do med schools favor engineering students?

[bceagles2012]

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i was reading the post that some med schools favor engineering students but it isnt all schools. i personally think anyone that can get through chemical engineering has a very good chance of being a great doctor.

do you think med schools should favor engineering if it is a way harder major than most sciences or liberal arts? also, should it be considered that engineers are often better team players than non engineering students?

 

[slatermd]

i was reading the post that some med schools favor engineering students but it isnt all schools. i personally think anyone that can get through chemical engineering has a very good chance of being a great doctor.

do you think med schools should favor engineering if it is a way harder major than most sciences or liberal arts? also, should it be considered that engineers are often better team players than non engineering students?

Depends on the student's sexual orientation and religious affiliations.



Not srs.

 

[bucks2010]

:troll:

 

[WuMedic]

Med schools generally don't favor anyone because of a major, but if your engineering major give you some unique perspectives, then that helps. I doubt I got an acceptance anywhere on the sheer fact that I am a BME, but being able to discuss working in teams, problem solving that I've learned, and developing a medical device certainly added to my application

 

[235009]

they don't "favor" them but if you succeeded in an engineering major it tells the adcom that you will be able to do the work and keep up in med school (i.e. you will be able to handle the volume). (source = adcom member)

the downside of course is that there are many engineers out there that are socially inept.

 

[bceagles2012]

they don't "favor" them but if you succeeded in an engineering major it tells the adcom that you will be able to do the work and keep up in med school (i.e. you will be able to handle the volume). (source = adcom member)

the downside of course is that there are many engineers out there that are socially inept.

most are "socially inept?" that is one of the biggest false stereotypes out there

 

[WuMedic]

most are "socially inept?" that is one of the biggest false stereotypes out there

bceagles - you misquoted, he said "many" not "most"

And I would agree with that--there are many engineers here at my school who are socially inept, though they usually get better over their 4 years here.

 

[getdown]

Just cause they have a harder major somehow that qualifies them more over some other applicant? What a load of crap. If you feel like you got jacked over because of that major, change majors.

 

[BJJ]

I've seen some of the weirdest people as engineering majors, but I do know a couple engineers who can hold a normal conversation.

 

[WuMedic]

Just cause they have a harder major somehow that qualifies them more over some other applicant? What a load of crap. If you feel like you got jacked over because of that major, change majors.

Actually, some schools do in fact consider engineering GPAs differently from others since there is a lot of emphasis on science classes (my sGPA and cGPA are essentially the same since almost all of my classes count as BCPM). But it doesn't help you that much, just maybe a slightly lower cutoff for outright reject. Getting in is still based on credentials and the interview is where you can shine (or drown)

I've seen some of the weirdest people as engineering majors, but I do know a couple engineers who can hold a normal conversation.

There are some weird people who walk the halls here...

 

[circulus vitios]

Just cause they have a harder major somehow that qualifies them more over some other applicant? What a load of crap. If you feel like you got jacked over because of that major, change majors.

Something tells me you weren't a STEM major.

 

[gettheleadout]

Just cause they have a harder major somehow that qualifies them more over some other applicant? What a load of crap. If you feel like you got jacked over because of that major, change majors.

I feel like if someone does well in a notoriously hard major/program then that should only serve to help them, but at the same time if they do poorly they shouldn't get a free pass just because "but chemE are hard! derp." Engineering provides a practical degree, and if you're really set on going to medical school you shouldn't be training for a backup plan when its obvious the toll from that will be less chance at med school and more chance you'll use your backup plan because you couldn't get a competitive GPA. I understand not everyone is passionate enough to reapply if they don't make it the first time, but I think that speaks more to a lack of sincere interest in the field than "well I agree with med schools that I applied to that I shouldn't be a doctor." Just because you don't get in doesn't mean you can't cut it as a doctor, it means the other applicants appeared to be more likely to be able to than you.

