does a&m have?i'm not seeing to much that has to do with the medical aspect of A&M..As in sports medicine,physician, etc..any wise aggies out there?

I'm pretty sure that BIMS is the most common major for going to medical school
http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/bims/

Other than that I think most of the sciences or good for that chemistry and biology...

and also perhaps kinesiology for sports medicine
http://hlknweb.tamu.edu/index.asp

Go BIMS if you want to go to medical school. Your BIMS electives will give you better exposure to the type of subject matter you'll see in med school than a major in Bio, Chem, or Biochem will. That's not to say that those three won't prepare you, they will.

technically speaking, medical schools will accept any major as long as you have the prereqs. I know a guy who was a finance major and got accepted to med school. BIMS is most common (that's what I did). it's in the vet school, but they teach human/mammalian medicine, not just animal medicine. they realize they're going to have more human doctors than animal doctors. there's also biology, chemistry, biomedical engineering, biochemistry, genetics, kinesiology (sports medicine). all will give you a good background.

I'm starting in medical school in the fall, and I majored in Biology.

BIMS is widely considered a joke by many higher ups in the college of science...because it's not in the college of science. However, I don't really know much about the program. I've heard of administrative problems too.

Either way - if you're looking for sports medicine, Kinesiology is a solid major through the Department of Health is a solid major to get involved in sports medicine.

Good luck.

Oh, and as far as the medical aspect of A&M - Texas A&M College of Medicine is a great school (Yes, we have a medical school), and we have the only vet school in TX which is also highly ranked.

Health care professions are highly popular among A&M undergrads.

I would suggest that you only major in something that truly interests you. Your performance in your major matters a lot more than the major itself. If you are interested in medicine but don't really like the basic sciences (physics, chem, etc), DON'T be a science major. Major in something that you love and will excel in, then just take the prerequisites.

From personal experience:

BIMS majors have a better grounding than straight science majors for professional school. The core of medical education is anatomy/physiology/pathology/pharmacology. I had vets teach me all those courses as an undergrad. It was old hat by the time I got to medical school. The exposure I had from courses in BIMS made med school a breeze.

I never could figure how a chem or bio major could be as well prepared coming out as a BIMS major who had clinicians for teachers. Those old guys spiced up their lectures with real world clinical examples. Hunter, Amoss, Anderson, Hoffman, Tatum, Scanlon....they were great.

You can only major in one, so you have no basis for comparison.

I beg to differ. lots of people switch majors or double major. I was in biomedical engineering first, then switched to biomedical science.

i must agree with obgynkenobi. i was a chem major and tried to get into medical school. those BIMS professors are top notch. i took VAPH 305 - vet anatomy as an elective with dr. hoffman and he is the best professor i ever had. i took vtpp 423 - human physiology with dr hunter and learned alot as well. but i've heard dr. herman is much better

BTW, didn't mean my post as a dig at straight science majors. The BIMS folks just had a previous exposure to med school course subject matter.

Hoffman was great. Tatum was a fabulous lecturer in histology. I was in the Corps and took those courses in the summer so I could have the vet school profs and not play Corps games.

Dr. Hunter wanted to demonstrate that a large glucose load would overcome the kidney's reabsorptive capacity in the proximal tubule, and thus spill glucose in the urine. So he anesthetized a dog, placed a catheter, gave an IV glucose load. We then observed within a few minutes an large increase in urine flow as the extra glucose exceeded the absorptive mechanism and dragged water out through osmotic diuresis (akin to diabetes). Great demonstration!

He then dipped his finger into the urine sample and tasted it...not kidding, and said, "yep, it's sweet".

Every time my staff dips pee I think of Dr. Hunter.

Max Amoss and Dr. Herman used to have a Physiology II course that was the best single class I ever took. Their tests were kick ass: essay, definition, true/false where you had to correct the false statements to get credit, and a few multiple choice. Do they still offer that class? I highly recommend it.

i remember that dog demo. it was very cool. i also liked the lung capacity/tidal volume demo they did as well

There is a higher med school acceptance rate of majors outside the science field. I suggest you choose a major you like and stick with it. I'm a pre-med majoring in engineering.

Here's a good source: http://honors.tamu.edu/opsa/pdf_files/medchart.pdf

I have a feeling Dravannti won't be majoring in engineering.

