Biomedical Engineering/premed?

[tijames]

I am a high school junior. I'm planning on majoring in biomedical engineering (BME) and fulfilling the necessary premed requirements. I was just wondering if I could get some feedback about majoring in BME/premed. I am planning on med school, but BME interests me and I think that if for whatever reason med school doesn't work out, I'd still be able to help people and still enjoy my work. I'm just concerned that BME/premed will be too hard and I won't have a 3.5 at the end, that I'll be worn out and not have enough to go to med school, or that I'll have to drop either BME or premed. How much harder is it to handle BME/premed than just BME? How much extra coursework/classes is necessary for BME/premed vs. just BME.

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[LauraMac]

it definitely depends on the school. i did undergrad at umich. bme was certainly hard here, but it was doable. you just have to learn new study skills i guess. also, bme covered every premed class except for orgo II i think, which i just took as an elective for my concentration.

if you're up for the extra work that engineering takes, i'd say definitely go for bme/premed. if you end up applying to med school the engineering degree will look good (as long as you keep that gpa up). if you don't end up applying to med school you'll have a good degree to fall back on. of course, ChemE might be a better degree to get an engineering job with, but either should be fine.

 

[aumed22]

Personally, I would say to carefully consider your goals. If above all yes you want to go to medical school, then scrap the engineering. I know that's not a very popular opinion, but the fact of the matter is that medical schools look at the all important GPA and although 3.5 in Biomed engineering is great, it's still below most med school averages. You are much better off doing something in biology, chemistry, or the like and having a higher GPA.

Now, if you can do the engineering AND have a high GPA, I would still caution you against this route. The reason being that you will work very, very hard yet most of that work will be in classes that won't apply when you're in medical school. I don't know how Biomed engineering works, but I would think that you will miss out on some of the upper level biology classes that will be very helpful when you enter medical school.

All this being said, if you aren't sure that medical school is your calling, or you really like the engineering aspect of biomed engineering, then by all means pursue your dream. I only say all this, because I was very close to being duped into a biomed engineering program because it would "make me more competitive for medical school" I honestly believe that is a lie. If your dream is to make it to medical school above all else, save yourself the trouble and take a more traditional pre-med line of study.

 

[kingcer0x]

Well, coming from a BME, yeah upper level bio courses will help you, but your BME courses will be 100% relevant in medical school. The rigor of BME is excellent preparation for the rigors of medical school, even if you don't have the bio background like straight bio majors.

However, it is really really hard. Youre math skills have to be superb, and you have to learn twice the science as a traditional science major. Arguably the time committment in undergrad for BME is higher than in year 1 of medical school.

As a fall back, it is possible to find a job (I did in my field for a year), but not as easy as it is for other engineering disciplines.

Engineers are well respected in the medical field due to the increasing complexity surrounding medical technology. You will stand out from your peers with a BME degree.

Do some research and you will find that BMEs have one of the highest acceptance rates to medical school. I urge you only to choose it, however, if you have a passion for learning the art of quantitation in medicine and biology.

 

[tijames]

Both you guys brought up great points. I really appreciate the advice.

I feel that med school is my calling, but I don't want to major in a pure science (Chem or Bio) for several reasons. Firstly, I want to differentiate from the other med shcool applicantees. A large percentage of med school applicants are pure science majors. Secondly, if for whatever reason med school doesn't work out, I don't want to become a researcher for the next 30 years of my life (Its a good job, just doesn't interest me as much as eng.). My dad (a doc) majored in electrical engineering. He thinks that the engineering hbackground helps in seeing different ways to approach a problem and to see the whole picture.
I love engineering, but I love medicine more (from the knowledge I have of the field). If I can handle BME/premed, how costly is not having the high level biology classes under my belt for med school? Also, would a med school rather see a biology/chemistry major with a 3.8 or a BME/premed with a 3.4? Also, is staying an extra year to finish studies? is that frowned upon by med schools?