 

[pm2322]

as a pre-med engineer going to med-school this fall... the pre-med classes were nothing compared to engineering... some people don't realize that in order to do engineering and pre-med, you sacrifice any elective classes... all my pre-med friends would take "children psych" or "history of rock n roll" to lighten their course load while i'd have "thermal-fluid systems" and "heat transfer", engineering is also super competitive, out of ~280 people freshman year only ~90 graduated in my eng. class bc most eng. schools require ~3.0 GPA to take upper division classes ...so basically your jun and sen year you're competing for grades against all the "A" students

 

[WuMedic]

as a pre-med engineer going to med-school this fall... the pre-med classes were nothing compared to engineering... some people don't realize that in order to do engineering and pre-med, you sacrifice any elective classes... all my pre-med friends would take "children psych" or "history of rock n roll" to lighten their course load while i'd have "thermal-fluid systems" and "heat transfer", engineering is also super competitive, out of ~280 people freshman year only ~90 graduated in my eng. class bc most eng. schools require ~3.0 GPA to take upper division classes ...so basically your jun and sen year you're competing for grades against all the "A" students

True Statement.

I am the Head TA for the fall sophomore BME students here and before i was a grader for the freshmen class and we definitely see that the quality of students increases from freshmen to sophomore year, and then a huge leap to junior year when the GPA requirement kicks in. It's tough, but then the ADCOMS also see on the grid that you are taking a lot more BCPM classes than others are.

 

[dank204]

i was reading the post that some med schools favor engineering students but it isnt all schools. i personally think anyone that can get through chemical engineering has a very good chance of being a great doctor.

do you think med schools should favor engineering if it is a way harder major than most sciences or liberal arts? also, should it be considered that engineers are often better team players than non engineering students?

dude, they don't care if you major in Spanish. You have to do well in whatever it is you major in. If the Spanish major gets a 4.0 and a high MCAT they are going to med school.

 

[Perrotfish]

Just cause they have a harder major somehow that qualifies them more over some other applicant? What a load of crap. If you feel like you got jacked over because of that major, change majors.

Unfortunately, it seems like ADCOMs agree with you. To medical schools your GPA is basically your GPA, whether you majored in ChemE or Communications. Thes problems with this philosophy are:

1) People do change majors. Premeds are forced to seek out classes and degrees with the highest GPAs rather than actually challenging themselves. This makes the concept of premedicine as a necessary prerequisite to medical school even more asanine than it needs to be.

2) It biases the system against people who chose medicine late in their undergraduate career. You can't game a game if you don't even know you're playing. Isn't the entire point of premedicine (vs. starting medical school straight out of HS, like in most other countries) that people need some time to figure out what they want to do?

3) It's yet another factor that biases the system towards the rich. It's easy to say 'change your major' if you have no undergraduate debt to pay back or if you have 100% confidence that you are ultimately going to medical school. However a lot of people need to pick a major that leads to some kind of a real income stream in case they don't end up a doctor (which most applicants won't). The problem is that majors that pay tend to have low GPAs. That leaves poorer applicans choosing between risking their chance at medical school and rolling the dice with their finances.

all my pre-med friends would take "children psych" or "history of rock n roll" to lighten their course load while i'd have "thermal-fluid systems" and "heat transfer", engineering is also super competitive, out of ~280 people freshman year only ~90 graduated in my eng. class bc most eng. schools require ~3.0 GPA to take upper division classes ...so basically your jun and sen year you're competing for grades against all the "A" students

Be grateful this is the way your school handles it, it sounds like they at least built some mild grade inflation into the system. My school only had about 1/4th of students make it through because they required a 2.0. They only graduated a few people with above a 3.0. The kind of GPAs that are considered standard for medical school (>3.6) would make you the absolute top student in the class.

 

[mauberley]

True Statement.

I am the Head TA for the fall sophomore BME students here and before i was a grader for the freshmen class and we definitely see that the quality of students increases from freshmen to sophomore year, and then a huge leap to junior year when the GPA requirement kicks in. It's tough, but then the ADCOMS also see on the grid that you are taking a lot more BCPM classes than others are.

As an EE major, after my sophomore year there were few classes I could count as BCPM.

