Are you still in high-school and getting ready to start college but you’re not sure what major to choose? Maybe you’re already in college but still undecided. Let’s reflect on the best undergraduate major for medical school.

My Pre-med Major

I started off undergrad very much undecided. For my entire freshman year, I had not declared a major and I spent a majority of that time going in and out of the career office, taking multiple diagnostic tests, and trying to make a final decision. At that time, I thought that choosing a major would make or break me. In retrospect, that isn’t the case. No matter what major you end up choosing, remember that your path in life is fluid and not determined by one major.

I knew what I liked and what I didn’t like. I was strong in physics, math, psychology, and I really enjoyed problem-solving. At this point I wasn’t even thinking about being pre-med, I just wanted to choose a darn a major and have a somewhat more clear path. After much deliberation, I landed on biomedical engineering. It was a merger of all the things I liked – science, problem-solving, medicine.

It wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year that I decided to pursue the pre-med path and apply to medical school. Based on my perspective and experiences, there is a perfect pre-med major. I discovered mine. The question is, what is your perfect pre-med major?

The Science Majors

The typical science majors that come up immediately may be biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, engineering, and more. When we think about a premed major we most often tend to lean towards these science-heavy subjects.

The science majors are quite popular with pre-med advisors and they are logical recommendations because of the required curriculum. What I mean by this, is that every major has a set of required courses you must take in order to graduate. For biology, you may have to take intro to biology, microbiology, biochemistry, and so on. Science majors typically have similar requisites to those that medical schools require from their applicants.

This is why taking on a science major seems like an easy choice. You take your required courses, you graduate with your biology degree, and at the same time, you fulfill your pre-med requirements. Killing two birds with one stone. But what if you don’t like chemistry, biology, or any of the above subjects? Should you still pursue them because they seem like the obvious choice?

The Non-Science Majors

For the non-science majors, I would include anything under the sun. This may be a foreign language like French or Arabic, it could be English Literature, Theological Studies, Music, and much more. Non-science majors may seem like they are off the beaten path and completely irrelevant to the pre-med major.

The main reason to pursue a non-science major if you plan on applying to medical school is if it is something you truly enjoy studying. If you are a foreign language fanatic like myself, then, by all means, take on a Spanish major, while simultaneously fulfilling your pre-med requirements. You may have to be creative when creating your four-year curriculum plan in order to fit all the pre-med courses, but it is completely doable.

As a non-science major you also get the benefit of sticking out in the crowd. Admissions committees are probably used to seeing a majority of biology or chemistry majors, so as a non-science major you not only stand out during your application cycle but also contribute a new perspective and diverse outlook to an incoming medical cohort. I’ve known people who got into medical school with music majors, priest studies, and others that don’t follow the typical pre-med path.

The Perfect Pre-med Major

So the best pre-med major is the major that is perfect for you as an individual. You can get into medical school with any major, as long as you fulfill the prerequisites for medical school.

The most crucial thing is to choose a major that you will enjoy studying for the next four years. If it’s a science major, that’s great! It will make it easier to fulfill medical school prerequisite courses. If it’s a non-science major, then it will help you stand out from most other pre-meds who choose the “typical” science majors.

No matter what major you choose, make sure you understand what courses are required in order to apply to medical school and make sure you fit them into your schedule throughout your undergrad.

The Most Common Medical School Prerequisite Courses

Most medical schools have similar course requirements in order to apply. Some may have a few additional requirements. The best way to confirm these is to check the website for each school you consider applying to.

Here are some of the core requirements:

• One year of Biology with lab
• One year of General Chemistry with lab
• One year of Organic Chemistry with lab
• One semester of Biochemistry
• One year of Physics with lab
• One year of English
• One semester of Math

Additionally, some medical schools may require psychology or another social science. There may also be required physiology or anatomy. The best way to know is to check individual school requirements ahead of time and check with your pre-health office or advisor.

Example

Here you can see an example of the required courses for the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine as found on their website.

You can see their core requirements include biology, chemistry, physics, and biochemistry. On the other hand, if you check requirements for Johns Hopkins School of Medicine you will see they also require one year of mathematics (calculus and/or statistics), as well as credit hours in humanities, social science, and behavioral science.

To verify these requirements you can visit each school website or utilize the MSAR Online Database.