Pre-health or Pre-med is a designation for those who seek admission to health professional programs, usually upon completion of a bachelor's degree. Many pre-health students are interested in becoming a doctor, pharmacist, physician's assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist, dentist, or veterinarian. If one of those occupations is your career goal, you can complete required pre-med courses at IU Columbus.
Medical schools are looking for well-rounded students with broad academic interests. There is no correct or best major. You should choose your major based on your academic interests while incorporating the pre-med pre-requisites into your degree requirements. Since medical schools are very competitive, your goal is to get the best grades possible in whatever major you choose.
Pre-law is a designation for those who seek admission to law school. There isn't a specific degree you need, instead, law schools want to see students who have a balance of courses in literature, language, speech, composition, logic, and semantics because they are concerned with the cultivation of the skills necessary for law school. These include:
Reading skills: The ability to take in and remember large amounts of information
Analytical skills: The ability to organize and to analyze information, as well as to reason and to draw conclusions based on reading and organizing
Communication skills: The ability to present your arguments and conclusions both orally and in writing
Just taking the courses, however, is not enough. You must also do well. Grades are very important. This includes grades in all courses taken at any university while completing your undergraduate degree. Consequently, you want to major in a subject in which you are interested and one in which you will work hard to do well. Take challenging courses appropriate to your strengths; choose courses in which hard work will be rewarded with good grades.
Majors to consider at IU Columbus:
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