College as premed in engineering major

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MindCastle15

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So I'm joining college this fall, at a mid-tier UC. I plan on being an engineering major (BME, but may change to ChemE or Materials Science) . I also plan on the premed track, although I am not entirely sure about med school just yet. Will most probably take a couple of years off after undergrad to work, then apply to med schools (if that is still my end goal) Am also playing around with the idea of a double major (prob in neurosci/cognitive sci areas). I also want to have a part-time job.
This may have been asked a million times before, but I would still appreciate honest answers :) HS was not such a good experience, and I didn't have as much of a social life (or anything except studying, really) This was in part due to bad time management skills, and an unhealthy obsession with grades. I really needed to work extra hard to perform at the level I do now. I also really hate competition in academics. (Should I stay away from premeds?)
But I don't want to be that way anymore, and I want to experience college life to the fullest. I'm not a drinker (no drugs either) and not a huge party animal (prob would like to try it out tho). But I am def not the person who needs to black out every week to have "fun". However, I do want to have fun night outs with friends, at least once or twice a week, and be active on campus life, and extracurricular activities (NOT just pre-med related ones), and take trips with friends every once in a while, maybe date and have a social life, join the orchestra, you get the picture. I still plan on working hard, and endeavoring to keep a kick-ass gpa, while I also deal with internships, research positions etc.
Is what I'm saying doable, or is it virtually impossible except for those with superhuman focus and time management skills, and genius to boot? I'm no genius, I have to work for my grades, time management skills have improved, but I procrastinate a lot, and I'm a little slow with schoolwork in general :/. But these 4 years are supposed to be the best of your life, and I don't want to continue to clock out on life like this, and spend it sitting in a library on the weekends.

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So essentially you're asking if it's possible to have a social life while being an engineering major/pre-med? If so, yes, plenty of people do it. You just have plan your days effectively.
 
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In theory, one can definitely have a social life while being an engineering double major (I certainly did). However, it will be tough and you will absolutely need to have awesome time management skills - that is a must. If you can keep your GPA in the 3.7 range, you'll be competitive for med school and essentially every engineering job out there.

Now, I personally never bought into college being the "best yrs of your life", but I do try to have fun with whatever I do but you must remember - you are paying a lot of money to get a higher education so while college should be enjoyable, your main goal should be learning the material to the best of your ability. Since you don't want to burnout, taking a Friday night and/or Saturday night to do something fun won't kill you provided you get your work done earlier in the day on the weekends (this type of approach helped me stay focused since I had something fun to look forward to).

Overall, you just gotta ask yourself how committed you are to playing the premed game and plan your time accordingly.
 
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I've heard it's hell, but it's good to challenge yourself if you're capable
 
You have to be interested in the engineering track more than other majors or you will burn out. You have to want to study more than your friends who are biology majors (in my opinion). But you can certainly do it. And it's not miserable like some people may make it out to be IF you enjoy it. I have always loved school so Electrical Engineering was really exciting. Plus there is more consistency week in and week out because homework assignments and tests are more equally spaced then a major with only tests or primarily papers. Don't do it for the security of having a job regardless (that was part of my reasoning) I think it's dangerous to endanger your primary plan (med school) for a secondary plan (engineering) unless you like the subject. Again it comes down to interest level and desire. With that said, I got a 3.8 GPA through four years (with one to go) and am on my way to an EE degree and hopefully med school. You can certainly do it and it's not awful. But it's not for everybody.
 
One thing you need to ask yourself too is what do you want to do if you decide not to go the medical school route? Is bioengineering or chemical engineering a career path that you want to do for the rest of your life? Do some research into the job prospects after graduating, what you would do with your degree, etc. and then make your decision then.

I personally did BME, and if medical school didn't end up working out (I sure hope it does, though) then I would be happy still getting a PhD in BME and working in industry. The field is incredible and there are some cool things going on.

As for whether or not you can have a social life as a pre-med engineer, you totally can. Don't read into that, "You'll only get 4 hours of sleep a night" BS. IMO, those people are just trying to brag about their work ethic. I was able to hang with friends, etc. nearly every night. You will still have to be very focused on school, though, as engineering is hard! My science GPA is 0.3 higher than my all other GPA due to the difficulty of engineering. But having a social life and being a pre-med engineer is totally possible. Just work on your time management.
 
