Engineering and Pre-Med

[deleted316655]

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Hey everyone!

I'm planning on doing Chemical Engineering with the hopes of going to med school. I've read the posts about this idea on this site and some other places online as well and understand that it's going to be really hard, but it's possible if you put enough effort in. Given that engineering itself is a difficult major and there is usually no room for any other classes, I was thinking about graduating in five years although I would like to do the usual four and take summer/winter classes. The questions I have is for anyone who has done engineering and taken the pre-med classes. What was your schedule like? Did you complete everything in four years or five? Would you change your schedule in any way if you could?

Thanks! 🙂

 

[theseeker4]

Hey everyone!

I'm planning on doing Chemical Engineering with the hopes of going to med school. I've read the posts about this idea on this site and some other places online as well and understand that it's going to be really hard, but it's possible if you put enough effort in. Given that engineering itself is a difficult major and there is usually no room for any other classes, I was thinking about graduating in five years although I would like to do the usual four and take summer/winter classes. The questions I have is for anyone who has done engineering and taken the pre-med classes. What was your schedule like? Did you complete everything in four years or five? Would you change your schedule in any way if you could?

Thanks! 🙂

There is nothing wrong with pursuing an engineering degree, but considering Chem Engineering is one of the hardest engineering majors, you should think very long and hard if the risk to your GPA is worth it. Med school admissions won't care at all that you chose a difficult major if your GPA is sub-par. Good luck either way!

 

[dmf2682]

There is nothing wrong with pursuing an engineering degree, but considering Chem Engineering is one of the hardest engineering majors, you should think very long and hard if the risk to your GPA is worth it. Med school admissions won't care at all that you chose a difficult major if your GPA is sub-par. Good luck either way!

This. Become an aeronautical engineer. More fun, easier, and you get to call yourself a rocket scientist!

 

[deleted316655]

lol being called a rocket scientist would be awesome. The thing is that the school I'm going to doesn't offer it, and I'm actually interested in Chemical Engineering the most. Also, I only have to take Bio and one semester of Orgo to be finished with the pre-reqs.

 

[twizzlers713]

Just do chemistry if you want to do chemE, your GPA is more susceptible to hits in chemE

 

[circulus vitios]

This. Become an aeronautical engineer. More fun, easier, and you get to call yourself a rocket scientist!

Is aero-e really easier than chem-e? I thought all engineering disciplines were uniformly difficulty, except for civil and environmental.

 

[dmf2682]

Is aero-e really easier than chem-e? I thought all engineering disciplines were uniformly difficulty, except for civil and environmental.

I always assumed chemical was the toughest followed by ee, ae, bme, materials, then mechanical. Followed by civil, env then industrial. That's only me though, others will tell you other stuff.

 

[bluebillion]

If you are serious about medical school I would probably think twice about Engineering as an undergrad. GPA is very important in the med-school application process and you are likely to have a lower GPA as an engineer than any other major.

Not saying it can't/hasn't been done before, however.

 

[deleted316655]

Just do chemistry if you want to do chemE, your GPA is more susceptible to hits in chemE

I was thinking about doing that, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Chemical Engineering is pretty much a backup.

 

[equinsu ocha]

I did EE and of couse had to use 5 years. You can start out in engineering and if you are doing well in the calc and calc-based physics then stick with it into the core engineering classes and see how you do. ChemE is the best pre-med major in my opinion because you have to take the gen chem and ochem anyways and have an excellent degree to fall back on. I've got a couple acceptances this cycle and from my experience the single most important thing is the mcat. Of course keep your gpa as high as possible but don't worry if your keeping a 3.5ish. The other important note is that rarely was my engineering background discussed in my interviews but my volunteer experience was in every single one. Which means, as you already know, you need to make time for volunteering activities. This is much more difficult when you're in the lab for hours every night working on hw while your biosci majors (your competition) can just cram 2 nights before the exam and ace it. So overall I would do it. If you think you really want medicine then you need to keep >=3.5 and start with volunteering activities early. Also, study your butt off for the mcat. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that since you can handle engineering that you don't need to take it seriously. Finally, you may find that you no longer want to pursue medicine in a couple years and you will have arguably the "best" undergrad degree.

Bumble-B-Tuna

 

[railgun]

I'm doing bme and its tough to finish all reqs and pre-med reqs in four years. You either need a full load (~18 units/quarter) or will have to take summer school.
Five years will definitely make it a lot easier. (I'm trying to finish in 4 and I think its doable with a good GPA)
Finding time for ECs is also much more challenging.
If you're good at math, I think you will likely be fine the first year or two that are basically intro classes. After that, I think you'll have a better idea of whether to switch or stay in the major.
If you do decide to continue engineering, I think it will help you significantly on the MCAT (It did for me!), but you will still need to prepare well.

