What Major is Important for Medical School

As a private college consultant, I work with students every year who indicate they want to be doctors.  This automatically leads them to the conclusion that they will be majoring in pre-med in college.  So what is pre-med?  According to the latest research, pre-med can be any major you would like to choose.  It doesn’t need to be biology or even one of the sciences.  it can be a major straight out of the liberal arts like English or philosophy.

Medical schools want students who have a wide variety of interests.  Every patient wants a competent doctor, but most also want a doctor who has a good personality and bedside manner.   The newest data on the subject of college majors points to the fact that college majors are not as important as some individuals like to think.  Different careers require different skills.  It is probably more important for college students to select a major that interests them and then do internships and research in this area.  A degree with some related work experience should be every student’s goal.  Now back to the pre-med major.

“The Association of American Medical Colleges has data to suggest that your major simply does not matter when it comes to getting accepted to medical school. According to their data, only 51 percent of students who enrolled in medical school in 2012 majored in biological sciences. That means the remaining medical school matriculants majored in humanities, math or statistics, physical sciences, social sciences or specialized health sciences.”

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Want to go to medical school? Your major doesn’t matter

When I am talking with students about their college plans, invariably we discuss interests and possible majors.  I always assure them that they can apply to most colleges as an undecided major.  I encourage them to take different courses and find out what interests them the most.  Of course there are some students who do need to determine a major, especially those who wish to pursue engineering.

Invariably, I will talk with students who want to enter the medical profession.  They often are determined to look at schools that only offer a pre-med major.  I usually explain  that a pre-med major can be any number of choices.  In spite of the fact that I am a college consultant with twenty five years of experience, they often look at me in disbelief.

I have finally found the evidence I need to confirm my point.  Medical schools are interested in students from a wide variety of majors.  Hopefully, this will be convincing to my high school seniors.

“The Association of American Medical Colleges has data to suggest that your major simply does not matter when it comes to getting accepted to medical school. According to their data, only 51 percent of students who enrolled in medical school in 2012 majored in biological sciences. That means the remaining medical school matriculants majored in humanities, math or statistics, physical sciences, social sciences or specialized health sciences.”

What do colleges receive from high schools for every college applicant?

Most students apply online to colleges and universities.  The applications they send include their basic information, extracurricular activities, and college admission essays.  The high school is no longer responsible for sending out applications.  It is strictly the responsibility of the student.  Two things that high schools mail to colleges for every college applicant are the official transcript and the school profile.

We all know that the official transcript includes all of the classes and grades that a student has received up through their last completed semester.  Many do not know what the school report includes.  Here is a link to a good explanation:

http://www.examiner.com/article/what-exactly-is-a-high-school-profile