Bioengineering?

[Livingapparatus]

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Ive been looking at going med for a while after working at a pharmacy for a year and find the work well....boring. But right now my major is biomedical engineering at ASU and the curiculum is preety tough and it would probably take me an extra year or even a year and a half in order to get my bachelors. Now my question is should i go for a less intense major and finish in 4 years or go with bioengineering and risk having a lower GPA and stay an extra year?

Heres the curriculum checksheet

http://hdbe.fulton.asu.edu/files/shared/undergraduate/flowchart2007-2008.pdf

Thanks in advance!

 

[mints of b]

It's a no brainer. You'll find no advantage by majoring in bioengineering, whatever that is.

 

[Cataract]

Why would it take you an extra year? The curriculum has a premed track option. If you get excited looking at these classes and you think you'll enjoy the major, then do it. Most people will suggest pursuing a bio degree, but when are you ever going to take classes like these again?

As long as you enjoy the material, it will not be hard to do well. I'm a bit biased as a biomedical engineer, but I honestly think my classes are awesome and bio or history majors are missing out. You can spend your life playing baseball and move from little league to minors to majors or you could have fun playing different sports in life.

 

[bellacnella]

my opinion is take an easier major, definately, unless you thoroughly enjoy bioengineering...which it sounds like you dont. You'll be happy for the higher gpa

 

[arwilli3]

I'm a mechanical engineering major at ASU and I would have to say that if you are remotely interested in the major you might want to think about doing it, because there is a TON of money in the bioengineering dept. and tons of research going on, which would probably look good for medical school applications (or so I am hoping, seeing as that is the situation I am in, research with bioengineering). I don't know about the upper level bioengineering classes, but most of the lower level engineering classes that are common to all of the engineering majors aren't too bad if you're able to stay on top of the hw every week. Hope this helps some.

 

[Igor4sugry]

I'm a MechE as well, and currently interviewing for med schools. My advice to you is not to worry about taking an extra year to finish your degree. It took me an extra year as well and I'm glad it happened. Because in that time I had worked in a great research lab and also in a medical device company. Needless to say, there are very few applicants that are exposed to this kind of thing. I agree with the above post, there is a lot of money in BioE, but it also depends on the school. What most students don't realize is how much money there is in the medical device industry, and you can definitely get into that as an orthopeadic/neuro/cardio surgeon.

As long as your GPA doesn't go bellow 3.5 you would be fine.

 

[sawood]

Ive been looking at going med for a while after working at a pharmacy for a year and find the work well....boring. But right now my major is biomedical engineering at ASU and the curiculum is preety tough and it would probably take me an extra year or even a year and a half in order to get my bachelors. Now my question is should i go for a less intense major and finish in 4 years or go with bioengineering and risk having a lower GPA and stay an extra year?

Heres the curriculum checksheet

http://hdbe.fulton.asu.edu/files/shared/undergraduate/flowchart2007-2008.pdf

Thanks in advance!

A few things to consider: I personally find engineering easier because I like math and understand problems better when they are approached quantitatively. Biology tends to be more memorization, etc, which others may learn better with. Which do you prefer?

Also, bear in mind that the more interesting classes are the senior and graduate classes. The subject matter is more in depth and relevant to real-world applications, and the professors tend to be more excited about what they are teaching. I would compare those classes when making a decision.

Do what you love, because if you take the easy path because it takes less time then you may look back and regret it. Rarely do people regret going after what they love. A year and a half is not that long.

 

[Blade28]

It's a no brainer. You'll find no advantage by majoring in bioengineering, whatever that is.

I was a bioengineering major - I like to think that my rigorous courseload (and the fact that I graduated on-time) drew some consideration from the adcoms when looking at my decent (but not great) GPA.

At least, that's what I tell myself. 🙂

 

[RSAgator]

I'm a chemical engineering major and I would say that if you think you can get through it with a good GPA then do it. If you think you'll wind up with a 3.5 or so rather than a 3.8 or so then don't. It's a lot of work, and definitely more work than a lot of other majors, but you will have very interesting research opportunities along the way, a very marketable degree should you decide not to go into medicine, and provided you do well a high GPA in an engineering field has to hold a bit of weight.

 

[FutureSurg2019]

I recently transfered to UC Irvine from a community college as a biology major, and after reading over the course descriptions of BME, I decided to switch majors. I agree with a previous post, that you only get to study and take courses for undergrad once in your life. Why waste that possibly excellent and rewarding experience majoring in something you don't enjoy, just to finish earlier, or make your life easier. BME may take more work, but it will also be more rewarding in the end. But, that's only if you enjoy the classes and really can take it all in. My opinion would be to major in whatever INTERESTS you and not worry about how it's going to look to medical schools. Just do well in all the prereq's and you should be fine. Also, the research is awesome. This summer I'm going to be working in a lab on cadavers using all sorts of new surgical tools! Hope this helps.

 

[Revenant]

Don't do engineering. For the love of God don't do engineering.

