Best Pre-Med Majors To Get Into Med School [Full Guide]

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What are the best pre-med majors to get into med school? Is there even a right answer? In this post, I’m going to break down our take on the best pre-med majors to help you get into med school and more!

Let’s get into it!

Table Of Contents

The Best Pre-Med Majors to Get Into Medical School

So what is the best pre-med major for you?

Let me trim your options down to the most favorite majors that applicants enroll in. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), here are the pre-med majors with the most number of applicants in 2019:

Major	Total Applicants
1. Biological Sciences	30,693
2. Social Sciences	5,001
3. Physical Sciences	4,937
4. Humanities	1,678
5. Math and Statistics	344

Table 1. Pre-Med Majors With The Most Applicants in 2019

However, these numbers don’t necessarily reflect that one course is better than the other. Don’t get into the bandwagon trap. But what I could assure you is that the best pre-med majors are just one of these five.

The one that suits your interest.

FYI: If you want a full video breakdown of my favorite pre-med majors, check out one of my YouTube videos below!

Biology

This is the all-time pre-med favorite of most students. As what the name implies, biology is the study of life -from the smallest microorganism to systems on a macroscopic scale – just like how medical school would entirely be.

However, biology majors’ study coverage could be broadened beyond the concepts relating to the human body.

They study all living organisms – man, plants, bacteria, and animals – and the environment where they interact from the cellular level to the ecosystem.

The best part is there are lots of specialties that almost mimic your classes in med school. These include genetics, human biology, neuroscience, ecology, microbiology, etc.

These will give you golden opportunities to help you get ready to ace med school in the future.

PS: If you also want a step-by-step guide on how to get accepted in med school, try my Pre-Med Blueprint Course.

Physical Sciences

Same as biology, physical sciences such as chemistry and physics pre-med majors train you the way you would be in med school.

Since there are a lot of course requirements needed before you successfully enter med school, taking physical science courses will save you a huge amount of time by taking these requirements at once early during your premed.

It will also be better to accompany your science subjects with non-science ones.

Math and Statistics

Admit it, math and statistics are not the easiest subjects on earth.

But believe me, they may account for a small percentage in the overall number of med school applicants, but they always have the overall highest MCAT score and GPA mean.

Though math-related courses may not closely resemble the subjects you’ll be encountering in med school, at least they will prepare on how to think like a doctor – skeptic and analytical.

But then again, if you choose these majors since you’re confidently good with numbers, you should consider attending electives that would also fulfill your other pre-med course requirements.

Social Sciences

When you first heard of it, social sciences may be one of the last pre-med majors you want to consider.

Though they just overlap a little with the med school curriculum, you’ll be surprised that around 10% of applicants come from social sciences majors.

So if you got interests on how society works and all relationships in between, perhaps you would enjoy social science classes and end up acing high GPAs.

Just take science courses as electives on the side so you’d also start checking pre-med requirements off the list.

Humanities

“I don’t want to be an artist, I want to be a doctor. How could humanities prepare me in med school?” would be the number 1 question that comes in your mind.

Less than 4% of applicants are humanities majors. They may be completely not similar to med school, but taking the path of the arts would truly set you apart from the other applicants (I remembered a music majors classmate of mine who was considered over a biology major with Latin honors).

Never underestimate humanities. If you love studying arts, literature, and philosophy, then I wouldn’t stop you. Go on and enjoy the arts while you can. After all, once you’re in med school, you’d all just be focusing on the real stuff.

Just always remember to get a minor science course to help you get through with your premed requirements.

The only problem is since there have been a lot of programs to choose from. It’s hard to decide what’s the right one.

Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure you’ll find one that best suits your interest through this list of best pre-med majors to get into medical school!

Does Major Matter For Med School?

Pre-med majors don’t matter in your med school application. Real talk.

If you’re going to observe the latest AAMC data, the higher your GPA and MCAT scores are the higher chances you’ll get accepted regardless of your chosen major.

GPA and MCAT scores provide an accurate prediction of your application fate.

Imagine this, Student 1 with an MCAT score of 99 versus Student 2 with an MCAT score of 85. Without knowing their majors and by just solely looking at their scores, you know who has a greater advantage.

