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In order to get into medical school easier in the far future, is majoring in something other than Pre-Med like Psychology (or majoring in a specific psychology) going to allow for a bigger chance to get into the medical school of my choice?

I love helping others in any way, shape, or form, and the medical field will allow for me to continue this on a larger spectrum. I am continuing to volunteer at Emory St. Joseph's Hospital over the summer, and I am gaining amazing experiences from this opportunity, as well as learning about possible careers that may interest me to pursue later on. #psychology #college-major #pre-med #college-bound #medical-school #college-minor #choosing-a-major

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Richard’s Answer

Pick a major that interests you. You will need to get good grades in college in order to apply for medical school. At the medical school I attended, the average GPA is reported to be 3.85, so even one or two B's can hurt your chances of acceptance.

Aside from this, any major is acceptable as long as you complete the prerequisite courses.
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Rachel’s Answer

Major in whatever field interests you and will allow you to maintain an excellent GPA. I majored in Spanish literature and had no trouble with my med school applications. You do need to complete the pre-med requirements that vary from school to school. These include at least a year of biology, 1 year inorganic chemistry, 1 year organic chemistry + labs, physics, calculus, and biochemistry. Your junior year, you will need to take an MCAT study course prior to taking the MCAT. With a solid GPA and MCAT score, you should be a competitive applicant.
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Linda Ann’s Answer

A psychology major generally doesn't include the required course work for doing well on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). I've had several psychology majors as my undergrad advisees who were psychology AND pre-med. These students took all of the psychology curriculum requirements plus all of the science course work that they needed in preparation for the MCAT. One of those advisees was an exceptionally intelligent and driven young man who did very well on the MCAT and was admitted to NYU. Every semester, he took course overloads (6 courses instead of 5) in order to meet the requirements of the psychology major at our school AND the premed requirements. So, you will need to take more than just psychology curriculum requirements to get into any medical school...


Regarding your second question about "specialization," generally specialization occurs at the graduate level and not the undergraduate level. Although some undergraduate programs tend to emphasize and have more available coursework in a subset of the psychology discipline, e.g., applied behavioral analysis, that is the exception, rather than the rule. By working with a faculty member doing research, you can hone in on a specialty, e.g., neuroscience, and provide you with experiences that will indeed be helpful in gaining admittance to a medical school. I encourage students to do research alongside of at least one faculty member as strong letters of recommendation are needed for medical school admittance in addition to very good scores on the MCAT. So, it will be important for you to develop relationships with faculty mentors while an undergraduate student.


Glad to hear that you are enjoying your volunteer work within a hospital setting and gaining valuable insights. Make sure that your supervisors notice you...they too can be the source of letters of recommendation! Good luck with your academic studies.
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