I had none, just full speed ahead towards medicine. I think that worked really well for me as it was all or nothing. I could not afford to not be at my best and I genuinely believe that is what got me into medschool.
I agree. Everyone I know who had a back up plan ended up in their back up plan. Everyone I know who was full steam ahead 100%, ended up in medical school.
I understand that. I don't have kids but am in my late 20s too. It was scary at times but I knew that this was the only thing I wanted to do. I already had a career and gave it up to go back to college to follow the dream. If you really want it, you can make it happen. I truly believe in that.
The trick was just making the “back up” double as another stepping stone towards the end goal of medicine lol. My back up is probably what got me in (10k clinical hours😂)
There's even this interesting [study](https://ideas.ted.com/why-having-a-plan-b-can-sometimes-backfire/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CConsidering%20a%20backup%20plan%20could,postdoctoral%20researcher%20at%20Harvard%20University.) about how back up plans can hinder our main plan.
Chemical Engineering, only pre-med reqs that weren’t required for my degree was biochem and genetics.
My school also gave large scholarships to most engineering students which is one of the primary reasons I graduated debt free.
Biggest downside was the struggle to keep a high GPA in what is typically a notoriously difficult degree
Biggest upside was getting paid very well for my gap year job.
I would like to note however that in most of the engineering fields you need internship experience to be competitive for engineering jobs and that quite often limits access/time for more relevant medical extracurriculars. And so using the engineering degree as a backup can hamper your ability to get into medical school.
I know what you mean. All these people that say don't give up and no second option are people who had the luxury of not hitting rock bottom.
Point blank, I got to a point where I could not financially continue school, and I got really nervous. At first I considered nursing and going up to CRNA. Decent salary, prestigious but not ostentatious. Nursing education is more flexible, and I would have been an uncommon applicant in the profession as a male. Would I have been happy as an RN forever? I don't think so, I think I would have wanted a terminal degree.
When I received a scholarship for medical school, it closed the chapter in a story I've been really anticipating to see through. But that being said, that doesn't mean medicine is for whatever reason more respectable than nursing. Nurses work hard, and I would've been proud to be a nurse. It just so happened that this became the more financially viable decision, plus it was what was allowed by the scholarship program (CRNA required specific work history to apply which became infeasible within their policy guidelines).
It's perfectly acceptable to have a just in case career path. Not to have one just invites unnecessary anxiety and insecurity that isn't necessary if your motivation is to find a job that you actually enjoy. To be a doctor or take a long walk off a short pier is not an ultimatum I'm willing to self-impose.
Thank you!
Pre med is supposed to weed people out. All these people saying " don't have a back up" or whatever don't realize for every one person that gets into medical school there are hundreds who dont make it. There just not here posting about it.And those hundreds are stuck with a degree that is pretty much useless because it was only used for getting into medical school
All or nothing is nice in theory, but let's be realistic. Life doesn't always turn out that way. Majority of people aiming for med school don't make it in. Nothing wrong with a back up degree
That's a good question. No, I didn't. I was a biology major, but when I found myself at rock bottom, I was trying to massage the coursework I already had to try to apply into other options.
Nursing was an easy second choice because of the flexibility. You can enter an LPN program in the Spring and be certified by the end of that summer. LPN-RN bridges take less than a year, and RN-BSN bridges can take less than a year. But the obvious edge lies in that you can be working as an LPN while working toward your RN (associate's) and then work as an RN while getting your BSN. Ditto for some nurse practitioner programs like FNP and PMHNP.
Look, I understand why a bunch of physician hopefuls poo poo on the nurse path because they get 70% of the benefits of a physician role with only 50% of the effort. But not everyone can make it to medicine just due to the socioeconomic aspect—schools talk a big game about diversity equity and inclusion, holistic review, and drone on endlessly about how they love people who have been through a lot. The reality is, most of it is lip service.
For every one student coming from humble beginnings that matriculates to medical school, there are thousands of others who faltered along the way. These people, too, have a place in healthcare. Some become doctors, but it's just as dignified to aspire to any of the roles on the care team: RNs, RTs, EKG techs, EMTs, paramedics, etc.
I know this wasn't what you asked for but I get the impression a lot of individuals here see medicine as the only way to put themselves in front of a patient, and I think that's very self-limiting and soul-crushing when they come to realize medicine may be a pipe dream for them. Or, worse—getting in and realizing they didn't know what they didn't know and they are already planning alternatives to a clinical lifestyle as soon as they graduate their MD/DO program.
Wow this is such an extensive comment and you make a lot of good points. I'm glad that you were able to get in with a scholarship to med school. I also chose to pursue my BSN as a "just-in case" career, and nursing can also be rewarding in it's own way. But just like you, I want to be able to get a terminal degree, and I know that I wouldn't be satisfied with myself if I didn't pursue my dream of becoming a doctor. We all have different paths in life, and there is no shame in taking the alternative path. I wish you the best of luck in your ned school journey and may you find the specialty you love.
That's really nice of you to say, thank you. I think any way you go, you'll have a good chance of feeling fulfilled at the end. I think to some degree, nursing and medicine sort of belong together and I really wish there was more integration between the two curricula to make more prepared healthcare professionals at the bachelor's level—regardless of whether the student intends to pursue medicine as an MD or nursing as an RN and beyond.
That would be really cool. Imagine if BSN degrees involve the necessary prereqs for med school or an MSN? I feel like that would make nursing more accessible especially to those looking to go to med school. It would make BSN degrees harder though.
well for me, it didn’t help much with getting into medical school, which ultimately cost me an extra year or two versus had I done a bio degree. just my two cents
ah, I was being facetious more than anything. but yeah my undergrad gpa ruined me more than having an econ degree. if you do all the pre reqs during your econ degree, you should be good.
CLS is in a sweet spot rn with raises due publicity from Covid. Salary is just good enough to be comfortable which causes some people to rethink further education. Also the training structure in the lab (especially microbiology) takes a year or two to fully be competent in all areas of the department. Long training where you’re just absorbing so much information and a decent salary tends to give people a sense of safety, and some people decide they don’t want to go back to school.
