I’m a chemistry (possibly biochem?) major starting my second term at an elite university at the level just below HYSPM (Columbia, Chicago, Penn, Duke, etc). I did pretty well my first term, earning 3 A’s and 1 A-. I’m really interested in the medical profession due to the influence my parents have had on me and believe that medicine is an industry that will always be in demand with high job security. At the same time, I’m also interested in finance (mainly investment banking) and consulting (primarily consulting with regards to healthcare and chemicals). While these jobs in finance and consulting fascinate me and are very well paid (even without any form of graduate education), I’m a little reluctant due to the fairly low job security in these industries.
Some Questions:
-
What is the best approach to balancing these two options and making myself a competitive candidate for both business jobs and medical school? Any solid anecdotes are good. I’m currently in some business and premed organizations across campus and am trying hard to network across my school’s alumni network and also my own personal networks.
-
How is playing in wind ensemble/orchestra/jazz band seen as an extracurricular? I would guess it’s not as good as being a varsity athlete at a D-1 school, but if I’m an obviously committed member, could it be a game-changer? I ask this because I’ve always been very passionate about playing my instrument and have played in many ensembles since middle school.
-
Would it look bad to take obviously easy classes (i.e. Art 101, Theater 101, Spanish 101) for padding my GPA? In regards to this question, don’t give me any of this “you’re in college to learn new things, not get a high grade” or some BS along those lines. I’m speaking solely from a practical standpoint of getting into med school and finance/consulting internships/full-time jobs.
My DD is planning on majoring in healthcare management in order to combine the two interests of business and medicine.
Spanish wouldn’t be seen as padding GPA. Many premeds take Spanish. The art and theater classes will likely be seen as fulfilling Core or taken for interest. It’s not like your entire 4 years will be spent taking some 101 classes.
Interesting.
It used to be a profession in which you exercised care and compassion.
Major in anything you like, but take all the pre-med curricular requirements and earn the highest grades you can in them. If a particular scientific field appeals to you (e.g. Bioengineering, Neuroscience, et al), then focus on it. If you decide that you do not want to commit to the long academic haul of medical school, then you will have a strong scientific background to draw on. You really can’t lose. You do not need to be an undergraduate Business major to go into investment banking or consulting. In fact, the most elite colleges only introduced undergraduate business majors in the recent past - it was not considered an element of traditional “Arts & Sciences.”
It’s fine to be interested in both. You can major in economics and still fulfill the pre-med requirements. 40% of all medical school students majored in something other than STEM subjects. The tricky part is the works experience/ECs that you need. Medical schools want to see medical volunteerism, research, shadowing. Investment banks and consulting firms want to see work experience. You can go down either leg of the trousers of time (to quote Terry Pratchett here), but be prepared to spend a year after you graduate shoring up any weaknesses. For example, if you don’t do the medical volunteering and research because you were working, you’ll need to do it before you apply to med school - they will want proof that you’re committed and know what you are getting into. On the IB side, they have so many applicants that they can afford to be picky and chose people who have demonstrated a long term interest in the industry. Consulting is a bit less rigid since they need people with a wider variety of background (but want very strong analytical and communication skills!)
And as others have said, take classes that interest you. It’s not ‘padding’ your GPA to take something other than a hard core required course. A little breadth, a bit of personality reflected in a transcript isn’t a bad thing. Ditto when it comes to ECs. You never know when your interviewer will turn out to share your passion for music, theater or whatever. (I’m taking my cues from you, by the way, and speaking only of ‘whats in it for you’ in pursuing your ECs rather than all the reasons a human being might want to be more than a drone zeroing in on the best paid most secure job they can.)
By the way, there are many careers in medicine that don’t involve patient care and are therefore not about ‘caring and compassion.’ Medical research is just one example.
I’m thinking about medical management or medical consulting at companies like Bain, McKinsey, BCG, etc as a good option that balances my interests.