Does having an engineer degree matter in applying to med schools?

[RobbStark]

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As a mechanical engineer, my GPA is around 3.2 as now of beginning of junior year in college. I find out that stands a much lower chance people who are majoring in biology or health care studies. However, 'm really interested in applying to med school as it has been a huge aspiration for me ever since a chance. However, I do not know how much my major matters when it comes to Medical school. Would someone please tell me how much an undergraduate major is weighed toward med schooL?

 

[WillburCobb]

As a mechanical engineer, my GPA is around 3.2 as now of beginning of junior year in college. I find out that stands a much lower chance people who are majoring in biology or health care studies. However, 'm really interested in applying to med school as it has been a huge aspiration for me ever since a chance. However, I do not know how much my major matters when it comes to Medical school. Would someone please tell me how much an undergraduate major is weighed toward med schooL?

It matters VERY little, if at all.

 

[chillaxbro]

I find it funny engineering majors call themselves engineers when they haven't even finished school yet. Same with physics majors.

However, I rarely ever hear people who actually finished college call themselves biologists, chemists, or biochemists even after graduating.

 

[mimelim]

Matters a little in the right context, but still marginal. Completely meaningless if comparing GPAs >0.2 apart. (To pick an arbitrary number)

 

[claduva94]

An engineering major will not compensate for GPA. Also, as an engineering major, I have found the difference in difficulty between biology classes and engineering classes to be minimal.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

I find it funny engineering majors call themselves engineers when they haven't even finished school yet. Same with physics majors.

However, I rarely ever hear people who actually finished college call themselves biologists, chemists, or biochemists even after graduating.

After graduating, most just call themselves "baristas."

 

[RobbStark]

I find it funny engineering majors call themselves engineers when they haven't even finished school yet. Same with physics majors.

However, I rarely ever hear people who actually finished college call themselves biologists, chemists, or biochemists even after graduating.

Ye sorry, i forgot to type the major word. You get the gist though.

 

[RobbStark]

After graduating, most just call themselves "baristas."

so you make yourself better by talking down on other people? That's great

 

[ace12345]

so you make yourself better by talking down on other people? That's great

I think this was a joke.

Talk to some adcoms on their policy toward engineering majors. Might vary depending on who you ask, but not sure. I know at my undergrad they got absolutely nailed GPAwise (Much lower than other majors basically no matter what).

 

[Rhino1000]

Is that a joke? you're a student with a 3.2 GPA looking to apply to medical school. How on Earth do you consider yourself a mechanical engineer?

Anyways, a 3.2 is still a 3.2 regardless of major. A 3.6 in the easiest major looks better than a 3.2 in the toughest major. What happens to be easy or tough is relative but the numbers are not.

He already addressed this. He said he meant major, and that he didn't consider himself to be an engineer. However, even if he did, that would be more justified than you might think, as most engineering students (at least, at my school and many others) already have work experience as an engineer during internships, which are, for the most part, closer to the career the degree-pursuer is pursuing than experiences gained by students of other majors. My point is, there is no reason to be coming close to deriding someone over something that has been pointed out already, and that was swiftly corrected.

 

[Rhino1000]

OP, I say that if you prove yourself on the MCAT, your specific case of low-GPA-due-to-a-difficult-major will become justified in the minds of the Adcoms. At the very least, that's what your going to have to hope if you are serious about medical school, because at this point there isn't that much you can do about it, except keep your GPA up as high as you can this next school year (and demonstrate that you are more capable than your GPA alone would indicate with your MCAT performance).

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

so you make yourself better by talking down on other people? That's great

Yep, it is pretty great. 🙄

 

[LuciusVorenus]

It doesn't excuse a low cGPA since you made the decision to do engineering - no one forced you and if it was too difficult you could have always switched to bio. Besides, it shouldn't really have too much of an effect on your sGPA (with the exception of the calc/physics classes you take most of your core engineering classes can be classified as engineering and not BCMP).

In my experience it was never brought up during any of my interviews when talking about my academic strengths...only as a quick "Oh you did engineering? Did you build anything cool?!"

 

[moisne]

No - it didn't mattered... Plenty of engineering students have 3.6+. Brig your grade up or change majors. Personally I don't think engineering is harder than any other majors.