I've been looking at colleges, and I'm leaning towards a BME/premed at University of Connecticut. They have a specific BME/premed program there, and it really looks good. Any feedback about UConn's BME/premed program?

 

[beanbean]

Engineering is great training for med school. The problem solving skills you learn will serve you well. However, as we all know a good gpa is necessary to gain admittance to med school. Med schools know that BME is tough and will cut you some slack on your gpa, but not too much. Bottom line is: major in what you love. If engineering gives you the warm fuzzies...go for it. I am very proud to be an engineer and for me it was worth the extra work.

Another advantage of having an engineering degree is the flexibilty it gives you if you decide med school is not for you. An engineering degree offers you opprtunities to pursue a career in law, education, business management, etc.

 

[jammin06]

I don't know how Biomed engineering works, but I would think that you will miss out on some of the upper level biology classes that will be very helpful when you enter medical school.

I'd beg to differ a little bit on this small tidbit. I'm currently a junior in Biomed. eng w/ a gpa a shade under 3.5, but i think that more of my classes are applicable to med school than some bio majors. Rather than worrying about having to take some developmental bio or ecology course that most schools require for a bio major, i am instead takin a class on pharamaceutical engineering. Granted its very useful for people going into industry, but as a pre-med, its very interesting to learn about how the drugs i will one day prescribe interact and metabolize. Personally, I think lower level biomed courses are more a pain than upper level ones, but maybe that's just me.

Everyone else has hit the nail on the head though. Don't do BME if you're someone who HAS to have a 4.0, because it rarely happens. If nothing else, i realzied that it gives you a different outlook on medicine than some hard sciences. Rather than memorizing facts, you approach it from a problem-solving based methodology, which i think some med schools are starting to switch towards.

 

[DrMarioNES]

I say go for it. I am an Electrical Engineer and I enjoyed every bit of it. Engineering is not the easiest major to pursue and of course you have to work hard. In the end, it is all worth it. Being a non-traditional student has helped me through the process and I did not have a problem getting into med school. Be confident.

You can always go BME and along the way complete the necessary premed requirements to apply to med school without taking any of the higher level courses which are not required for med school admission.

Hope this helps.

 

[gerido]

Both you guys brought up great points. I really appreciate the advice.

I feel that med school is my calling, but I don't want to major in a pure science (Chem or Bio) for several reasons. Firstly, I want to differentiate from the other med shcool applicantees. A large percentage of med school applicants are pure science majors. Secondly, if for whatever reason med school doesn't work out, I don't want to become a researcher for the next 30 years of my life (Its a good job, just doesn't interest me as much as eng.). My dad (a doc) majored in electrical engineering. He thinks that the engineering hbackground helps in seeing different ways to approach a problem and to see the whole picture.
I love engineering, but I love medicine more (from the knowledge I have of the field). If I can handle BME/premed, how costly is not having the high level biology classes under my belt for med school? Also, would a med school rather see a biology/chemistry major with a 3.8 or a BME/premed with a 3.4?

I've been looking at colleges, and I'm leaning towards a BME/premed at University of Connecticut. They have a specific BME/premed program there, and it really looks good. Any feedback about UConn's BME/premed program?

tijames, If you love engineering, go for it. I don't know how the BME program is at UConn, but I venture to say that it is the most difficult program on campus here, if not equaly compare to CSE.

If you do a search of the BME program around the US, you'll probably find that the admission GPA into the program is much higher than the average department admission GPA.. at some school, it is higher than the average Med school gpa. If the BME class is curved with average of a 3.4, if you come in with a 3.8 GPA, then its going to hurt you because you are competing with a lot of ambitious people.

If you are sure about medical school, the getting a 3.8 is definately better than getting a 3.4 b/c med school can't help being number ******. If you really love the program, you'll see that the BME program in itself is very broad, at least at my institution. Within the program, you can focus on branch like tissue BME, molecular BME, computational BME, Prothetics BME, etc.. and you will probably be exposed to each of these branch during your junior year.

