Choosing your field of study is important鈥攂ut not as important as your MCAT score!
Choosing a pre-med major can be one of the most important decisions you make, even before you step foot on a college campus. Some students will have already long ago decided which field of study they want to pursue; others may need time to explore their undergraduate curricula before selecting a pre-med major.
If your main goal as a pre-med is to听, the way to approach this decision becomes easy, and it starts with the question, 鈥淲hat do admission committees want to see?鈥�
How do medical schools look at pre-med majors?听
Of course,听, and each admissions committee has its specific criteria. However, it is generally recognized that your pre-med major itself does not play an enormous role in influencing admissions committees.
That doesn鈥檛 mean that your pre-med major isn鈥檛 important at all! It simply means that admissions committees will not heavily value one field of study over another鈥攁t least not overtly. While many of us might recognize that some majors may be more difficult or require more work than others鈥攁nd admissions committees do know this鈥攌eep in mind that, when it comes to medical school admissions, you should not expect to be compensated for a lower GPA if you pursue a 鈥渢ougher鈥� pre-med major.
Is biology the best field of study?听
It鈥檚 not surprising that most people who apply to medical school are biology majors; after all, these fields of study go hand in hand. However, there are a significant number of people entering medical school who majored in engineering, other sciences, or even the humanities.
Pre-med students often ask if a life sciences major or course of study will help them do better on the听. Keep in mind that biology is only one of the听, and that any given passage might test your knowledge of how multiple subject areas relate to one another. That means you鈥檒l also need a solid foundation in organic chemistry, biochemistry, general chemistry, physics, psychology, sociology, and critical analysis and reasoning skills. In fact,听, biological science applicants don鈥檛 seem to have any advantage in GPA or听.听
The takeaway here is that your听听have more to do with your med school admission than your major, so don鈥檛 feel compelled to make biology your pre-med major if you have other desires. College is a good time to听; after all, you won鈥檛 have much time to do so in medical school or residency. Plus, gaining more varied exposure to different disciplines could prove beneficial on Test Day
Some people also wind up grateful that they shopped around in undergrad because they find their calling outside of medicine. Others even spend time working in a different field before applying. No matter what, it鈥檚 good to have a backup plan in case you鈥檙e听, rejected, or discover medical school isn鈥檛 the right path for you.听
Can I choose a non-science major?听
Choosing a non-science major might be the way to go, but there are a few things you should be prepared for first. Familiarize yourself with the basic听. It鈥檚 good to research each of the schools you鈥檙e interested in attending, as many programs ask for additional prerequisite classes, such as sociology, biochemistry, and anatomy/physiology. You can research MD programs in the AAMC鈥檚听听and DO programs in the AACOM鈥檚听.
Then, figure out which courses you need to take for your听, which changed starting with the 2015 exam. Course requirements for medical school and the MCAT will differ. Consult with your听听to create a study schedule and听.
If you choose a major in a completely unrelated field of study, you may need to make extra room in your schedule or take your prerequisites during winter or summer vacations. While it鈥檚 possible to test out of these classes via AP or IB exams, do your research to find out if medical schools will accept these as valid or judge them negatively. An alternative method is taking the classes at a community college nearby, which may be cheaper and offer more flexible schedules, but you will want to make sure that your prospective medical schools honor these credits.听
That being said, don鈥檛 feel that you will be at a disadvantage to your science major counterparts in medical school if you choose an alternative track. While there are areas in which you will definitely need a strong background (biochemistry, anatomy, physiology), most information will be new, putting everyone on a level playing field.
Set yourself up for admissions success with our听.