BME isn't a real engineering major anyway. /ducks

 

[pm2322]

in response to the gpa...I had a 3.7 in mech. eng and was ~top 10 in my class...I do think adcoms consider engineering gpa's though because although mine is ~avg for med apps ...interviewers made a point to mention my engineering background

 

[Musclemass]

as a pre-med engineer going to med-school this fall... the pre-med classes were nothing compared to engineering... some people don't realize that in order to do engineering and pre-med, you sacrifice any elective classes... all my pre-med friends would take "children psych" or "history of rock n roll" to lighten their course load while i'd have "thermal-fluid systems" and "heat transfer", engineering is also super competitive, out of ~280 people freshman year only ~90 graduated in my eng. class bc most eng. schools require ~3.0 GPA to take upper division classes ...so basically your jun and sen year you're competing for grades against all the "A" students

Classes like kiddie psych and music, in addition to being fun, can be very useful in future dealings with patients and in life in general. You might have worked harder in a more demanding major, but arguably got less long term value from doing so.

 

[pm2322]

I think the bigger problem is med-schools would rather pack their stats by saying "our incoming Student gpa is ___ " to look impressive and increase their percieved rankings...total joke

 

[pm2322]

I dont truly believe any class will ever prepare you for dealing with patients because in the end patients=people and most of us have been learning about how to itneract with people since pre-k

as for engineering being a narrow specialty...Almost all of it applies to medicine...from material selection in hip replacements to fluid dynamics and ejection frac. in heart failure...more so at least than some prof reading dr. seuss outloud

 

[Nattydread]

Threads like this makes me wanna pull my eyeballs out!!!

 

[gettheleadout]

I dont truly believe any class will ever prepare you for dealing with patients because in the end patients=people and most of us have been learning about how to itneract with people since pre-k

as for engineering being a narrow specialty...Almost all of it applies to medicine...from material selection in hip replacements to fluid dynamics and ejection frac. in heart failure...more so at least than some prof reading dr. seuss outloud

Except you won't ever use this in a practical clinical setting.

 

[pm2322]

depends on the clinical setting...Ortho is all about materials/dynamics/action angles...prosthetics with different alloys with varying stiffness...and if you apply too much pressure on a flexible metal it'll "orange peel" causing metal to enter the blood stream...I'm sure they learn it in residency but it's really just engineering

 

[MrLahey]

I dont know why everyone is making a big deal about this being an obnoxious question.

I am a ChemE and MCB major and I can tell you the difference between engineering and science is huge let alone the difference between engineering and liberal degrees. Theres nothing wrong with liberal and science degrees but I think there should be weight to the difficulty of your studys. If you want to major in Spanish thats awesome, but a fluid and mass transfer phenomena class are MUCH harder.

I know that Adcoms dont give much if any weight to engineers, but I had the same question when figuring my applications out, so dont knock the OP

To the person who think that it's stupid to have a practical "back-up major" I think this is bogus, Even if you have a 4.0 and a 35 you are never garunteed to get in to medical school its a crap shoot, and when you choose your major you have no idea what your grades and MCAT are going to be. If you get a biology degree and end up not getting in to medical school, unless you really want to be a biology teacher theres not much else for you to do...ie you are EXTREMLY limited.

Also there is something to be said for people doing what they want to do. If an easy or a hard major interest you...you should do it. Too many SDNers subscribe to the beilf that there is one "right" way to do, but that is in many cases not so.

00.02$

 

[WuMedic]

As an EE major, after my sophomore year there were few classes I could count as BCPM.

BME isn't a real engineering major anyway. /ducks

Yeah, you better duck! Cues barrage of nerf gun darts!

But seriously, yeah, bme is more BM than E, but a lot of the classes even in EE count as BCPM. Anything involving electronics, RF, etc count as E&M and therefore physics.

in response to the gpa...I had a 3.7 in mech. eng and was ~top 10 in my class...I do think adcoms consider engineering gpa's though because although mine is ~avg for med apps ...interviewers made a point to mention my engineering background

They do, but you can't be too far off the norms if you still want to be considered.

Except you won't ever use this in a practical clinical setting.

But you might if you are doing clinical research!

 

[movax]

As an EE major, after my sophomore year there were few classes I could count as BCPM.

