Physics vs Math for Premed: Which to Choose?

[jairopena]

Hi all.

I'm writing because i need some guidance for an additional major prior to applying for med school.

First, some background information. I currently have a BBA in information systems, and am employed full time in the army.

Now that I'm a bit older, and have some expirience under my belt, i decided to apply for med school in the next three years, when my commitment is up. However, since I'm a business major, i don't have the prereqs, to apply for med school.

In order to satisfy the prereqs, i can either attend a post-bacc program and take only what i need, or earn an additional bachelors degree. I've decided to earn an additional degree in either physics (preferably applied) or mathematics, since for a post-bacc, i would have to earn about 30 credits anyway. Also if for any reason I'm unable to attend med school, i can continue to study (master's , or work with computers (which i enjoy a lot, but not as much as helping people, hence med school).

My constraints are that i work full time and am married. I also need to finish the degree in 3x years.

While I'm leaning more towards physics (applied or pure), I'm concerned that it may be as lab intensive as engineering or chemistry . Can the same be said for math?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Mindscrape]

I would say that generally both pure physics and pure math are not very lab intensive, while applied physics and applied math are because they are usually run through the engineering school. I've heard that physics majors score pretty well on the MCAT, which is sort of surprising to me because none of the people I graduated with were planning on going to medical school, nor did I ever hear of anyone with that sort of ambition. Studying physics takes up so much of your time that unless you want to have no life, it's tough to study on anything else concurrently.

 

[jairopena]

Thanks for the info.