<p>I’m a freshman in college and I really wanna be a doctor (I think) but hate all these pre med requirements and at the moment can’t imagine majoring in anything in the hard sciences except for environmental science. I wanna be a doctor to help people not to just do scientific things all day. So, would an Hispanic studies major (spanish), be a standout major for med schools?</p>
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<p>No. </p>
<p>There is no such thing as a “standout major” for med school. Both D1 and D2 have med school classmates with just about every imaginable major (Forestry? Music performance? Theology? Classical studies? Check. Check. Check. Check.) </p>
<p>You don’t need to major in a science, but you do need to be good at science and excel in all your science pre-reqs to be a viable candidate for med school.</p>
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<p>You do understand that medical school is all science, all the time for 4 years and that learning science doesn’t just stop when you graduate, but continues on for the rest of your career.</p>
<p>It’s going to really tough (read: impossible) to become a doctor if you truly hate science. </p>
<p>Lots of careers involve helping people. (I help people each and every day at my job, but I’m not a physician.)</p>
<p>I agree with WayOutWestMom. If you don’t like pre-med classes now, you are not going to like medical school. Head to the career center on your college campus and talk to them about alternatives that work for your strengths.</p>
<p>I’ll clarify, I don’t hate science, chemistry is really interesting and human biology and physiology is really awesome I just wouldn’t say science is my favorite thing and I would want to major in something outside the hard sciences because this would be my last chance to study something that isn’t science. I know the acceptance rate is drastically higher for those that major in the humanities. My friend is getting ready to start her residency at Harvard and she told me pre med is nothing like being a doctor. </p>
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<p>I don’t know where you’re getting this idea.</p>
<p>Here’s the AAMC chart of applicants & matriculants by primary major.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/2013factstable18.pdf”>https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/2013factstable18.pdf</a></p>
<p>Humanities majors have a slightly higher acceptance rate than do biological science majors, but I would hardly call 48% vs 43% drastically higher. </p>
<p>With the relatively small number of humanities applicants (~2000), the amount of selection and sampling bias involved in the differential matriculation rate is significant. </p>
<p>But if you want to choose a major because of the slight perceived advantage, then why not math? It has a higher acceptance rate that do humanities majors. (And bonus! Math’s a two-fer. Your math classes get included in both your sGPA and your cGPA.)</p>
<p>One of D’s pre-med friends graduated with triple majors Zoology / Spanish / Latin studies. She was accepted the same year as my D. Both are 4th year Medical students.<br>
Just a bit of commnet: you will be doing " scientific things all day" in order to help people, it will be YOUR JOB, there is no way around it. </p>
<p>Why would you start a subject such as premed track if you don’t like science in general to start with? And med schools like to see you are being challenged in UG. If you are Hispanic and take Hispanic study, that could be looked upon an easy way out. </p>
<p>If you don’t like science you would make a horrible doctor. Please reconsider.</p>
<p>“If you don’t like science you would make a horrible doctor” - no need to worry, the person who does not like science has no chance whatsoever on surviving in pre-med track, will be derailed after first semester (if program is “constructed” correctly, the good programs put those weed outs right in the first semester for exactly this reason)</p>
<p>What are u going to do w a Hispanic Studies degree if med school doesn’t psn out?</p>
<p>^GMTplus7…my daughter majored in Classics…had no back up plan. Would have never taught High School Latin. Sometimes kids just have to go for it…and she would have had to figure out the future if she didn’t get into med school. I know most posters advocate for a major “just in case” but I didn’t. If the OP wants to do Hispanic Studies, so be it…as long as he or she realizes the consequenses if med school doesn’t pan out.</p>
<p>^^ Few days ago I just happened look up the associates in McKinsey Consulting, there are several featured employees who are English majors. I am sure they hire some Hispanic, Mideastern or Chinese majors as well.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t question the choice of The Classics as a major as it is a highly respected academic major. One wouldn’t have to only teach Latin as an alternative (or Greek). :)</p>
<p>There’s a reason why those who major in The Classics often have a VERY high acceptance rate to med schools. I don’t know what it is about that particular major, but those who survive it and premed seem to have the intelligence and thinking skills to do well on the MCAT. </p>
<p>I am not sure that Hispanic studies would be viewed to be as academically strong as being - say - a Spanish major or other FL major. JMO, but I think those Gender Studies and Hispanic Studies majors are seen along the lines of sociology majors.</p>
<p>The rule of thumb here has been to choose an academic major. </p>
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<p>You “know” that? How do you “know” that? I know that some like to say, “pick something other than bio as your major so you will ‘stand out’ to the adcoms,” but that doesn’t translate into humanities having a drastically higher rate. </p>
<p>Thank you very much to those of you who actually posted helpful comments and to those of you who were incredibly rude and treated me as if I don’t know anything, 1. Don’t you have anything better to do with your life than to be rude to college students? 2. I go to a top 30 school whose med and law school acceptance rates hover around 30% above the national averages so my school knows what it’s doing. I go to a liberal arts research university and cannot declare a major until spring sophomore year. That’s why I’m currently exploring all my options, I just listed hispanic studies because I’m white and love the culture and language and I’m interested in it. The human body and chemistry are really, really interesting to me I just think I would prefer not to major in it because, this would be my last chance in taking classes other than a science, is that so bad? The pre-med advisor praised my interest in majoring in something other than the sciences and said that we’ve had Hispanic studies majors go onto med school. I don’t know what I want to be but being a doctor is appealing to me. I didn’t put this thread out there to be crucified, I just wanted opinions. </p>
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I go to a top 30 school whose med and law school acceptance rates hover around 30% above the national averages so my school knows what it’s doing.
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<p>I can tell you this…if acceptance rates hover around 30% above average, that isn’t different from a lot of schools. And frankly, the “school” itself has little to do with that achievement.</p>