Bioengineering vs. Biology Major

[icestreak]

Hi, I just wanted to ask some people who have been through this process for advice! I am currently a freshman majoring in bioengineering. Although I have an interest in bioengineering, it is considerably harder, less flexible, and more time-consuming than the typical biology major. I'm already admitted into the med school in my state school (once I graduate) so I don't need a backup, but I'd like to be ambitious enough to get admitted to a reach school.

Bioengineering - 4 years, including summer semesters. 18 hr/semester, 12 during the summer. That's approximately 130 hours, and then an additional 3 semesters of co-op (internships) that I don't believe I'm allowed to waive. ~112 hrs are set bioengineering classes (18 extracurricular) which barely covers my pre-med requirements and I would only finish fall semester of 4th year. Also, most of my AP credit won't count because "engineering is different"/honors freshmen use block scheduling, which means I can't skip most classes I already have credit in.

Biology - 4 years, excluding summer semester, averaging 15 hr/semester. Approx 121 hours, ~62 hours are set classes I must take. This would allow me to finish pre-med by fall of 2nd year and allow me to minor in political science (just something that I would enjoy). I'd also have summer semesters to study for the MCAT and have more time to volunteer/get involved.

TLDR;
Bioengineering - Pros - interesting, would prob help in my career 20 years down the road, job experience (co-ops)
Cons - hard schedule/little flexibility, little time for extracurriculars (maybe labwork and volunteering), no time during the summer to study for MCAT, hard to fit in pre-med req
Biology - Pros - easy schedule, time to get involved, room to take interesting classes not involving science, probs higher MCAT and GPA
Cons - boring, not much to distinguish between all the other pre-meds

I realize this may come down to what I value, but I'd like to get someone else's input on what I should prioritize. Thanks!

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[WestCoastNative]

Personally, I'd pick biology over engineering any day. Engineering is great if that's all you want to do, but if you're trying to get into medical school through it than it'll be quite a process. It's hard to maintain a 3.7+ as an engineering major, but it's still definitely doable for a few. Medical schools don't look at majors. They'd rather have you get a 3.8 as a biology major, than a 3.6 as an engineering major. Plus I feel like you'd have much more time to focus on extracurriculars, volunteering, and studying for the MCAT scores. If you feel as if you could do all these things while majoring in engineering, than by all means do it. I just know that I wouldn't myself. The choice is ultimately up to you, but it'd be much harder to do it all with an engineering major. Either way, good luck with whatever you choose 👍 By the way, I just noticed that you claim that biology is boring. You don't have to take just "Biology". There are a lot of variations to it. One that interests me the most is Neurobiology. If you look around, than you can find some interesting specialties of biology.

 

[preallofello]

Personally, I'd pick biology over engineering any day. Engineering is great if that's all you want to do, but if you're trying to get into medical school through it than it'll be quite a process. It's hard to maintain a 3.7+ as an engineering major, but it's still definitely doable for a few. Medical schools don't look at majors. They'd rather have you get a 3.8 as a biology major, than a 3.6 as an engineering major. Plus I feel like you'd have much more time to focus on extracurriculars, volunteering, and studying for the MCAT scores. If you feel as if you could do all these things while majoring in engineering, than by all means do it. I just know that I wouldn't myself. The choice is ultimately up to you, but it'd be much harder to do it all with an engineering major. Either way, good luck with whatever you choose 👍 By the way, I just noticed that you claim that biology is boring. You don't have to take just "Biology". There are a lot of variations to it. One that interests me the most is Neurobiology. If you look around, than you can find some interesting specialties of biology.

Such as biophysics and biomathematics. Although biomedical engineering is becoming a lot more Grading friendly now than in the past.

 

[WestCoastNative]

Such as biophysics and biomathematics. Although biomedical engineering is becoming a lot more Grading friendly now than in the past.

👍 The thing is, you can major in anything you want. You don't have to choose between bioengineering and biology, but personally I feel that a biology majors prepare you the best. My major will include all of the medical prerequisites as well. As for biomedical engineering grades, I have a couple of friends in U.C.'s at the moment majoring in it. They say that the average grade is C. Plus we all know about the dreaded curves in engineering courses... Again, I'm not saying it isn't possible to get good grades in engineering. I'm just saying that it'll take much more work than it would if you majored in a biology major.

 

[riseagainst]

Biology - Pros - easy schedule, time to get involved, room to take interesting classes not involving science, probs higher MCAT and GPA
Cons - boring, not much to distinguish between all the other pre-meds

Actually, bioengineering students tend to score higher on the MCAT than any other major, and biology students score the second lowest scores, only beating premedical majors. The MCAT tests as much critical reasoning as it does the material and the problem-solving nature of engineering, physics, and math courses helps in that regard. Full disclosure: I was a physics major and the last sentence was my impression based on my experiences taking the MCAT.