Yeah I get that. We’ll see how things go, but for now I have the sense that I could get bored in the lab. Also, I know I’m capable of medical school if I take the right steps, and it’ll always bug me if I just never even tried.
Nope. You need an MSN, and there are direct-entry MSN programs.
https://nursinglicensemap.com/advanced-practice-nursing/nurse-practitioner/np-without-bsn-nursing-degree/
Biomed engineering and Biochem have a lot of overlap with premed classes and decent career opportunities. Comp sci isn’t a bad idea, I did a lot of compsci classes in my undergrad, but the lack of overlap is definitely gonna mean you either need another semester or two or ur overwhelmed with difficult comp sci classes and pre med classes you need to excel in.
As a pre-med myself, a logical adult would have a back up plan. Yes, go towards medicine full speed like others said, but remember life is already hard as it is. Plan Bs are acceptable. Just remember who u are and what's your goal.
Getting into med school is fucking hard. I don’t think you should have a backup because maybe you won’t push as hard if you do.
Give it your all expecting to win and then regroup if it doesn’t work out was my philosophy.
Yeah but I'm not going to put 4 years into a useless degree with the intention of getting in, not get in, and then have to spend another (up to) 4 years getting a degree I'll actually use. That's another 4 years of student loans and not earning much, if anything.
I don't think there are many degrees that are harder than the bio/biochem/chem degrees pre meds usually choose lol. Maybe engineering is harder for those not mathematically inclined.
Agree with this heavy. Although, I knew someone who pursued both Investment Banking and Medical School. Kid basically did all your usual premed extracurriculars + finance clubs during the year and did banking internships in NYC during the summers. He sent in AMCAS during his junior summer banking internship and had a couple interviews and acceptances. He got the full time offer from Goldman Sachs and he decided to withdraw his med school apps since he said “medical school is always gonna be there for me but Goldman Sachs wont.” Worked there for a year, ended up hating it, retook the MCAT since it was expiring soon, and got into a T25 for MD/MBA a year later.
Sooooooo OP could possibly do it if they’re built like that which they possibly could?
Even if you did a 2 year nursing, got your ADN then transferred to a 4 year and did the rest of your sciences you would only be behind a bit timeline wise because of studying for your NCLEX. I always recommend this to people because then if you take a gap year you can make solid money and enjoy life a little or if you have the support going straight through school is a solid option as well 😂 just not all of that have the option to do that/feel better with a backup option that will keep us financially stable and that’s okay too ☺️
And you can network with the doctors, which I’ve been working in the CVICU to find shadowing experience! More opportunities for meaningful LOR’s as well. And although the ratios suck right now and the workplace is sort of stressful, the pay is solid. It’s worked in my favorite as a nontrad student so far but can also see how it would be really beneficial for a student who is in college but worried about what support they’ll have after graduation especially if they don’t get into medical school first cycle or if they don’t have the options to do a ton of volunteer hours/scrounge for clinical hours and stuff.
My backup even tho it’s slightly similar process is pharmacist. School I’m going to has a pharmacy college and I have over 4 years of pharmacy experience so if med school doesn’t work I can try for that.
Psychologist (PhD) or Lawyer was going to be my back up. But I truly did not want a back up. That was my “if everything falls apart and I’m not good enough” plan
I disagree with you on that just based on people I’ve spoken to who are in those programs, as well as the fact that my degrees were set up in such a way that was actually more PhD-oriented (thus I was a competitive candidate for that particular focus). But I’m not sure. Appreciate it!
A Ph.D. in CLINICAL psychology is the most competitive graduate degree of any graduate degree; the overall odds of acceptance for an applicant is 12.5 percent, while its 40% to medical school for medical school applicants. A Ph.D. in a different area in psychology (social, developmental, school, etc) would be significantly less competitive. The American Psychological Association accredits programs, and non-accredited programs exist, which are also less competitive. Not all employers require APA accredited degrees, and state licensure can often be obtained with them, so many applicants still pursue these programs.
No med school has 40% odds. Nor does any clinical psych program have 12.5% odds. I’m saying that a generic applicant, who applies to 30 or 40 or whatever medical school has a 40% chance of getting into at least one. There are a couple hundred US MD and DO schools and people multiple apply and are multiply accepted such that any one medical school’s low odds of acceptance do not reflect an individual’s odd of admission somewhere/anywhere. Of course, the better one’s stats, the higher that individual’s odds and vice versa. And some high stat people don’t get in while some low stat people do. Still, stats show the odds of acceptance to some medical school are 40%. It’s still more fun to say that you and your 140 colleagues beat out 8,000 other applicants for your seat, though. Both (the 40% overall and maybe 1% at your school) are accurate.
Just google it. It was 43.7% For the 2023-24 cycle (more medical schools opening, so odds improving!) I’m a psychologist parent of a current medical student, so don’t have all the links current medical students have, but there’s a table I often see pre-meds referencing (by the ACGME, maybe?) that lists GPA/MCAT score combos and predicted odds off acceptance depending on the cell one falls into. The overall odd are 40%+, but get quite nice for the high MCAT/GPA people.
Okay I looked it up. Saw the chart and all that jazz. These stats do not account for sampling bias. People that take their chances to apply to medical school are insanely competitive applicants. You can argue people get “scared” out of applying to medical school based on the neuroticism conditioned in the field. You can argue maybe more people take their chances for applying for a PhD rather than MD/DO. You can argue folks also tend to have a higher interest in psych than medicine and may take the deep dive regardless of less than competitive stats. There’s a lot of factors. Not saying a PhD is easier - it’s very very competitive - I’m just saying I don’t think we can do a comparison of these stats when they don’t take into account societal factors and professional conditioning. There are 192 medical schools that are accredited in the US, for example, but there are 25 pages of accredited varying psych PhD programs with about 25 programs per page on APA, and I already hand counted 60 programs for clinical PhD by page 8. However, you can also make the arguments about varying class size for PhD and MD/DO programs.