 

[Abagnale]

Keept above a 3.9 GPA, so it certainly can be done.

It's more work than other majors of course, but I can't imagine majoring in anything other than engineering, so if you enjoy it it definitely helps.

Some of my classes (ex/ Differential Equations, Thermo) made Orgo seem easy by comparison, so that's always a plus. And you'll be really good at math (which is always a good thing, right?)

 

[Perrotfish]

Hey everyone!

I'm planning on doing Chemical Engineering with the hopes of going to med school. I've read the posts about this idea on this site and some other places online as well and understand that it's going to be really hard, but it's possible if you put enough effort in. Given that engineering itself is a difficult major and there is usually no room for any other classes, I was thinking about graduating in five years although I would like to do the usual four and take summer/winter classes. The questions I have is for anyone who has done engineering and taken the pre-med classes. What was your schedule like? Did you complete everything in four years or five? Would you change your schedule in any way if you could?

Thanks! 🙂

I did an engineering degree. I dual majored in mechanical engineering and chemistry
I did it because I was planning to be an engineer, and ended up killing myself for a 2.8 GP
A. If you know you want to be a physician engineering serves no purpose and will probably keep you from getting into medical school. Pick an easier major.

Now if you're seriously considering engineering as an alternative career hats another problem.

 

[Myuu]

Is aero-e really easier than chem-e? I thought all engineering disciplines were uniformly difficulty, except for civil and environmental.

ChemE is nuts. Granted, I say that about all the majors that focus on subjects I'm not especially good at. Except civil and environmental.

 

[Perrotfish]

I always assumed chemical was the toughest followed by ee, ae, bme, materials, then mechanical. Followed by civil, env then industrial. That's only me though, others will tell you other stuff.

I never new anyone who could compare the two. Aerospace engineers fail into mechanical, who fail into civil. Chem engineers fail into chemistry, and chemists fail into biology. Comp engineers fail into electrical and electrial engineers fail into computer science. I don't think I ever met anyone that went from aerospace to chemical engineering

 

[Plue00]

Is aero-e really easier than chem-e? I thought all engineering disciplines were uniformly difficulty, except for civil and environmental.

I've heard EE was the hardest followed by computer, biomed, and chemical.

I'd recommend biomed, as a lot of schools have a biomed/premed combo like mine. We also have a high rate of acceptance for our biomed majors, somewhere around 75%. I know our chemE acceptance is very low. It might be the same at most other schools.

Keep in mind that engineering GPA can vary by school. It's going to be hard to get a 3.5+ at MIT/Caltech as compared to a lower quality school. You can be a big fish in a small pond and ace everything or a little fish in a big pond and get your butt kicked.

 

[deleted316655]

I've taken Calc and gotten an A. I'm not super worried about the first two years, and I was thinking of alleviating the work load by taking summer classes for the easier classes/humanities by taking them in the summer. That way, I would be taking fewer hard classes than I would otherwise. That would help with making things easier and should allow me to get better grades than if I did the usual Chemical Engineering schedule.

 

[twizzlers713]

As previously stated, chemE isnt particularly helpful for your medical aspirations. If the first 2 years are the same in chem vs chemE it should be possible to declare chemistry and change to chemE after 2 years if you change your mind about medicine. You'd have to continue past calc 2/3 which you clearly wouldn't mind. Maybe consider this option?

I never new anyone who could compare the two. Aerospace engineers fail into mechanical, who fail into civil. Chem engineers fail into chemistry, and chemists fail into biology. Comp engineers fail into electrical and electrial engineers fail into computer science. I don't think I ever met anyone that went from aerospace to chemical engineering

What is this "failing into" business?

 

[equinsu ocha]

As previously stated, chemE isnt particularly helpful for your medical aspirations. If the first 2 years are the same in chem vs chemE it should be possible to declare chemistry and change to chemE after 2 years if you change your mind about medicine. You'd have to continue past calc 2/3 which you clearly wouldn't mind. Maybe consider this option?


What is this "failing into" business?

I would argue chemE is very useful for medicine, much more useful than any other undergrad major except maybe BME. Useful for getting into medical school is another story.

"failing into" like can't hack it so they try something easier. And the poster got computer and EE mixed up.

 

[pkwraith]

I was BME and did it in four years. All the BME Premeds at my school did it in four, unless they're doing a work co-op program. I even had enough free time to pick up an Econ major. Five years never really crossed my mind.

