By: Wyatt
If you’re like me, you came to undergraduate school wanting to be a doctor of some sort, whether that’s as a dentist, optometrist, surgeon or physician. If you’re even more like me, you grew frustrated when your initial advisers wouldn’t tell you what the best major is in relation to that goal. As a senior who’s gone through the application process for optometry school, I can finally confirm that there is no right answer for this conundrum, but Professional Writing has worked well for me.
Something other than Biology?
Like many other pre-health students, I initially opted for a Biology major due to the crossover with my prerequisites and because I found the Discovery Channel fascinating as a kid (and still do). As you have probably learned by now, it’s nothing like the latter. As for the former, the crossover was a little bit too convenient. If I continued as a Biology major, I would have ended up in a position with enough empty credit slots to decide between tacking on a minor or branching out with my major.
In talking with the admissions committees of various optometry schools, I’ve learned that they have, frankly, gotten used to the endless tide of Biology majors applying each cycle. For you, this directly translates into more competition and an even greater need to stick out amongst the crowd. While there’s nothing at all wrong with the Biology major (and here at UAB, it has an excellent reputation), being able to make your folder stand out on the admissions table is the first step to being considered.
You’ve probably heard a lot about being “well-rounded,” and it’s more than a platitude. Everyone who applies to a health school will have finished the same prerequisites, but if you have an entirely separate field of experience from the rest, that’s a significant step toward differentiating yourself from the crowd. In many ways, acceptance to a health school is like getting hired for a job.
What are your options?
Put bluntly, there are many science prerequisites (enough for a chemistry minor by default in optometry), and the Core Requirements at UAB also demand dabbling in a plethora of fields. Ideally, this would translate into finding something that interests you, but it takes an early investment of time to manage your science prerequisites. It’s also difficult to squeeze in those Core Requirements right off the bat.
With that in mind, some research and introspection would be in order. The UAB Course Catalog is a great way to learn about the requirements of a field you’re curious about. The first thing to consider should be the number of credit hours required for the major you’re interested in. The smallest majors I’ve heard of at UAB are English, Philosophy, and History: all weighing in at 42 or fewer credit hours.
Chemistry is slightly less common than Biology, but not particularly unique when it comes to health school applications. Neuroscience might be the third most popular, based on talking to fellow applicants. Any major can be a viable path, of course—they simply might not all be particularly distinctive ones.
Why Professional Writing?
To quickly summarize the English major, a student can have one of four Concentrations:
- Professional Writing
- Literature
- Creative Writing
- Linguistics
Each influences the types of English classes you’ll take, though the major’s elective requirements translate into significant potential for exploring the other concentrations, depending on your interests. I wanted something I could, at some point, use—and whether it’s technical writing for referrals or professional communication for the business side of a practice, Professional Writing prepares its students. Mastering minutiae like the basics of usable document design or even composing a resumé are necessities you’ll have to learn eventually.
Fundamentally, I enjoyed English and I liked the prospect of including it in my coursework as an alternative to something like Inorganic Chemistry. The fact that it is directly relevant to my goals was the thing that led me to English rather than, say, Philosophy—which was also a compelling option at the time.
When and how to decide?
Earlier, I talked about the smaller size of the English major in relation to most others. This is crucial, as it means you have more flexibility in deciding. If you’re interested in Professional Writing, the introductory course is a non-committal way of testing the waters. I didn’t switch until right before my Junior year, so there’s still hope for those of you a bit farther down your path.
As with everything mentioned in this article, you are the one planning your path and should take the time to consider all aspects of this decision: your time, preferences, requirements and goals.