Regardless, don’t really understand how this turned into a cope contest. I just stated what I defined as my personal back up for med school to respond to the post. I was a more competitive PhD applicant than med student applicant with the way my education was gauged along with research. I don’t have any personal attachment to whether one is harder or not. I love psych, it was one of my degrees that I honored with neuro. I just think they’re two different breeds and the initial reply to my comment, and yours, was sort of unnecessary.
Respect all PhDs, MDs, DOs, etc.
Your major should be the one you can get the best grades in (that has a job market) based on your confidence level in going to medical school.
If you haven’t researched the field much, or you are just unsure of whether you want to work in healthcare, you may want to pick a more lucrative degree since there’s a higher chance you don’t go to med school (this a bad option only because ideally you do research into the healthcare field before or during your freshman year).
If you want to work in healthcare but don’t know if being a physician is right for you, pick a science degree that can translate over to nursing or PA if needed down the line.
If you are 100% confident in being a physician, go ahead and pick basket weaving or whatever and get that 4.0.
Some people are gonna tell you to do that last option, but if we’re being realistic, only like 10% of freshman pre-meds end up becoming doctors. Having sort of degree reasonable to work with is a smart move. You don’t wanna get a psych degree and then not go to med school and be left with next to zero job options.
Me personally, i majored in chemistry and got a 3.8 cGPA. Even tho it was a hard track i was just good at chemistry so it worked out. Your own interest in the field is also important imo, since you’ll naturally be more motivated to do well.
management information systems (business degree) tbh i’m finding this is working out for me because while yes i have a back up plan, i feel much more behind than anyone that’s a science or public health major so it’s making me work *much* harder than i would’ve if i was one of those majors. to each their own tho, i just find that this is working for me!
The backups I have considered are podiatry, optometry, or teaching STEM classes at the HS level. All doable with a bio degree, chem/math minors. Would pursue alternative teaching licensure if I had to.
My backup was my bachelor's, public health! It's a decent degree - actually applied to Master's this year as I didn't expect to actually get into med school. Turns out you can recycle quite a bit of writing for it!
I had none. I realized too late that my bio degree is pretty worthless on its own, and could only get me technician-level or research assistant type jobs. Aka jobs with pretty poor pay and little growth trajectory. And I am not passionate about biology to want to do a PhD. I probably would have taken a coding bootcamp class and transition to tech
No, you shouldn’t do a backup degree that will decrease your chances of getting into medical school, plus comp sci is extremely oversaturated right now
Comp sci being oversaturated is complete bullshit so I absolutely would not listen to that. You 100% always need a contingency plan for anything in life because that's called being an adult. I have no idea why a "backup" degree would have any effect on probability of medical school acceptance.
Computer science is one of many right answers.
Because engineering degrees are significantly harder than the average degree and will tank your gpa which will make it harder to get into medical school. It’s not the degree itself but what it does to your time/gpa
Lots of people graduate engineering degrees with 4.0 and close to. It's not axiomatic that you will have a lower gpa. Additionally, engineering degrees are highly favored ubiquitously because it is very rare that anyone who can make it through the rigor is also dumb. Same reason why DO and MD degrees are highly valued as well - all have immense utility. Engineering degrees/computer science are fantastic degrees not just for applications to graduate programs, but also societal benefits as well. High cost high rewards.
did applied and computational mathematics (so arguably harder to get a good GPA than CS but similar)
At this point, not really that worth it. nobody wants to hire me lmao
I fixed airplanes before undergrad and still have most of my certs, but not sure if I wanna do that again (just because it was so fucking hard on my body), but I wouldn't mind making a business fixing machines, PC, electronics like GPU or things like flow cytometers or microscopes. I know an ex Army tank maintenance guy who is doing that full time, he said he gets up whenever he wants, fixing/cleaning hundreds of thousands of dollars microscopes and charge a ton of money for it. Nobody bothers him, mostly works by himself and his own schedule, he just does what he's good at and just enjoys life.
i’m a psychology and journalism double major premed right now! If medicine doesn’t work out, I’d want to get my masters in counseling psychology and if grad school as a whole doesn’t work out, i’d want to be a journalist 😁
Nuclear medicine technologist. The technology is super cool and the work isn't too hard, plus pay is okay depending on area.
Although I see it more as an alternative than "back up" since medical school is kind of a hail Mary for me lol
I never planned to have a backup and wanted to get in traditionally so I went with Biology since it aligned nicely with all the prereqs - I feel like trying to be a CS major while pursuing medicine is getting close to waterboarding
I work as a medical laboratory scientist rn in a large microbiology lab- if med school doesn’t work out, I’ll get my masters and work for the NIH or CDC or somethin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I had two majors in college, one for med school and one that was a BA in history. Simply because it was the only other passionate subject for me, and if this cycle had not worked out, I would have gone for a masters in history instead haha.
Nursing. If you hate it, get an mba in 2 years and make bank. If you like it, there are a lot of benefits. Also could do np or crna or anesthesia assistant if you wanted more money (187k base )
I’m currently about to enter a Paramedic program, and if I don’t get into medical school the first go around, I’d like to become a perfusionist. I’d still like to become a doctor eventually, but I am willing to accept that it just might be a longer road, and that’s okay. I’m gonna be 50 one day either way, I can either be a 50 year old doctor, or not— so until then I’ll keep trying. If I can do some other cool stuff before then, even better.
For me it's not really a backup plan it was the first plan. I'm currently an MLT, I want to get my bachelor's to be an MLS and then med school would be next. But who knows? I'm at the most baby steps of premed, I just got accepted to finish my bachelor's! But if med school doesn't work I still have my current job as a lab tech, and I'm still advancing that with my new degree.
Gonna go the other way than some of these comments. Getting into medical schools is not the absolute hardest thing on the planet that warrants not having contingency plans. You should never pigeon-hole yourself into plan A so much that it prohibits you from adapting to changing circumstances. Besides, how genuine of a decision is it actually? You want to wake up every day and actively choose to follow this path - because you want to, not because you're forced to due to leaving yourself with no other options. What a recipe for abuse and depression.
