Question 4: Picking a Major

This actually covers a bunch of questions I get hit with a lot, so lets just start from the top.

1) Do I have to pick a science major?

The answer is no. Any major that you wish to take in college, so long as it is a bachelor's. There are plenty of non science majors that get into the top schools as well as the bottom, though it seems to me that less get into the top than into the bottom. I would say that being a non-science major can be a blessing and a curse. It is most definitely true that majoring in a subject like interpretive dance is going to make you stand out and interesting. However, this is only going to benefit you if you can still compete in terms of science GPA and MCAT scores with your science major competitors. Being a nonscience major means that you are only going to be taking the science pre-requisites for medical school, unless you go out of your way that is. This means that your science GPA is dependant on only a few classes compared to someone who took analytical biophysicalchemistry and all of its pre-reqs. If you ace those courses, that is to your benefit, but if you get crunched on even one, it will make a bigger dent in your science GPA. As for the MCAT, you will have had less training in this kind of analytical thinking, and you will be a lot more rusty at it too. This means you are probably going to have to work even harder to make the grade. That being said, if you do, your nonscience major is going to put you at an advantage on paper. I recommend either taking a science major and non science minor, or vice versa in order to get the best of both worlds. I would NOT recommend taking a science major and minor, because this is redundant. Minors, in my opinion, are only valuable if they are highly different from your major, unique, or fill a significant gap in your education. Taking a Chemistry major and Biology minor isn't that helpful.

2) What major will help me most on the MCAT?

Major salt shaker alert here, but my personal belief is that biochemistry or a similar major is the most helpful. This is because the MCAT is primarily chemistry and biology. The biological sciences is all biology and organic chem, where as the physical sciences is half general chemistry. This means that a good half of the MCAT is covered continuously by your major. Cell Biology, taken your sophomore or junior year, is an enormous advantage, second only to animal physiology, in Biological Sciences. Physical chemistry, taken in the junior year at my school, is a huge review of general chemistry. Biophysical chemistry reviewed some physics, and biochemistry takes a good pot shot at the organic chem and biology covered on the MCAT. If you could find a major that was dubbed Biophysicalchemistry, that might even be better, since you'd get more physics. I didn't really find any courses that were a big boost on verbal reasoning, but I have heard that reading things like the Economist are useful.

3) Should I take the Pre-Med major offered at my school?

Some schools still offer this major, though it is being phased out at many schools. I strongly urge you against taking it. For one, it is an absolutely useless major if you change your mind or are not accepted to medical school. It is also a relatively easy major that basically just covers a little more than the normal pre-med requisites. I have heard that medical admissions folk don't like it for that reason, and because it is felt that it shows a lack of interest in science and a bit of desperation. Get a Biology degree. I have seen dozens of them at interviews, but I have never seen a pre-med major at one.

4) Is Nursing/Pre-nursing/Physician Assistant a good pre-med major?

No! These are absolutely off limits if you can help it. It shows a lack of commitment in your desire to be a doctor. Basically it tells the admissions committee that your back up is to go into this field, rather than being willing to improve yourself and reapplying next year. For this and probably other reasons, adcoms seem to have a serious dislike, and if you get an interview they will definitely ask you about this and your commitment to medicine. I've never seen one of these majors at an interview either. I would also recommend checking with AMCAS if it is even possible to major in these. The problem is that you need a BACHELOR'S degree to go to medical school. To my knowledge, most nursing and other degrees are not bachelor's. I doubt that medical schools will make an exeption.

5) Do schools take into mind course load and difficulty of my major?

Yes, just like schools consider the difficulty of your undergraduate university, they also take into account how many classes you took, the level/difficulty of them, and how well you did. I have heard that a medical school course load is comparable to 25-30 credits a semester. Being able to take 22 credits and do well will be noted. Also, if you took a really tough major, they will take this into account when comparing you to more fluffy majors. However, there are limits. Don't expect a 3.9 in a fluff major to be beaten down by a 3.4 in a hard one.
Above all, I suggest that you pick a major that you like. You will do better in it, make more connections with professors for research and letters of recommendation, and you will be more passionate about it when it comes up at interviews. Do something you love in undergraduate, just like you should only do medicine if you love it.