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I'm only asking this here because the medical school forum seems to be dead, and this is the only other relevant place to post.

I see that many people who go to medical school do not major in pre-med/biology/chemistry but instead choose a completely unrelated field of study to major in.

I'm wondering, what's the point of majoring in History of Art if you're going to med school and are not going to use your knowledge anyways?

By Quidditch424 (Quidditch424) on Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 12:00 pm: Edit

Med schools like to see people who major in something non-traditional. Besides why get a biology degree if your real love is history?

By Techieguy (Techieguy) on Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 03:14 pm: Edit

That was my point... why go to med school if your real love is history and you majored in it.

And also, would majoring in comp sci be considered non-traditional?

By Ariesathena (Ariesathena) on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 12:02 am: Edit

If you major in something you are passionate about but do not want to have as a career (i.e. philosophy, history, etc), medical schools will be impressed that you want to learn. Other majors teach you to think in a different way, which will help you no matter what.

There are some parallels between "unrelated" majors and medical school: for example, Latin and Greek provide most of the medical terminology, and a study of ancient medicine will help you to better understand current medicine.

Majoring in comp-sci would be nontraditional for med school; beware though, you may struggle to obtain a GPA that English pre-meds have no trouble getting, due to lack of grade inflation in the hard sciences.

When you get to school, you should immediately make an appointment with a pre-med advisor there. (If you're close to the university, make an appointment over the summer.) That way, you can get advice from someone who has been doing this as a career - helping people get into med school.

By Tarek (Tarek) on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 12:43 am: Edit

I know that to get into med school, you can major in anything, but there's a set of premed classes you should take to be competitive. Usually it's 2 years of bio, a year of physics, a year of chem, and a year of sociology. Check with your counselor. With absolutely no science background, don't expect to get in, because most of med school is science classes.

By Ariesathena (Ariesathena) on Friday, July 18, 2003 - 09:19 pm: Edit

The MCAT tests on general chemistry (2 semesters), organic chemistry (2 semesters), biology (2 semesters), and physics (2 semesters). You need to take the test to get into med school, unless you are doing an early acceptance programme. One year of chemistry is not sufficient for med school. Organic chemistry is the single most important course you can take, and general chemistry is a pre-requisite for it. Taking AP credit is a poor idea, as many schools want to see that grade and college chemistry will better prepare you for organic chem.

Tarek, where did you hear sociology? I know people who are applying to med school and have never taken it... it's not a "hard science" but rather a social science, which really doesn't do much for med school.

By Orangeclock (Orangeclock) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 05:53 pm: Edit

UT-Austin converts AP scores to grades. Isn't that what AP grades are created for, to correspond to grades? Isn't that good enough for medical schools? I heard from some people in college that it is way easier to get an A in the class than a 5 or even a 4 on the exam.

It's too bad the med school board died.

By Ariesathena (Ariesathena) on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 09:33 pm: Edit

While AP scores are supposed to correspond to grades, that isn't good enough for med school... they know how rigorous the chemistry classes are in each school and want to know how you did. You'll also learn more in general chem than through an AP class... I APed out (with a 5) and struggled through higher level classes initially.

By Nealp (Nealp) on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 10:47 pm: Edit

i know a guy who went to ksu (ks state U) and got a ba in engineering. (chemical e). he worked for conoco for 3 years or so. then he app'ed to ku medschool (a very good med school) and got in. he says it is really easy b/c 1. he has money he made as an engineer and 2. he thinks more logically and less from memorization. but if you like biology or chemistry or biochem or something typical there is no reason to do something unconventional just to please med schools. can't go through life pleasing people now can you?

By Varr_Rdz00 (Varr_Rdz00) on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 04:25 pm: Edit

why go through all that trouble , just major in pre-med bio or chem ,
I find biology quite interesting and its my favorite subject , therefor i want to major in it and then go to dental school

please check out my post on what are my chances , its called:
Cornell univ CHANCES??what do you guys think??

By Gladiator0489 (Gladiator0489) on Friday, August 15, 2003 - 08:18 pm: Edit

Does that mean I could major in Theatre, get a BFA, and still get into a top-notch med-school like Stanford or a podunk place thats never heard of? I really love theatre direction, but it's not my life calling. Chances?

By Batman (Batman) on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 01:01 am: Edit

I majored in theater and I'm now Vice-President of an insurance company with several hundred employees. Never even took a business course in college. Oh, and the President of our company was a Music major, and the head of Marketing majored in Graphic Arts (and yes, we are a very lively bunch considering the business we're in).

My point is the same as others have probably told you --- do what you have a passion for. With a sense of self, some hard work and planning, things do ultimately work out. Obviously, for careers like medicine and engineering you have to start early in order to get all the prerequisites completed, but that does not mean that you have to stop pursuing other interests along the way. Study those things you enjoy and have some passion about. If it's theatre do that, if it's Bio then do that. Just make sure you are being true to yourself. Otherwise, you'll be destined to fail at whatever you choose ***steps down off the soapbox**** Good luck!