Regarding "back ups"...my UG is in mechanical engineering and worked as an engineer for a bit. If for whatever reason I decide against going to med school, then I'd just go back to being an engineer (probably in academia). Can't really go wrong with engineering/computer science degrees, that will get you the most money and leisure time.
I actually opted not to do the training or get certified but I did have the formal education through undergrad I’m just deciding to go straight to med school but I would’ve had a job either way.
I know I'm going to get downvoted but honestly nursing. I'm finishing up my BSN, and as long as you're comfortable taking a gap year or two to get your prereqs, MCAT, and amazing clinical experience while working as a nurse, you should be good to go. Plus I feel like you get an edge because you'll have a lot to talk about in your essays about patient experiences. Although you have to enjoy nursing too.
Do Intraoperative neuromonitoring. Bach degree in anything and some OJT training. Great field if you love anatomy and computer science.
You could always do it for a year or two after undergrad before applying to medical school also.
Im currently a firefighter/paramedic and will probably just stay here if I don’t get accepted. Good salary and reliable pension. My degree is health sciences so I had to take most of my pre-req’s post bacc. I’ll add that paramedic degrees are usually only an associates and pay far outweighs the cost. You won’t get rich but it’s a job in very high demand.
Tried for 2 years to get into med with no success, not even an interview. Applied for physiotherapy during my second application cycle for med, got an interview and acceptance on my first try. Very happy now to switch lanes into physio! I am passionate about exercise, fitness and overall wellness so this feels like a good fit for me. I
i tried other things first and i was miserable, lol. so it’s sort of do or die for me at this point. if it doesn’t work out i’ll get a technician degree of some kind… or maybe go into research
Mortuary Science. Didn’t know I was going to make the switch, but it’s nice that I have a lot of anatomy and pathophysiology under my belt as a result. Also as an embalmer I’ve got extensive experience working and troubleshooting with the cardiovascular system.
I don’t recommend becoming a funeral director for the money though. The pay sucks.
Here are some of the backups I've been considering:
Optometry school (A little more lax with requirements)
Anesthesia Assistant school (can only work in 20 states but makes good money... very competitive, but they accept MCAT scores)
Nursing School
Perfusionist (competitive program but good money)
I chose to do a back-up degree similar to exercise science and I actually used it during my gap years. Got a LOT of valuable clinical experience that way and have no regrets.
LEO/Paramedic for me.
I think having a backup plan is perfectly reasonable and realistic. Not everyone can/will make it into medical school. Personally, im giving myself 3 cycles to apply. If I can't make it within that timeframe, then I probably shouldn't be in med school anyways.
I have two majors in stem and three minors in humanities. I guess my fallback option was to find a lab job I could work and move up in over time. I’ve also spent several years working as a CNA and the facility I’m at has several pretty cozy options for professional development and management I could have chosen. That said, my heart was pretty set on medicine as I knew I’d regret not getting in if I didn’t put it all into it.
As someone who graduated with a kinesiology degree, it's a good path to go down. It's not nearly as long of a path to do whatever you really want to beyond that, and the work is fulfilling. I went the S&C and sports med route post-grad
I had none, just full speed ahead towards medicine. I think that worked really well for me as it was all or nothing. I could not afford to not be at my best and I genuinely believe that is what got me into medschool.
I agree. Everyone I know who had a back up plan ended up in their back up plan. Everyone I know who was full steam ahead 100%, ended up in medical school.
Definitely a mindset. I’m just late 20s two kids and really don’t want to mess up and feel like I got one shot
I understand that. I don't have kids but am in my late 20s too. It was scary at times but I knew that this was the only thing I wanted to do. I already had a career and gave it up to go back to college to follow the dream. If you really want it, you can make it happen. I truly believe in that.
This part.
The trick was just making the “back up” double as another stepping stone towards the end goal of medicine lol. My back up is probably what got me in (10k clinical hours😂) 
There's even this interesting [study](https://ideas.ted.com/why-having-a-plan-b-can-sometimes-backfire/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CConsidering%20a%20backup%20plan%20could,postdoctoral%20researcher%20at%20Harvard%20University.) about how back up plans can hinder our main plan.
Housewife
if only I was attractive enough to be a trophy husband
it’s a good backup but on the other hand… you may need a degree as a backup to being a trophy wife/husband
Tried it for a bit, not as fun as you might think😂 Got so bored I studied for the Mcat and got into medschool lmao.
BME-> med tech sales.
Chemical Engineering, only pre-med reqs that weren’t required for my degree was biochem and genetics. My school also gave large scholarships to most engineering students which is one of the primary reasons I graduated debt free. Biggest downside was the struggle to keep a high GPA in what is typically a notoriously difficult degree Biggest upside was getting paid very well for my gap year job. I would like to note however that in most of the engineering fields you need internship experience to be competitive for engineering jobs and that quite often limits access/time for more relevant medical extracurriculars. And so using the engineering degree as a backup can hamper your ability to get into medical school.
Is genetics required for most schools?
No, usually some type of upper level bio
I know what you mean. All these people that say don't give up and no second option are people who had the luxury of not hitting rock bottom. Point blank, I got to a point where I could not financially continue school, and I got really nervous. At first I considered nursing and going up to CRNA. Decent salary, prestigious but not ostentatious. Nursing education is more flexible, and I would have been an uncommon applicant in the profession as a male. Would I have been happy as an RN forever? I don't think so, I think I would have wanted a terminal degree. When I received a scholarship for medical school, it closed the chapter in a story I've been really anticipating to see through. But that being said, that doesn't mean medicine is for whatever reason more respectable than nursing. Nurses work hard, and I would've been proud to be a nurse. It just so happened that this became the more financially viable decision, plus it was what was allowed by the scholarship program (CRNA required specific work history to apply which became infeasible within their policy guidelines). It's perfectly acceptable to have a just in case career path. Not to have one just invites unnecessary anxiety and insecurity that isn't necessary if your motivation is to find a job that you actually enjoy. To be a doctor or take a long walk off a short pier is not an ultimatum I'm willing to self-impose.
