If you are deciding to follow a career in medicine at some point you are probably wondering: Is Premed a Major? What actually makes you a premed? How can you start your path towards medical school? Let’s cover all of that in this blog post!
This post answers the question: is premed a major?
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Answering: Is Premed a Major?
Now, Is Premed A Major or Not?
No, premed is not a major. Your premed friends will actually have a pretty diverse set of degrees. So if premed is not a major, what is a premed?
Being a premed means you are on track towards medical school. This indicates to professors, advisors, and physicians that you are taking certain courses and gaining extracurricular experience in and out of the healthcare field. By stating you are a premed, you are more likely to be allowed to shadow or volunteer in a healthcare field, as well as getting a job for clinical experience.
If you are at this stage of your premed journey, you might also be wondering if you can actually make it. Check out my blog post How Hard is Premed to get a better idea!
What is The Best Premed Major?
Now, the best major for you depends not so much on a generic list but your personal interests and goals! But I can give you at least an idea about the most common pre-med majors, based on the AAMC’s data on medical school applicants:
- Biological Sciences 57% – like Neurobiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology
- Social Sciences 9% – like Economics, Psychology, Sociology
- Physical Sciences 8% – like Chemistry, Physics, Geological & Earth Sciences
- Specialized Health Sciences 5% – like Public Health, Nursing, Clinical Nutrition
- Humanities 3% – like History, English, Philosophy
- Math and Statistics 0.1% – Computer Science, Applied Mathematics
- Others 17%
This is just a list of the most popular majors, but you can actually choose anything to be your premed major (hence the 17% for “others”). With that being said, you need to make sure to fulfill all prerequisites for medical school and show a passion for the science field.
To give you a better idea how that might look in reality, we asked the premeds in our Road to Acceptance program and these are some of the popular premed degrees they are pursuing:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Health/Biomedical Sciences
- Biochemistry
- Psychology
- Global/Public Health
- Exercise/Rehabilitative Science
- Microbiology
- Neuroscience
- Humanities
Pro tip: If you are wondering if those pre-meds majoring in Biological Science tend to perform much better in their MCAT due to their study subjects, the answer is no. Looking at the AAMC application stats, they don’t seem to be much better prepared for a competitive MCAT score than someone majoring in Humanities or Social Sciences. So no need to worry if that’s what you want to pursue!
So why do most people major in a science field? It’s mostly about the required courses.
Required Courses for Applying to Medical School
Most premeds choose a science major based on the prerequisites (aka prereqs). These are the classes that must be taken to be able to matriculate into medical school. While every medical school can differ with the specific courses they require, they all have the same foundation.
So here is a list of common courses you need to take before you start your application to medical school:
- 2 semesters of biology with a lab
- 2 semesters of general chemistry with a lab
- 2 semesters of organic chemistry with a lab
- 1 semester of statistics and/or calculus
- 2 semesters of English
- 2 semesters of physics
- 1 semester of behavioral sciences
- 1 semester of biochemistry with a lab
- 1 semester of genetics
- 2 semesters of humanities/social sciences
View this as the bare minimum. You should take more than 2 semesters of biology to not only show a passion for the science field, but to also learn information required for the MCAT and for medical school.
Again, since the requirements can change from school to school, make sure to visit the full list by AAMC for each MD school’s specific prereqs.
Keep in mind that medical schools understand that every premed has different interests and every university offers different courses, which is why the prereqs are not more specific. They expect you to show a passion for medicine by taking more classes that can help you with your future career, not just intro level science courses. But the specific classes are up to you which helps each premed follow their own interests and unique passions.
Pros and Cons of Choosing a Less Traditional Premed Major
The first question you should ask yourself if you are considering a less traditional major is your personal intention:
- Are you wanting to pursue this major because you enjoy the courses and feel that you could excel in this field?
- Or are you trying to be unique in the eyes of the admission committee?
If you are leaning towards the latter, you might want to reconsider. There are so many other ways for you to show your unique qualities as a premed. Volunteer experiences, leadership roles, specific extracurriculars and excelling in classes will help you much more to stand out than staying in a major you aren’t actually excited about.
