What is the Best Pre-Health Major?

There are several ways to measure what majors are best for being on the pre-health track. Answers to this question vary heavily depending on what metrics one looks at. If the average MCAT score per major is consulted, the answer will be different from the average acceptance rate per major into a particular professional school; the answer will also change if you are solely looking at what major will easily check off the prerequisites required for professional school. Thus, we at PHGB have taken all of these factors into consideration to give you the 10 best pre-health majors and our rationale for each. Physiology Practice Exam

10. Health Science Studies

Number 10 on our list is Health Science Studies, or “Specialized Health Sciences”, as the AAMC puts it. Health Science Studies majors sometimes consist of allied health-focused courses, such as Kinesiology, Nutrition, or Public Health. While some pre-health students can benefit from these classes, many pre-health students don’t need these courses as prerequisites for their respective professional schools. On the MCAT, these majors score the lowest in every MCAT subsection and on the total MCAT score according to the AAMC. Thus, Health Science Studies is a satisfactory option to major in if you are pre-health, but there are other options as well.

9. Psychology

Moving along, number 9 on our list is Psychology. This major’s rigor changes vastly depending on what university you attend, but overall, a good foundation in psychology is needed to do well on the MCAT and to be a good clinician. Courses such as Psychopathology, Developmental Psychology, and Psychopharmacology can give you a great head start into your healthcare career; some of these courses even—such as Developmental Psychology—may cover certain topics not found in professional school curricula.

8. History or English

History and English majors are relatively rare in the pool of professional school applicants, but the rareness can be an advantage to applicants. For example, humanities majors have total MCAT scores that are the second highest among all majors. The analysis and reasoning skills gained by History and English majors can be heavily utilized in medical school and residency and give one a competitive advantage in analyzing cases, data, and information quickly and efficiently.

7. Business

Business majors are particularly good for students looking to open their own clinic or eventually become hospital administrators. There are many options for professional school students to get their MBA and having a business major background can give a slight advantage in a rigorous healthcare MBA curriculum.

6. Spanish

In the United States, Spanish is the second most common language spoken. Spanish is increasingly becoming a “recommended” prerequisite at professional schools, and Spanish majors anecdotally have been favorably viewed by admissions committees. Spanish is a major worth checking out as a pre-health student, and as a bonus, usually Spanish majors have the ability to study abroad—which is a fun and enriching experience.

5. Physics or Mathematics

Physics and Mathematics are by far the hardest majors on this list, so do not choose these majors just because students who major in these subjects have a very high acceptance rate to professional schools and have high MCAT scores. You need to love courses within these majors in order to thrive in these areas of study. Courses such as Quantum Mechanics, Advanced Nuclear and Particle Physics, and Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations must sound exciting to you in order to major in Mathematics or Physics. We recommend talking to a student in one of these majors before jumping into the major blindly.

4. Chemistry and Biochemistry

Chemistry can be a great pre-heath major. Some colleges and universities will have only a Chemistry major with a Biochemistry track within the major while other colleges and universities will have two distinct majors—Chemistry and Biochemistry. If there are two distinct majors at your school, ensure that Chemistry what you want to study as opposed to Biochemistry, as some Chemistry majors focus on non-health related topics such as materials science, petroleum science, and other non-biological chemistry. Biochemistry takes up a large portion of the MCAT and is thus a great major for those looking to go to professional school.

3. Neuroscience

Neuroscience is an extremely exciting field that still has many unknowns. Not only are scientists still learning more and more about the brain, but we are now just coming to understand the importance that the enteric nervous system plays in our health. There are many avenues for research that students can be a part of in this field, and Neuroscience will be very applicable to students matriculating into professional school.

2. Engineering

Engineering is truly underrepresented in medicine and the allied health professions. While non-medical engineers can design and build, engineers with a professional health degree can solve healthcare engineering conundrums much better than engineers without a healthcare influence in their education. While this is a difficult major, it can be a very lucrative path that can also potentially help millions of people once you have completed professional school.

1. Biology

And finally, number one on our list is Biology. Biology majors—especially majors concentrating in areas such as Cell and Molecular Biology or Human Biology—get to complete most prerequisites for professional school just by taking their required major classes. The information learned in these classes can be invaluable as you advance to professional school, and anecdotally, difficult anatomy and physiology courses at the university level have made medical school anatomy and physiology more manageable.

Overall, you can get into medical school regardless of the major you choose. We at PHGB do recommend you seriously consider what your strengths are and pursue that as your major—you will thrive in whatever area of study you like the most.

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