 

[KnowFace]

Actually, bioengineering students tend to score higher on the MCAT than any other major, and biology students score the second lowest scores, only beating premedical majors. The MCAT tests as much critical reasoning as it does the material and the problem-solving nature of engineering, physics, and math courses helps in that regard. Full disclosure: I was a physics major and the last sentence was my impression based on my experiences taking the MCAT.

That's an interseting graph, but there is probably some selection bias going on. The type of people who switch from engineering to premed are probably already ranked high-ish in their class and think, "Hey, I'm probably smart enough to ace the MCAT and become a doctor. Let's try it." Whereas there are more lower achieving students in biology/premed who are essentially forced into taking the MCAT due to their major selection.

 

[WestCoastNative]

Actually, bioengineering students tend to score higher on the MCAT than any other major, and biology students score the second lowest scores, only beating premedical majors. The MCAT tests as much critical reasoning as it does the material and the problem-solving nature of engineering, physics, and math courses helps in that regard. Full disclosure: I was a physics major and the last sentence was my impression based on my experiences taking the MCAT.

And what if you're gunning for a 35-38+ on the MCAT? Who do you think would have more time to study? Even if the engineer got a better MCAT and GPA, do you think that's all that medical schools want to see? Who would have more time to get involved in some meaningful extracurriculars?

 

[The Buff OP]

Actually, bioengineering students tend to score higher on the MCAT than any other major, and biology students score the second lowest scores, only beating premedical majors. The MCAT tests as much critical reasoning as it does the material and the problem-solving nature of engineering, physics, and math courses helps in that regard. Full disclosure: I was a physics major and the last sentence was my impression based on my experiences taking the MCAT.

How old is this bar graph? Is there an updated one? I think I have seen this bar graph years ago.

 

[B002]

Biomedical engineering major here! I just wanted to give my two cents to help you make a decision. I don't know how the biomedical engineering curriculum is at your school, but at my school the major covers all of the pre-2015 pre-med requirements except for organic chemistry. I personally don't think biomedical engineering is difficult, but then again I've had a strong math/science background and I've had excellent professors so far. You will definitely work a little harder than your typical biology major because some material can be very theoretical and you can't really memorize. I personally decided to stick with biomedical engineering because it's so interdisciplinary and I figured I would gain critical thinking skills that I wouldn't get in biology. Biomedical engineering will definitely limit the amount of time you have for extracurriculars, minors, etc. Which is why I decided to take five years to avoid 20 credit semesters and focus on extracurriculars. Hope that helps! PM me if you have any specific questions, good luck!

 

[Mr Avante]

At my institution, engineering students that move to medicine are the ones that lack the required skill imposed by companies such as Boeing.

 

[riseagainst]

That's an interseting graph, but there is probably some selection bias going on. The type of people who switch from engineering to premed are probably already ranked high-ish in their class and think, "Hey, I'm probably smart enough to ace the MCAT and become a doctor. Let's try it." Whereas there are more lower achieving students in biology/premed who are essentially forced into taking the MCAT due to their major selection.

That very well could be true. The main point I was trying to make is that being a bioengineering major doesn't necessarily mean getting a lower MCAT score.

And what if you're gunning for a 35-38+ on the MCAT? Who do you think would have more time to study? Even if the engineer got a better MCAT and GPA, do you think that's all that medical schools want to see? Who would have more time to get involved in some meaningful extracurriculars?

I'm sure there were bioengineering students who scored 35+ on the MCAT. The high average suggests this. Biology students may have more time to study, but the MCAT is as much a critical reasoning test and and majors that promote critical reasoning tend to do better. I agree with you that medical schools want to see more than MCAT scores and GPAs. One of these is research, especially at the high tier schools in which the OP is interested. Being a bioengineering student might help in that regard.

How old is this bar graph? Is there an updated one? I think I have seen this bar graph years ago.

2009, from the AIP. My physics professor showed it to me. The most recent data I found was from 2012 and showed Math majors had the highest scores, followed by physical science students, and then the humanities. It does not list bioengineering separately.

 

[khrisskhoras]

It isn't too difficult to get a 3.5+ in BME, since a large chunk of the curriculum is basic science. However getting a 3.85+ is a challenge since it requires doing well in the acutal engineering courses.

In a nutshell: If you dont like doing math/physics, want a sky high GPA (3.85+), and dont need the strong BS degree and the job opportunities that come with it, DO NOT do BME. Nevertheless, both BME and biology could give you a solid pre-medical education.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Bioengineering is about as completely worthless as engineering majors come. It's basically a survey major so you end up with 0 applicable skills.

If you want to be an engineer than go grab the bull the horns and do some thing like electrical or chemical.

If you want to be a doctor then go an easier major and save yourself the headache.