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Thanks for all the answers, premed engineers! Makes me feel better about my plan. To be clear, I'm not planning on double-majoring in engineering- just an engineering major, and MAYBE something else (not so unit-heavy).
About my career plans- honestly, I would be lying if I said that money (actually, more about stability than money) is not a factor when choosing engineering. I am actually interested in pursuing medical research and my initial plan was Bio major--> grad school. If I don't go to med school (not really required if all I'm interested in is research) I would want to either be a professor or work in academia, or work in biotech/pharma companies developing drugs/therapies :) But my parents have been trying to convince me to choose a major better than just bio, and BME seemed a better way to go. But my interests changed a bit since I applied and now I'm leaning towards ChemE and Materials which also has a ton of stuff I'm interested in (non-med/bio related), and seems to be better than BME as an undergrad degree. I'm not brilliant at math, actually, so I'm a bit scared about my gpa, but yes, its not a random decision- it'll definitely lead me to where I want to go ultimately. And yes, I do love school in general- like I said, I'm happy studying, but I can't do it all day.
Hmmm...any time management tips? I seem to have a huge problem with this- of course, the real thing is my own determination and self -discipline (which I really lack).
 
Oh yeah: one more, really imp question: EEtoPre-Med you need 5 years in total to graduate? Is this true for all premed engineers? I ask because my financial situation is not the best right now, and 5 years in college can be stressful in terms of finances.
 
Oh yeah: one more, really imp question: EEtoPre-Med you need 5 years in total to graduate? Is this true for all premed engineers? I ask because my financial situation is not the best right now, and 5 years in college can be stressful in terms of finances.

I've known engineers who have had no problem completing their major and their pre-med courses in 4 years. So no, you definitely do not need 5 years as a rule. Perhaps some people take 5 years if they space their classes out more, but it's not necessary.
 
Oh yeah: one more, really imp question: EEtoPre-Med you need 5 years in total to graduate? Is this true for all premed engineers? I ask because my financial situation is not the best right now, and 5 years in college can be stressful in terms of finances.

I just thought I'd interject (even though you weren't asking me per se), most typical UG engineering degrees can be completed in 4 yrs. Some programs have 5 yr plans since they integrate a lot of co-op time into the schedule (there are also some programs that will just take up 5 yrs to complete). The speed in which you finish will also come down to how many credits you come in with (it's even possible to finish faster).
 
About time management for engineering, I'd just say make sure to stay meticulously organized. Keep a notebook or calendar that has when all your assignments are due, tests will be, what time other pre-med activities such as volunteering, etc. will be and just make sure to follow that calendar well.

Also, prioritize! If you have an assignment for one class that you know is going to take you 20 hrs to complete and it's only worth 2.5% of your grade, and you have a test in another class that's worth 25% of your grade, study the test first. Get that info down then get as much possible done on the assignment. Unfortunately, you will more than likely have to turn in some less than stellar assignments for this reason if you still want to have a social life. But you should still do just fine in terms of grades if you don't do as well on the 2.5%-of-your-grade assignments but kill the 25%-of-your-grade tests.
 
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Do you have any AP credits? That will help you give some extra time to study throughout years.
I had so many AP credits and it helped me great deal; I could take ochem immediately and finish my math requirements much faster. This also gave me more time to study Spanish minor and Chem. E classes.
 
@MindCastle15

Why do you want to major in engineering if you want to go to medical school? You'll very quickly learn as a pre-med that it's best to not make your life more difficult than it has to be. I would speculate that many engineering majors drop out of engineering ASAP if and when they realize that medicine is what they want to commit to.
 
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@brigaton : so basically prioritise- I hear this often from many of my college-going friends, even those not engineering or premed :)
Hmmm...I have only 1 AP course actually, (I'm an overseas U.S. citizen with family in California ) . However I am thinking of taking classes at the local CC over the summer (for only the first year, maybe) -good or bad idea?
It's not about making life difficult- it's about my future plans and career options in case I decide not to study medicine or it doesn't work out. And in my case, there is a decent possibility of the first situation happening. That's why.
 
@brigaton : so basically prioritise- I hear this often from many of my college-going friends, even those not engineering or premed :)
Hmmm...I have only 1 AP course actually, (I'm an overseas U.S. citizen with family in California ) . However I am thinking of taking classes at the local CC over the summer (for only the first year, maybe) -good or bad idea?
It's not about making life difficult- it's about my future plans and career options in case I decide not to study medicine or it doesn't work out. And in my case, there is a decent possibility of the first situation happening. That's why.

I took 5 years because the MCAT changed and I wasn't ready for it with my engineering major and thus had to add Genetics and Biochemistry to my semester before my MCAT. Don't take your med school pre-reqs at CC. But it may not be a bad idea to take some of the mathematics for engineering over the summer if possible.
 
