Anybody here majored in Biomedical Engineering

[MugenTsukiyomi]

and was it difficult for you to get into Medical school; I heard that it is really hard and people are scared to take because their GPA might be lower.

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[dragonark]

and was it difficult for you to get into Medical school; I heard that it is really hard and people are scared to take because their GPA might be lower.

There are many of us in med school. It is harder. If going to med school is the ultimate goal, get a good GPA, it doesn't matter in what.

 

[OPPforlife]

I think it depends on the individual applicants, however, from my own experience it seemed like the admissions committees I interviewed with were really interested in Biomedical engineering and its scope. As far as GPA is concerned I was never once asked about my grades (I was totally an average BME student, I think my class rank was 14 out of 25. Made 2 Cs, plenty of Bs, and a few As). I do think that as a major BME provides you with a unique profile and I also think that BMEs tend to do fairly well on the MCAT as a group so that may be a reason why GPA was not that big of an issue.
Nice to see another fellow BME pursuing medicine. Best of luck with every thing.

 

[engineeredout]

Chemical Engineer here - the engineering gave me something to talk about at the very least, and no my GPA wasn't fantastic.

 

[zut212]

I'm 35 now, and my GPAs were 3.2 and 3.45. Without a doubt, BME students were much smarter than the non engineering students. Also, in my undergraduate graduating ceremony, there were quite a few summa cum laude and perfect 4.0 students for the non-engineering majors, and very few summa cum laudes in engineering and only *1* perfect 4.0 engineering student from a pretty big state school.

This is what I think: This is *NOT* the major you want if you want to go into medical school. You will have depressed GPA, and this would make it hearder to get into MD school. However, I can promise you this - is if a BME gets accepted to MD school, then he would do a great job as a physician and as a researcher, if they choose to do research.

In a nutshell, you want an easier major like biology, if you want to go into medical school.

If I could go back 17 years, I would have done this: Major in biology and computer science. NOTE: Computer science, I believe, should be as hard as engineering, since they also have to take differential equations and physics I, II, and III. Also, I may have minored in finance or even economics.

Why would I major in Bio + CS? Because it's VERY HARD to get a job in biomedical engineering!!!!! If you're lucky to get a job in BME, you'll get paid well, but it's so hard to get a job in the first place. Most importantly, it seems that a biotech/pharma company doesn't care about your major as they do your pertinent experiences. So if they are looking to fill a job position in quality engineering where you have experience in analyzing your vendor's performance, they would hire a MARKETING major who had experience in this area VS a biomedical engineer without experience in this. Also, a company that wants someone to test a BME software would hire a computer scientist (or even an ENGLISH Major if they are experienced) to do this job. So, a BIO + CS background would still see to it that I get a job writing code for ANY SECTOR and ANY INDUSTRY. This job, BTW, is well-paying, and the corporate culture is fun.

My interests in economics and finance would also help me in my efforts in the corporate world.

And majoring in the BIO would *HELP* me, not guarantee me, that I get a job in the biomed sector.

Finally, I interviewed at JnJ and Boston Scientific quite a few times. None of these hiring managers have BMED backgrounds.

 

[Medicalbound10]

I feel the same way as you, BIOE tanked my GPA,...I think you just have to nail the MCAT...in anycase that is my plan to help my low GPA. I have talked to other students from my class and that is what they said helped them get into school. Good to hear there are other BIOE's pursuing medical field...

 

[ninefivethree]

I think I have a pretty decent gpa in bmen. From my school, 70-90% of biomedical engineers who apply to med school are accepted each year.

 

[soundnin]

another bme undergrad here! i never even thought about med school until AFTER graduating, so my GPA is quite low compared to all the 3.8's on SDN... lol. i still graduated cum laude, not sure what that percent cutoff is (not like it matters), but.. yeah. i hope i get a nice MCAT score too

 

[dr zaius]

I did BME for BS and MS as well. It's going to require more work than biology, but for me it was much more fun. It definitely prepared me well for the MCAT. All of my interviewers brought up BME and the research I was working on. I wouldn't say that it gave a distinct advantage, but it gave something to talk about during interviews.

For the most part you won't be given any slack for having a lower GPA. You're going to have to work for every .1 of a point. Don't go into BME thinking it will allow you some wiggle room with your GPA. This is largely false and has been discussed in other threads.

