what makes some pre-med Majors easier than others and does an easy path to medical school exist
Dr Jubal Med schoolinsiders.com in a previous video We examined the annual double AMC data on
applicants and matriculants to debunk common myths about which majors led to a better likelihood of
acceptance keep in mind that video analyzed data from three years ago so for updated numbers view
the companion article both linked Below in this video we'll break down the most popular
pre-med Majors to help you choose the easiest and most straightforward pre-med path for you
before entering medical school you need to earn a college degree which means you need to pick a
major unfortunately pre-med is not a major in itself the term pre-med is used to describe a
student who plans to apply to medical school as a pre-med you will have to pursue another major
in college while still ensuring you obtain each of the necessary prerequisites to apply
to medical school the major you choose is usually the one you believe will give you the best chance
of acceptance to medical school or the one you find them most interesting this will become your
pre-med major for example depending on your major you might say I am a pre-med majoring
in physical therapy or more broadly specialized Health Sciences with that in mind what are the
benefits of different common pre-med paths let's break down what makes some pre-med Majors easier
than others let's get one thing clear there is no easy path to medical school no matter the
pre-med major you choose your journey will be a long and difficult one in addition to completing
your college major you must also ensure you have all of the prerequisites necessary for applying
to each of the medical schools you choose your prerequisites depend on which medical schools
you're applying to so they vary from school to school if you already know which programs you
want to apply to check their list of prereqs as soon as possible the shared core requirements you
can expect include one year of biology General chemistry organic chemistry physics and English
several schools require additional courses so we also recommend you take mathematics biochemistry
psychology and sociology next you'll begin the long and tedious task of applying to
medical school and ideally finding acceptance at one of your preferred schools but don't let
this simplified explanation fool you the medical school application process includes a number of
moving parts that you must juggle all at the same time we cover the complete application process in
previous videos Linked In the description below with all of that in mind what is the easiest
pre-med major choosing a pre-med major is highly personal the easiest major for one student will
be different from another the easiest path depends on your individual interests and strengths and how
competitive you hope to be as an applicant the pre-med major you choose may be easier for you
because it aligns with your interests on the other hand a more challenging pre-med major may result
in an easier and more straightforward path since you will acquire more specific medical knowledge
this could better prepare you for the rigors of medical school and help you stand out a pre-med
major in Humanities may have an easier course load but it won't align with your medical school
prerequisites thus requiring a high higher number of total courses let's break this down further
first let's cover the big one biological sciences is the most popular pre-med major category by far
with over 50 percent of applicants choosing this as their major a major in the biological sciences
such as molecular biology physiological Sciences molecular genetics or Neuroscience makes sense for
many students after all if you want to become a doctor there's an extremely good chance you
find an aspect of biology interesting pursuing a major in biological sciences especially one
you're passionate about creates an exciting and straightforward path to medical school as many
of the requirements for your major overlap with and complement your medical school prerequisite
courses that said around 56 percent of medical school applicants majored in biological sciences
last year so choosing this as your major won't help you stand out from the pack the majority
of applicants you will be up against share many of your skills and qualifications you'll need
to take Extra Care considering how you will meaningfully differentiate yourself from your
competition and another option is choosing a more obscure pre-med major such as math or the
humanities this creates a unique path and makes your application more interesting after sorting
through dozens upon dozens of biology Majors your English or Fine Arts degree is likely to
catch the attention of admissions committee members don't think that choosing an obscure
major makes your acceptance to medical school any less likely in terms of acceptance rates
in 2022 only 41 percent of biological science Majors were accepted to medical school versus
51 of Humanity's Majors passion and interest are vital aspects of selecting your pre-med major if
you've always wanted to study something Beyond biological sciences now is certainly your chance
to do so the larger challenge comes in figuring out how to also accommodate your prerequisites if
you want to major in English for example you're facing an upheld battle as you not only need to
complete your full course requirements in English but you also need to fulfill two years of medical
school prerequisites so if you're going to choose an obscure path you have to do really want it but
take these statistics with a grain of salt as we say statistics apply to populations not to
individuals just because Humanity's Majors have a higher acceptance rate than biological sciences
doesn't mean it's necessarily better rather it may point to the fact that there are additional
hurdles to jump through given the lower degree of overlap with the medical school prerequisites in
other words those who majored in Humanities and applied to medical school must have been more
dedicated on average and thus been more likely to get accepted to medical school it's a textbook
example of survivorship bias do not however choose a unique major if you're only trying to stand out
from the pack if you really are most interested in biological sciences Don't Force A Fine Arts major
