Favored pre-med majors

plumazul
Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:03:15 +0000

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) states the following concerning choice of undergraduate major/courses:



Medical schools recognize the importance of a strong foundation in the natural sciences-biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics-and most schools have established minimum course requirements for admission. These courses usually represent about one-third of the credit hours needed for graduation. This approach deliberately leaves room for applicants from a broad spectrum of college majors, including those in the humanities and social sciences. No medical school requires a specific major of its applicants or matriculants.Admission committee members are aware that medical students can develop the essential skills of acquiring, synthesizing, applying and communicating information through a wide variety of academic disciplines. Nevertheless, many premedical students choose to major in a scientific discipline. Ideally, they do so because they are fascinated by science and perceive that such a major can be the foundation for a variety of career options. Choosing science primarily to enhance one’s chances for admission to medical school is not in a student’s long-term best interest. Medical school admission committees seek students whose intellectual curiosity leads them to a variety of disciplines and whose intellectual maturity assures that their efforts are persistent and disciplined. In fact, practicing physicians often recommend that, during their college years, premedical students take advantage of what might be their last opportunity for the study of non-science areas (music, art, history, and literature) that might become avocational interests later in life.