On top of that, less traditional majors could mean much more work for you which doesn’t necessarily help maintain high grades in all your courses. Why? Since you need to still complete all prereqs for medical school and show your passion and ability in science, a less traditional major could mean to take extra science classes that aren’t already part of your regular course load.
But don’t be discouraged if you are truly interested in a less common major. You can consider double-majoring or taking a minor in the less traditional area while majoring in a science field so you do not have to add extra semesters to meet all requirements. Depending on your area of interest, you may want to start a club on your campus to live out your curiosity for non-science topics beyond your academic career.
But there is also an upside to choosing a less traditional major…
On the other hand, majoring in a non-traditional premed field while meeting all requirements and achieving high grades can actually help you stand out from the crowd. Admission committee’s go through stacks over stacks of applications from Biology and Chemistry majors. Someone with a major in Spanish or International Relations is going to at least catch their eye. Again, this is only going to stand out if you are actually performing well in your science classes so that medical schools see that you can handle such complex concepts.
So How Do You Choose Your Premed Major?
It is important to consider your interests when deciding your major for an undergrad degree. But I know, sometimes it’s hard to “just know” what you are excited about. So it might take a bit of research and reflection to figure out what you care most about and what would make the best major for you!
Talk to premed advisors and professors
They can help you to consider all the important factors and not miss any important details for making this decision. Also, moving forward your premed advisor will be able to give you valuable guidance so you stay on track with your course work and meet any medical school requirements, no matter which major you end up choosing.
Reach out to current medical students
Talk to current medical students about their majors and ask if they felt prepared based on the classes in their major. You can also reach out to upperclassmen premeds at your university about the classes they have taken and how happy they are with their choice.
Some premed programs have a “Big” system, like a sorority. This information can usually be found on your medical professions advisement website or by contacting your premed advisor. If this is not available, you can ask some of your professors if they know any upperclassman working in their labs or tutoring in their class that would be interested in mentoring you. There is also the option of joining premed clubs and hearing from multiple people who are in the same situation.
Ask Yourself These Questions
After some initial research, it’s time for you to get clear on what factors are important to you when choosing a major. Grab a matcha, sit back in a quiet space and get your favorite journaling pen ready. Here are a few questions to get you started:
- What subjects have you been genuinely interested in during high school?
- Any subjects you would like to avoid?
- What are your personal strengths so that you can perform well in your major? Since competitive grades are an important foundation for a successful medical school application.
- What do you want your career to look like? Do you want to focus on research, public health or work for a sports team? Keep in mind that you don’t need to have your whole medical career path figured out yet. But if you do have an idea, choosing an aligned major can be a fantastic choice.
- Do you plan to add a gap year afterwards or would you like to choose a major where you can already fit in clinical experiences, shadowing, volunteering and premed activities during college?
After doing some brainstorming, you might already have an idea of the majors that you would consider. If you are totally clueless on what’s possible, make sure to research online to see.
Take Entry-Level Classes
Joining entry level classes for psychology, chemistry, biology can be a great start to get a sneak peak into these fields and see which one you find most interesting. They will all be required for medical school anyway so you aren’t wasting any time!
Research All the Important Factors
After laying the groundwork, you’d want to get clear on what your final list of potential majors might entail. Here are a few great questions to research:
- How many prerequisites for medical school admission are included for this major?
- What kind of time commitment will be needed for this major? Will you have time to gain meaningful leadership, clinical, shadowing, and volunteer experience?
- Is an internship(s) required for this premed major, e.g. over the summer during your college years?
- Are there more research options than in other majors at your university?
- Does this major maybe even require research hours?
- Are there any service projects included as a requirement?
- Does this premed major require a last semester summary course or end of degree field test?
- What about scholarship opportunities?
- Can this major help you develop critical thinking, problem-solving, compassion, and communication skills as preparation for a career as a physician?
- Does this major give you a good back-up plan if your path towards medical school should change?
After getting clarity on which of these are most important to you and matching them with the best premed major option for your interests, you are already there!
Final Thoughts on Choosing Your Premed Major
When you are choosing your major, it is important to talk it out with friends, family, and advisors. Take some time for self-reflection. Make sure you have explored all options like double majoring, considering a minor, and starting a club. Think about the time each option allows and make sure your decision permits you to complete all the components of being a premed. Do what will allow you to be the most successful in the long run.