Student 1 precisely.

Little did you know that Student 1 is a philosophy major whereas Student 2 majors in biology.

Do med schools look at major? No.

But, it’s quite interesting to check if majors influence MCAT and GPA. Let’s check the MCAT and GPAs of the 5 majors with the most number of applicants.

Major	Total MCAT	Total GPA
1. Biological Sciences	511.3	3.73
2. Social Sciences	511.7	3.68
3. Physical Sciences	513.1	3.73
4. Humanities	512.9	3.72
5. Math and Statistics	514.8	3.72

Table 2. Average MCAT scores and GPAs By Major

As I told you earlier, the number of applicants doesn’t equate to the probability of getting higher stats. Math and statistics, a few numbers, gain high MCAT and GPA scores. Just appear as a great basis to tell that they don’t just excel in their chosen pre-med majors, but they also top the standardized entrance test.

If you could observe, biological sciences majors, though comprising the applicants’ bulk, had the lowest MCAT scores among the five. Social sciences and humanities even scored higher than biology majors.

However, it could also be observed that biology majors seem to have performed pretty well in their 4-year academics since they had the highest GPA. Let me give you tips on how to get into medical school with a low MCAT score.

Given these, majors do not matter in med school over MCAT and GPAs.

Therefore, if you’re deciding what to major, choose the one that sparks your interest a lot and you think you’ll perform well academically to get high GPAs.

Don’t select something just because everyone told you so. If you think you’re not going to excel in it and wouldn’t enjoy your entire pre-med years learning, then better not select it.

Just because it sounds good in your application, doesn’t mean it’s the right one for you.

Remember, you’re competing with hundreds of students with the same dream as yours. So take every opportunity as your only chance to impress the admissions committee.

PS: If you also want a step-by-step guide on how to get accepted in med school, try my Pre-Med Blueprint Course.

Best Pre-Med Majors With Highest Acceptance Rate

Here are the top 5 majors with the highest acceptance rates:

Major	Total Applicants	Total Matriculants	Acceptance Rate
1. Physical Sciences	4,937	2,355	48%
2. Math and Statistics	344	163	47%
3. Humanities	1,678	780	46%
4. Biological Sciences	30, 693	12,484	41%
5. Social Sciences	5,001	1,995	40%

Table 3. Top 5 Majors With The Highest Acceptance Rates in Medical School

According to the latest data released by AAMC, the top 3 majors with the highest acceptance rates are Physical Sciences, Math and Statistics, and Humanities.

Almost 50% of applicants in each major are successfully admitted to med school. And what’s more surprising is that these groups have only a few applicants compared to others such as biology with the highest number of applications.

The findings here are consistent with the data we had above. The top 3 majors with the highest MCAT and GPA scores – Physical Science, Math and Statistics, and Humanities – have the highest acceptance rates in medical school.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are other FAQ to help you decide on the best pre-med major for you:

Is Neuroscience a Good Major For Medical School?

Indeed, Neuroscience can be a good major for medical school.

If you are someone who desires to study the nervous system in depth – from its biochemical, gross anatomy and physiology concepts – then neuroscience could be a good one for you.

You’ll get to study neurotransmitters, action potentials, every sulcus and gyrus, the central and peripheral nervous system, and a whole lot of interesting stuff about the human brain.

If you’ve dreamed of becoming a neurosurgeon, a neurologist, or anyone who would like to focus on treating various medical disorders relating to the nervous system, then you might fit in the neuroscience group.

What’s important is you take a major that you think you’re good at. When you’re good at a particular course, chances are you’d be doing well and end up getting high grades that would have a great advantage for your medical school application.

Minors That Look Good For Medical School

For most of the article’s content, I’ve been blabbering around the best pre-med majors.

Even though minors are less important in boosting GPAs, they could also be significant not just for the fulfillment of your pre-med requirements, but also prepares you for your actual medical career.

Like majors, there’s no best minor that fits everyone. So consider completing a minor that you think would contribute best to your medical school journey. In choosing a minor that looks good for medical school, here are 3 important tips:

Think If a Minor Is Necessary Or Not.

Minors are optional. Though they are hardly reviewed for acceptance basis, they are the subjects one you take on the side to serve as great credit additions to your medical school application.

