PrincetonUniversity
Class of 2004 Sophomore Academic Handbook

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Advice for Premedical Students on Choosing a Major

An interest in medicine often originates from a fascination with science, and it makes sense to pursue this interest through departmental work. Moreover, many students planning to apply to medical school think that they should major in science and that they will be less competitive candidates as humanities or social science majors. This, however, is not the case. Premedical students should use the same criteria for choosing a major that other students use: What discipline is most interesting and most challenging? Which field draws best on your talents and abilities? Where do you want to do your independent work? Where will you do your best work?

Students who are excited by the opportunities at Princeton to study the liberal arts, engineering, or the social sciences should take advantage of the wonderful faculty and facilities here and major in one of these areas. Premed course work can fit into a nonscience major with careful planning and advice from the premed adviser, residential college deans, and directors of studies.

When deciding on a major, several points are worth noting.

• Medical schools are interested in applicants who are challenged in the sciences and have demonstrated their abilities in science. They also want to attract candidates who have a broad view of the human condition, an understanding gained through the study of literature, history, and the social and behavioral sciences.

• Successful medical school applicants demonstrate both ability in science and that broader understanding through a strong academic record. Recent premedical students have majored in English, history, the Woodrow Wilson School, engineering, and psychology, as well as the more traditional science fields. Those with equally strong records have been equally successful in gaining admission.

• The undergraduate years may be the last opportunity to study the liberal arts in depth; there will be plenty of science in medical school, but little opportunity for Shakespeare, Mozart, classical mythology, or economics.

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