theproletarians

I am a student trying to decide on a major for the upcoming college application process this year and I am interested in becoming an economics major. The high school I currently go to will allow me to transfer up to 60 hours of college credit to most if not all public schools in the nation including many private schools as well. A school located close to me has the option of a double major in econ and finance. If I choose to go to this school and enter this program I wouldn't waste any time because I would have already completed the prerequisites for most of the higher level econ courses already along with general education requirements. I also want to be a premed student and will cover all the required premed classes at my dual credit high school, including organic chemistry. I hope to later on get an MPH or MBA and work in med business, which is why I am interested in economics as a undergrad major. Do you think that majoring in econ is a good idea at all for a premed student and if so do you think that a econ/finance double major would be bad?

earthwalker7

ambition is good. But perhaps better to take things one step at a time and increase your focus. Being pre-med takes serious time and commitment and getting into med school is far from assured. You'll need stellar grades in all of your sciences. Prob. not a good idea to dilute those with tons of other classes. Suggest you focus on pre-med, and take a couple of other classes out of interest. once you're in med school, then you can get a 1 year add-on MBA to be an MD/MBA. The MPH carries less weight than an MBA, and nothing beats an MD for medical related anything.

parkemuth

Hi the proletarians

First off, nice alias. I have just had a student who is brilliant, articulate, and an econ/premed write a great piece on this very topic. If you want to see it let me know and I can get it to you. I am sure she would be responsive to any questions you might have too.

parkemuth

There have been some comments about whether going econ/premed is an advisable strategy. It is a great question. I have a current student at a highly selective school who has written a great piece on this topic earlier this week. I think it will let you think about how to broaden your horizons while also increasing your chances for acceptance to med school. Anyone who is interested please let me know.

floridadad55

If you want to go to medical school, I think that it is axiomatic that you should study Chemistry and Biology, not economics.

parkemuth

Hi Floridadad55,

I think for some people your advice is wise, but medical schools are increasingly looking for students who have a broader scope of vision to become physicians. Some of the most successful applicants to medical schools have been what I would call the outliers (after Malcolm Gladwell).

They present experiences and skill sets that catch the attention of medical schools admissions readers. It is those willing to take academic risks and succeed in doing so who are the ones they most want to enroll. Or at least this is my experience of working with students. I have written a number of recommendations for medical school and the ones I enjoy writing for the most are the ones who have taken the road less traveled and judging by the acceptances these students get I think some top medical schools would agree.

But it is a more challenging road. That is why it is less traveled but also why it is more memorable than the standard premed applicant.

I don't think there is a template that works for every student. I advise students to develop their passion to the highest level, whatever it is, and if it is exceptional it will help develop them as people and the other stuff (getting into grad school or a great job) is just the extra that might occur. I think the education of the person takes precedence over the focus on acceptance and I think many people who evaluate students would agree. Or at least this is what I have been told, but this is simply my experience and you might be right.

i_wanna_be_Brown

floridadad, I am going to have to completely disagree with you.

In college, major in what you want to. It's the last time you'll get a chance to study whatever you want. If you are truly interested in being a physician, you can easily major in econ but just make sure the rest of your profile looks like someone who wants to be a doctor (e.g. don't take summer internships at banks). The only danger with majoring outside of bio and chem is that your major doesn't relate to medicine as well so you have to make sure the things you do outside of the classroom show your interest. If the rest of your application says "I like medicine" the fact that you studied economics isn't going to matter at all.