Just let me study humanities in peace

In my half a semester of college experience, I’ve come to associate meeting new people with that one omnipresent question: “What’s your major?”

As an English major on the premed track, this question is more than a little difficult.

Do I just say English and wait for the inevitable mask of disbelief (“Are you prepared to live in a cardboard box for the rest of your life?” a judgemental eyebrow asks me. “Or worse, are you going to teach?”).

Do I over-explain to a stranger that I will almost certainly never talk to again, elaborating that premed is not a major but just a set of course requirements needed to apply to medical school?

Should I answer just that I’m premed or lie and for simplicities sake say Biology? tl;dr: The struggle is real.

I can do both

Here’s a fun fact. It actually does not matter at all what you major in before med school. Your major does not increase your chances of acceptance.

According to a US News and World Report from 2013 only half (51 percent) of accepted medical school students had majored in the biological sciences.

So what does matter? GPA. Of course. Medical school admissions look at their applicants’ overall GPA, GPA for science classes, and MCAT score. Not major.

What you major in does not even matter after med school, because most of the material is new for even sciences majors, so no matter what, med students can expect to list the library as their new mailing address because they’ll be studying all day.

So I’m majoring in English. I like reading and writing, and I’m good at it. I’m taking two English courses this semester, but I’m also taking two biology courses. I love all four of them, and in every way I get the best of both worlds.

I get to pursue both of my interests, while preserving my oh-so-important GPA, taking classes that are suited to my strengths. Especially because I’ve finished math and don’t have to take upper-level calculus. Fuck math.

So next time you ask someone their major and are prepared to judge the humanities, remember that one day I will be able to save your life and school you in medieval English literature. I hope your insurance covers Chaucer.