ChemE is harder than BME, but I don't think it requires five years or summer classes, since a lot of your classes overlap. You can be done with Gen Engineering and Premed prereqs the first two years, and the more specialized Engineering the second two year.

 

[baltimoreman]

I did EE and of couse had to use 5 years. You can start out in engineering and if you are doing well in the calc and calc-based physics then stick with it into the core engineering classes and see how you do. ChemE is the best pre-med major in my opinion because you have to take the gen chem and ochem anyways and have an excellent degree to fall back on. I've got a couple acceptances this cycle and from my experience the single most important thing is the mcat. Of course keep your gpa as high as possible but don't worry if your keeping a 3.5ish. The other important note is that rarely was my engineering background discussed in my interviews but my volunteer experience was in every single one. Which means, as you already know, you need to make time for volunteering activities. This is much more difficult when you're in the lab for hours every night working on hw while your biosci majors (your competition) can just cram 2 nights before the exam and ace it. So overall I would do it. If you think you really want medicine then you need to keep >=3.5 and start with volunteering activities early. Also, study your butt off for the mcat. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that since you can handle engineering that you don't need to take it seriously. Finally, you may find that you no longer want to pursue medicine in a couple years and you will have arguably the "best" undergrad degree.

Bumble-B-Tuna

The above advice is good, but I cannot say anything to BumbleB's comments about the MCAT, as I have not yet taken it. I will be a senior in chemical engineering in the fall and currently have GPA>3.8. I will graduate in 4 years, but I decided on medicine late, so I will be taking a gap year between UG and medical school. I say if you have done well in your classes thus far, you should stick with it. See if your school allows you to do a concentration in biology/biochemistry within your degree program, or if you can take biology classes to satisfy any requirements for your degree. This would allow you to get some pre-reqs done while also completing your degree requirements.

 

[BME11]

I'm a biomedical engineering (the hardest major at my school). It was really tough. I took all my classes in 4 years and doubled majored with chemistry with additional year so I finished with two majors in 5 years b/c my school didn't have Chem Engineering. I really enjoyed what I did so it made it much more enduring. It's very very much doable.

But CHemEngineering IMO is much more difficult than BME with its thermodynamics and fluids crap. JUst study hard 4 years will work. Good Luck. I jsut got accepted in Jan Class of 2016.

 

[JESSFALLING]

...you will have arguably the "best" undergrad degree.

How is ChemE as a lifestyle? It's got to be better than PetroE??

 

[Perrotfish]

How is ChemE as a lifestyle? It's got to be better than PetroE??

At my school ChemE basically was a PetroE major. That's where a big chunk of them ended up working, anyway. I think a seperate PetroE major is a pretty rare/cool thing.

 

[BenzylAcetate]

Just graduated with a degree in BME from big state U. My GPA took a hit but I don't think it was a result of the course work being particularly difficult; my biggest problem was (not) scheduling properly. From the get go find out (from upperclassmen or your major's engineering advisors) which engineering courses tend to require the most time. I ran into problems when I took courses that were 15-20 hours per week outside of class and had another 16 credits on top of that. If you are careful to schedule a balance of time intensive and non-time intensive courses it should be more than doable.

Also, med schools will not cut you any slack for having a low GPA/limited extracurriculars even though you studied engineering. You need to make sure that the rest of your application is just as well rounded regardless of the major you pursue. However, I do believe the design intensive course you will take as an engineering student are a unique experience both in terms of med school application and life in general.

As other people have said, if you were the guy that skipped a year or two of math and crushed all the calc AP test in high school, you will probably be able to keep up with the math and enjoy the engineering work.

 

[equinsu ocha]

Just graduated with a degree in BME from big state U. My GPA took a hit but I don't think it was a result of the course work being particularly difficult; my biggest problem was (not) scheduling properly. From the get go find out (from upperclassmen or your major's engineering advisors) which engineering courses tend to require the most time. I ran into problems when I took courses that were 15-20 hours per week outside of class and had another 16 credits on top of that. If you are careful to schedule a balance of time intensive and non-time intensive courses it should be more than doable.

Also, med schools will not cut you any slack for having a low GPA/limited extracurriculars even though you studied engineering. You need to make sure that the rest of your application is just as well rounded regardless of the major you pursue. However, I do believe the design intensive course you will take as an engineering student are a unique experience both in terms of med school application and life in general.

As other people have said, if you were the guy that skipped a year or two of math and crushed all the calc AP test in high school, you will probably be able to keep up with the math and enjoy the engineering work.

This was my experience as well.

