<p>I wasn’t sure what other forum to ask this in. I was wondering, obviously, what major I should pair with pre-med. Right now I’m planning to major in chemistry, but the other day I was talking to a teacher and they were telling me about how incredibly difficult it is to get into a good med school, and suggested that I major in something like engineering. They said their logic behind it was that engineering is a difficult major and that it would look impressive to do so. I’m really just not sure though. I was originally planning to major in chem, something that’s relatively easy for me, so that I could focus more on pre-med and do a lot of volunteer work in the medical field. If I do well in my pre-med courses and do a lot of volunteer work at hospitals and such will med schools even care about my major or will they mostly look at that? Also, outside of all that, what are just some of the best majors with pre-med. Thanks!!! :)</p>
<p>Another opinion:</p>
<p>[Are</a> you pre-med? Major in the humanities | USA TODAY College](<a href=“USA Today Educate - Teacher & Student Resources & Guides”>USA Today Educate - Teacher & Student Resources & Guides)</p>
<p>Major in what you like. Not only will you enjoy it more, you’re also likely to do better - giving you a better shot at admission. Go to a school you like (that’s affordable) for the same reason.</p>
<p>Essentially, whatever you choose, do it well -and enjoy your time at school doing some extra curriculars you enjoy (well, maybe not just video games no matter how much you like them, but…) Be an interesting person - not due to med school plans - but based upon what you like.</p>
<p>You aren’t going to get into a med school based on the number of hours you’ve volunteered at the local hospital, the admission committee will look at your academic credentials as well. Your grades and scores will do the trick for you, volunteer work will be mostly the icing on the cake.
Now to the majors, have you ever heard of a MD/JD degree? Here is a link to such a degree <a href=“https://law.duke.edu/admis/degreeprograms/jd-md/[/url]”>https://law.duke.edu/admis/degreeprograms/jd-md/</a> This degree will make you both a doctor and a lawyer. Sounds unreal? It does kind of sound unreal as you don’t get to meet too many of them but they are out there. Some lawyers doing medical negligence-malpractice cases have such academic background.
So to answer your question directly, think about majoring in law along with medicine.</p>
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<p>This isn’t really relevant to OP’s question, the MD/JD program is a graduate degree, and like medicine, you can’t usually “major in law” at UG. Concur with Creekland to major in what you like (and the rest of that post). I wouldn’t suggest engineering unless that is what you like - and are good at.</p>
<p>Volunteer work isn’t exactly “icing on the cake.” Hands-on exposure to the medical field is an unofficial requirement to get into medical school. They want to know that you understand what you’re getting into. That said, racking up a bunch of hours isn’t going to put you in front of another candidate with less.</p>
<p>Reading through the post, it sounds like the OP isn’t familiar with what the requirements are to get into medical school. Now would be a good time to get a book about med school admissions in order to understand the whole process and know what needs to be done over the next several years. A excellent starting place is the online guide from Amherst at <a href=“https://www3.amherst.edu/~sageorge/guide1.html[/url]”>https://www3.amherst.edu/~sageorge/guide1.html</a></p>
<p>Looking to more reliable sources will protect the OP from the musings like those of the teacher suggesting engineering. Sure, people with engineering degrees get into medical school. But it is a very difficult program, and one of the primary criteria is GPA. Even with a modest allowance for the difficulty, people majoring in engineering are at a disadvantage compared to many others. Another sign the teacher has no clue is this talk about “good med schools”. In the US they are all good.</p>
<p>They said their logic behind it was that engineering is a difficult major and that it would look impressive to do so</p>
<p>Ok…med schools are not “impressed” by majors. Eng’g majors USUALLY end up with a lower GPA, so that HURTS their med school chances.</p>
<p>To be honest, my son majored in Chemical Eng’g and is in med school, BUT…I wouldn’t recommend that UNLESS…you LOVE eng’g (which my son did) and you’re VERY confident that you’ll end up with a very high GPA (my son had a 3.99 cum and a 4.0 BCMP GPA). </p>
<p>Major in what YOU LOVE, so that you’ll be dedicated and do super well!!!</p>
<p>to others reading this thread and wondering the same… Do not choose a major because you think it will impress. In the premed forums here and on that “other” premed site, there are a number of kids who think med schools will be impressed with sexy sounding majors, like BioMedE…as if you’ve cured cancer…lol. Med schools don’t care.</p>
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<p>Although it is true that there are no “bad” US med schools, let’s be honest, some are better than others. Talk of “good” med schools is just shorthand for getting in one of the best ones. This is not kindergarten soccer, where everyone gets a trophy. </p>
<p>That said, engineering is not generally the best idea for a pre-med track, due to the inherent difficulty plus there being no advantage in admissions, and there being little wiggle room in engineering to fit in the pre-med requirements. However, if you wind up not going to med school, it is certainly a better career path than a BS in some other subjects. I’d still not recommend it unless you were a VERY strong engineering student.</p>
<p>Biochem is a great pair with premed, because if med school falls through you can go to pharmacy school as well.</p>
<p>*Quote:
Another sign the teacher has no clue is this talk about “good med schools”. In the US they are all good.