 

[shouldvestudied]

A simple answer to your question is: yes, it is harder to maintain a high GPA in Biomedical Engineering than say, English.

But it is important to realize that you might not want to go into medicine in four years. And if you do decide to decline a career in Medicine, that BME degree is going to be a whole hell of a lot better than English (or even Biology for that matter).

One question I have for you: Why do you want to pursue BME specifically?

 

[mitl]

CSE+Neuro+Math Minor here

I feel your pain...its hard to keep up a 3.8-3.9cGPA its HARD but doable

+ all this knowledge will never go waste

 

[jm192]

and was it difficult for you to get into Medical school; I heard that it is really hard and people are scared to take because their GPA might be lower.

as far as the major, see EVERYONE at UC Davis

Edit: Let me add something of value. The truth, is, most places aren't more impressed by your major than Biology or Chemistry. I suppose you start off with competitive people taking the hardest major they can to look more appealing, and it starts to trickle down, and eventually, everyone thinks you HAVE to do BME to be competitive when you go to apply.

But, what you majored in won't save you. If you get a 4.0 in Bio or Chem and a good MCAT score, you're golden.

If you get a 4.0 in The History of the Arts...you might get called on it. But Bio or Chem...still not easy majors by any means.

 

[FlowRate]

Just be a baller and get a good GPA in engineering. It's doable.

(I still wouldn't recommend it... seriously.. be a chemistry major.)

 

[mx21]

i would say it depends on how strong you are in academics/study skills already. if you already have a strong foundation in math/physics/bio and went to a challenging high school, then you should probably be prepared for bme. i went through bme myself and kept a 3.9 gpa (sometimes i would curse my major choice because it made my life that much more difficult), but it DEFINITELY taught me to think from a new approach -- something that i certainly wouldn't have gained as a straight-up biology major.

 

[MugenTsukiyomi]

A simple answer to your question is: yes, it is harder to maintain a high GPA in Biomedical Engineering than say, English.

But it is important to realize that you might not want to go into medicine in four years. And if you do decide to decline a career in Medicine, that BME degree is going to be a whole hell of a lot better than English (or even Biology for that matter).

One question I have for you: Why do you want to pursue BME specifically?

Answer

if decide to decline a career in Medicine, that BME degree is going to be a whole hell of a lot better than English (or even Biology for that matter).

 

[premedstudent55]

Im from bme!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[premedstudent55]

To me BME is a very challenging major, you should not major in it unless you really want to become an engineer. I regret it. My gpa is like a 3.5 and I had to work my butts off... literally..... like you probably wont have time to do as much extracurricular activities as opposed to a chem major student. It's just like.. 21 credits non stop, mon-friday. but then again, that's just my opinion...

 

[integralx2]

BME compared to CHE/EE/CE/ME is much easier. You do an intro of everything a little. I am an EE, and I did biomedical engineering work. I knew more then the BME majors, and they looked really stupid. The problem with BME is it teaches you just a little of everything, and not enough to do something worth while.

 

[UtahNano]

BME major here. It's a difficult major definitely, but the critical thinking skills you develop are priceless. I'm carrying a 4.0 with the major and it is definitely a life killer, but my advisor told me that 95% of my major who wants to - is accepted to Medical School within two years. I've heard if anything, the major will allow for a tad bit of leniency with admissions.

 

[estradiol9]

I considered doing BME at my school. I thought I might be better off as a BME just in case I didn't get into medical school, I'd still be able to do something interesting with my life.. But as somebody said above, it's not any easier to get a job so I decided not to go that route.

In my opinion, being any type of engineering major can be somewhat appealing to admissions and gives you something to talk about. But the truth is that the math, physics, and engineering classes are harder classes and they will probably lower your GPA.

I guess it depends on you. I do much better in biology and chemistry classes than physics classes so I decided to major in biology/chemistry. On the other hand, my boyfriend actually understands physics well but can't sit through a semester of biology if his life depended on it.. which is why he's an electrical engineering major.

 

[WuMedic]

Yeah BMEs!

Yes, you will be behind the playing field as you start in the process with the lower GPA, but from everything else on your app, a lot of people say if you can pull off an Engineering major and still be in the middle of the pack or slightly behind, you will still stand out. (Namely taking 3-5 science classes every semester!)

A WUSM Adcom told me that they give special consideration to major and that being a BME major gets you brownie points. Not enough to slack off, but enough that if you work hard you will still be ok.