 

[jesse120]

Hey everyone!

I'm planning on doing Chemical Engineering with the hopes of going to med school. I've read the posts about this idea on this site and some other places online as well and understand that it's going to be really hard, but it's possible if you put enough effort in. Given that engineering itself is a difficult major and there is usually no room for any other classes, I was thinking about graduating in five years although I would like to do the usual four and take summer/winter classes. The questions I have is for anyone who has done engineering and taken the pre-med classes. What was your schedule like? Did you complete everything in four years or five? Would you change your schedule in any way if you could?

Thanks! 🙂

A little about me: majored in Engineering Science at Penn State and was in the honors college, finished courses in 4 years, but due to complications with my thesis work, deferred graduation for an extra year, 3.83 GPA. My schedule was reasonably busy. My semesters were 16-19 credits and I took summer classes for two of the summers. (Considering some people work full time while being a full time student, I can't complain with how my schedule was.) That being said though, you'll be in for a rough four or five years. Engineering is a long grind. You can't take the shortcut and cram for an exam; instead, you'll be spending many hours every day on problem sets. I majored in engineering because I wanted to be an engineer. When I decided on medicine later on, I seriously contemplated switching to something less demanding. If I had to do it over again, knowing I wanted to go to med school, I wouldn't major in engineering. And I don't say that because it's not worth it, I say that because I'm a lazy ass . I'm glad I majored in it only because it's over with. Just about every interviewer commented on my major, how engineering is one of the best premed majors, and what a good school Penn State is (as if I didn't already know 🙄). If your undergrad is at the Penn State level, then sure go ahead and major in engineering if you're up for the challenge and have a passion for it. If you're at an Ivy, I wouldn't dare. That would be way too brutal I think.

Edit: I talk about engineering a little bit in my personal statement in my mdapps, so feel free to check that out as well.

 

[1032]

I dont think you can just rank engineering majors. It depends on what the individual is comfortable. Some CHEME's would struggle with EE and ME classes and vice versa. Its like asking an artist to draw vs a scientist to draw, one would think its easy while the other will struggle.

But my advise for any premed going into engineering is really planning the class schedule very carefully. It doesn't matter how smart you think you are, if you don't have the time to study, you will fail. The engineering classes/programs are made to produce competent engineers, so the undergraduate programs have to push in order to create competent workers, since a lot of them will not go to grad school.

Almost all engineering classes are very time consuming, and that can hurt a young premed who also has to take the medical school pre-reqs. If you don't plan and ask upper class men about your schedule, you will have a really hard time. Being premed and engineering is very doable, as long as you are smart about it and realize that it will take the same time and dedication that you will need to put into medical school. Just like medical school is designed to take a lot of time and effort to make competent doctors, you need to realize the engineering schools are designed to take the same approach to make sure that a competent engineer is graduating.

I would definitely advise using summer school to take some of your pre-reqs (if you are really serious, then before college even starts). I found it extremely hard, because I was forced to cram all of the pre-reqs in 4 semesters while also taking engineering, math and CS classes. Unlike a lot of the science majors who who can push a few basic math/physic/ or bio (depending on major) class to 3rd or 4th year, you will need to take all of them, or else you will take forever to graduate (most early engineering classes have the basic sciences as pre-reqs).

This is where AP and other credits become really nice. If you can make it so that you have to take less of the pre-reqs during the normal semesters, you will feel much more comfortable. Because otherwise (from personal experience) there will be semesters where out of 5 classes, the physic or bio class will be the easiest and least time consuming class. <-- this is where things go really wrong ;p

 

[jesse120]

Some of my classes (ex/ Differential Equations, Thermo) made Orgo seem easy by comparison, so that's always a plus.

haha definitely. when I took organic chem, it was my easiest class that semester. But I'm not so sure I would consider that a "plus." Easy by comparison doesn't really make it any better. That semester really drained me. 👎

 

[BenzylAcetate]

A little about me: majored in Engineering Science at Penn State and was in the honors college, finished courses in 4 years, but due to complications with my thesis work, deferred graduation for an extra year, 3.83 GPA. My schedule was reasonably busy. My semesters were 16-19 credits and I took summer classes for two of the summers. (Considering some people work full time while being a full time student, I can't complain with how my schedule was.) That being said though, you'll be in for a rough four or five years. Engineering is a long grind. You can't take the shortcut and cram for an exam; instead, you'll be spending many hours every day on problem sets. I majored in engineering because I wanted to be an engineer. When I decided on medicine later on, I seriously contemplated switching to something less demanding. If I had to do it over again, knowing I wanted to go to med school, I wouldn't major in engineering. And I don't say that because it's not worth it, I say that because I'm a lazy ass . I'm glad I majored in it only because it's over with. Just about every interviewer commented on my major, how engineering is one of the best premed majors, and what a good school Penn State is (as if I didn't already know 🙄). If your undergrad is at the Penn State level, then sure go ahead and major in engineering if you're up for the challenge and have a passion for it. If you're at an Ivy, I wouldn't dare. That would be way too brutal I think.