From UT Houston's website:

quote:

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What major should I choose?

Students should plan college course work with an emphasis on obtaining a broad educational background. Knowledge is an end in itself. It is important that evidence of scholarly interest and achievement in some branch of academic endeavor be demonstrated. The study of medicine is based upon science, so the medical student must be a capable student of science. Therefore, majors in the scientific disciplines, such as, but not limited to, chemistry, biology, and physics are satisfactory.

A liberal arts education is an excellent basis for a medical career. Accordingly, applicants may have majored in such areas as classics, languages, history, English literature, belles letters, music, or philosophy, provided the specific scientific requirements listed below are fulfilled. All applicants are expected to be well educated and able to demonstrate the intellectual interests associated with entry into a learned profession.

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Honestly, engineering is not a good path to medicine. Depending on your class year, I would recommend you change your major.

My advisor told me that in the past 83% of the people within my major who apply to med school get accepted. The A&M pre-med admittance rate is about 64%, and the national admittance is around 34%. These stats may not mean much, but they do give a general idea.

I'm also planning to take some of the courses science majors take, like genetics and biochem. Hopefully those courses will prepare me for the MCAT (from what I've heard they do.)

I'm sure you will get into medical school because you seem to know what it takes. The problem is that admissions committees do NOT take into account the difficulty of engineering majors. A 3.5 in engineering (although difficult to achieve) is no better than a 3.5 in Biology (not too tough to get).

Good luck. If you have any questions about medical school or anything, email me. I've been through the process before, and I love helping Ags get into medical school.

GOOD LUCK. Destroy the MCAT.

[This message has been edited by AggieG15 (edited 5/4/2007 2:40p).]

I am a dentist and I was a BIMS major. Went to Baylor Dental School.

My opinion-

BIMS is great in that you do get a great scientific background. I was really prepared when I got to dental school and all the basic science classes. Most of your profs are vet school profs and they are good. Gross Anatomy in BIMS really prepared me well for Gross Anatomy in Dental School.

BIMS is not so good in that it is difficult. You are in classes that are more difficult by nature, and you are with all people who want to be MDs, vets, etc. I had a 3.3 but I think I would have had a better GPA if I had been in a different major and taken my prereqs as electives.

BIMS is not a good major if you do not get in to professional/grad school right away. I did not get in my first year and had to take a year off. I just went home and schlepped around, worked part time for a dentist. BIMS is by and large a stepping stone degree, but there are no tons of jobs for a BS in BIMS, other than selling pharmaceuticals.

If I could do it over again, I would either do BIMS and get teacher-certified, so I could teach science as a backup, OR I would major in something else with a better job market for BS degrees, and take my sciences as electives. I think doing BIMS or Biology and getting teacher certified would be a great thing to do. If you get in to Med School, go. If you don't get in the first year, you have a backup.

I just wish I had a backup for the first year when I did not get in. I got in the second go around and so it worked out fine, but if I could do it again that is what I would do differently.

I would also think a business degree would be really good. If you have your own practice as a doctor/dentist you are going to need alot of business knowledge.

Of course I was not a 3.75 genius who knew I would get in to Medical or Dental school right away. I was more of a 3.3 George Costanza..."right in the meat of the curve..not falling behind, not showing off".

just my 02cents



[This message has been edited by Prexy's Moon (edited 3/20/2007 5:32p).]

I'm a first year medical student at UT Southwestern, and I was a marketing major at A&M. I agree with what Prexy's Moon said, especially about considering what you want to do as a backup plan.

A lot of people will tell you that by having a backup plan, you're not committed enough to be going into medicine. The fact is that until you're deep into college and you begin to really see what medicine might be like (through volunteering, shadowing, jobs, etc.), you probably don't actually know for sure that medicine is right for you. That's to be expected, and, in my opinion, is not any reflection on your committment level once you make the decision that medicine is right for you.

That's why I chose marketing. When I came to A&M, I had interests in medicine, sports marketing, and a few other things. Had I been a straight science major, I would have run the risk of figuring out that medicine wasn't the right fit for me, then wondering what I was going to do with my life. Fortunately, I was able to decide that I really did want to go to medical school. Plus, I was able to learn a lot about business, and I used it as a way to keep myself from getting too burned out (by being able to study science one week then marketing the next) from the pre-req's, my major, and everything else that goes along with trying to get into professional school.