*</p>
<p>This is true. They’re all excellent. We don’t have any “so so” US MD schools. You’re lucky to get into any of them. Some may be better for those seeking MD/PhD programs (a tiny subset), but for the rest seeking an MD, all are fabulous.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl said it best awhile ago: (I saved this for these instances…thanks PG!)…</p>
<p>"Med school is exactly the same for every future doctor – the future dermatologists, psychiatrists, and brain surgeons do exactly the same thing as the future family medicine docs. You learn a specialty in residency, which is after med school. </p>
<p>If your goal is to become an everyday doctor, there is little difference in going to an elite med school or not. You’ll make the same amount of money (Blue Cross Blue Shield doesn’t pay you extra if you went to Harvard Med) and your day to day life and activities will be the same. Medicine is a “flat” field; not a huge amount of prestige differentiation. In that regard it’s unlike law or business."</p>
<p>When PG says “everyday doctor,” she doesn’t mean a GP…she means all the specialists that treat you and me for various ailments or surgical needs…from the vascular surgeon to the oncologist to the infectious disease specialist to the pediatrition…from serious illnesses to everyday colds.</p>
<p>she’s right. MD education in America is flat. Med schools aren’t mavericks doing their own thing. They all follow the same curriculum because the students must all pass the same board exams and must all be ready to treat. We don’t have situations where we say, “hmm, he went to XSOM, he’s not going to be very good.”</p>
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<p>Pre-reqs for pharm school and med school are not identical. There is good a deal of overlap, yes, but there are still differences.</p>
<p>Adcomms for both professional programs expect applicants to have substantial volunteer experience with the specific profession. (IOW, pharm schools expect volunteer experience working in a pharmacy; med schools expect volunteer experience working with patients in clinical settings.)</p>
<p>Ultimablade, what are you talking about? A student hoping to go to medical school can major in ANY major as long as they complete also the requisite courses for admittance to medical school.</p>
<p>The important thing is to maintain a very high overall GPA and especially in the requisite premed requirements…and get a HIGH MCAT score.</p>
<p>Again I ask…please get your facts straight. You are posting a ton of very misinformed posts all over this forum.</p>
<p>@thumper, the OP asked what major would be good to pair with pre med, I never said anything about another major, but as it stands OP would be better off pairing pre-med with biochem as to stand out among the flood of bio majors</p>
<p>To me biochem shows the work ethic needed to achieve good grades through med school, and another positive is that if med school falls through OP has a solid base to go to pharm, or any other medical program he or she may strive for.</p>
<p>And assuming that OP wont get good grades because its considered “hard” by you is not very polite, for all we know OP will get a 4.00 in bio chem and move on to be the next doctor working at a top hospital making 200k a year,</p>
<p>Thats just my opinion. Sorry if you dont like it but it wont change my opinion.</p>
<p>For the record, biochem majors are lumped in together with biology majors by AMCAS. </p>
<p>Majoring in biochemistry will not make an applicant “stand out among the flood of bio majors”. Biochemistry IS a biology major at many colleges. (At UNC, it’s a chemistry major.)</p>
<p>Any major can demonstrate a good work ethic. (Think about majors like mathematics, engineering, physics, etc….)</p>
<p>Here’s UNC’s requirements for admission to pharmacy school:</p>
<p><a href=“https://pharmacy.unc.edu/programs/the-pharmd/prospective-pharmd-students/the-unc-pharmd/prerequisites/courses/prerequisites-for-applicants-who-entered-college-fall-2006-or-after[/url]”>https://pharmacy.unc.edu/programs/the-pharmd/prospective-pharmd-students/the-unc-pharmd/prerequisites/courses/prerequisites-for-applicants-who-entered-college-fall-2006-or-after</a></p>
<p>Requirements NOT covered by a biochem major include:</p>
<p>microbiology
anatomy & physiology
chemistry of biological systems (which is bio class, not a biochem class)</p>
<p>In fact, currently biochem isn’t even a require class for pharm admission. (It’s recommended, but not required. It won’t be a required pre-req until 2015-2016.)</p>
<p>You are entitled to your opinion, but please get your facts straight before you start making assertions that are patently incorrect.</p>
<p>at my school, biochem is quickly becoming the new type of ‘biology’ degree b/c 2015 med requirements are changing and a BA could be very easily attained if you know the system. I started out as one and I thoroughly enjoyed my teachers. Though, I soon realized that I shouldn’t be limited to just reading books, so now I have switched to another major with a minor in chem. There are way better options than just engineering, so don’t let your teachers decide for you. They might be right that engg is good so that you have a back-up but there many majors that can combine your pursuit for science. Engg and chemistry are commonplace majors, when you get to college, you will hear about majors that you didn’t even know existed. Do your search properly and look through the credits that are going to transfer. You could attain a double major without doing much that could offset some really hard semesters.</p>
<p>OP: Go back to basics, as there is a surprising amount of bad information in this thread-e.g. there is no “law” major at any reputable college in the US. And your teacher is giving you bad info-there’s little advantage for engineering. If you like chemistry and do well at it, go with your strength and your interest; you’ll do much better in your classes with that connection. And all US medical schools are “good”; if you get to college and have a 3.9 with a way high MCAT, then focus on big name schools if that’s what you want. Right now, the goal is to get into any medical school. You can adjust your sights along the way, as you take the required courses and do the research and participate in the ECs, etc.</p>