Oh that makes more sense now. No, I've been cautioned against that, so no premed reqs at CC.
Just a little bit curious, this is about college in general- is there a lot of peer pressure to party/drink etc in undergrad? Or is it entirely possible to stay away from all of this and still have fun with like-minded people? Or does this depend college to college?
Also, not relevant to my question, but is my plan to major in ChemE/BioE a good plan if I ultimately want to participate in medical research?
 
Oh that makes more sense now. No, I've been cautioned against that, so no premed reqs at CC.
Just a little bit curious, this is about college in general- is there a lot of peer pressure to party/drink etc in undergrad? Or is it entirely possible to stay away from all of this and still have fun with like-minded people? Or does this depend college to college?
Also, not relevant to my question, but is my plan to major in ChemE/BioE a good plan if I ultimately want to participate in medical research?

1. At most schools, the kids tend to understand that some people aren't drinkers and thus won't pressure you once you make that point clear. I knew several people who did that and had plenty of fun.

2. I was a ChE/Biochem double major in UG (worked as an engineer for a couple yrs before going back to school) and if you're thinking of doing more biomedical/biologically-relevant research, it may make more sense to go w/ the BME route. It's not that it's impossible to do it with the ChE degree, it's just that the BME allows you to take some helpful bio classes plus there tends to be more faculty doing biomedical research in BME departments (tissue engineering, medical devices, comp modeling, etc) than ChE departments (which tend to focus on process engineering, comp modeling, environmental, oil, and a bit of bio research).

If you do go with the ChE (which tends to be the toughest, if not, one of the toughest engineering disciplines), you'd most likely have to find a PI outside of your department if you want to do biomedical research. Some options would include a BME, biology, biochemistry/biophysics, and immunology. This all assumes you're not going to be in one of those integrated chemical engineering/bioengineering departments. Good luck.
 
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@MindCastle15 I'm an engineering major who is applying for med schools right now. My advice: don't do it if you want a social life outside of school, especially if you're at a UC school. Other people say that you can do it all, and maybe they did and you can. However, you will still be giving up other opportunities to focus on school. If you choose to do a math major or go straight bio, programs are usually fairly flexible in terms of electives, so you can more easily fit classes around you non-academic life rather than vice versa (engineering is typically more rigid in what courses you have to take). Plus, in terms of GPA, engineering majors have a lower average graduating GPA than bio majors, and GPA and MCAT are the two pillars in your med school application (you can argue about what majors are hardest, but the fact is that the average engineer graduates with a lower gpa than math or bio majors).

If you like math and bio, I'd go applied math and take bio objectives that you're interested in. You don't get all of the courses you would if you did ChemE/BioE, but you still get the quantitative background without a lot of the b.s. that engineering makes you go through.

In terms of research, I've found that engineering has given me a competitive edge in certain areas. It just depends on what you want to do.
 
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I was a double engineering major in undergrad and worked in the industry for a few years before doing my postbacc. A lot of people go into engineering with the mindset that they will have a good backup plan in case medical school doesn't work out. While this seems like a logical choice people, I feel that it might not be the most not thought out decision. As someone who was planning to work as an engineer after undergrad, I feel that there is no way you can do premed and work towards an engineering career at the same time.

The coursework is pretty rigorous and several of your classes will have a lot of labs, so free time will definitely be less than that of a bio major. You will have to do a bunch of interviews during the semester to guarantee that you get an internship each summer, because these are almost as important as your GPA. Anyone who has no work experience before graduating will be an extremely undesirable job candidate, unless you have connections or are just lucky. I know this because I use to help my company with recruiting, including interviewing entry level candidates. If you're trying to do all this engineering stuff to make sure you have a gap year job if medical school doesn't work out the first time, you'll have a hard time making time for volunteering, shadowing, research, and all the other premed stuff. If you are somehow able to pull of both, then by all means go for it. I just wanted to give a different perspective.
 
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You can have a social life, but you also have to study. BME or Chem engineering would mean that you just have to take biology and not skip your English. There are ways to make the studying not interfere with your social life. If you make school like a 9-5 job and just study while you're not in class or on lunch, you can often just chill for the rest of the day. Some semesters might take more hours though tbh.
 
