Should I pursue a Minor and if so what is the best general one?

Hi Brooke, great question! I recommend not committing to a minor too early, most students change their degree choice at least once before Junior year. Another thing to consider is that minors are not covered by financial aid. If you are set on medicine (wonderful choice!) a good broad minor would be business, management, leadership or communication to name a few. You can also consider using your elective hours (which are covered by FA) towards useful courses such as business related courses. Consider specializing, like if you minor in a foreign language it might allow you to work on special projects within healthcare. You can also use your elective hours in combination with a minor to have some of the minor courses covered by FA. A minor will add 18-24hrs to your degree plan. A last thought is to have a specific company or industry in mind.

Hi Brooke - great to see that you want to pursue medicine! Such a challenging and rewarding career. My thought on choosing a minor course of study, is that it depends on what area of medicine you want to pursue. So for example, if you want to be a Pediatrician, then maybe a minor in Child Psychology would be helpful. Or if you want to eventually own your own medical practice, a minor in Business Administration or some basic Finance courses would be good. Or you could simply minor in an area that is just a general interest to you like French, Art, or History. Your major and minor don't always have to tie together, but giving some thought about what you really want to do in your career with medicine may help you decide.

Hope that helps! Best of luck to you!

Hello Brooke,

Even though graduating with a minor was common during my era, and earlier, a new approach by many undergrads is to have a "self-designed" major. As I've traveled to college campuses during the past 17 years, many collegians have referenced the option in panel discussions or general conversation when asked about their educational plans. Not so much before that time.

You first designate a major, which could be a biological science or pre-med. If you have another interest that you would like to pursue to expound or balance your concentration, then you must seek permission from the department dean, of your major, to build the self-designed program. This is to be sure you meet all the graduation requirements for your major, as well as specifics for your secondary program. Sometimes the design is related, but not always. However, as mentioned earlier, it requires permission from the dean.

When I shared this with my school counselees, we had fun creating "self-design" possibilities, followed up by developing a plan for approval. Sometimes you can tap hidden talent or interests that might broaden your career endeavor.

Hope this helps!