I cannot stress this enough. Just do basket-weaving and get a 4.0, and do well in your pre-reqs. This sounds terrible but taking a joke major and acing it will be more help than a 3.5 in an engineering major.

 

[Livingapparatus]

Thanks alot everyone for the information. I havent met many engineering students going to med and that was nice to see. Im going to go for the BME and see how it goes for another year or 2 and shoot for a 3.6ish GPA. Im very excited for the advancements that are going on in medicine right now and hope to be apart of it. Thanks again for all the input it was all very helpful.

 

[Revenant]

Oh God no....

*watches as OP drives off of cliff*

 

[arwilli3]

I have a 3.9 in Mechanical Engineering at ASU and I know several people that are about the same. You'll have to work hard, but its not like you're automatically destined for a 3.6 or lower.

 

[chr123]

Engineers will say to go for engineering, bio majors will say to do bio.

3.6 gpa engineer - rock star applicant (this is VERY hard to do)
3.6 gpa bio - every pre-med out there

Do what you like...If you're unsure, take a few of the engineering classes and if you do well, keep at it. If you start getting C's you should probably jump ship.

 

[sawood]

Thanks alot everyone for the information. I havent met many engineering students going to med and that was nice to see. Im going to go for the BME and see how it goes for another year or 2 and shoot for a 3.6ish GPA. Im very excited for the advancements that are going on in medicine right now and hope to be apart of it. Thanks again for all the input it was all very helpful.

So why not go for a 4.0 instead of a 3.6? 🙂

Don't let engineering psych you out. I would fail majoring in underwater basket weaving because my artistic sewing ability is ****, which is why I'm an engineer.

My undergrad GPA wasn't so great (3.2). Graduate, I'm at 3.8 (only one B). The major reason? Time management. Learn it, love it, embrace it. Also, meet and get connected with other engineers in your classes who are doing well, have good GPA's, and are motivated, and join engineering clubs because there will be upper classmen who have already had the classes and teachers you have, and they can give you tips.

Engineers rock, welcome to the club 😎

 

[BrokenGlass]

I have a 3.9 in Mechanical Engineering at ASU and I know several people that are about the same. You'll have to work hard, but its not like you're automatically destined for a 3.6 or lower.

Engineering is a very bad idea if med school is your goal, unless you do it at a school that is not very competitive, in which case you'll probably look good to the adcoms.

 

[Cataract]

So why not go for a 4.0 instead of a 3.6? 🙂

Don't let engineering psych you out. I would fail majoring in underwater basket weaving because my artistic sewing ability is ****, which is why I'm an engineer.

My undergrad GPA wasn't so great (3.2). Graduate, I'm at 3.8 (only one B). The major reason? Time management. Learn it, love it, embrace it. Also, meet and get connected with other engineers in your classes who are doing well, have good GPA's, and are motivated, and join engineering clubs because there will be upper classmen who have already had the classes and teachers you have, and they can give you tips.

Engineers rock, welcome to the club 😎

I'm with sawood. You'll have a very unique perspective on medicine which could be helpful during interviews and essays. Do what you enjoy and work hard.

Trust me; I'm an engineer.

 

[Revenant]

I'm with sawood. You'll have a very unique perspective on medicine which could be helpful during interviews and essays. Do what you enjoy and work hard.

Trust me; I'm an engineer.

I bet that's what the civil engineer who had a hand in designing and maintaining that Minnesota bridge said way back when....































....too soon?

 

[arwilli3]

The thing about that Minnesota bridge collapse wasn't that it was a poorly built/designed bridge, but rather that it was in bad repair. After the collapse all of the news channels were saying how it had already been classified as needing repair years ago but the federal/state gov. wouldn't spend the money to do it.

As to the whole engineering question, its for some people and not for others. Will it help you get into medical school? Not necessarily, but some people enjoy it and there might be some benefits, especially if you can keep a good gpa.

 

[UCDavisISokay]

my question is should i go for a less intense major and finish in 4 years or go with bioengineering and risk having a lower GPA and stay an extra year?

less intense all the way 👍

 

[sawood]

I understand that everyone needs to focus on doing things that give you the best shot at getting in to the school of your choice.

But here's something else to consider. So here you are as an undergrad, and you really want to study subject A, but you choose subject B because its easier. You get a 4.0 and are admitted to a good medical school. Once in that school, you now are looking down the road at residencies. Again, you are interested in specialization A, but you decide to pursue specialization B because of similiar reasons. So, you eventually get a residency in that field, and now is the time to find a job. You are really wanting to work at Hospital A, but Hospital B pays better so you choose that one. So then you wake up 80 years from now and realize that you don't like what you're doing or where you're doing it.

When do you start doing something you love? Life is a journey that you need to enjoy every step of the way, even in undergrad, whether that's through a hard 😱 or easy 😴 schedule.........

 

[Blade28]

Engineers will say to go for engineering, bio majors will say to do bio.

3.6 gpa engineer - rock star applicant (this is VERY hard to do)
3.6 gpa bio - every pre-med out there

Agreed! That's how I succeeded. 🙂