Deciding on Major (BME vs. Biochem)

[Quinoline]

Biomedical engineering vs. Biochemisty, withal I am set on medicine.

This fall, I will begin my 3rd year of undergrad, currently enrolled in BME. If I go to biochem, undergrad will take 4.5 years, if not, I am considering 4.5 years anyway to keep the credits reasonable to complete BME and pre-reqs. I am thinking about biochem because the content of the upper level BME classes is 'overly-engineering/underly-bio' focused for my liking. Biology and chemistry interest me much more. However, I am a an admirer of the critical thinking and problem solving in engineering. cGPA 3.79, sGPA 3.81, I want to get/stay in 3.8's and am thinking this will be easier in biochem.

Any thoughts or advice? Will staying in BME look better/how much is major taken into GPA evaluation? Thanks.

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[claduva94]

What you major in does not matter to medical schools. Do what you like. Also, as a BME, there is a heavy emphasis on biological concepts, so don't let that deter you.

 

[allantois]

Time spent pursuing a hard major can be better utilized doing other things for your application.

 

[Caffein3]

It really depends what your passionate in. Schools really don't care on the difference between BME and Biochem--you'll take hard courses regardless. If you like biology and chemistry more, I would recommend switching to Biochem.

Personally, I've changed my major three times in college and settled on Biochem. I chose it because I like the course material and I also thought "if all else failed, this is a useful degree I could use to pursue higher education". Not saying that BME isn't useful though.

 

[hoihaie]

biochem is more interesting and easier

 

[MEN2C]

Nobody will care. If you truly want to do something that'll help you in medicine, major in Spanish. I wish I had.

Otherwise, out of the two, pick the one you like more. You're not going to get much of a 'pass' in terms of GPA, people don't have time to evaluate Major A at school X vs. Major B at school Y and figure out which one is objectively harder.

 

[claduva94]

biochem is more interesting and easier

Pshh not more interesting

 

[AllThatRacket]

Do whatever you are interested most in. I can vouch for the fact that upper-level engineering courses tend to really hit the gpa hard, but if you wanna stay in BME, go for it! If you are more interested in biochem, then definitely switch.

 

[baxt1412]

Whatever will allow you to fulfill a better application (that includes ability to get better grades which is due to time/difficulty/interest, time to pursue ECs) other than that, the ADCOMS don't care.

they will see your grades and ECs. i don't think they will see a BME and say "OH YOU'RE IN!!" and same goes for biochem

 

[Goro]

We don't care what your major is, only that you do well in it.

Major in whatever interests you the most.

Biomedical engineering vs. Biochemisty, withal I am set on medicine.

This fall, I will begin my 3rd year of undergrad, currently enrolled in BME. If I go to biochem, undergrad will take 4.5 years, if not, I am considering 4.5 years anyway to keep the credits reasonable to complete BME and pre-reqs. I am thinking about biochem because the content of the upper level BME classes is 'overly-engineering/underly-bio' focused for my liking. Biology and chemistry interest me much more. However, I am a an admirer of the critical thinking and problem solving in engineering. cGPA 3.79, sGPA 3.81, I want to get/stay in 3.8's and am thinking this will be easier in biochem.

Any thoughts or advice? Will staying in BME look better/how much is major taken into GPA evaluation? Thanks.

 

[Afford]

I graduated in BME and I enjoyed the classes and design project that we did. The only downside is that BME required more classes than biochem, so more classes per semester meant less time studying for each class. I don't know how the BME program is for you, but our major still had a generous curve and we had a few people graduate with 4.0+ GPAs. I would ask 4th years about the curves in your classes.

 

[alexibluezz]

Yeah...doing well is relative, and very much so. My cGPA is a 3.58, and I'm in the top 10, maybe top 5% of my electrical engineering class (and I have a 3.91 sGPA). Among engineering majors, anything above a 3.0 is considered very good. Upper-level courses can be brutal, so definitely find out what the grading scales are like at your school. Some of my classes used a bell curve, with a C as the mean (good luck getting an A there). Some of them don't even have a curve, and some people scored in the single digits on exams. To be honest, I don't know if I would do engineering again--I love having the critical thinking and analysis skills, but a major like biochem would have taught me a lot of that, and would probably have left me with a significantly higher GPA.

We don't care what your major is, only that you do well in it.

Major in whatever interests you the most.

 

[baxt1412]

Yeah...doing well is relative, and very much so. My cGPA is a 3.58, and I'm in the top 10, maybe top 5% of my electrical engineering class (and I have a 3.91 sGPA). Among engineering majors, anything above a 3.0 is considered very good. Upper-level courses can be brutal, so definitely find out what the grading scales are like at your school. Some of my classes used a bell curve, with a C as the mean (good luck getting an A there). Some of them don't even have a curve, and some people scored in the single digits on exams. To be honest, I don't know if I would do engineering again--I love having the critical thinking and analysis skills, but a major like biochem would have taught me a lot of that, and would probably have left me with a significantly higher GPA.

You have to look at "doing well" for med school applicants.

 

[Goro]

The logic of "my engineering GPA of 3.5 = a Biology 4.0" doesn't fly well with Adcom members.

Yeah...doing well is relative, and very much so. My cGPA is a 3.58, and I'm in the top 10, maybe top 5% of my electrical engineering class (and I have a 3.91 sGPA). Among engineering majors, anything above a 3.0 is considered very good. Upper-level courses can be brutal, so definitely find out what the grading scales are like at your school. Some of my classes used a bell curve, with a C as the mean (good luck getting an A there). Some of them don't even have a curve, and some people scored in the single digits on exams. To be honest, I don't know if I would do engineering again--I love having the critical thinking and analysis skills, but a major like biochem would have taught me a lot of that, and would probably have left me with a significantly higher GPA.

 

[alexibluezz]

Definitely. The point I was making (if implicitly) was that in general, you have to be an ultra-competitive engineering major if you want to have a good shot at med school. It will eat time away from your ECs, although you may be able to spin the non-trad thing in your favor. Regardless, it's a harder road to take, but then again, it may only be preparing you that much better for the rigors of med school.

You have to look at "doing well" for med school applicants.

 

[baxt1412]

Definitely. The point I was making (if implicitly) was that in general, you have to be an ultra-competitive engineering major if you want to have a good shot at med school. It will eat time away from your ECs, although you may be able to spin the non-trad thing in your favor. Regardless, it's a harder road to take, but then again, it may only be preparing you that much better for the rigors of med school.

Very possible. It's always a game of give and take.

 

[Quinoline]

Thank you everyone for clarifying that major does not matter. It is an excellent point that it's important to not only consider GPA, but time available for other activities. I will take all of this into consideration.