CIA, FBI, ICE, or at my local PD.
What subject did you major in?
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Before you decide what career I think you should be undecided for your first semester, take some gen eds, and shadow both professions to try and get an idea of what you want to do.
Those are 2 very different career paths and it would be hard to prepare for both simultaneously.
I was a biomedical sciences major, but I was dead set on medical school.
 
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One of my friends is a dance major who took the science prereqs after undergrad, and got into med school. I think you should major in what your passion is 🙂 try out some different classes and in the mean time do some shadowing to see if you really do want to go to med school
 
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51% of medical students I remember reading were bio majors or something very closely related. Working in law enforcement and being a doctor are two completely different things. You don't need to come in freshmen year of college knowing what you need to do but you should at least have some background baseline knowledge about both. You don't want to find junior year you want to do something else but were a bio major set for med school with an awful GPA. Also, do some research about those programs like the FBI. All I know is how competitive they are and and you at least want to get some first hand experience or knowledge of people in the field itself about them to see if you want to pursue them. SDN is not the place to go for advice on joining the police force or FBI.
 
That's precisely the reason that I decided not to major in biology. I know how competitive it is to get into medical school and so while I am doing my best to get in, I definitely wanted something that made for a good back-up plan. I ended up deciding on a degree that is geared towards people who intend to become medical technologists. It is a full bachelor's degree and while it does have a lot of emphasis on lab work, we learn a ton about the science side as well. Also, if I fail to get into medical school, I can then do an internship and work as a medical technologist.
Good luck!
 
jesebelle said:
That's precisely the reason that I decided not to major in biology. I know how competitive it is to get into medical school and so while I am doing my best to get in, I definitely wanted something that made for a good back-up plan. I ended up deciding on a degree that is geared towards people who intend to become medical technologists. It is a full bachelor's degree and while it does have a lot of emphasis on lab work, we learn a ton about the science side as well. Also, if I fail to get into medical school, I can then do an internship and work as a medical technologist.
Good luck![/QU

If you are just starting college there is a solid chance your interests are going to change completely and your goals and directions of life as well over the next few years, particularly if you aren't super set on trying to go into medicine. Relax, take some classes, explore, take chances, diversify and get out of your comfort zone. There are tons of options people who don't go to medical school end up doing. You don't need to pick a major specific to one yet at all.
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i did econ, and knew premeds who did psych, statistics, and entomology. strangely, we all ended up scoring significantly higher on the mcat than the bio major premeds
that we knew. don't feel obligated to major in biology for medical school.
 
I'm a pre med majoring in psychology, I say major what you're passionate about! Medical schools see bio or chem majors all the time, it's refreshing to see something different. Just make sure along with the criminal justice major you take bio, chem, physics, etc etc depending on what the med schools you're thinking about want. Best of luck!
 
I'd say criminal justice is the best major for you. If you do not intend to use your Biology degree after undergrad then there isn't much sense in spending a college tuition for a degree you have no interest in pursuing.
 
I majored in Physics
It was a hard route, but I can't say I regret it one bit
 
Ya'll guys and gals are wrong, please see below for the correct major:

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How hard will it be to major in biology and criminal justice or criminology? Will it be possible to maintain a good GPA for medical school?
 
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Future Emergency Doctor said:
How hard will it be to major in biology and criminal justice or criminology? Will it be possible to maintain a good GPA for medical school?
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Plenty of people have double-majored in undergrad. It's all about good time management and study skills. Have you considered minoring in biology?
 
I'm majoring in Econ/Financial Markets
 
I got degrees in Biology and Economics. I didn't get into med school my first cycle, and tried to find a scientific job to improve my app. I got offered like 9 different economics-related jobs and was working at one of those before I finally got offered my first (and lower-paying) science job.
 
I majored in Biology but it's only because I've wanted to do so since I was 3 years old. If I were to do it again, I think I would add a Philosophy major.
 
Just my two cents, but I majored in biology and minored in philosophy after switching from an accelerated PA program at a SLAC. Don't get me wrong I loved most of my bio classes and the faculty and am 100% confident in my decision to pursue medicine. But in retrospect I would have either tried to double major in bio/philosophy or majored in philosophy and minored in bio and taken pre reqs. I guess my advice is take a few classes and figure out what you're interested in. Don't do something just because it's the norm or popular.
 
Future Emergency Doctor said:
Which subject I major in? I want to major in biology specifically for medical school. If the medical school route doesn't work out I don't know what to do with the biology degree. My main interest is medicine but my second interest is law enforcement. I honestly can't make up my mind if I should major in biology or criminal justice, law, or criminology. My plan b is to work in the CIA, FBI, ICE, or at my local PD.
What subject did you major in?
Click to expand...

If your school has a program for forensic science, you may want to check that out. It is a blend of science and criminal justice. Also, you can always major in criminal justice and take the science pre-reqs for MCAT and medical school. There is no need for double major.

Btw, I had a similar interest in intelligence work as well. They take a wide range of professionals, scientists are amongst them.
 
I have degrees in Biological Anthropology and Medieval Studies. MS in Space Studies. I am so happy I did not go a normal pre-med route.

