BME v. Molecular Biology

[pioneer22]

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Hi everyone,

I will be a freshman undergrad this fall and am having a world of difficulty deciding whether to major in Biomedical Engineering or Molecular Biology / Genetics.

I am pre-med, and I know that GPA is incredibly important, and that a Bio major is likely easier than BME. However, a BME major may look better and harder to an admissions committee, easing the chances of admissions and that there is a correlation between BME and higher MCAT scores.

I want to major in something that fascinates me, which Genetics certainly does, but I feel I don't know enough of what a BME undergrad degree will expose you to? I have seen the course requirements and see a lot of math and engineering courses, which I am not too excited about, coupled with the fact it takes 130+ hours to complete, which is a possible problem since I want to double major in English.

So what is the difference, scientifically, between BME and a Genetics-Biology Major?
Any BME majors here want to say how they like it?

I know I could try out the major and see, but I don't want to do so and sacrifice my GPA.
All help is appreciated.
Thanks

 

[WedgeDawg]

Your GPA will 1) trump your major and 2) is the hardest, slowest, and most expensive thing to fix. Do whatever you need to to keep it high. No one cares whether you study genetics or BME.

The difference between BME and genetics is that one studies engineering and the other studies biology.

 

[pioneer22]

Other thoughts?

 

[eteshoe]

.... I want to major in something that fascinates me, which Genetics certainly does, but I feel I don't know enough of what a BME undergrad degree will expose you to? I have seen the course requirements and see a lot of math and engineering courses, which I am not too excited about, coupled with the fact it takes 130+ hours to complete, which is a possible problem since I want to double major in English.

So what is the difference, scientifically, between BME and a Genetics-Biology Major?
Any BME majors here want to say how they like it?
.....

1. Definitely pick something that will interest you as well as somewhat marketable in case you choose not to do medicine.

2. Yes all engineering majors will be heavy with the math and engineering courses.

3. BME and Genetics are diametrically different majors. The best way I would explain it (take w/ a grain of salt since I was a ChemE during UG):
Genetics = biology w/ heavy focus on genetics, inheritance, genetic engineering, genomics, etc.
BME = mechanical engineering w/ a sprinkling of biology/physiology or tissue engineering

 

[PossibleDOC?]

psychology and minor in bio. Take your prereqs and fluff your gpa with psych classes and then kill the MCAT

Your welcome

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

psychology and minor in bio. Take your prereqs and fluff your gpa with psych classes and then kill the MCAT

Your welcome

This assumes that everyone is going to find psych classes easier than science classes

 

[ArsèneLupin]

Hi everyone,

I will be a freshman undergrad this fall and am having a world of difficulty deciding whether to major in Biomedical Engineering or Molecular Biology / Genetics.

I am pre-med, and I know that GPA is incredibly important, and that a Bio major is likely easier than BME. However, a BME major may look better and harder to an admissions committee, easing the chances of admissions and that there is a correlation between BME and higher MCAT scores.

I want to major in something that fascinates me, which Genetics certainly does, but I feel I don't know enough of what a BME undergrad degree will expose you to? I have seen the course requirements and see a lot of math and engineering courses, which I am not too excited about, coupled with the fact it takes 130+ hours to complete, which is a possible problem since I want to double major in English.

So what is the difference, scientifically, between BME and a Genetics-Biology Major?
Any BME majors here want to say how they like it?

I know I could try out the major and see, but I don't want to do so and sacrifice my GPA.
All help is appreciated.
Thanks

I did BME when I was in UG. Engineering can be a GPA killer. I graduated with a 3.45 cGPA and was luckily able to matriculate to medical school after some stress and strategy. BME has helped me tremendously though post UG. I was given a nice skill set for research and industry which helped me come time for residency applications. That said, I have a passion for engineering. I didn't do it because it was "harder ". If you aren't the most remote bit passionate about engineering you may want to look elsewhere. My degree was math, chemistry, physics, programming, engineering heavy with some light biology. If you aren't a fan of math,physics engineering and/or programming it'll be a long 4 years.
Ill address the bolded below

