Nothing, absolutely nothing.

There is no requirement for you to be a biology or chemistry major to get into medical school. You have your standard biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physic, etc. requirement, but nowhere does it say that you are required to be in a science major. One of my biggest pet peeves is people saying that you can’t get into medical school unless you’re in a hard science major, I like many other premeds am a hard science major (biochemistry and molecular biology, yes one major), but I unlike some of my colleagues do not believe that you have to be a science major to get into medical school.

I have written extensively on my personal blog about how being a science major without a genuine interest in the field can be a pathway to prolonged torture. Unless you absolutely love biology, chemistry, or any of the other hard science fields, please for the love of all that is good, do not major in them. Why people like me that are actually in the major because we love the area, really hate your whining and complaining, when we are stuck together in an advanced majors lab with 5-6 other people. I don’t want to hear you whining about how this will never help you in your future.

Your undergraduate years are a time for you to explore other areas and to do something you love, if you’re into musical theater like our colleague Jon, then by all means pursue it and make sure that you finish your premed prereqs. I’m sitting here in one of those little coffee shops with the French press coffee and fancy names studying for the MCAT, the guy sitting in the table next to me is doing the same. What’s his major…far eastern studies, why he loves the field, and loves to learn more about eastern cultures. His GPA is great and he has finished all of the premed prereqs, I don’t think he’s going to have a problem getting into medical school.

Why? Because he has something he can talk about, he can show that his passion and has tons of stuff to talk about during his interview. How passionate are you about your science major? If you can’t sit there for hours talking about your major and how much you love it, you don’t love it enough.

So all of you premeds that are going to be starting college in the fall, take a leap, pick something you are interested in and follow your passion. Just make sure you have time to fit in all of your pre requisite classes. Do something you’ve always wanted to, and please don’t torture yourselves for the rest of your undergraduate career.

One of the biggest arguments I get against doing another major is well most medical students were science majors. This is based on a flawed interpretation of the numbers, a large proportion of medical school applicants are science majors, and hence it follows that a large proportion of medical students will have been science majors. It doesn’t mean be a science major. Pick a major that you can succeed in, do well maintain a high GPA, and you’ll be fine.

I know what you’re saying but I already picked my major, how can I change now? Don’t change your major, but do what I do, I take a random class out of my major every semester, I’ve taken a medical sociology class, a art appreciation class, biological forensics, and tons of other interesting classes. I try to make sure I have a random class in my schedule every semester; it allows me to broaden my horizons and learn more about other fields. It also gives me a ton of interesting stuff to talk about in conversations and in interviews.

What do you guys think about choosing majors in relation to being a premed student? Post in the comments and let us know.

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