Kinesiology, good undergrad major for med school?

MS3 wrote:

I second the advice to be very cautious about SDN. It's a hole that will suck you in and spit you out feeling horrible about your life. Some advice might be ok, but it will more or less freak you out.

Go talk to an advisor at your school rather than ask random people on LetsRun about applying to medical school. That's why they are there.

I agree that you need to take the advice of other premeds and current med students at SDN with a grain of salt. But I've also seen SDN set some people straight who received really bad advice from their school's premed advisor. Such bad advice has included: a) "with a 3.7 GPA, you can forget about MD and you should only apply DO," b) "You're fine to apply MD only with a 3.1 GPA," c) failure to mention that volunteer work and ECs might be a little bit important, d) "DOs aren't allowed to do surgery." Some advisors are shockingly clueless. Others, I assume, simply discourage borderline applicants from applying in order to prop up the program's stats.

I think it's good to use multiple sources. If your premed advisor is giving bad advice, and all of your classmates are receiving the same bad advice from the same advisor, a source like SDN can set you straight. You don't want to be the guy who doesn't find out that volunteering in a clinical setting is important until three years after you should have started that experience.

Med schools will accept a 3.9 in sociolgoy over a 3.9 in engineering any day?????Is that actually true, or only at certain schools?

Black Med Student wrote:

Major in something that

A. Interest you

B. Is easy enough for you to do well in

Med school adcoms don't care if you majored in physics, engineering, or sociology. They only care about high GPAs and MCAT scores

As you can imagine it is way easier to get a great GPA in sociology than it is in physics or engineering, but med schools will accept a 3.9 in sociology, over a 3.0 in engineering any day. I know its stupid because engineering is much harder, but that's the way it is.

And I'm sure you know this but there are prerequisite classes you have to take for med school no matter what your major is --- gen bio 1&2, gen chem 1&2, gen physics 1&2, ochem 1&2.

BisonHurdler wrote:

Majoring in kinesiology itself is not particularly helpful for medical school. You will still have to take the prerequisites, most of which are not required for many/most kinesiology degrees. If you enjoy the subject matter, can excel in it, and can easily fit the medical school prerequisites in a reasonable timeframe, then I don't see why not. M

Full disclosure: I majored in kinesiology in undergrad. I went to medical school, graduated second in my class, and am finishing up my last year of dermatology residency. While I had a great time in undergrad, very little of what I do now has anything to do with what I did an undergrad.

Quite the humble brag here.

Bragging? If he or she is being honest, isn't that what you want?

#HB wrote:

BisonHurdler wrote:

Majoring in kinesiology itself is not particularly helpful for medical school. You will still have to take the prerequisites, most of which are not required for many/most kinesiology degrees. If you enjoy the subject matter, can excel in it, and can easily fit the medical school prerequisites in a reasonable timeframe, then I don't see why not. M

Full disclosure: I majored in kinesiology in undergrad. I went to medical school, graduated second in my class, and am finishing up my last year of dermatology residency. While I had a great time in undergrad, very little of what I do now has anything to do with what I did an undergrad.

Quite the humble brag here.

Yes "That's just the way it is"

Depends on the med school and the mode of the person you're dealing with that day. Life is a crapshoot!

Carefully read the post again.

C Parker wrote:

oops I got cut off. so the moral of the story is unless you really like engineering, don't bother. pick an easy major and ace your pre-med science reqs

Here is the correct answer btw.

I went to a great public university and majored in bio and minored in chem and was accepted in to a top 20 Med school program even though I didn't do terrific on the MCAT. Most of my classmates were bio, chem, physics, and a few had degrees in engineering and math. I think any of those 5 should set you up nicely to be successful in Med school and as a future physician. I definitely was not the smartest student in my cohort but I worked hard and studied a lot and did well on the Step1 >250 and step2 >270 and got all honors/AOA my third year. I applied to 15 of the top programs and got interviews at all of them. Put in the hard work in one of the core science majors and Med school and you have a great chance at orthopedic surgery. I choose plastics.

Hi, I am currently a Kinesiology major and want to take the pre-med route. May I ask what classes did you add in as your pre-req

No stupid. Engineering would be the best undergrad.

I would usually agree with the usual "major in what you enjoy" crowd, but kinesiology may not be taken seriously by a portion of admissions personnel (which includes many physicians). Ideally, you would major in Math or Physics in addition to kinesiology to prove your academic mettle. However, you can just add bio to remove any outstanding questions. Ultimately, the most important indicator for med school will be your MCAT, assuming your GPA is decent. Study hard, don't party much (if at all- college party culture is rather uninteresting in retrospect), and always set the highest possible goals for yourself. In the end it is worth it. (I second that SDN is almost completely worthless, but not for the reasons stated. Many times the posters there are overconfidently wrong on whatever issues are being discussed. Stay humble and curious, always.)

What is wrong with you D.Os are orthopedic surgeons and every other type of surgeon. Go away!

Bleu wrote:

What is wrong with you D.Os are orthopedic surgeons and every other type of surgeon. Go away!

The fact that I listed "DOs can't do surgery" as horrible advice that has been provided to students by bad advisors should lead you to the conclusion that I do in fact understand that DOs can be surgeons.

Are you one of those guys who can't understand why you keep taking the MCAT, but can't get a decent CARS score?

I couldn't get past the major in what you want. Minor in what you want. Major in something that will keep you off government assistance if you don't get in!

No, sorry to disappoint:

SAT once.

ACT no.

MCAT once. You're screwed if you come unprepared.

Step 1 once. No choice right?

Haven't taken Step 2 but it's not critical I know where I'm going.

Not a guy, Title 9 has been good to me :)

Student Doctor is only beneficial for essays or professional advice. The advice on that site and number of people with 42 MCATs (really 24) is pathetic. Go volunteer, talk to M1-M3s, meet with advisors at the med schools you are looking at. Stay off Student BS.

Lindseyw22 wrote:

I am about to enter into my freshman year of college & am planning to study Kinesiology and was wondering if that is a good undergrad degree if i want to go to med school to become an Orthopedic surgeon? I've been reading mixed things about whether its good or not.

Be certain that you would gain satisfaction from working with sick, needy, difficult and sometimes disturbed individuals before you set yourself on a course to be a healthcare provider. Do not choose and major or professional school based upon perceived prestige or potential income.

It is serious work that requires authentic interest and endurance.

It can be so rewarding in every way if your are suited for it but not so much if you enter those professions for the wrong reasons.

Agree wholeheartedly...or, you could just disregard all that advice and go into dermatology

Ahhhhh the lucky few who get into derm!