 

[LoveTheRunner]

The only downside to bme is biomechanics. Boring as hell, same research done in a thousand labs across the country. The rest of it is damn interesting though. Artificial organs, tissue engineering & sweet senior design projects? yes please. let the other science majors memorize 20 twenty books of info, bioe is worth the busy work you put up with to actually do stuff in labs

 

[soundnin]

BME compared to CHE/EE/CE/ME is much easier. You do an intro of everything a little. I am an EE, and I did biomedical engineering work. I knew more then the BME majors, and they looked really stupid. The problem with BME is it teaches you just a little of everything, and not enough to do something worth while.

depends on the school's BME program. my alma mater's BME program is something like 2 electives short of double minoring in EE and biology lol. unfortunately, we were already overloading every semester from matriculation to graduation pretty much with a senior research project on top.

 

[IPremed2010]

I know a doctor did biomedical and chemical engineering degrees in undergrad. He attended Johns Hopkins and took 20-22 credits every semester. He had a 3.8-4.0 GPA every semester.

 

[surftheiop]

I'm a Bioengineer, and as far as admissions to med schools is concerned, I don't think its worth it. (I didnt start undergrad as pre-med)

Being a bioengineer however did make the MCAT feel pretty trivial (scored 37-39, studying 1 hour a day for 5 weeks + took most AAMC's).

But the "damage" that freshman+sophmore engineering classes did to my GPA is really going to hold me back from going to a lot of schools. I made a 3.2 freshman year which is considered quite good for an engineering freshman. Then once I became pre-med I just owned all the "regular" premed classes (easily made A's in Organic, Bio, MicroBio) and even made a 4.0 junior year, but after all that my GPA sits at less than 3.7 which severely limits my chances at a lot of places despite the fact my MCAT is above average for pretty much every school in the country.

What remains to be seen is how going through engineering will effect me in medschool though, so who knows, maybe down the road I will decide it was helpful.

 

[soundnin]

I'm a Bioengineer, and as far as admissions to med schools is concerned, I don't think its worth it. (I didnt start undergrad as pre-med)

Being a bioengineer however did make the MCAT feel pretty trivial (scored 37-39, studying 1 hour a day for 5 weeks + took most AAMC's).

But the "damage" that freshman+sophmore engineering classes did to my GPA is really going to hold me back from going to a lot of schools. I made a 3.2 freshman year which is considered quite good for an engineering freshman. Then once I became pre-med I just owned all the "regular" premed classes (easily made A's in Organic, Bio, MicroBio) and even made a 4.0 junior year, but after all that my GPA sits at less than 3.7 which severely limits my chances at a lot of places despite the fact my MCAT is above average for pretty much every school in the country.

What remains to be seen is how going through engineering will effect me in medschool though, so who knows, maybe down the road I will decide it was helpful.

is this post a joke? how does a 3.7 severely limit you anywhere, especially combined with a 37-39 MCAT... and what does that even mean, 37-39? did you take the actual test yet? calling it trivial without having taken it is kind of arrogant.

 

[surftheiop]

is this post a joke? how does a 3.7 severely limit you anywhere, especially combined with a 37-39 MCAT... and what does that even mean, 37-39? did you take the actual test yet? calling it trivial without having taken it is kind of arrogant.

You do know that having less than a 3.7 puts you below or right at the lower tenth percentile for pretty much all top 10-15 schools right? And I can almost guarantee that the folks who are getting in with "10th percentile GPAs" to Big Names have something else very special about them (dad is the dean, URM, been published in Nature, started some huge charity, etc.)

And yes I have taken the actual MCAT

 

[soundnin]

You do know that having less than a 3.7 puts you below or right at the lower tenth percentile for pretty much all top 10-15 schools right? And I can almost guarantee that the folks who are getting in with "10th percentile GPAs" to Big Names have something else very special about them (dad is the dean, URM, been published in Nature, started some huge charity, etc.)

And yes I have taken the actual MCAT

meh, i think you're underestimating yourself. i'm assuming you are 3.6 something, and with a 37-39 MCAT... using phrases like "severely limits" is kind of an exaggeration. but what do i know haha.

 

[surftheiop]

meh, i think you're underestimating yourself. i'm assuming you are 3.6 something, and with a 37-39 MCAT... using phrases like "severely limits" is kind of an exaggeration. but what do i know haha.