A lot of people go into engineering with the mindset that they will have a good backup plan in case medical school doesn't work out. While this seems like a logical choice people, I feel that it might not be the most not thought out decision. As someone who was planning to work as an engineer after undergrad, I feel that there is no way you can do premed and work towards an engineering career at the same time.
I agree with this. If you're capable of getting accepted to med school while studying engineering at competitive schools like the UC's, then you don't need to worry about having a backup plan. At worst you'll have to take a year or two off and do an SPM or join the peace corp. (or whatever else it takes to boost your application). Doing both for the sake of a backup plan just ends up diluting both.
 
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I am actually planning to work a few years after undergrad, both because of financial reasons, and also because I want to be truly independent, at least for some time before I go back to school. I'm also thinking of the peacecorps thing, or perhaps getting a prestigious scholarship etc etc. All hypothetical, of course, depends on my performance in college.
I am actually interested in ChE, including the other topics mentioned, such as environmental and materials stuff. And while my BME major doesn't exactly combine ChE and bioengineering, they are all placed in this one department- Chemical, Materials, and Biomedical- which is kind of perfect for me so I don't think I'll have a big problem finding research opportunities in my area of interest.
One of the main reasons I'm moving away from BME is because I've heard its one of the toughest engineering disciplines, because they teach pretty much ALL the engineering disciplines, but you're left lacking in fundamentals. This leads to a poor learning experience, and also trouble when you look for employment and everybody hires the person with a broader, more solid skill-set.
Unfortunately, my parents are very against paying for me going to college just for a bio degree, even if its for premed. :/ Anything more marketable than bio, they're telling me to do my first 2 years at a CC if I'm that hellbent on bio. I've tried to convince them before, but since then, I've also realised that I wouldn't be very happy with just bio, I would be pretty limited and I would miss math :)
 
Something I'm a little confused about- I know that it's possible to apply to med school after a gap year. If I've taken all the premed reqs (and have a good gpa), how about after 3-4 years? Do I need to do a post-bacc then? Do med schools look favorably on work experience?
 
@MindCastle15, if you are set on engineering, my suggestion is start out with a single major and pick at most two extracurriculars to do your first year (research, orchestra, part-time job, etc.). If you are doing well after the first year, maybe add another extracurricular.

I really needed to work extra hard to perform at the level I do now. I also really hate competition in academics. (Should I stay away from premeds?)
College gets A LOT harder than high school (at least in my experience, and especially if you aren't even taking college-level or AP classes in hs). Engineering is known for being rigorous and competitive, especially at UC schools. You WILL NOT be able to do everything you listed (at least at the same time) while keeping your GPA up. If you are looking for a non-competitive major where you can spend a lot of time enjoying other things, DO NOT DO ENGINEERING unless you don't care about your gpa.

You can definitely apply to med school after a gap year. If you are set on engineering, my suggestion would be to follow that route fully, and then worry about pre-med after you graduate.
 
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You can definitely apply to med school after a gap year. If you are set on engineering, my suggestion would be to follow that route fully, and then worry about pre-med after you graduate.
Kind of my plan :) The double major thing is something absolutely optional, I'm not too keen on it because I know I probably won't be able to handle it. I went to a pretty rigorous HS (overseas, where all courses in 11th and 12th grade are college-level work). But I can't really compare it with the US system, so I'll just see how I handle things, then add or drop stuff accordingly.
 
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I am a rising Junior, majoring in a specialized engineering field, minoring in Math, working 10-15 hours a week in semester and full time summers in a Bio research lab. Realizing I want to go Pre-med last year requires taking 18-19 credits last semester and this coming fall. I also took 3 credits in social science pre-reqs earlier this summer. My point? You need to be completely committed to your studies. Typically I spend 60-80 hours a week on school and lab work virtually year round.

However I do have a limited social life. I am VP of an active club and joined a professional frat.

Later this summer I hope to chart out an action plan for the next 18 months to work on EC's and MCAT prep. My family doctor has kindly agreed to allow me to shadow him this fall/winter. Clinical experience and volunteering are still challenges I need to plan for and overcome. Honestly I am not yet sure how "to do it all".

In my case I was 3 semesters in when I had a life changing experience and realized more than anything else I want to practice family medicine in a rural setting (I'm a farm boy, lol). Engineering/math is my backup in case Med school doesn't work out. It seems the MCAT is the great equalizer and Med schools do not consider course rigor when evaluating applicants. As others have said, if your 100% sure you want to attend Med School why kill yourself?

Bottom line is its hard enough to graduate on time with a 3.7+ in and engineering program. Adding in pre-med pre-reqs (social sciences and writing intensive courses especially) push it to an extreme. Add in EC's and study time for MCAT's.....
 
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