Pre-physician major help.

[Rhouston713]

Hello guys, i am new to the forum and wanted to see if i could get any insight as i have been debating with myself for a long time now. I want to go in to PA school, it is my dream and i want to accomplish it. I am in my last semester for my associates degree. My associates is an A.S in natural sciences as i plan to transfer to a university to complete my bachelors. I had always thought of majoring in Biology because it interests me but so many people in my life have called it a worthless degree that it has kind of made me feel sad and wanting to major in something else. At my Community college i took all my core requirements but i have no idea what i really do want to major in at the university now. I love science but if i have to go with plan b and PA school never happens i don’t want to have a worthless degree that won’t get me anywhere. I have already completed like 2/3 of the pre-req classes for PA school in my CC. Is Biology bachelors really that bad? I was also warned that Biology degrees typically require “GPA killer” courses like ochem and physics for example that many PA schools dont even require, so that i’d be better of majoring in something easier while finishing the last bit of requirement classes i need for PA school. 

Edited September 17, 2019 by Rhouston713

[kargiver]

Any degree, Biology, Philosophy, or otherwise, is worth what you put into it.  I went the biology route and it more than worked out for me.  Of course, understanding sciences (all of them, for they are all related... can't do biology without chemistry, can't do chemistry with physics, etc) has been more than beneficial to me (I have an advanced degree in biomedical sciences as well, along with my degree as a PA) so if someone told me my biology degree was worthless, I'd kinda just chuckle and ignore them.  

Gotta decide what you want and then pick the road to get there. Many roads lead to the same place.  Just matters what stops you want to enjoy along the way.  Want to learn virology and organic chemistry to strengthen your sciences background for PA school?  Consider biology.  Want to approach medicine with an artistic background?  Get a degree in Art Interpretation.  In the end, the degree is just a ticket to the next level without which, you don't get to play.  whatever you decide, just do what you think makes you the most competitive because in an applicant pool of thousands, you want to be at your best.  Whether its basket weaving, biology, or otherwise...

G

[ohiovolffemtp]

My experience is that PA schools don't care about what degree you have, but do have specific requirements for pre-requisite courses, usually pretty much the same as the pre-requisites for medical school.  For example, my undergrad degree is in computer science (yes, back in the days of punched cards), but all that mattered was my GPA, whether I had taken all the pre-reqs within the 5 years preceding my PA school application, and what those grades were.

A quick check of multiple PA schools' web sites should give you a good feel for how to proceed.

[UGoLong]

I think people should consider majors that in their own right should lead to a job they would enjoy, even if they never go to PA school. Life tends to run a lot smoother when you have alternatives.

 

Imagine not getting in to PA school while having a degree in something that isn’t marketable and, along the way, generating tens of thousands of dollars in student loans to repay.

 

 

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Edited September 18, 2019 by UGoLong