Nursing as a major but going on a pre med track?

Question

Hey, I am planning to apply to NYU. NYU does not offer a pre-med major but can put you a pre-med track with one of its advisors. Would taking nursing as my major fulfill some of the pre med school requirements or would it be better to major in something like biology?

Answer 1

Prenursing studies programs prepare students for admission into professional nursing programs.This program guides students as they prepare for professional school but does not usually lead to a degree.

Typical Major Courses in pre-nursing:

Algebra

Anatomy

Biology

Chemistry

Nutrition

Physiology

Psychology

Sociology

Premedicine programs provide guidance to students as they prepare for medical school, osteopathic medical training, and podiatric medical training.This program guides students as they prepare for professional school but does not usually lead to a degree.

Students often choose majors in chemistry or biology because they must take several classes in these fields. However, medical schools are also impressed by students with diverse interests. For example, if you have a passion for music, you may want to indulge it before concentrating on your medical studies. As long as you fulfill all of the prerequisite courses for med school, feel free to choose a non-science major.

To get into med school, you’ll need to complete a full year of organic and half year or full year of inorganic chemistry, general chemistry I & II, general biology I & II, Calculus I & II, and physics I & II.  Besides you should take many advanced courses like Neuroscience, Biochemistry, Bioethics that are related to medicine for your bachelor's degree. you can't take these challenging courses with nursing as a major since they are unrelated.

Answer 2

The premed requirements are a year of Biology, 2 years of Chemistry (Inorganic and Organic), a year of Physics, and a year of Calculus. You can major in anything and apply to med school as long as you've taken those courses. But you're likely to do better on the MCATs if you major in Bio or Chem.

It doesn't make sense to major in Nursing unless you want to be a nurse.

Answer 3

There is no pre-med major anywhere.  It's just a series of courses you take while majoring in whatever you want.  You CAN major in nursing, but the pre-med courses and nursing courses don't really overlap much at all, and nursing teaches you different things than med school, and it's not like you can work as a nurse while attending med school, so it might not do a lot for you.  Go for biology.  Or literature.  Whatever you want.

Answer 4

I believe NYU School of Nursing can also take pre-med required courses. However, most of these people in the nursing school just transfer to the College of Arts and Sciences because it's easier for them (nursing requires you to take different classes that you might not want since you want to be a doctor, not nurse).

Pre-med is never a major. It's just a bunch of classes you take that med schools need to see. I don't believe "nursing" is a major either, unless you are enrolled in the nursing school, which i'm assuming you are.

Btw, NYU's biology sucks. But so does anywhere else. Oh well.

Answer 5

Nursing is not a good major to pursue if you have serious plans to attend medical school.  You may have the perception that the coursework is similar for nursing majors and premed track, but in reality they are totally different.  Nursing majors take watered down health-science courses, while premed track take the same science-level coursework as someone who majors in the field, i.e. 1 year of organic chem for chem majors.  For nursing, once you get into  major-specific courses, it becomes very much geared towards actual practical nursing duties and very little on theoreticals. Nursing specific courses and clinicals are considered tough and tiring but will not help you at all with medical school.  Additionally, nursing programs require a student to stick to a very strict schedule regiment when in your final 2 years.  This means little time to vary your schedule around, as doing so is subject to dismissal from the program.  Realize that required premed courses are the minimum -- most students take additional coursework in higher level courses suited for those who major in anatomy, biochem, and such.

Med schools also frown on accepting nursing majors as they are puzzled to why you are applying (remember that most of the board are physicians themselves).  They wonder why you are trying to pursue a career to help others when you are already in a professional health-helping field.  They will brand you with some stigma and likely shrug off your application and take someone else in instead.

Normally most med school applicants come from the bio major.  This is as it's the most relevant to med school study and will seriously help you out along the way as much of what you learn will already have been covered in your undergrad years.  Bio majors have a lot of flexibility in taking additional hard-core science courses such as higher level biochem, analytical chemistry, or to participate in research practices with a professor -- all very favorable elements to an admissions board.