What are some good majors to take in undergrad for med pathway that will prepare me well, allow me to keep up a good gpa, and will provide me safety in case med doesn’t work out? Specifically, surgery.
Any major that interests you as a back up - you simply need to take the required pre med classes.
Some majors have better initial outcomes than others.
That doesn’t mean they will be right for you.
All majors allow for a good gpa if you are suited for the courses.
Some would say liberal arts are easier than engineering but someone could stink at English or Bio and yet crush engineering.
So pursue what you want.
Well… there’s not really one major that I would personally say will best prepare you for medical school. If you’re intending on going to medical school, you’ll be on the Pre-Med track. Everyone who is a pre-med will take roughly the same classes (Gen Chem/Bio, Genetics/Cell Bio, O-Chem, etc.), and that will, of course, affect your GPA depending on how you perform.
My best recommendation? Choose a major you’re interested in. I’m a Pre-Med, but my primary major is going to be in Politics with a concentration in Global Affairs because that’s what I’m interested in.
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What are some good undergrad schools for pre-med? Or does it not really matter
You can take the pre-med courses many four year colleges (excluding those with specialized curricula and limited majors that do not include biology).
Does the prestigiousness of your undergrad school matter? In other words, would attending a high level undergrad school benefit me in any way for med pathway? Would it be worth potentially being more expensive?
Unlikely - I’d say two things:
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You want affordability - it sounds like from your other thread you are a Georgia Resident - so you’ll potentially have hope.
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To show you some schools, I was a patient at Vandy in Radiology - and here’s where the residents went to school (first two year residents):
Auburn
CWRU
Florida A&M
Florida State
Fordham
Lipscomb
Luther
Murray State
Northern Illinois
Pitt
Princeton
Tulane
Tuskegee
U North Carolina
U Puerto Rico
U Tennessee
Taking it further to Johns Hopkins - resident undergrads:
JHU
UMD
UMBC
U Miami
Morgan State
South Carolina
TCNJ
U of Puerto Rico
UT Dallas
Towson
Vandy
and more
Duke Medical - this was just the early letters of the last names of the alphabet
Arkansas
Michigan
UNC
Princeton
Rochester
South Florida
Southeastern Louisiana
Texas
So if you’re not at a top name, no issue.
Spending too much money is really the biggest issue - you need affordability.
Best of luck.
Thank you so much!
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You can major in anything you like as long as you also take the required courses for medical school applicants. Doctors get undergrad degrees in all sorts of things. Pick something you like.
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Please don’t enter college with the idea that you will be a surgeon. It’s nice to have goals, but this is jumping the gun big time. You will need to complete undergrad, and then apply to and get accepted to medical school. I will add that if you interview for medical school and state that you want to be a surgeon, it likely won’t be received well. @WayOutWestMom can give her opinion.
During medical school you will do tons of different rotations in different fields. You will also have Step 1 and 2 tests, plus shelf tests after many rotations. You need to apply to residency programs and will need to be at the top of your game to match to surgery.
I’m not trying to be discouraging, but this is the reality of applying to medical school, and getting a specific specialty. Convention wisdom says that all premeds should be looking at primary care specialties too.
I would suggest that you look at this site. It has tons of other health related careers on it. That could be a place you might find your plan B (or maybe even plan A)
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What year are you in high school?
You can take the required courses for medical school applicants at just about every four year college in this country…arts conservatories excluded.
The prestige of your undergrad school is not going to move the needle for acceptance to medical school…and neither is a more costly undergrad. In fact, you would be wise to keep your undergrad costs low as possible because medical school is likely to exceed $100,000 a year.
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Thank you for your response! I am a junior in high school.
Thank you! Are there any specific majors in STEM that you would recommend? For example, I have heard people recommend Biomedical Engineering since that opens up an engineering career option in case medicine doesn’t work out. I have also heard many med pathway people major in neuro. I’ve also heard people discourage majoring in biology since it may be difficult to find jobs in biology if medicine doesn’t work. Are there any things like that that you would recommend or advise?
Thank you!
BME is a tough major to keep a high gpa and the job market is tight. Especially for students just with a bachelors.
You literally can major in anything and still have premed intentions. Math, data science, Spanish, etc…
As noted, BME is a tough major for premeds and right now the job market is tight.
I would not view this as either medical school….or…working with a bachelors degree. Many students who plan to attend medical school will eventually end up in some other type of professional school if their med school plans change (don’t have the grades, discover a different career that is better aligned with their interests, etc).
If you like biology then major in biology- it’s fine. One of my kids (biology) worked for a year (with her biology degree) while applying to and interviewing for her graduate program. The salary was not bad at all, and they told her if she stayed they would pay for her MPH at their affiliated university. That was her backup plan if she did not match to a program.
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Jobs with a neuro bachelors are even harder to find than jobs in plain vanilla bio.
The best major is one you like and that supports your Plan B.
Lots of bio majors end up a lab techs in research labs. It will keep the wolves away from the door but it’s not especially well paying at the entry level.
The best paying jobs for entry level bio degrees are pharmacy or medical equipment sales. Six figure salaries but requires constant travel and good salesmanship skills.
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Would pharmacy be a good option for premed?
No pharmacy is a separate career pathway and requires a professional 4 year degree after undergrad.
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Welcome to CC! As others have said, your undergrad major does not matter as long as you take all the premed course requirements. So what do you do/enjoy now? Do you like history? Political Science? Chemistry? Psychology? Are you doing any volunteer work? If so, what? So many things can change in the next 6 years for you. Right now, find what you love, and what you don’t.
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If you have interest in engineering, mechanical might be good. It’s very broad so you can pivot to a lot of industries, etc.
But you should really find a major of interest to you - not just one employable, but one you’d be jazzed about.
And you may enter college in two years with no major - that’s ok too - while you figure out what you want.
If you think it might be engineering, you’d load up on math and science. Maybe business or operations interests you? Maybe it’s a major you never heard of, you take a class and get inspired - or you just notice in a course catalog, look at the curriculum and it excites you.
No need to know today.