Major to take in University?

[A.J.]

Hi! I've been asking people about the major that should be taken to pursue a career in Medicine - specifically, doctor in medicine (family doctor, or surgeon, etc.). My classmates tells me that I should take Kinesiology major since it is the easiest. It deals with the anatomy of the human body. Others say that I should take Biochemistry major, which is a lot harder than any other subjects (probably, the hardest major). So, the Biochemistry major, as I know, will help the student to prepare for the MCAT test.

 

Recently, I was told by my mother that I shouldn't take the Kineosology major, as was adviced by her doctor. The reason is this major do not give a wide variety of careers. What she meant by that is there are very few job opportunities for the person who finished in this major. The doctor also told her that I wouldn't need to learn anatomies in University since it will be taught more broadly in medical school. So, I was thinking to take Chemistry major, under biological and pharmeceutical field. So, I could get into pharmacy as an alternative.

 

I know some of you will say, "Take the major/course you are more comfortable with." or "The best course is the easiest course.". Please provide what you think/know. University will be difficult. I will do my best.

[ecoli]

You can go any major and be pre-med. As I understand it, the highest acceptance rate to medical school are English majors. don't quote me on that, though.

[swansont]

I think anyone who says "the best course is the easiest course" is probably not cut out for an advanced degree such as medicine. It's hard and a lot of work. In my own experience, there's a fairly strong anti-correlation between the folks who took the easy classes and the folks who went on to get advanced degrees.

 

There's lots of advice out in the ether. Google on medical school acceptance, and related terms.

[danzman]

While I agree with the above poster that the path of least resistance will not fully develop a student for the rigors of medical school, you should also realize that in general, medical schools don’t care about what you studied as an undergraduate. The unfortunate thing is that we live in a world governed by results, in college your results are your grades. Medical schools are substantially more interested in your test scores and your grades than whether or not you took advanced biomedical engineering as a freshman. You should pick the major that you enjoy. If you like psychology, pick psychology, if you like English…… study English. If you really want to be a doctor than you will have to take a set of courses (chem, bio, O-chem etc’) that are difficult and you will be expected to do well in them. While it is true that some courses will make medical school easier, biochemistry for example, medical schools care more about you overall abilities as a student. Make sure you can do well in those classes, study hard for the MCAT, and have fun at college. To get an interview at most schools you need solid grades, and a good MCAT score, the rest is up to you to impress the interviewers. So in short… Study the things that you are interested in, but understand that your grades and your MCAT scores will by the “bottom line”

[A.J.]

Thanks guys!! You are most correct in your ideas. I might choose chemistry or biology major but I will ask more people about this. Its funny that they don't care what you major in, and, as danzman said, they are interested about your skills/talent/etc. as a student. LOL. People who I asked said that Music majors students can also enter to the medical field, that is if they can pass the test, interviews, and the likes. I will keep checking this thread, other sites, and other sources as well. Thank you very much for your ideas/response!

[badchad]

Just as an aside to reinforce danzman, I always remember the "Film Studies" major that was accepted to our medical school.

 

Although this probably isn't the norm.

[Mokele]

Something else to note: While with any major you have required classes, you usually also have numerous elective slots to fill. You can 'mix it up' a bit and get whatever you want with these, from things that will actually help getting in to med school to things that just catch your fancy.

 

Mokele

[Rexus]

^I took Tae Kwan Do

 

haha that was fun... and weird

[psiji]

As most people here probably will suggest: take something that interests you. Med schools will care more about your GPA, MCAT, and personal interview more than your major per say. English majors routinely get into medical school. Just make sure you do very well in the premed classes (well, make sure you do well in everything), since you need that knowledge for the MCATs.

 

Also, join the premed honor society at your school if they have one - Alpha Epsilon Delta. If your school doesn't have a chapter you are in great luck...start one yourself, as it will look excellent on your part when you apply to graduate school.

 

I'm a psychology major doing premed and alot of undergraduate research. Fortunately I'm almost done. I'm trying to get into an M.D./ PhD program to do neurology, neuropsychiatry, or behavior neurology. I'm not really sure yet, but I'm going to do some shadowing next semester. Anyways, good luck with everything.

[blike]

I'm a bit late to the show, but to echo other sentiments, don't take the easy route just because it is easy. It will come back to haunt you in the long run. You want to be challenged in undergrad, because medical school is like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. This is completely anecdotal, but some of my friends in school who had "easier" majors seemed to have more trouble adjusting. Typically pre-meds pick majors that fulfill the pre-reqs for medical school as a part of the degree (biology and chemistry mostly), but don't chose a major for this reason alone. If English interests you, study it.

 

In theory the prereqs for medical school are the only subjects tested (aside from verbal reasoning) on the MCAT. So if you take just the bare pre-reqs and you did well in them, you should have at least seen most of what you need to know. A higher level science course such as biochemistry or genetics will not help you other than to refresh your memory on things you've already learned. In many programs you won't even be qualified to take biochemistry until after you've taken the MCAT.

 

Study what you want, work hard in whatever major you chose, and do well.