1. you're absolutely right. GPA is incredibly important. Its a hard thing to fix once its wrecked and if you can keep a good GPA early on its hard to harm and easy to shine.
2. Harder is up to debate. i hated and still hate lot of biology. cellular stuff and biochemistry still bores me. I found it harder. What does make it objectively "harder" are the amounts of homework, projects, and exams compared to most other classes. Homework assignments took forever. Projects even longer
3. 99.9% wrong about "harder" being looked up on better. the medical school application system doesnt recognize engineering courses as science so if you tank one of the few science courses you take you're SOL with your science GPA. If you get a 4.0 in engineering, big pat on the back. a 3.25 for admissions though? up without a paddle most times. BME did make the MCAT super easy since the degree was all the basic sciences and problem solving.
4.Addressed above. The double major may take away more time and effort. You might want to reconsider the decision and put it into other things like extracurriculars like shadowing, research, volunteering. Time spent much better.

Look carefully at what interest you. BME is a rewarding degree and career beyond UG, but it is the pre-med killer for many since they go in thinking about it similar to how you are presenting. If you dont have a passion or love for engineering, rethink it.

 

[mobama]

I would do Molecular Biology/Genetics. Unless you are really passionate about BME you're just going to regret how hard you are going to have to work and the impact it is going to have on your GPA. I have really smart friends who are studying engineering who tell me how challenging their course loads are. A 3.2 GPA is actually really good for an engineer but for med school......

Also in the long run I think the upper level courses in a Molecular Biology major will better prepare you for the MCAT, research, future science coursework, etc.

 

[jih]

Another BME grad here. Only do it if you want to study engineering and have a genuine interest, or you will kill your GPA.

Sent from my SM-G925V using SDN mobile

 

[Blunt Dissection]

I was a liberal arts major LOL. Philosophy ftw. Point being - do what interests you.

 

[bate16]

BME major here, you should really do what interests you, as unhelpful as this advice is. In my opinion, if you do something you like, you should most likely do well in it. I chose BME because I did not want to do a hard science and wanted something that combined math and science. BME is super rewarding in terms of how much you will learn, because of how multidisciplinary it is. BME is essentially learning engineering principles and then applying it to human/biological systems to solve problems. For me, this seemed a lot more interesting than just learning about human/biological systems. Additionally, the research in BME is really cutting edge and super interesting, IMO.

Also, the GPA kill in BME is overhyped, IMO. Yes it is hard, but everyone is struggling together and it is still highly possible to get a solid GPA suitable for med school.

 

[jtd2081]

Strictly GPA speaking (you know, the thing med schools care about?) I would say just do molec bio. Engineering is definitely a rigorous major (not saying molec bio isn't, but generally I have heard BME is very difficult). I feel as though since you are on this website you are likely attempting to become a physician. Molec bio may help you on the MCAT more than BME can, but in the end it's up to you.

 

[MaxPlancker]

Advice that all premeds should learn: Don't do something to impress adcoms or because it might look better, do it because you want to. You will likely shoot yourself in the foot otherwise.

 

[Lucca]

Nobody cares what you majored in in undergrad as long as you do well on all academic metrics.

The exception is of course that you will care a lot about your major when it comes to actually do all of the work associated with the degree plan. You will either love it, hate it, or be somewhere in between. Everything is easier the closer you get to loving it because the work feels less like work (as long as the work is actually productive and has educational value, which is not always the case).

If you don't like math or engineering please for your sake do not major in engineering. You will sink. You won't push through, you won't overcome the challenge with lots of hard work and determination, you will sink by either tanking your GPA or being miserable during one of the most fun and educational times of your life.

 

[autocrave]

BME major reporting. I love my curriculum because of its interdisciplinary nature. To get the most out of BME you have to enjoy things that aren't biology - I have taken courses in Pchem, device fabrication, advanced mathematics, polymers, thermo, etc.

If that doesn't interest you, go the genetics route.