Engineering as a Pre-Med

[curiouskamill]

So first semester of college ever and I have a 3.91-3.93 Cumulative GPA and a 4.0 Science/math Gpa, I am a biomedical engineer and a pre-med, The classes I took were Gen Chem, Calc 1, chem lab, programming for engineers , biomedical engineering lab and english, 15 credits with labs. But what I like about biomedical engineering in my school is that we are presented with a client each year and we actually design a prototype for that client. Does this help for med school admissions? Are my grades high only because its first semester? I want to continue with engineering but I dont know if it will hinder my gpa and how that will affect me. Im still a freshman so Im setting the Mcat aside until the time is right for it now Im looking at my gpa. Im gonna start shadowing a doctor and volunteering soon. I am just really overwhelmed and want to know about other expericnes with engineers as pre med. Thank You

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[edc1618]

So first semester of college ever and I have a 3.91-3.93 Cumulative GPA and a 4.0 Science/math Gpa, I am a biomedical engineer and a pre-med, The classes I took were Gen Chem, Calc 1, chem lab, programming for engineers , biomedical engineering lab and english, 15 credits with labs. But what I like about biomedical engineering in my school is that we are presented with a client each year and we actually design a prototype for that client. Does this help for med school admissions? Are my grades high only because its first semester? I want to continue with engineering but I dont know if it will hinder my gpa and how that will affect me. Im still a freshman so Im setting the Mcat aside until the time is right for it now Im looking at my gpa. Im gonna start shadowing a doctor and volunteering soon. I am just really overwhelmed and want to know about other expericnes with engineers as pre med. Thank You

I did bioengineering as well in undergrad and kept a 3.92 until I applied, so it can be done don't worry! Granted, I still have one semester to go. The design aspect could help, depending on the project. In my degree, we do these senior year, so it wouldn't be on apps if you applied straight out of undergrad but could certainly be something you talk about in interviews! Personally, I highly recommend engineering as premed because 1)you'll actually learn something in your major and 2) if you don't get in you can get a job.

 

[BluMist]

check with your classmates? I think BME at my school was 1/3 to 1/2 pre-med
also check with your undergraduate studies/advising offices if they have stats on medical school admission. if they keep record (probably do, especially if they do a committee letter), you can find the general major/GPA information + maybe which med schools generally accept people from your school

 

[claduva94]

Prototype can help but not how you think.

 

[Meeehai]

I would assume it's harder to maintain a strong GPA with engineering courses, but having an engineering degree gives you a lot more freedom with alternate plans if you decide medicine isn't for you.

 

[Bruskie_77]

I was a ChE with a bioengineering focus and would definitely encourage you to continue it if it's something where you understand the sacrifices, you're committed too, very interested in, because once you get into pro school there is basically no going back because as others said it can wreck your GPA. My perspective is probably quite a bit different due to ChE but besides all the painstaking nights of no sleep junior and senior year I found the teaching to be pretty darn great and rewarding. For me there wasn't always enough time to know every possible thing and so I think that aspect was great for preparing for med school, because you really have to hone in on your time management and studying skills. However, I worked part time and was involved in a handful of EC's.

 

[claduva94]

GPAwise it depends on who you are. I am very math and science oriented and did far better in engineering that I would have done in another major such as the humanities.

 

[esob]

I contemplated the same path as you, and these were my deductions:

Pro's
=====
- Gives you a fallback if you don't get into med school, though I read on a lot of forums that a BS in BME is not nearly as marketable as something like EE or ME (most of the stuff I read said if you truly wanted to work in the field you needed a masters or better)
- Assuming you can get the same GPA you would in another major, the rigor of an engineering degree may be perceived favorably against an otherwise equal candidate. For example, in the case two applicants, each with a 4.0 and 75th percentile MCAT, the engineering major may be considered more desirable by some adcoms.

Con's
=====
- Coursework is generally more difficult, leading to the increased probability that your GPA will be adversely affected.
- High likelihood that your BME degree plan alone will not include all med school prereq's, meaning you will have to take prereq's as electives. This could lead to extra courses, or at least "missing" an opportunity to take some humanities courses which can showcase breadth in your coursework and also help prepare you for the CARS and Psych sections of the MCAT. Additionally, while upper level bio/chem courses in and of themselves won't help much with the MCAT (supposedly the test is rooted in basic concepts), the continued reinforcement of the basic concepts needed to function in those upper level courses undoubtedly will help someone be more prepared.
- Likelihood of missing out on some upper level bio courses (genetics, embryology, etc) that would benefit you in med school.

 

[RuggerMD]

I have a 3.6 and majored in bioengineering. It helped me do well on the MCAT and gave me some incredible letters of rec because my class size was much smaller than my bio/biochem counterparts. So far, I've had zero problems with my GPA being as it is because people understand and appreciate an engineering perspective. If you plan well you can get a good number of bio courses in.

Do what you love and it'll work out. As long as you don't fall below 10th percentile marks, you'll be fine.

 

[Siroucity]

So first semester of college ever and I have a 3.91-3.93 Cumulative GPA and a 4.0 Science/math Gpa, I am a biomedical engineer and a pre-med, The classes I took were Gen Chem, Calc 1, chem lab, programming for engineers , biomedical engineering lab and english, 15 credits with labs. But what I like about biomedical engineering in my school is that we are presented with a client each year and we actually design a prototype for that client. Does this help for med school admissions? Are my grades high only because its first semester? I want to continue with engineering but I dont know if it will hinder my gpa and how that will affect me. Im still a freshman so Im setting the Mcat aside until the time is right for it now Im looking at my gpa. Im gonna start shadowing a doctor and volunteering soon. I am just really overwhelmed and want to know about other expericnes with engineers as pre med. Thank You

I'm double-majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Pharmaceutical Chemistry.

Congratulations on a strong first semester. At my university, the average GPA for Biomedical Engineering majors is currently 3.086 while the average GPA for Biochemistry and Chemistry is 3.058 and 2.834 respectively. I choose two science majors at random and both majors have a lower average GPA than Biomedical Engineering. While there could be other factors determining this, the point is that majoring in a type of engineering doesn't always ensure a drop in GPA (At least at my university, others may vary).

Personally, I've taken my fair share of upper division BME classes as well as upper division biology and chemistry classes. BME was just as difficult as Biochemistry, Physical Chemistry, etc. However, BME required a different approach of studying than Biochemistry did which some people may consider more difficult. If you completed the pre reqs for a class and have a good understanding of them, you should have no problem with BME (For example, make sure you understand integrals extremely well before taking biotransport phenomena).

Designing prototypes for clients should help your application for medical school. I can't see any reason why this would hurt you and it's certainly something unique you bring to the table. Group work that involves improving the quality of life for people looks great in the eyes of a medical committee. As you already know, make sure you're doing other ECs as well.

If you have any other questions, feel free to shoot me a message! I welcome any questions about biomedical engineering.