From my own experience, BME is extremely demanding and challenging. The department cramp three courses worth of materials into 1 class. They also demand a lot of independent learning and problem solving. Each person that was admitted to the department have already done some research, or was doing research. Given that the BME field is new, it will probably be very research oriented, meaning research will probably be a graduation requirement. You are going to have to apply materials from EE, Mech E, Comp Sci, Biol, and Chem E, and material sci at one point or another in your classes. Though it brought down my GPA a little, I don't regret it at all. I think BME more than prepared me for med school, not so much what you learn in the program, though you learn a lot... but more importantly the learning style that you experience... you will definately learn to work under pressure whether you like it or not.

Anyway if you are still checking out BME programs, give me a PM and I'll tell you a little bit about our program. Sorry i'm not going to post the school's name on here.. a little bit of info is, the previouis entering class has an average GPA of 3.8... good luck with everything.

 

[tijames]

tijames, If you love engineering, go for it. I don't know how the BME program is at UConn, but I venture to say that it is the most difficult program on campus here, if not equaly compare to CSE.

If you do a search of the BME program around the US, you'll probably find that the admission GPA into the program is much higher than the average department admission GPA.. at some school, it is higher than the average Med school gpa. If the BME class is curved with average of a 3.4, if you come in with a 3.8 GPA, then its going to hurt you because you are competing with a lot of ambitious people.

If you are sure about medical school, the getting a 3.8 is definately better than getting a 3.4 b/c med school can't help being number ******. If you really love the program, you'll see that the BME program in itself is very broad, at least at my institution. Within the program, you can focus on branch like tissue BME, molecular BME, computational BME, Prothetics BME, etc.. and you will probably be exposed to each of these branch during your junior year.

From my own experience, BME is extremely demanding and challenging. The department cramp three courses worth of materials into 1 class. They also demand a lot of independent learning and problem solving. Each person that was admitted to the department have already done some research, or was doing research. Given that the BME field is new, it will probably be very research oriented, meaning research will probably be a graduation requirement. You are going to have to apply materials from EE, Mech E, Comp Sci, Biol, and Chem E, and material sci at one point or another in your classes. Though it brought down my GPA a little, I don't regret it at all. I think BME more than prepared me for med school, not so much what you learn in the program, though you learn a lot... but more importantly the learning style that you experience... you will definately learn to work under pressure whether you like it or not.

Anyway if you are still checking out BME programs, give me a PM and I'll tell you a little bit about our program. Sorry i'm not going to post the school's name on here.. a little bit of info is, the previouis entering class has an average GPA of 3.8... good luck with everything.

I'm not sure what a PM is, I'm still learning all the SDN slang. I'd love to hear more info about your BME program. I really appreciate all the info you gave me. lemme know what a PM is an we'll discuss BME in further detail.

 

[Mothra]

Be careful - BME is by far the most demanding undergrad major you'll find.

I'd say if you have the brain power (SAT 1480+) or the determination (SAT 1400+ and willing to study a whole hell of a lot) then you've got a pretty good chance of a "comfortably" better than a 3.5 GPA. As a pre-med, you'll still have to put in a fair amount of volunteering time, and you'll probably be served best by also doing some bona fide research work - just like everybody else...

You might want to search around SDN to figure out who the "numbers ******" are - and if those schools are by and large the ones you expect to be applying to, particularly your in-state schools, then be really, really careful!

 

[rdmoore2]

Before you go into something like BME find out what the grade distribution looks like for your upper level courses.

I picked Aerospace Engineering out of high school. The major is just not compatible with medical school at my school. The avg gpa is well below a 3.0 at my school with the highest not breaking a 3.5. It has the lowest overall gpa. The people will these gpa are not lazy or stupid either, many classes will have 1 or no As.

I was basically forced to look else where if I was serious about medical school.

 

[JETER]

Be careful - BME is by far the most demanding undergrad major you'll find.

