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I know it would be much easier to simply change my major to one of the natural sciences but I really want to do this. Any advice? Thanks.
I hope you're a manic workaholic with an IQ of 230. If your goal is to become a physician, chart the most direct, secure path to becoming a physician. Why pile on an incredibly difficult engineering degree that you probably won't ever use?
Jesus, you might as well cut off your thumbs, poke out one eye, give yourself a permanent limp, and post a sniper on the top of the library to try and pick you off each day.
The point of having the engineering degree is as a back-up in most cases, because there are plenty of Biology majors out there who didn't make it into med school and are now living in their mother's basement.
I am currently a freshman majoring in electrical engineering w/ pre-med. I just finished making a 4-year plan to see what classes I will have to take each year in order to satisfy requirements for both my degree plans. This is what I get:
First Year:
Semester1:
Gen Chem I w/ Lab
Computer Science I w/ Lab
Calculus 1 w/ Problem session
Humanities
Total Hours: 16
Semester 2:
Gen Chem II w/ Lab
Honors Physics I: Mechanics&Heat w/ Lab
Computer Science II
Calc II w/ Problem Session
Intro to Experimental Techniques (EE class)
Linear Algebra for Engineers
Total hours: 20
Second Year:
Semester 1:
Bio I w/ workshop
Organic Chem I W/ Lab
Physics II: E&M w/ Lab
Digital Systems w/ Lab
Differential Equations w/ Problem Sessions
Total hours: 20
Semester 2:
Bio II w/ workshop
Intro to Bio Lab
Organic Chem II w/ Lab
Electrical Network Analysis w/ Lab
Probability & Statistics
Total hours: 17
The last 2 years is all EE classes and I would be done with my pre-med classes in the first 2 years. I have two questions: First, I know my schedule seems really tough for the second semester of first year and first semester of second year. Will it be possible for me to make As in my classes despite having organic chem durign a 20-hour workload? My second question is that for texas medical schools, I need 2 years of bio. I do have AP credit for Bio but my advisor recommended that I retake it as it would help me on the MCAT. If I retake it, I will have to take a year of advanced bio classes in the summer(probably Genetics and biochemistry). The other option is instead of retaking bio in college, I could take genetics and biochem during my second year. What should I do? I'm really confused about all this but I really want to be able to major in electrical engineering while doing pre-med. I know it would be much easier to simply change my major to one of the natural sciences but I really want to do this. Any advice? Thanks.
Yeah, that's great and all, but I question the wisdom of one's backup plan jeopardizing the success of one's primary plan.
I was a Mechanical Engineering major and would recommend to lighten the course work. First, scheduling all of those labs during the same semester is not easy. Second, don't be afraid to go to undergrad for an extra semester. Not only do you help your chances with your GPA, but you also give yourself to take other med classes than just the pre-reqs. There's nothing wrong with having a backup plan at all, but make sure you give yourself the best chances at your primary goal. Good luck.
Your initial post asked for advice on your schedule. Everyone said it was too hard, and now you're suggesting making it even more difficult? Why ask for advice when you're not going to listen to it? As much as you seem to think you're the exception rather than the rule, listen to the advice of those who have been through the process. A lot of undergrads are obsessed with graduating as soon as they can. Spread things out more, take on an internship, study abroad, etc., because with that schedule you will have very little time for things outside of the classroom that make you a better applicant, you will have very little time to enjoy life outside of school, and you may very well destroy your chances of getting into med school by ruining your GPA.
It doesn't matter if you're a poly sci major or have a double degree in EE/ChE, at the end of the day if your GPA is a 3.0 you'll be fighting an uphill battle just to get into med school, let alone getting into a med school you'd want to attend.
As for the AP bio credit, I would retake bio because a lot of schools don't look favorably on AP credit and the quality of an AP biology class varies widely. Also if nothing else it should be a free A for you.
I actually did better with LESS studying in my engineering classes than with my pre-med or humanities classes. So, I would have been jeopardizing my primary goal by doing some else.
Also, one last question: I was considering taking English in the summer because I really don't want to waste my time with it during the school year. Would it look bad if it took English at a community college instead of at my undergrad school during the summer? If so, then I'll just take it at my undergrad.
That sounds kinda fun. It would totally be like sylvester stallone and antonio banderas stuffpost a sniper on the top of the library to try and pick you off each day.
QFTYeah, that's great and all, but I question the wisdom of one's backup plan jeopardizing the success of one's primary plan.
I was a Mechanical Engineering major and would recommend to lighten the course work. First, scheduling all of those labs during the same semester is not easy. Second, don't be afraid to go to undergrad for an extra semester. Not only do you help your chances with your GPA, but you also give yourself to take other med classes than just the pre-reqs. There's nothing wrong with having a backup plan at all, but make sure you give yourself the best chances at your primary goal. Good luck.
Your initial post asked for advice on your schedule. Everyone said it was too hard, and now you're suggesting making it even more difficult? Why ask for advice when you're not going to listen to it? As much as you seem to think you're the exception rather than the rule, listen to the advice of those who have been through the process. A lot of undergrads are obsessed with graduating as soon as they can. Spread things out more, take on an internship, study abroad, etc., because with that schedule you will have very little time for things outside of the classroom that make you a better applicant, you will have very little time to enjoy life outside of school, and you may very well destroy your chances of getting into med school by ruining your GPA.
It doesn't matter if you're a poly sci major or have a double degree in EE/ChE, at the end of the day if your GPA is a 3.0 you'll be fighting an uphill battle just to get into med school, let alone getting into a med school you'd want to attend.
As for the AP bio credit, I would retake bio because a lot of schools don't look favorably on AP credit and the quality of an AP biology class varies widely. Also if nothing else it should be a free A for you.
The point of having the engineering degree is as a back-up in most cases, because there are plenty of Biology majors out there who didn't make it into med school and are now living in their mother's basement.
Also, as a Chemical Engineer (Idk about EE) there are lots of cross-research things going on between the medical field and the Chem Eng field. Look at UConn's new Dean of the Medical College. His undergrad degree is in Chemical Engineering and he is also a MD. He's doing some crazy research with polymer science and the ACL.
As for the schedule you have put:
1- Try to NEVER have more than 2 labs in one semester. They are extremely time consuming and could screw you over. With that, I know people who did just fine with the load you are describing.
It's not true. I'm taking three labs right now and while the write-ups are somewhat time-consuming, it's not as hard as everyone claims it to be.
Well, the important thing is that you're getting laid.