BME isn't a real engineering major anyway. /ducks

*high-five*, EE and CE here. Only the aerospace guys have it tougher than us 😎

 

[MrLahey]

How about thermo courses that are listed as cheme instead of thermo

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

Shut up. Just shut up.

 

[MrLahey]

Someone is angry =)

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

I dont know why everyone is making a big deal about this being an obnoxious question.

just check out some of the other threads the OP has started recently, then you'll understand. And my outburst was definitely not aimed at you...sorry if it seemed that way.

 

[WuMedic]

*high-five*, EE and CE here. Only the aerospace guys have it tougher than us 😎

Easy, I can always get more nerf darts...

(Slash are Nerf darts universal around engineering campuses or is that just a thing with us?)

How about thermo courses that are listed as cheme instead of thermo

I don't think it matters, we have ChE Thermo and MechE Thermo here. BME Thermo starts next year as a separate class. All physics/chemistry in my mind when it comes to BCPM.

Shut up. Just shut up.

🙁 I only fire off nerf darts at people i like, but I'm not sure you like me...

 

[MrLahey]

just check out some of the other threads the OP has started recently, then you'll understand. And my outburst was definitely not aimed at you...sorry if it seemed that way.

No Problem, I have no reference to the Op's other posts
But this was one of my first questions as a pre-med engineer

Ok I will add my thermo to the BCPM...as long as I get an A....

BTW...We had our first thermo exam last week, and get this...our professor didnt collect our work...People were PISSED, the dean's daughter is in our class and there was even a course fairness hearing because this is the first time this has happened in the college of engineering at my U...and we have been around since 1885....
The average was a 35%.....

Thankfully I have already taken P-chem so I got an A, but I cant imagine how the kids with out a thermo background survived

 

[WuMedic]

just check out some of the other threads the OP has started recently, then you'll understand. And my outburst was definitely not aimed at you...sorry if it seemed that way.

Opps missed this post, I guess I can fireoff nerf darts at you after all!

No Problem, I have no reference to the Op's other posts
But this was one of my first questions as a pre-med engineer

Ok I will add my thermo to the BCPM...as long as I get an A....

BTW...We had our first thermo exam last week, and get this...our professor didnt collect our work...People were PISSED, the dean's daughter is in our class and there was even a course fairness hearing because this is the first time this has happened in the college of engineering at my U...and we have been around since 1885....
The average was a 35%.....

Thankfully I have already taken P-chem so I got an A, but I cant imagine how the kids with out a thermo background survived

What do you mean he didn't collect it?

 

[MrLahey]

He made us put our answers on another sheet, and throw our work ie: 6 pages of equations and work

Engineers will definitely feel my pain...

 

[Wolfman89]

I am seriously starting to think that BCeagles is the new muffoniv.

 

[WuMedic]

He made us put our answers on another sheet, and throw our work ie: 6 pages of equations and work

Engineers will definitely feel my pain...

Ouch! So it was a binary Right/Wrong?

That sucks, some of my math classes were like this, but they were 25 question MC tests...

I am seriously starting to think that BCeagles is the new muffoniv.

No idea who muffoniv is... I'm guessing B&?

 

[Navier]

He made us put our answers on another sheet, and throw our work ie: 6 pages of equations and work

Engineers will definitely feel my pain...

That's rough my friend. I just had a rough heat transfer exam. 50 minutes for 4 questions: each a-e. the problem statements were .5-1 page long as well. I feel the pain!

 

[gettheleadout]

I dont know why everyone is making a big deal about this being an obnoxious question.

I am a ChemE and MCB major and I can tell you the difference between engineering and science is huge let alone the difference between engineering and liberal degrees. Theres nothing wrong with liberal and science degrees but I think there should be weight to the difficulty of your studys. If you want to major in Spanish thats awesome, but a fluid and mass transfer phenomena class are MUCH harder.