Do what you love, do the pre-reqs, apply.
 
I'd do biology with a minor in crim justice, poli sci, or sociology, or just biology. Law schools will take you with a biology degree--or any degree for that matter, but med schools may not take you with a crim justice/poli sci/etc. degree. Trust me, I had a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D., but I just went back to get my B.S. in Biology for applying to med school.
 
The Organic Mechanic said:
I'd do biology with a minor in crim justice, poli sci, or sociology, or just biology. Law schools will take you with a biology degree--or any degree for that matter, but med schools may not take you with a crim justice/poli sci/etc. degree. Trust me, I had a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D., but I just went back to get my B.S. in Biology for applying to med school.
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Why the career switch?
 
Axes said:
Why the career switch?
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A dismal legal job market coupled with some coincidental exposure to the medicine that helped me realize it was my calling. The full story is a lot longer but I'm saving it for my book. 😉
 
The Organic Mechanic said:
but med schools may not take you with a crim justice/poli sci/etc. degree. Trust me, I had a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D., but I just went back to get my B.S. in Biology for applying to med school.
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I've seen people get in with management, business, and finance degrees, I doubt med schools would reject someone because they're a poli sci major. OP I think you should major in what interests you most, don't do bio just because you want to do medical school. But one thing to take into consideration is fitting in all the premed pre reqs and still managing to graduate in a timely manner, especially now that biochem, psych, and socio are added to the MCAT.
 
Dares Dareson said:
I'd do biology with a minor in crim justice, poli sci, or sociology, or just biology. Law schools will take you with a biology degree--or any degree for that matter, but med schools may not take you with a crim justice/poli sci/etc. degree. Trust me, I had a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D., but I just went back to get my B.S. in Biology for applying to med school.
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What?
 
I majored in chemistry 🙂 you should see if your school offers a forensic chem degree!!
 
English and a minor in Women's Studies.
I was like a course away from a French minor but w/e.
Take your prerequisites and courses you like.
 
Future Emergency Doctor said:
Which subject I major in? I want to major in biology specifically for medical school. If the medical school route doesn't work out I don't know what to do with the biology degree. My main interest is medicine but my second interest is law enforcement. I honestly can't make up my mind if I should major in biology or criminal justice, law, or criminology. My plan b is to work in the CIA, FBI, ICE, or at my local PD.
What subject did you major in?
Click to expand...

Study whatever you're interested in and take the prereqs. A Criminal Justice degree is just as worthless as a Bio degrre. You can major in anything and apply to one of the three letter agencies; you just need a degree

Here's some of the basic requirements for the FBI: https://www.fbijobs.gov/explore-careers/sa-eligibility.asp
 
Dares Dareson said:
I'd do biology with a minor in crim justice, poli sci, or sociology, or just biology. Law schools will take you with a biology degree--or any degree for that matter, but med schools may not take you with a crim justice/poli sci/etc. degree. Trust me, I had a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D., but I just went back to get my B.S. in Biology for applying to med school.
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This statement is somewhere between "wrong" and "not worth worrying about." Major itself (excluding context contributed to GPA) will very rarely be a factor in applications, and there's virtually no merit in choosing a degree other than criminal justice, political science, or other such fields simply out of fear that medical schools will be prejudiced against your application. You may have chosen to return to school to get a full science bachelor's degree before applying, but that doesn't mean it was necessary. Plenty of non-trad applicants simply complete formal or informal post-bacc's if they hadn't completed the pre-req's while in school.
 
I decided to try to stand out from the crowd.

So I chose biology.

But seriously, I love it, so as a result my grades are higher than something I don't love, like english- my most hated undergrad class.
 
I'm a Spanish major. I'm hoping that being able to speak Spanish will help me land a job one day. And it allowed me to study abroad easily so that was cool.
 
Anthropology! The world's cultures and societies amaze and fascinate me. It's incredible how the human species can differ so much throughout regions and base their life principles on aspects that others think are bizarre.
 
You can major in whatever you want as an undergrad, as long as you take the medical prereqs in addition to your other coursework. If you like Law/Criminology you can probably major in something of this ilk while exploring your interest in medicine through doctor shadowing and clinical volunteering. If medicine doesn't work out, you can still have experience in something else you enjoy. Generally, you're also going to get better grades if you major in something you like.
 
I've been thinking about majoring in Paper Engineering. Completely unrelated to medicine but sooo cool 😀😀😀 and practically guaranteed a job after graduation. I would just need to take in addition General Bio and Bio Chem in order to be premed.

Still a few months away from applying to colleges though, my mind will probably change a million times.
 
You should major in chemistry/biochemistry if you want to do any lab work in law enforcement. That's my major, and I was set on doing forensics until a year or so ago.

A biology degree isn't terribly useful outside of graduate school.
 
Pusheen said:
A biology degree isn't terribly useful outside of graduate school.
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I got a job within 30 days of graduating with my Neurobiology degree. It's a medical tech startup. You don't use biochemistry, but you do use all the skills of organization, writing, and research that you perfect throughout undergrad.
 
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