Before you commit your time with a minor, check first your schedule if you could squeeze some time to do extra coursework.

Whole day majors such as biology, chemistry, and physics that also require labs and fieldwork may not be advisable to get additional minor loads.

As much as you wanted to insert time for arts just to detox, it might just drag you down to stress and your grades below to what you aim. Your minor requirements may also push you on a hefty schedule.

So before you decide, be sure that you could manage your time well. If you’re also an active participant in other extracurricular activities, then you must have been overloading yourself. Be realistic about your time. Check first on possible conflicts.

Minors Should Complement Your Major

If you have chosen a major that also overlaps with the premed course prerequisites – for instance, biological and physical sciences – then I suggest you get a minor complementing your major.

Choose minors related to sociology and humanities.

You already gained knowledge of scientific theories. Why not hone your intrapersonal/interpersonal skills?

Learn the soft skills on how to understand, communicate, and interact properly with different kinds of people and communities.

Besides, being a doctor isn’t just about brains and how smart you are in mastering all concepts. What’s the use of your knowledge if you don’t know how to interact therapeutically?

Always remember that a good doctor shows empathy with his/her patients.

On the other hand, if you’ve chosen nonscience majors, then get a minor that will provide you basic scientific knowledge at the very least.

You need them just so you won’t get left behind on your pre-med requirements. You’re required to take biological and physical sciences to be admitted.

Your science majors will also provide you a brief background on the subjects you’re going to take in med school. So you won’t be surprised or get too overwhelmed by new and unfamiliar terms or concepts.

Follow Your Passion.

You’ll never get wrong about this advice. As long as you invest in stuff you’re passionate about, every great thing will follow.

Medical schools want students with diverse interests. They are mostly the ones who get the attention of admission committees during the interview.

Disregarding your undergraduate med school application – if you’re already in medical school – persistence, hard work, and undying commitment are what you need to succeed.

I also got here an article on the top 20 books for pre-med students which you could read for inspiration when you got some spare time.

If you also want a step-by-step guide on your pre-med journey, try my Pre-Med Blueprint Course for only $99!

What Is The Easiest Pre-Med Major?

There’s no such thing as the easiest major.

Though one course differs from the other, each is unique and incomparable. It doesn’t permit you to judge that one course is better or superior than the other. As long as these majors provide a significant contribution to honing you to become a good doctor, then they are worth taking.

The difficulty level of a major is highly subjective. It all depends on your passion, personality, strengths, and weaknesses. You could try my Pre-Med Blueprint Course to help you on making your pre-med journey easier.

For instance – you’re more interested in abstract thoughts, you love analyzing art more than numbers, and you tend to be good at studying the philosophical essence of a person instead of dissecting and memorizing scientific names.

So given this, if you’re going to choose mathematics or biology over humanities in which you’re choosing a course that doesn’t completely align with your strengths yet matches your weaknesses, then for sure, you might find any of these courses difficult.

Is a BA Or BS Better For Med School?

Medical school is an advanced science course. And you might be thinking that getting a BS major over a BA major is better would make your entire med school journey more bearable.

Well, that is just a myth.

Some will say that you’ll get high grades easier in the arts fields. Like it’s easy to pass all subjects there because you will just tackling nonscientific concepts.

Let me break that notion. If you’re going to recall, humanities major – a course that’s far from the medical school curriculum – manage to land at the top 3 spots of the highest acceptance rates.

Getting a BA or BS course doesn’t matter at all.

Like what I said earlier, the admissions committee doesn’t care at all to what major you belong to. What matters most is how you’re going to perform well on your chosen course.

You’re the only one who gets to choose what’s the best pre-med major for you. Regardless if it’s a BA or BS, it’s all up to you. No course is better than the other.

Just remember to choose those that match your interests and strengths.

Also, if you’re going to pursue a BA course, be sure to remain on track with the pre-med course prerequisites. Get a science elective on the side so you’ll get to finish your requirements early like your science major counterparts.

That’s a wrap on the best pre-med majors to get into med school! I hope this blog post provided you with everything you need to know to choose the best pre-med major for you. We wish you luck!

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