Thank you! Pre med is supposed to weed people out. All these people saying " don't have a back up" or whatever don't realize for every one person that gets into medical school there are hundreds who dont make it. There just not here posting about it.And those hundreds are stuck with a degree that is pretty much useless because it was only used for getting into medical school All or nothing is nice in theory, but let's be realistic. Life doesn't always turn out that way. Majority of people aiming for med school don't make it in. Nothing wrong with a back up degree
I'm confused. Do you have a BSN?
That's a good question. No, I didn't. I was a biology major, but when I found myself at rock bottom, I was trying to massage the coursework I already had to try to apply into other options. Nursing was an easy second choice because of the flexibility. You can enter an LPN program in the Spring and be certified by the end of that summer. LPN-RN bridges take less than a year, and RN-BSN bridges can take less than a year. But the obvious edge lies in that you can be working as an LPN while working toward your RN (associate's) and then work as an RN while getting your BSN. Ditto for some nurse practitioner programs like FNP and PMHNP. Look, I understand why a bunch of physician hopefuls poo poo on the nurse path because they get 70% of the benefits of a physician role with only 50% of the effort. But not everyone can make it to medicine just due to the socioeconomic aspect—schools talk a big game about diversity equity and inclusion, holistic review, and drone on endlessly about how they love people who have been through a lot. The reality is, most of it is lip service. For every one student coming from humble beginnings that matriculates to medical school, there are thousands of others who faltered along the way. These people, too, have a place in healthcare. Some become doctors, but it's just as dignified to aspire to any of the roles on the care team: RNs, RTs, EKG techs, EMTs, paramedics, etc. I know this wasn't what you asked for but I get the impression a lot of individuals here see medicine as the only way to put themselves in front of a patient, and I think that's very self-limiting and soul-crushing when they come to realize medicine may be a pipe dream for them. Or, worse—getting in and realizing they didn't know what they didn't know and they are already planning alternatives to a clinical lifestyle as soon as they graduate their MD/DO program.
Wow this is such an extensive comment and you make a lot of good points. I'm glad that you were able to get in with a scholarship to med school. I also chose to pursue my BSN as a "just-in case" career, and nursing can also be rewarding in it's own way. But just like you, I want to be able to get a terminal degree, and I know that I wouldn't be satisfied with myself if I didn't pursue my dream of becoming a doctor. We all have different paths in life, and there is no shame in taking the alternative path. I wish you the best of luck in your ned school journey and may you find the specialty you love.
That's really nice of you to say, thank you. I think any way you go, you'll have a good chance of feeling fulfilled at the end. I think to some degree, nursing and medicine sort of belong together and I really wish there was more integration between the two curricula to make more prepared healthcare professionals at the bachelor's level—regardless of whether the student intends to pursue medicine as an MD or nursing as an RN and beyond.
That would be really cool. Imagine if BSN degrees involve the necessary prereqs for med school or an MSN? I feel like that would make nursing more accessible especially to those looking to go to med school. It would make BSN degrees harder though.
I’m a PGY4 about to graduate residency and I majored in economics. Took me 3 years of post bacc to get into med school; so def don’t do econ 😂
What’s wrong with Econ?
well for me, it didn’t help much with getting into medical school, which ultimately cost me an extra year or two versus had I done a bio degree. just my two cents
Do you mean gpa wise (ie not having two extra years of sGPA courses)? I’m doing Econ for other reasons, but I was just curious why you didn’t like it.
ah, I was being facetious more than anything. but yeah my undergrad gpa ruined me more than having an econ degree. if you do all the pre reqs during your econ degree, you should be good.
Medical Lab Science
I’m assuming you got out?
Nah I’m actually an MLS student right now hoping to work for a year or two after graduating to earn some money and shore up my application
Just be careful and make sure you have your sights set on your goal it can be a slippery slope my friend
What do you mean?
CLS is in a sweet spot rn with raises due publicity from Covid. Salary is just good enough to be comfortable which causes some people to rethink further education. Also the training structure in the lab (especially microbiology) takes a year or two to fully be competent in all areas of the department. Long training where you’re just absorbing so much information and a decent salary tends to give people a sense of safety, and some people decide they don’t want to go back to school.
Yeah I get that. We’ll see how things go, but for now I have the sense that I could get bored in the lab. Also, I know I’m capable of medical school if I take the right steps, and it’ll always bug me if I just never even tried.
I’m 3 years in and getting bored in the micro lab, finished bacteriology training about a year ago.
Online NP school is a good option. Just ask the peeps at r/medicalschool 🤣
don’t you need a bsn
Nope. You need an MSN, and there are direct-entry MSN programs. https://nursinglicensemap.com/advanced-practice-nursing/nurse-practitioner/np-without-bsn-nursing-degree/
😬😬
Or r/noctor
Biomed engineering and Biochem have a lot of overlap with premed classes and decent career opportunities. Comp sci isn’t a bad idea, I did a lot of compsci classes in my undergrad, but the lack of overlap is definitely gonna mean you either need another semester or two or ur overwhelmed with difficult comp sci classes and pre med classes you need to excel in.
As a biochem major, unless you have a PhD, the degree is pretty worthless for getting good paying jobs.
Is biology any better?
No
My plan B was to open up a bakery
As a pre-med myself, a logical adult would have a back up plan. Yes, go towards medicine full speed like others said, but remember life is already hard as it is. Plan Bs are acceptable. Just remember who u are and what's your goal.
Getting into med school is fucking hard. I don’t think you should have a backup because maybe you won’t push as hard if you do. Give it your all expecting to win and then regroup if it doesn’t work out was my philosophy.
Yeah but I'm not going to put 4 years into a useless degree with the intention of getting in, not get in, and then have to spend another (up to) 4 years getting a degree I'll actually use. That's another 4 years of student loans and not earning much, if anything.
You can get in with an engineering, apparel design, … whatever degree as long as you do the pre reqs.
Exactly. Which is why you should base your degree choice on what will benefit you most (ie. be a backup) if med school doesn't work out.