Edit: I talk about engineering a little bit in my personal statement in my mdapps, so feel free to check that out as well.

Did you take materials characterization with Adair last fall?

 

[jesse120]

Did you take materials characterization with Adair last fall?

No. I finished classes spring of 2010

 

[BenzylAcetate]

No. I finished classes spring of 2010

Ah, nevermind then. Thought I might know you since Esci is a small department and Jesse isn't a very common name.

 

[jesse120]

Ah, nevermind then. Thought I might know you since Esci is a small department and Jesse isn't a very common name.

Yeah my graduating class was like 25 or so. But I chose this name a while ago for anonymity sake and can't figure out how to change it now. Jesse is actually my turtle's name haha 😉

 

[Pulsar]

I just graduated as a ChemE, and I have been accepted to the class of 2016. I feel that it's great prep. for med school, and there is a lot of overlap with the premed prereqs. You will satisfy all of the chemistry, physics, math, and ochem with the ChemE. I only had to add two semesters of entry level bio, which were easy to fit in. You will undoubtedly learn a lot of things that doctors will never need to know: calc 2, 3, diffeq, material balances, thermodynamics, mass transport, reaction engineering, fluid dynamics, plant design etc. I'm the type of person who likes to understand how things work, though, and the human body operates on exactly the same principles as a chemical plant. It might not be immediately obvious how, but knowing all of these things can help you understand a lot of medical topics on a level that only someone with a background in something like engineering can appreciate.

It will be a lot of work. Expect problem sets for one class to take 10-20 hours per week. Expect to stay in sometimes when your friends go out. Expect to work problems until you can do them in your sleep. But, at the end, if you want to know how medicine works instead, on the most fundamental level, ChE is the way to go. All but one of my friends who graduated as a ChE already has a job lined up (some paying upwards of 70k/year), so you can't beat it as a backup. If you have any questions about it, let me know (or PM me) and I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[deleted316655]

Thanks everyone for your help! I think I'm just going to stay with Chemical Engineering for now. If worse comes to worst I can always go to chemistry or something else. I'm going to try to do the pre-reqs and volunteering/shadowing/etc during the first two years and the summers, and I'll try to schedule things well for the last two years. Regardless of whether or not I were applying to med school I would still want to keep my GPA high and study a lot, especially because of scholarships, internships, jobs, etc. So I'm just going to hope everything works out and try my best. 🙂

 

[BigBlueBear]

I did engineering and have a 4.0/4.0, I could have graduated in 3 years if I wanted to struggle, but decided to just comfortably do it in 4. There was no difficulty fitting in the required classes (except Humanities, but most schools don't really need too many of those). You'll be fine doing it in 4, just work hard!

 

[Tatiana3325]

Hey everyone!

I'm planning on doing Chemical Engineering with the hopes of going to med school. I've read the posts about this idea on this site and some other places online as well and understand that it's going to be really hard, but it's possible if you put enough effort in. Given that engineering itself is a difficult major and there is usually no room for any other classes, I was thinking about graduating in five years although I would like to do the usual four and take summer/winter classes. The questions I have is for anyone who has done engineering and taken the pre-med classes. What was your schedule like? Did you complete everything in four years or five? Would you change your schedule in any way if you could?

Thanks! 🙂

Not a chem eng major but I'm a physics major and also have a minor. Go 5 yrs. I don't know anyone who works harder than chem eng majors. As you get into upper level classes u might need to drop one at some point, this will be less stressful to do if you plan on going 5 years anyway. You can do it!

 

[jesse120]

I did engineering and have a 4.0/4.0, I could have graduated in 3 years if I wanted to struggle, but decided to just comfortably do it in 4. There was no difficulty fitting in the required classes (except Humanities, but most schools don't really need too many of those). You'll be fine doing it in 4, just work hard!

obviously the exception, not the rule. Lots of people (perhaps even most) take 5 years, and I don't know a single person with a 4.0 in engineering. That's just sick. I did know someone who graduated in 3 years, but he came in with a ton on AP and always had a full schedule (19+). For most people, 4 years if you work really hard and 5 years if you want to keep your sanity