I know that Adcoms dont give much if any weight to engineers, but I had the same question when figuring my applications out, so dont knock the OP

To the person who think that it's stupid to have a practical "back-up major" I think this is bogus, Even if you have a 4.0 and a 35 you are never garunteed to get in to medical school its a crap shoot, and when you choose your major you have no idea what your grades and MCAT are going to be. If you get a biology degree and end up not getting in to medical school, unless you really want to be a biology teacher theres not much else for you to do...ie you are EXTREMLY limited.

Also there is something to be said for people doing what they want to do. If an easy or a hard major interest you...you should do it. Too many SDNers subscribe to the beilf that there is one "right" way to do, but that is in many cases not so.

00.02$

It is not a crap shoot. For a specific school, sure, but not overall. That is an extremely pessimistic way of looking at it. Numbers are arguably the hardest thing to change, and if you've got a 4.0 and a 35 and apply broadly with the meaningful experiences in clinical settings, service, research, etc... you will get in somewhere. I don't at all buy that the majority of getting into medical school is out of your control, and I'll go ahead and say that I WILL be get in to med school somewhere, even if I have to reapply multiple times. There was a thread a while back with the SDN "formula" for getting into med school, and while not easy to fulfill, it was pretty simply and quite accurate. If you've got the numbers you can eventually get in. Period.

Also, difficulty of a major is way too subjective to justify any alteration of gpa when considering applicants. Engineering student X would have failed every spanish course that Foreign Language student Y took, and vice versa. Who has the harder major?

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

Who has the harder major?

DCbagels2012 has the harder major. He triple-majored in Bigotry, Ignorance, and Reach-Arounds.

 

[WuMedic]

Haha, if by DCBagles you mean BCeagles!

Idk why that made me laugh-maybe its a sign for sleep time?

 

[afugazzi]

How about I kick this up a notch and say Physics : Engineering is like Engineering : Sociology.

There. I said it.

 

[SFGuy2011]

DCbagels2012 has the harder major. He triple-majored in Bigotry, Ignorance, and Reach-Arounds.

DCbagels2012 LOL. This person's threads have been keeping me entertained for the last hour.

 

[mauberley]

(Slash are Nerf darts universal around engineering campuses or is that just a thing with us?)

Just among the nerds. 😉

He made us put our answers on another sheet, and throw our work ie: 6 pages of equations and work

Engineers will definitely feel my pain...

Wow, that's just...inconceivable.

DCbagels2012 has the harder major. He triple-majored in Bigotry, Ignorance, and Reach-Arounds.

👍

How about I kick this up a notch and say Physics : Engineering is like Engineering : Sociology.

There. I said it.

Them's fightin' words.

 

[thelullaby99]

.

 

[aamirakram19]

Except you won't ever use this in a practical clinical setting.

You won't ever use organic chemistry in a Clinical setting either.😛

 

[aamirakram19]

I personally think that an engineer's problem solving ability as well as fluidity in working with teams during their engineering education and better ability to handle stress due to their demanding education makes them better prepared to become surgeons rather than family practitioners who also do problem solving but not at the same level. Family practitioners just have to retrieve information to find the answer or solution to the problem where as surgeons have to constantly find new ways to solve new and old problems.

 

[Musclemass]

I personally think that an engineer's problem solving ability as well as fluidity in working with teams during their engineering education and better ability to handle stress due to their demanding education makes them better prepared to become surgeons rather than family practitioners who also do problem solving but not at the same level. Family practitioners just have to retrieve information to find the answer or solution to the problem where as surgeons have to constantly find new ways to solve new and old problems.

Great post - you were able to convey that you don't have a clue what you're talking about, and you were almost able to do it in just one sentence.

 

[Analytic]

At my university, engineering majors are required to fill all of their elective slots with upper division engineering courses within their chosen area of specialty. This means that the pre-medical requirements are above and beyond the typical "four-year plan."

Liberal arts, business, and pure science majors are permitted to take electives in anything they want, which is why I went with physics instead of EE -- I'll be able to fulfill my elective requirements with pre-medical courses. If I don't end up going to medical school, I'll still be prepared for graduate studies in engineering.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Great post - you were able to convey that you don't have a clue what you're talking about, and you were almost able to do it in just one sentence.

If they would have just gone with the semicolon, this would have been some kind of idiot triple word score.