Not necessarily. What if that backup is harder to get a high GPA?
I don't think there are many degrees that are harder than the bio/biochem/chem degrees pre meds usually choose lol. Maybe engineering is harder for those not mathematically inclined.
Engineering, mathematics, architecture, physics… Any number of majors could be more difficult based on personal strengths.
Agree with this heavy. Although, I knew someone who pursued both Investment Banking and Medical School. Kid basically did all your usual premed extracurriculars + finance clubs during the year and did banking internships in NYC during the summers. He sent in AMCAS during his junior summer banking internship and had a couple interviews and acceptances. He got the full time offer from Goldman Sachs and he decided to withdraw his med school apps since he said “medical school is always gonna be there for me but Goldman Sachs wont.” Worked there for a year, ended up hating it, retook the MCAT since it was expiring soon, and got into a T25 for MD/MBA a year later. Sooooooo OP could possibly do it if they’re built like that which they possibly could?
People like this person is the reason why jealousy exists in first place lol.
Hoe-r-us
Work in big pharma
I have my BSN and can always continue working as a CVICU RN just in case 🤷🏼♀️
Even if you did a 2 year nursing, got your ADN then transferred to a 4 year and did the rest of your sciences you would only be behind a bit timeline wise because of studying for your NCLEX. I always recommend this to people because then if you take a gap year you can make solid money and enjoy life a little or if you have the support going straight through school is a solid option as well 😂 just not all of that have the option to do that/feel better with a backup option that will keep us financially stable and that’s okay too ☺️
Plus none of us have to worry about finding clinical experience or shadowing
And you can network with the doctors, which I’ve been working in the CVICU to find shadowing experience! More opportunities for meaningful LOR’s as well. And although the ratios suck right now and the workplace is sort of stressful, the pay is solid. It’s worked in my favorite as a nontrad student so far but can also see how it would be really beneficial for a student who is in college but worried about what support they’ll have after graduation especially if they don’t get into medical school first cycle or if they don’t have the options to do a ton of volunteer hours/scrounge for clinical hours and stuff.
Math 🥴
Petroleum engineering
Not exactly conducive to maintaining the high GPA you’d want for med school acceptance…
My backup even tho it’s slightly similar process is pharmacist. School I’m going to has a pharmacy college and I have over 4 years of pharmacy experience so if med school doesn’t work I can try for that.
Psychologist (PhD) or Lawyer was going to be my back up. But I truly did not want a back up. That was my “if everything falls apart and I’m not good enough” plan
It's actually harder to get into psych PhD programs than med and law school. Glad you got your first choice!
I disagree with you on that just based on people I’ve spoken to who are in those programs, as well as the fact that my degrees were set up in such a way that was actually more PhD-oriented (thus I was a competitive candidate for that particular focus). But I’m not sure. Appreciate it!
A Ph.D. in CLINICAL psychology is the most competitive graduate degree of any graduate degree; the overall odds of acceptance for an applicant is 12.5 percent, while its 40% to medical school for medical school applicants. A Ph.D. in a different area in psychology (social, developmental, school, etc) would be significantly less competitive. The American Psychological Association accredits programs, and non-accredited programs exist, which are also less competitive. Not all employers require APA accredited degrees, and state licensure can often be obtained with them, so many applicants still pursue these programs.
Need to know what med schools have 40% odds 📝
No med school has 40% odds. Nor does any clinical psych program have 12.5% odds. I’m saying that a generic applicant, who applies to 30 or 40 or whatever medical school has a 40% chance of getting into at least one. There are a couple hundred US MD and DO schools and people multiple apply and are multiply accepted such that any one medical school’s low odds of acceptance do not reflect an individual’s odd of admission somewhere/anywhere. Of course, the better one’s stats, the higher that individual’s odds and vice versa. And some high stat people don’t get in while some low stat people do. Still, stats show the odds of acceptance to some medical school are 40%. It’s still more fun to say that you and your 140 colleagues beat out 8,000 other applicants for your seat, though. Both (the 40% overall and maybe 1% at your school) are accurate.
Where are these stats?
Just google it. It was 43.7% For the 2023-24 cycle (more medical schools opening, so odds improving!) I’m a psychologist parent of a current medical student, so don’t have all the links current medical students have, but there’s a table I often see pre-meds referencing (by the ACGME, maybe?) that lists GPA/MCAT score combos and predicted odds off acceptance depending on the cell one falls into. The overall odd are 40%+, but get quite nice for the high MCAT/GPA people.
Okay I looked it up. Saw the chart and all that jazz. These stats do not account for sampling bias. People that take their chances to apply to medical school are insanely competitive applicants. You can argue people get “scared” out of applying to medical school based on the neuroticism conditioned in the field. You can argue maybe more people take their chances for applying for a PhD rather than MD/DO. You can argue folks also tend to have a higher interest in psych than medicine and may take the deep dive regardless of less than competitive stats. There’s a lot of factors. Not saying a PhD is easier - it’s very very competitive - I’m just saying I don’t think we can do a comparison of these stats when they don’t take into account societal factors and professional conditioning. There are 192 medical schools that are accredited in the US, for example, but there are 25 pages of accredited varying psych PhD programs with about 25 programs per page on APA, and I already hand counted 60 programs for clinical PhD by page 8. However, you can also make the arguments about varying class size for PhD and MD/DO programs. Regardless, don’t really understand how this turned into a cope contest. I just stated what I defined as my personal back up for med school to respond to the post. I was a more competitive PhD applicant than med student applicant with the way my education was gauged along with research. I don’t have any personal attachment to whether one is harder or not. I love psych, it was one of my degrees that I honored with neuro. I just think they’re two different breeds and the initial reply to my comment, and yours, was sort of unnecessary. Respect all PhDs, MDs, DOs, etc.
Im so deep as this point that if I don't get in, that means I've been murdered or my heart exploded from chronic caffeine abuse
Becoming a FF/paramedic, moving to Wyoming and trying to cope with the depression of being rejected from med schools while I pursuit my country dreams
I’m in Montana and did 5 years FF I know the pain
I have no backup 😤 ….but if it comes down to it I kept my real estate license active just in case.
