Undergraduate Major/Minor

[skhan20]

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Hi guys, I new to this forum so I have a couple of questions, however this particular question I feel is good for this section.

Right now I am currently a freshmen in college majoring in "Pre-Med" or Biology. My question is what major or courses should I be taking if I am planning on applying to Medical Schools that are inside the US and outside the US. I've been reading on other treads and some individuals are saying that they are majoring in econ and taking other courses that are not prevalent to science. I guess I am just very confused on what courses I should be taking because for the next four years I am taking 2 science courses per semester along with various math classes and English classes. Also I feel that taking two science courses per semester will hurt my GPA as I am not doing well in some of my courses.

So if anyone could advice me what courses I should be taking for both US medical schools and Foreign Medical Schools....

[devildoc8404]

For the US schools (and the 4-year EU schools) you will need a full year with lab of Bio, Chem, O-Chem, and Physics. Some schools will also require Calc and/or Biochem. It depends, so check with the schools that interest you.

I'd recommend that you just major in whatever you like and are passionate about, making sure that you excel in those pre-med classes and prepare well for the MCAT. That will make you the best medical school applicant, IMHO. I studied German Language and Literature in undergrad and was admitted to med school in the US.

For the 6-year EU schools it doesn't matter what you study in undergrad, because you take all the premed sciences in the first two years of the program. You don't need an undergrad degree for these programs, you need a HS diploma. You don't need the MCAT, either. But it's not as easy to get through 6-year programs, and many do not.

Good luck!

[skhan20]

Hey thanks for the advice, but what about if I am planning on going to med school outside the the United States?

Then would courses would you recommend I take, because I really just want to improve my GPA.

[devildoc8404]

Totally depends on where you want to go, really. It's a big world "outside the United States," and there are lots of schools.

The EU is as indicated above - 4-year programs will require the college level sciences, and 6-years will not. If you speak a specific foreign language fluently then you may be able to go to school in a Western European country, but it can be tough to get admitted there as a foreigner from the US. Not impossible, but tougher.

Caribbean generally requires the same classes as the US.

Spanish might help if you went to Mexico, for example. Others go to Australia (which I wish I had considered, actually), or Asia. You will need to do legwork to find out what is the best fit for you.

Do a search on this site for the individual schools if you need specific information... it's all there. You can improve your GPA with crap classes, but they won't teach you anything and they will look like what they are on your transcripts. You can't paint a class on "The Sociological Impact of Homer Simpson" in too many impressive ways.

(Although... it is probably a class I would want to take.)