BME + Premed

[dosaqueen12]

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Hello! I am currently a first year at UNC-CH pursuing a major in BME on the pre-med track. I am interested in BME and very intrigued by the research I do on campus (in a BME lab), but I'm not quite sure if BME is my passion. However, I need to pick a major quickly since the longer I wait, the longer it'll take me to finish my undergrad, and I would like to be done within the typical four years. I am not quite sure if I can handle the rigor of BME + Premed and am hoping to find some clarity once I start taking more BME specific courses next year (sophomore year). I do not want to sign myself up for something I can't handle and have it backfire on my GPA. Any thoughts? I would be very appreciative of any help or advice.

 

[NotAnotherPreMed]

I did it. 10-12% of my med school class actually is a BME/other engineering major. So it's definitely doable. Yes it will be harder but again many do it. I did go to Hopkins for undergrad where literally a third of our BME cohort is premed though.

 

[Morc]

I did this as well, for two reasons. I’m one of those crazy people who really enjoys math and physics, and also I wanted to give myself a solid backup if med school didn’t work out for whatever reason.

I’d advise picking a major you’d enjoy as a career if all else fails. That way, you’re more likely to succeed in said major (good GPA).

 

[dosaqueen12]

I did it. 10-12% of my med school class actually is a BME/other engineering major. So it's definitely doable. Yes it will be harder but again many do it. I did go to Hopkins for undergrad where literally a third of our BME cohort is premed though.

Thank you so much for your reply! The stats for UNC are a lot less strong, with about 5% of our BME cohort doing Premed. So, I would be somewhat of an outlier for sure.

 

[dosaqueen12]

I did this as well, for two reasons. I’m one of those crazy people who really enjoys math and physics, and also I wanted to give myself a solid backup if med school didn’t work out for whatever reason.

I’d advise picking a major you’d enjoy as a career if all else fails. That way, you’re more likely to succeed in said major (good GPA).

Thank you for your reply! I enjoy math for sure but I'm not the biggest fan of physics, which, again, is pushing me away from BME. I'm not interested in majoring in Biology or Neuroscience similar to another typical premed though.

 

[deleted996731]

Drop bme. You’ll slave away for it and end up missing out on a lot of college.

 

[P_Kloud]

First of all, go heels! But honestly, major is not that important for medical school admissions as long as you take the pre req classes. I think you should just look at the different majors that you are interested in and ask yourself:

1. Could I see myself working in this field of study after I graduated if I did not end up going to medical school?
2. Is it a major that I find interesting and would not mind studying hours a week for?
3. Is it a major that I think I can do well in and maintain a high enough GPA to get into medical school?

If you enjoy math, but not physics, you could always look at the mathematics major or even the statistics and analytics or biostatistics majors offered at UNC.

 

[2020_vision]

Hi! I was a bioengineering major at Pitt and was accepted to med school this year. Studying BME was one of the most difficult things I've done, but it was beyond rewarding. I loved BME and was very passionate about what I was studying. It gave me a different perspective of medicine and a good way to understand the way the human body works, and I could talk about this in my interviews. I will tell you that it will be incredibly challenging and you will have to make sacrifices in order to do well, but if you are willing to put in the work, you will be rewarded. Best of luck!

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

How about Computer Science as major and do the required premed classes? You can also find Computational research opportunities

 

[dosaqueen12]

Hi! I was a bioengineering major at Pitt and was accepted to med school this year. Studying BME was one of the most difficult things I've done, but it was beyond rewarding. I loved BME and was very passionate about what I was studying. It gave me a different perspective of medicine and a good way to understand the way the human body works, and I could talk about this in my interviews. I will tell you that it will be incredibly challenging and you will have to make sacrifices in order to do well, but if you are willing to put in the work, you will be rewarded. Best of luck!

Thank you for your response and motivating words!

 

[dosaqueen12]

First of all, go heels! But honestly, major is not that important for medical school admissions as long as you take the pre req classes. I think you should just look at the different majors that you are interested in and ask yourself:

1. Could I see myself working in this field of study after I graduated if I did not end up going to medical school?
2. Is it a major that I find interesting and would not mind studying hours a week for?
3. Is it a major that I think I can do well in and maintain a high enough GPA to get into medical school?

If you enjoy math, but not physics, you could always look at the mathematics major or even the statistics and analytics or biostatistics majors offered at UNC.

Thank you so much for your response and go heels always 🙂 I think I can definitely answer those first two questions for BME, but not the third. I definitely am interested in the Mathematics major. I'll look into it as well as Biostat!

 

[dosaqueen12]

How about Computer Science as major and do the required premed classes? You can also find Computational research opportunities

That's very true. Compsci at UNC is competitive as well as finding research/internships since so many people want them. Also, I am not sure if it's for me just because I struggle with coding. I'll be sure to consider it though, thank you for your response!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

There are plenty of med school students who were engineers/bioengineers as undergraduates. Many schools are accustomed to reviewing applications from engineers though you should still do your best in the biomedical science core courses. Keeping a high GPA will be a real tough challenge otherwise.

 

[Saturday’s Child]

May not exactly fit into your mathematical interests, but I’d highly recommend looking into a major in Exercise and Sport Science. You’ll get a heavy dose of anatomy and physiology, along with forays into biomechanics, epidemiology, and psychology. I think it’s honestly one of, if not the best, “pre med” majors since it’s not overly difficult and focuses on topics that are both practical and functionally relevant to medicine. You don’t have to be a fitness nut to enjoy it, but it will give you a solid foundation of knowledge regarding exercise recommendations for better health and as a protective or curative measure against diseases. I think it’s a hidden gem of a major, and it won’t break your mental or time bank!

 

[lurker77777]

As a BME major I'll say do it if you feel like you could do BME as an alternative career, otherwise no point in burning yourself out over difficult engineering coursework + prerequisites. If you really do have a math interest maybe go into a math major instead