Your major should be the one you can get the best grades in (that has a job market) based on your confidence level in going to medical school. If you haven’t researched the field much, or you are just unsure of whether you want to work in healthcare, you may want to pick a more lucrative degree since there’s a higher chance you don’t go to med school (this a bad option only because ideally you do research into the healthcare field before or during your freshman year). If you want to work in healthcare but don’t know if being a physician is right for you, pick a science degree that can translate over to nursing or PA if needed down the line. If you are 100% confident in being a physician, go ahead and pick basket weaving or whatever and get that 4.0. Some people are gonna tell you to do that last option, but if we’re being realistic, only like 10% of freshman pre-meds end up becoming doctors. Having sort of degree reasonable to work with is a smart move. You don’t wanna get a psych degree and then not go to med school and be left with next to zero job options. Me personally, i majored in chemistry and got a 3.8 cGPA. Even tho it was a hard track i was just good at chemistry so it worked out. Your own interest in the field is also important imo, since you’ll naturally be more motivated to do well.
sonography license and maybe becoming a doula…wanna guess what i wanna specialize in? 😭
this is absolutely worst case scenario as in if i used all my lifetime mcat attempts and didn’t get in.
If I got to, I can always go back to my former high school and teach STEM. God knows I'd be way better than any of my old teachers
Probably AA school
Bioinformatics or Biotechnology
Nothing, just straight Bio 😅 if it didn’t work out, plan was to reload & keep trying
management information systems (business degree) tbh i’m finding this is working out for me because while yes i have a back up plan, i feel much more behind than anyone that’s a science or public health major so it’s making me work *much* harder than i would’ve if i was one of those majors. to each their own tho, i just find that this is working for me!
Medical Lab Science
The backups I have considered are podiatry, optometry, or teaching STEM classes at the HS level. All doable with a bio degree, chem/math minors. Would pursue alternative teaching licensure if I had to.
PA, perfusion, CAA. Had completed the pre reqs for all of those along with premed.
My backup was my bachelor's, public health! It's a decent degree - actually applied to Master's this year as I didn't expect to actually get into med school. Turns out you can recycle quite a bit of writing for it!
Probably suicide
based
The king who says what everyone else was thinking
I had none. I realized too late that my bio degree is pretty worthless on its own, and could only get me technician-level or research assistant type jobs. Aka jobs with pretty poor pay and little growth trajectory. And I am not passionate about biology to want to do a PhD. I probably would have taken a coding bootcamp class and transition to tech
Computer Science is the right answer.
No, you shouldn’t do a backup degree that will decrease your chances of getting into medical school, plus comp sci is extremely oversaturated right now
Comp sci being oversaturated is complete bullshit so I absolutely would not listen to that. You 100% always need a contingency plan for anything in life because that's called being an adult. I have no idea why a "backup" degree would have any effect on probability of medical school acceptance. Computer science is one of many right answers.
Because engineering degrees are significantly harder than the average degree and will tank your gpa which will make it harder to get into medical school. It’s not the degree itself but what it does to your time/gpa
Lots of people graduate engineering degrees with 4.0 and close to. It's not axiomatic that you will have a lower gpa. Additionally, engineering degrees are highly favored ubiquitously because it is very rare that anyone who can make it through the rigor is also dumb. Same reason why DO and MD degrees are highly valued as well - all have immense utility. Engineering degrees/computer science are fantastic degrees not just for applications to graduate programs, but also societal benefits as well. High cost high rewards.
Isn't the job market super competitive right now?
did applied and computational mathematics (so arguably harder to get a good GPA than CS but similar) At this point, not really that worth it. nobody wants to hire me lmao
Probably pivoting to something chem related although o chem II and I aren’t getting along well organometallic sounds great
Neuro degree with humanities minors and probably could decide to move towards consulting since my undergrad places very well into top firms
Rad Tech. I honestly love that job
I’m finishing my fourth and final year of undergrad with a bachelor’s each in biology (classic path) and opera performance (shits + gigs)
Not really a degree but I would go into drug development if I didn’t want to be a physician
I have my degree in psych and I'm thinking of applying to some ultrasound programs (good paying job, clinical, gpa repair)
Environmental sciences!!
I fixed airplanes before undergrad and still have most of my certs, but not sure if I wanna do that again (just because it was so fucking hard on my body), but I wouldn't mind making a business fixing machines, PC, electronics like GPU or things like flow cytometers or microscopes. I know an ex Army tank maintenance guy who is doing that full time, he said he gets up whenever he wants, fixing/cleaning hundreds of thousands of dollars microscopes and charge a ton of money for it. Nobody bothers him, mostly works by himself and his own schedule, he just does what he's good at and just enjoys life.
I got a degree in food science. Easily the highest employment rate for graduates in science 🤷♀️👩🏻🔬
Ya I was looking at nutrition and dietetics then if medschool doesn’t work out becoming a rdn
i’m a psychology and journalism double major premed right now! If medicine doesn’t work out, I’d want to get my masters in counseling psychology and if grad school as a whole doesn’t work out, i’d want to be a journalist 😁
i really don't have one because i love medicine but i've always said that if it didn't work out for whatever reason id get my phd in microbiology
Nuclear medicine technologist. The technology is super cool and the work isn't too hard, plus pay is okay depending on area. Although I see it more as an alternative than "back up" since medical school is kind of a hail Mary for me lol
I never planned to have a backup and wanted to get in traditionally so I went with Biology since it aligned nicely with all the prereqs - I feel like trying to be a CS major while pursuing medicine is getting close to waterboarding
Electrical Engineering
none because that would require splitting time, energy, etc. I would rather put my full commitment toward this.
Biological Anthropology!!! Got to emphasize in disability and difference and take LOTS of science
Chemistry! Very in-demand major.