Also, a lot of my interviewers liked hearing why I chose marketing and what interested me about that field. It's good to have a breadth of knowledge, and I think it goes back to the fact that college should be a time of studying what you want to study. It's not just a means to an end, but it's an end itself, as well.

Further, I've had many of my classmates who have echoed what others have said about BIMS preparing you well for medical school. However, I do not feel the least bit behind them after having taken just the pre-req's. A&M is very strong in preparing its students for medical school, and the medical school curriculum is a pretty good leveler.

I guess to sum it up, my advice would be to find a major that you will enjoy and will do well in. Shadow and volunteer to make sure you want to go into medicine. Do well on your pre-reqs and the MCAT. MAKE GOOD USE OF KAREN HUDSON IN THE OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL ADVISING!! Enjoy Texas A&M, the best university in the nation.

I hope that makes sense and is somewhat helpful.

quote:

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AggieG15 posted 12:27a, 3/18/2007

I'm sure you will get into medical school because you seem to know what it takes. The problem is that admissions committees do NOT take into account the difficulty of engineering majors. A 3.5 in engineering (although difficult to achieve) is no better than a 3.5 in Biology (not too tough to get).

Good luck. If you have any questions about medical school or anything, email me at the12thman at gmail. I've been through the process before, and I love helping Ags get into medical school.

GOOD LUCK. Destroy the MCAT.

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Actually the bluewhatever guy is right, Biomedical engineering students often go to med school and they are the major in the college of engineering with the highest average GPA because the department frowns on giving C's of F's unlike ALL the other engineering majors, even profs giving B's where they are clearly warranted Ive heard is not really accepted. A buddy of mine is a PhD in Biomed and teaches some of these kids and say that they couldnt find their ass with both hands but they get As because their major frowns on giving bad grades so that they dont hurt their chances of getting into med school and also their application to acceptance rate.

Wow, that is really lame.

In other words, the dept. doesn't want to put up with students b****ing.

maybe I should have stayed in BMEN

DaNew#44,

If you want to go into sports medicine via medical school/residency, it really doesn't matter what you're ungrad major is.

I'm an anesthesiologist, but I was an Ag major (range science) at A&M. Just pick a major that's interesting to you and do well in it (grades). You'll just need to take the prerequisites for med school if they aren't already included in your major (1 yr inorganic chem, 1 yr organic chem, 1 yr physics, 1 yr biology, 1 yr calculus, biochem, etc. - about 30-something semester hours).

Good grades (GPA ~3.5), good MCAT scores, and extracurriculars will do the trick. Don't worry about having a "pre-med" major...those kinds of applicants are a dime a dozen.

Having a unique major, in my opinion, helps you stand out. Besides, if you change your mind about going into medicine (big commitment), you'll already be pursuing something else that interests you. The world is full of pre-med majors that are working in labs. Keep that in mind.

PM me if you have any questions I can answer for you.

quote:

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GasPasser97

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Nice handle!

Dude, whatever you do, apply as early as possible and use OPSA. Most people who got into their first choices followed those rules. You are cheating yourself if you don't.

That's not a stupid question.

Business major here... I graduated in May 2006 and only started taking the pre-reqs in the spring of 2006. I would've started sooner had I known I would go down the health career path.

Ag major...originally had thoughts about vet school...took the prereqs to keep my options open...ended up deciding on going to med school instead.

I'd recommend that advise (keeping options open) with regards to med school as well. Good grades/class rank/boards scores will allow you to choose whatever specialty/residency program you're interested in (some are more competitive than others).
Mediocre or poor performance in med school will limit your options (to some extent).

The good news (for me, anyway) is you don't have to be a rocket scientist to achieve any of those things in med school. Just work hard.

PM me if you have any questions. I'm in private practice now (anesthesiology). Just finished residency a year ago, so most of those things are still fresh on my mind.

quote:

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For those who majored in business or liberal arts, did you just plan ahead and take the medical school pre-req courses as electives for your undergrad degree? If not, how did you get caught up?

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I started the pre-reqs my freshman year, but I didn't want to kill myself taking 18 hours a semester. I took a lot of summer school at A&M (which I loved) to keep on schedule.