Sorry, but I beg to differ here

 

[Shredder]

BME is unnecessarily hard for a premed bent on going to med school. You're much better off doing econ or business and pursuing the high GPA to get into a good school. You might be able to take BME classes on the side, but you'll probably be turned off. I'll have to say though that if there is one major that has to be designated "premed" it might be BME, I think even more so than bio. As a BME you'll be stuck working with classmates on tough problem sets a lot of times, and you won't get to have as much fun as easier majors. Engineers have the highest starting salaries of all college majors, but who cares about that if you're premed. It's highest bc engineering is tough and no joke, you actually learn real, practical information that you can go out and apply right away.

A PM is a private message, check the upper right of your screen.

 

[16hoursleeper]

The BME, pre-med combination is definitely possible. The thing is my 'electives' became things like orgo and biochem. You have to really thrive on science. I feel like I missed out on a more balanced education; for example, I haven't maintained my high school Spanish very well and I really regret that.

To be honest, I chose BME because I wanted to go to med school and I wanted a good fall back if I wasn't a very good candidate. Many atimes I wished I wasn't an engineer, particularly during those intro courses. The upper-levels became really interesting, however. Overall, the decision isn't one you should make as a high school junior. You can apply to the engineering school for your undergrad and start out for the first semester or so. See how you feel, talk to upperclassmen at your school, and work from there.

 

[gerido]

Sorry, but I beg to differ here

Beg all you want, it is what it is.

 

[Ross434]

BME is unnecessarily hard for a premed bent on going to med school. You're much better off doing econ or business and pursuing the high GPA to get into a good school. You might be able to take BME classes on the side, but you'll probably be turned off.

A PM is a private message, check the upper right of your screen.

turned off?? what?? engineering kicks ass! tough problem sets rule!

 

[virilep]

Beg all you want, it is what it is.

true. I did BME at Vanderbilt.... definately one of the hardest ones there. our average GPA is much lower than let's say... Human and Organizational Development, even though, that's a pretty cool major.... GREAT scenery

 

[kfcing]

Honestly, despite all this talk about BME being the toughest thing out there, it really depends on whether or not you personally enjoy it. I did BME at JHU, one of the best programs in the nation, and truly loved it. I even feel that I would have performed worse at a science b/c I would be bored out of my mind with pure memorization it requires. So take it how you will, but if you truly enjoy it, you won't regret taking it.

 

[tijames]

true. I did BME at Vanderbilt.... definately one of the hardest ones there. our average GPA is much lower than let's say... Human and Organizational Development, even though, that's a pretty cool major.... GREAT scenery

I went down over feb. vacation to vanderbilt and checked out thier BME program. i loved it there. although it is a bit pricy.....

 

[DrBowtie]

Not even a year ago, I was in the same position as the original poster. I applied to multiple schools with my sights set on BME and got in with decent scholarships to good places like case and vandy. In the end, I knew I wanted to go to med school so I decided to go to my state school with full scholarship...My school doesn't have BME and I was advised the engineering had more weedouts than even pre-med. The averages are usually pretty bad but since all the programs are 5 year BS/MS programs the grades don't matter because of the local reputation...
In the end, I decided on majoring in physics. It gives me the same problem solving challenges as engineering (all engineers must take the same calc based physics as physics majors) plus you understand the concepts behind engineering...
I enjoy being in the primary research realm and I'll let the application be left to the engineers. At least at my school physics also opened up elective room to double major which normally doesn't happen since the engineering programs have few elective spots.

In the end if you can do well 3.5< and your up for a challenge then by all means do BME. I am just offering an alternative.

 

[shinji]

I did BME at UCSD and I recommend you to read the book, Biomechanics: Mechanical Properties of Living Tissues, by Y.C. Fung. This book is being widely used in many BME programs; however, some students did transfer out from the program after reading this book.

 

[PKP719]

I say DO IT ! Watchout for the low gpa though ..unless you willling to commit your weekends to studying consistently! The skills you develop and the knowledge you gain is great ! NO matter what school ...the fundamentals are carried in all engineering programs. It always revolves back on the basic fundamentals of engineering.