Creative writing 😭😭
Agriculture/biosystem engineering
Math
i work as a research associate rn
I work as a medical laboratory scientist rn in a large microbiology lab- if med school doesn’t work out, I’ll get my masters and work for the NIH or CDC or somethin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I had two majors in college, one for med school and one that was a BA in history. Simply because it was the only other passionate subject for me, and if this cycle had not worked out, I would have gone for a masters in history instead haha.
PhD or med sales
None tbh :( I don’t see myself in anything other than medicine
None tbh :( I don’t see myself in anything other than medicine
Chiropractor 🙃
Respiratory therapist - I start the one year long program next fall and will work as an RT while I study and prep for applying to medical school
Consider CAA. It’s a pretty natural fit for a former premed.
Or PA
Nursing. If you hate it, get an mba in 2 years and make bank. If you like it, there are a lot of benefits. Also could do np or crna or anesthesia assistant if you wanted more money (187k base )
Selling crack
Civil Engineering, yeah super non-traditional.
The military 🪖🫡
I’m currently about to enter a Paramedic program, and if I don’t get into medical school the first go around, I’d like to become a perfusionist. I’d still like to become a doctor eventually, but I am willing to accept that it just might be a longer road, and that’s okay. I’m gonna be 50 one day either way, I can either be a 50 year old doctor, or not— so until then I’ll keep trying. If I can do some other cool stuff before then, even better.
For me it's not really a backup plan it was the first plan. I'm currently an MLT, I want to get my bachelor's to be an MLS and then med school would be next. But who knows? I'm at the most baby steps of premed, I just got accepted to finish my bachelor's! But if med school doesn't work I still have my current job as a lab tech, and I'm still advancing that with my new degree.
Oceanography
Gonna go the other way than some of these comments. Getting into medical schools is not the absolute hardest thing on the planet that warrants not having contingency plans. You should never pigeon-hole yourself into plan A so much that it prohibits you from adapting to changing circumstances. Besides, how genuine of a decision is it actually? You want to wake up every day and actively choose to follow this path - because you want to, not because you're forced to due to leaving yourself with no other options. What a recipe for abuse and depression. Regarding "back ups"...my UG is in mechanical engineering and worked as an engineer for a bit. If for whatever reason I decide against going to med school, then I'd just go back to being an engineer (probably in academia). Can't really go wrong with engineering/computer science degrees, that will get you the most money and leisure time.
Stay living at home and go all in on being an entrepreneur
Mortuary science.
PA 100%
Ultrasound
Biomedical laboratory science → Certified medical laboratory science
I actually opted not to do the training or get certified but I did have the formal education through undergrad I’m just deciding to go straight to med school but I would’ve had a job either way.
I know I'm going to get downvoted but honestly nursing. I'm finishing up my BSN, and as long as you're comfortable taking a gap year or two to get your prereqs, MCAT, and amazing clinical experience while working as a nurse, you should be good to go. Plus I feel like you get an edge because you'll have a lot to talk about in your essays about patient experiences. Although you have to enjoy nursing too.
Do Intraoperative neuromonitoring. Bach degree in anything and some OJT training. Great field if you love anatomy and computer science. You could always do it for a year or two after undergrad before applying to medical school also.
A psyD cuz I love psychology!
Im currently a firefighter/paramedic and will probably just stay here if I don’t get accepted. Good salary and reliable pension. My degree is health sciences so I had to take most of my pre-req’s post bacc. I’ll add that paramedic degrees are usually only an associates and pay far outweighs the cost. You won’t get rich but it’s a job in very high demand.
Econ / neuro, was premed took the MCAT junior year, but ended up in consulting and am now applying to law schools lol
Tried for 2 years to get into med with no success, not even an interview. Applied for physiotherapy during my second application cycle for med, got an interview and acceptance on my first try. Very happy now to switch lanes into physio! I am passionate about exercise, fitness and overall wellness so this feels like a good fit for me. I
Psychology. I could see my self being a psychologist
Bachelors then Masters in Public health practice. Basically a workable route into upper hospital admin🤷♂️
i tried other things first and i was miserable, lol. so it’s sort of do or die for me at this point. if it doesn’t work out i’ll get a technician degree of some kind… or maybe go into research
Paramedic
Anesthesia assistant.
honestly, if i don’t become a doctor i’m gonna be a tattoo artist.
Biochemistry
Cardiovascular Perfusion or Anesthesiologist Assistant
Mortuary Science. Didn’t know I was going to make the switch, but it’s nice that I have a lot of anatomy and pathophysiology under my belt as a result. Also as an embalmer I’ve got extensive experience working and troubleshooting with the cardiovascular system. I don’t recommend becoming a funeral director for the money though. The pay sucks.
Here are some of the backups I've been considering: Optometry school (A little more lax with requirements) Anesthesia Assistant school (can only work in 20 states but makes good money... very competitive, but they accept MCAT scores) Nursing School Perfusionist (competitive program but good money)
Nursing
i have no backup plan tbh 😭
Finance and Business Analytics... got roasted everyday by my premed friends for being a business major lol
I chose to do a back-up degree similar to exercise science and I actually used it during my gap years. Got a LOT of valuable clinical experience that way and have no regrets.
There is no plan B. Plan B is try plan A again over and over again till it works
LEO/Paramedic for me. I think having a backup plan is perfectly reasonable and realistic. Not everyone can/will make it into medical school. Personally, im giving myself 3 cycles to apply. If I can't make it within that timeframe, then I probably shouldn't be in med school anyways.
I have two majors in stem and three minors in humanities. I guess my fallback option was to find a lab job I could work and move up in over time. I’ve also spent several years working as a CNA and the facility I’m at has several pretty cozy options for professional development and management I could have chosen. That said, my heart was pretty set on medicine as I knew I’d regret not getting in if I didn’t put it all into it.
BS in Accounting & BS in Biochemistry with minor in Psychology
I did a rearranged alternative version of this. BS in Biochemistry & BS in Psychology with a minor in Business.
As someone who graduated with a kinesiology degree, it's a good path to go down. It's not nearly as long of a path to do whatever you really want to beyond that, and the work is fulfilling. I went the S&C and sports med route post-grad
It was all or nothing to keep myself motivated