Maybe I was being over dramatic, but many people do overestimate how many "reasonable" schools there are to apply to. I'm not doubting that I have a good chance of getting into med school (which is my #1 goal), but I would like to have at least some choice as to what sort of setting I spend the next 4 years of my life.

There are probably something like 110 med schools that are in the continental US and aren't historically black.

Of those about 43 of them take less than 12 or so out of state students, and those that they do take already have significant ties to the med school or state.

So at absolutely max, your left with like 70 "possible" schools, but then you have to consider that many of the out of state schools charge like 60k for OOS students so its unlikely your going to want to go to one of those unless they give you a huge (unlikely) scholarship.

So of the maybe 50 remaining "reasonable" schools, if you have a high MCAT and high GPA then you could be reasonably considered at all 50 of those places, but if you have less than 3.7, your chances will be very slim at any of the top 20, which essentially cuts your pool of schools in half again.

And none of this even considers the fact that you might have some geographic preferences.

 

[juliedi]

BME woot woot!

Anyway, I think the difficulty of majoring in biomedical engineering and going to medical school depends a lot on what school you attend. At one university it might be fairly easy to manage an engineering course load plus pre-med, while the same major could be too difficult at another school.

But definitely just do what you're interested in. If you really want to study BME (or German or Poli Sci or whatever) and also go to medical school, then go for it!

 

[surftheiop]

BME woot woot!

Anyway, I think the difficulty of majoring in biomedical engineering and going to medical school depends a lot on what school you attend. At one university it might be fairly easy to manage an engineering course load plus pre-med, while the same major could be too difficult at another school.

But definitely just do what you're interested in. If you really want to study BME (or German or Poli Sci or whatever) and also go to medical school, then go for it!

I think that is really they key, if you a big interest in a subject, then go for it. If becoming a physician is your only interest, then def take the path of least resistance and major in biology.

 

[zut212]

I'm a Bioengineer, and as far as admissions to med schools is concerned, I don't think its worth it. (I didnt start undergrad as pre-med)

Being a bioengineer however did make the MCAT feel pretty trivial (scored 37-39, studying 1 hour a day for 5 weeks + took most AAMC's).

But the "damage" that freshman+sophmore engineering classes did to my GPA is really going to hold me back from going to a lot of schools. I made a 3.2 freshman year which is considered quite good for an engineering freshman. Then once I became pre-med I just owned all the "regular" premed classes (easily made A's in Organic, Bio, MicroBio) and even made a 4.0 junior year, but after all that my GPA sits at less than 3.7 which severely limits my chances at a lot of places despite the fact my MCAT is above average for pretty much every school in the country.

What remains to be seen is how going through engineering will effect me in medschool though, so who knows, maybe down the road I will decide it was helpful.

Surftheiop:

You don't sound serious to me. There's something quite shady about how your "37-39 MCAT scores" in combination with a "3.7 GPA in biomedical engineering" would "severely limit your chances at a lot of places." Unless you are you some kind of deviant with facial tattoos, you are in good standing.

However, I must tell everyone on SDN to beware of all these people with 35+ MCATs and 3.7+ GPAs .

I probably am in the minority, but I am not buying Surftheiop's story.

 

[surftheiop]

Surftheiop:

You don't sound serious to me. There's something quite shady about how your "37-39 MCAT scores" in combination with a "3.7 GPA in biomedical engineering" would "severely limit your chances at a lot of places." Unless you are you some kind of deviant with facial tattoos, you are in good standing.

However, I must tell everyone on SDN to beware of all these people with 35+ MCATs and 3.7+ GPAs .

I probably am in the minority, but I am not buying Surftheiop's story.

I can understand if you think my chances are better than I am claiming they are, I just know that I don't have any of the ridiculously awesome EC's needed to make up for my GPA.

If you don't believe my statistics, that makes me really happy because I guess it means I did pretty well!

Anyhow, maybe I'm not getting in this initial round of invites a lot of places because they are first asking all the "perfect" applicants for interviews and maybe I'll get some offers late in the fall.

 

[IvyHopeful20]

Bleh, real men major in math. Faux-men major in engineering. Women major in biology.



No, but seriously, engineering definitely is a hard major. But I picked it cause I liked it - and I ended up learning a lot. I'd hate to be miserable for four years gunning my way through pre-meds.