if the passion isn't there it will definitely show in your grades as well as how enthusiastically you
speak about your major in your application and interviews choosing a major and starting off on
the right foot and navigating college is not something to be taken lightly the one-on-one
advising offered on medschoolinsiders.com pairs you with a advisor who can guide you on
the pre-med decisions that best align with your strengths weaknesses interests and career goals
learn more in the description below next what are the benefits of a tough major and how does tough
correlate to easier look if you're looking for an easy path to medical school you're not gonna
find one it's an incredibly difficult path and getting into medical school is only the first of
many steps to becoming a practicing doctor Majors that will prepare you both in subject matter and
rigor may be difficult at the time but getting over that learning curve early on will help you
succeed as your life as a medical student and Resident continues to intensify for example I
chose a neuroscience major at UCLA I was and still am very interested in the most complex human organ
and as a biological science major there was plenty of prerequisite overlap but the real benefit was
how tough the program was at the time neuroscience and bioengineering were considered the two most
challenging pre-med Majors by choosing a difficult path you are forced to hone your work ethic and
study strategies and learn a great deal more than you might on a presumed easier path you prepare
yourself by diving deep into the subject matter sometimes an even greater depth Than You'll cover
in medical school and in doing so you'll begin to build the strong work ethic and study habits you
will absolutely need in order to succeed once you enter medical school what may seem like a
more difficult path now will make your life easier down the road you'll be well on your
way to building the solid study habits routines and life skills that will serve you throughout
Medical School residency and beyond plus when the neuroblock and medical school came around
it was much easier for me to perform well while putting in less effort compared to other blocks
after all I had spent multiple years in college going in depth studying Neuroscience oftentimes
in Greater depth than what we covered in medical school lastly there are clear benefits to choosing
a pre-med major that aligns with your interests if you are pursuing medical school there's a
high likelihood you enjoy science if you don't you should probably reconsider your path and whether
or not becoming a doctor is for you but many many pre-meds have interest Beyond biological sciences
whatever your interest may be pursuing a major you're truly passionate about has its advantages
you'll be enthusiastic about and engaged with the subject matter so while it will be challenging it
will also feel immensely rewarding and that passion will help you get through the tough
times as a hopeful pre-med you have the rest of your academic life and career to study the human
body if you're passionate about medicine but also wildly passionate about literature art political
science economics or what have you go for it while it will require prerequisite coordination it's by
no means an impossible task many schools prefer applicants with a unique diverse background and
you'll have plenty of distinctive experiences to speak about in your personal statement and during
interviews at the same time and we can't emphasize this enough do not pursue a unique major in hopes
that you will stand out if you're not passionate about that major I've heard pre-med advisors
give students terrible advice when it comes to choosing a pre-med major suggesting that but the
biological sciences are not a good option since many pre-meds pursue this path there is a reason
so many pre-meds major in biological sciences and it's foolish to choose a unique major just
to stand out if the passion isn't there stick to the more straightforward path and work to stand
out through your achievements and extracurriculars now don't blindly think something will be easier
or harder based just on what you've heard we all have different interests and skill sets
and what's easier for one person may be tough for another earlier I mentioned Neuroscience
was considered the toughest major when I was a pre-med at the time psychobio was considered the
easiest since its concepts are simpler to grasp however succeeding in psychobio involves a lot of
memorization something I'm not as naturally skilled at with Neuroscience I remember one
midterm I didn't study much at all for but still managed to score the second highest grade in the
class since the content was geared toward critical thinking more specifically testing
our understanding of action potentials by asking how a hypothetical neuron with non-physiologic
properties would be behave I was able to lean on my critical thinking and problem solving skills
to score full points something I couldn't have done in psychobio in the end I was able to spend
less time and effort studying to score a better grade in the supposedly challenging Neuroscience
elective whereas I had to invest considerably more time and effort to score well on the supposedly
easier psychobioelective there are so many factors including your unique strengths weaknesses and
passions that come into play when determining what easier means for you your easiest path will
not be the same as someone else's choosing your pre-med major is a big decision and like all big
life decisions they come with a lot of pressure med school insiders offers one-on-one advising
that pairs you with a physician advisor who best fits your specific needs we are here to answer
all of your questions and help you choose the path that best aligns with your interests and desired
outcomes it's our goal to help you create a future that aligns with your vision we can provide advice
on choosing the pre-med major that's the best fit for you help you build an ideal Medical School
list and assist and crafting a standout Medical School application that will ultimately result
in acceptances at your top choice schools visit medschoolinsiders.com to learn more thank you
all so much for watching if you enjoyed this video check out Medical School applications
explained and medical school application deal breakers much love and I'll see you all there
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