Butttttttttttttt as what everyone else is saying ...these med school guys dont give a rat's ass if your engineering or history. ITS ALL ABOUT THE GPA . So if you know your going to do medicine 100 % ..no if's and but's , just "cop" out and take the easy way out. Dont feel bad about it ..just think of it as a "strategic" decision. I would of done it ..but its too late for me. You got enough studying to do ahead of you .. why grow grey hairs now ?

p.s * its very hard to bring up your pimp game as an engineer ..

 

[Engin]

I'm a junior BME major at UC Davis.

I'm surprised at everyone saying do it! I wonder what most of these people were saying when they were calculating their gpas and their friends were scoring much higher than them (think, another work for do it). It's frustrating, but really the only way to go if you go this route is to do it and don't complain and hope everything works out. There are a random list of thoughts:

-The most frustrating thing is that out of your classes, you pre med requirements turn out to be your electives. Since they aren't your hardest class (many times not even second hardest) you tend to focus on your harder engineering classes and then only get a B on your premed requred science classes. That is my biggest complaint. Since most pre-med required classes aren;t hard, just time consuming, this is a huge factor.

-It seems the majority of bme's are people who don;t really know if they want to be doctors and like the luxury of a back-up plan. A small fraction decide to continue to med school since many realize that's not what they want to do and some don;t have the grades to have a choice.

-Basically what it comes down to is this: I would say around a 3.7-3.8 "regular" bio gpa is equivalent to a 3.4-3.5 bme gpa with more work. How do you feel about that? I'll tell you how I feel next year if I get accepted or might not be enough. Furthermore, you extracurriculars will partly suffer since you're busy studying.

-ALso, keep in mind that most people who say colleges don;t look at your major are history or "regular" bio majors, and aren't engineers. I'm heard from engineers that they do notice your major and cut you some slack on your gpa, but how much is anyone's guess and pretty arbitrary.

-Lastly, it's kinda stupid arging which engineering is the hardest. Most engineers will say their's is. Personally I like bio and the chemistry side of BME and this would have a much harder time in electrical (which focurses more on physics, yuck) and computers (which I and probably half of freshmamn class dropped out of).

-If I have to do it over agian knowing I wanted to go to med school (I only decided after my second year and interning at a lab and realized their job sucks...if I'm gonna suffer, might as well be in med school) I don;t know if I would continue this route. I enjoy it, but I want to get into med school and would be alot more comfortable if my gpa was higher. In the end my gpa will probably be around out to a 3.4....

 

[MiguelSanchez]

If you're interested in BME, do it. The engineering background will help you learn to study the right way, and save you from countless hours of memorizing if you do go to medical school.

You'll learn to think about things rather than just try to remember them. Even a chimp can memorize a list of facts with enough time, but it takes some training and practice to gain the analytical skills needed to be efficient, saving you time and keeping you happy.

Don't shy away from learning, and please try not to develop the math and physics phobia that most med students have.

 

[tinkerbelle]

In the end my gpa will probably be around out to a 3.4....

Having a 3.4 isn't going to kill you when you apply to med schools. Yes, it would be nice to have a higher gpa... but a lot of us sub-3.5 BMEs still get into multiple med schools.

Don't forget about the cool work experiences we get. Some of my interviewer were definitely impressed by my senior design project. A lot of pre-meds have research, but how many actually *build* something that works?

 

[NCSUco04]

What alot of people aren't mentioning, is that AMCAS will still calculate your overall GPA and science GPAs. Most of your engineering classes will not affect your science GPA, and although medschools will still end up looking at both, they do take into account the difference (I think most end up ranking you based by your science GPA). My science GPA was definately higher than my overall, and I graduated BME in 04.

Good luck with whatever your plans end up being.

 

[tinkerbelle]

Most of your engineering classes will not affect your science GPA

Depends on your classes. I counted most of my engineering classes as science, therefore it did affect my science gpa.