Unsure what to major in: medicine or economics?
Incoming freshman to Princeton, and I'm really conflicted on what path to take. I know it's super early, but if I do want to explore my options its important I plan all my courses wisely!
Since I was little, I've wanted to go into medicine: high school I did volunteering, shadowing, interning at a hospital, medical epidemiology research, and when I applied to colleges, I got in for biology. I love what doctors get to do: see people at their worst and change that, whether it be healing or providing comfort. I need to flesh out my 'Why Physician', but from what I know right now, it's exhausting but rewarding for the right people.
My original plan was to major in something biology/chemistry/public health, and then apply for MD-PhD programs. I feel like there's so much I could do: patient care is what I lean towards, but also I could switch to academia and research if that changed, or even industry, like in biotech or biomedical engineering. When I think of this as potentially my future, it's exciting.
However, I've also recently been slightly dissuaded by my parents. Medicine is a huge investment. I'm already spending close to 360k on undergrad tuition, coupled with med school, and then 3-7 years making 70k, before I start earning what my parents consider a livable salary. I don't want to burden my parents with more tuition, and I am also nervous about taking out loans.
My parents want me to double major in Econ as a back-up plan, and potentially go down the path of consulting and eventually doing some business/start-up management. I'm sure it's much more complicated than what I've summed it up to. I'm not totally opposed to this career path, but I know I'll always have regrets about what could have been with medicine.
So my dilemma comes down to this: even if I double major in Econ and Biology, one of the degrees will be useless if I spend my summers doing bio research or if I spend my summers in consulting internships. And both majors are on the heavy side for course load. Unless I do like healthcare management, I can't really see myself using both my degrees. I could always major in Econ and just fulfill the pre-med requirements, but I think that puts me at a disadvantage for MD-PhD programs.
Sorry for all this word vomit, I'm honestly very anxious that I'm just going to end up wasting my parents' money, and I feel like I need to decide soon so that I can plan my summers and coursework accordingly.
Posted Jun 30, 2025, 3:04 AM UTC