Here is a piece of advice to all of those on the premed track. If you are interested or are planning to be a philosophy major and are interested in going to medical school, the number one thing to put in mind is to realize that time is your priority and sometimes, it's better to take your time and don't take multiple science courses at once. Also, if your major is way different from what the traditional premed students are, that's fine. Just realize that you'll be doing "more work" and just know how to prioritize yourself, especially when it comes to taking certain classes for each semester and focus on your sciences more than your other courses.
Many students who fully commit in being a premed student typically majored in one of the molecular or life sciences. I was a premed student, but I was a philosophy major who was trying to fulfill the premed requirements for medical school. This consisted of taking 1 year with a lab in Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics, meanwhile taking other recommended science courses to increase your chances of getting into an American medical school. I’m not going to sugar coat anything because studying for the classes alone took a toll on my emotional, mental, and physical health. Being in this route tests your time management skills on balancing a healthy relationship with your friends, family, and yourself. But, in reality, there is no social life involved and there is little to no time for yourself, let alone for your family. Putting a discussion aside on the science courses, majoring in something that is totally different the typical premed major is also hard. Normally science courses are 4-5 credits each, the more credits there are the more projects, time in class and more classes are required, like labs and recitation. For example, last semester I took a Gen Chem, Physics, and 2 philosophy classes. Both of my science classes had 1 lecture class, 1 recitation class, and a lab class that is 2 class periods, to put into perspective, alongside with my 2 philosophy classes, that is equivalent to taking 8 classes for only 15 credits.
Nothing says more than a student with good grades, who does other things inside and outside of school, like join a sports team and has 50 internships, an over-achiever, and is different from their premed peers.
The sad truth about this is that a lot of my colleagues don't realize that it is okay to take their time. The nontraditional path is also acceptable. You can always do a post-bachelorette and do research on the mean time as you prepare for more schooling before medical school.
