In order to go to med school and become a Psychiatrist do you…?
Have to major in some pre-med program? I’d rather major in psychology, and learn more about it. I’ve heard from some that you should major in pre-med, others say a med school will take you regardless of major, long as you have good credentials. Can anyone help?
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January 16th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
You can major in anything you like, and get into med school. Psych is fine. But you must also take the coursework required by all med schools as pre-reqs before you apply, and you need to do health related volunteer work and physician shadowing. In fact, because pre med isn’t an actual major (it’s a system of advisement), you can be both a psych major and pre med. This will give you access to the pre med advisor, who can help you prepare for med school application process.
The pre reqs you have to take to qualify to apply to med school include:
- 1 year bio with lab
- 1 year gen chem with lab
- 1 year organic chem with lab
- 1 year physics with lab
Most med schools also require college level math. Some specifically require calculus. Some require one year of college level English.
You want to keep your overall GPA as high above a 3.4 as you possibly can. The average GPA for admitted med school students last year was around a 3.65/3.7. I recommend you get at least a 3.6, but if it’s lower than that, you may still stand a chance if it’s a 3.4 or above. Maybe.