Engineering or Economics

[whartonmd]

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I am confused at this point. My school offers engineer majors with a degree earned with 110 credits and an econimics degree earned with 45 credits. There is a big difference between the amount of credits needed for both degrees.

Would economic be a better choice as I would have more time to work on research and EC's or should I do engineering, which would give me very little time for anything else given the extreme difficulty of the major. Both of these would be my back-ups for medicine. If I am not accepted into medical school, I will either do a MBA with the econ degree or masters in engineering.

If you say economics, then economics is a better major than a business specific one such as accounting or finance right? After you complete your mba, thats the only degree that counts; no one will look at undergrad. and this way, medical school committee members won't be warded off seeing a business major thriving.

 

[seahawks2013]

I am confused at this point. My school offers engineer majors with a degree earned with 110 credits and an econimics degree earned with 45 credits. There is a big difference between the amount of credits needed for both degrees.

Would economic be a better choice as I would have more time to work on research and EC's or should I do engineering, which would give me very little time for anything else given the extreme difficulty of the major. Both of these would be my back-ups for medicine. If I am not accepted into medical school, I will either do a MBA with the econ degree or masters in engineering.

If you say economics, then economics is a better major than a business specific one such as accounting or finance right? After you complete your mba, thats the only degree that counts; no one will look at undergrad. and this way, medical school committee members won't be warded off seeing a business major thriving.

are you in wharton? why would you want to be premed

 

[whartonmd]

are you in wharton? why would you want to be premed

Yes but I have deep interest in medicine but I am not fully confident in my ability to do well on the mcat as well as keep a high science gpa so I just wanted to know which option would be best for me.

 

[ShenanigansMD]

If you're a smart guy, engineering. It looks better on an application, you take care of math/physics, gen chem, and you can do engineering research in something biomedically related. I wouldn't do biomed though, do one of the basics: mechanical, electrical, chemical, materials, they all have medical applications.

 

[whartonmd]

If you're a smart guy, engineering. It looks better on an application, you take care of math/physics, gen chem, and you can do engineering research in something biomedically related. I wouldn't do biomed though, do one of the basics: mechanical, electrical, chemical, materials, they all have medical applications.

With Economics, I can score a gpa of 3.7-3.8 and with engineering, a GPA of 3.3-3.4. Which one would look better making EC's and MCAT a constant variable?

 

[Praefectus]

You could do econ because Wharton is an okay business school, from what I've heard...

 

[dmf2682]

You could do econ because Wharton is an okay business school, from what I've heard...

It's pretty good, but Wharton graduate school >> Wharton undergrad. And Penn's engineering program isn't as strong as a lot of other schools.

Op just do what you're interested in and don't worry about what stuff looks good on an application.

 

[whartonmd]

I will go with Economics. I'm probably going to head down the D.O. path before I start to consider MBA options. Thanks for all the support!

 

[LuciusVorenus]

With Economics, I can score a gpa of 3.7-3.8 and with engineering, a GPA of 3.3-3.4. Which one would look better making EC's and MCAT a constant variable?

That part alone (you seem already scared) means you should do business (also, it's Wharton!).

Unless you're really into math, there's no reason to do engineering. But if you DO enjoy math then go ahead, and stop setting the bar so low. There's tons of engineers with 3.8s+.

 

[deleted393595]

I am confused at this point. My school offers engineer majors with a degree earned with 110 credits and an econimics degree earned with 45 credits. There is a big difference between the amount of credits needed for both degrees.

Would economic be a better choice as I would have more time to work on research and EC's or should I do engineering, which would give me very little time for anything else given the extreme difficulty of the major. Both of these would be my back-ups for medicine. If I am not accepted into medical school, I will either do a MBA with the econ degree or masters in engineering.

If you say economics, then economics is a better major than a business specific one such as accounting or finance right? After you complete your mba, thats the only degree that counts; no one will look at undergrad. and this way, medical school committee members won't be warded off seeing a business major thriving.

Here's a former thread that will help you make your decision: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=823539&nojs=1

On the other hand, I do regret doing biology instead of engineering (I'm equally comfortable with both). If I could do-over my freshman year, I probably would have instead gone the EE or ME route.

 

[boshtrich]

That part alone (you seem already scared) means you should do business (also, it's Wharton!).

Unless you're really into math, there's no reason to do engineering. But if you DO enjoy math then go ahead, and stop setting the bar so low. There's tons of engineers with 3.8s+.

I agree. I spent all of undergrad expecting my GPA to drop and ended up with a 3.8 majoring in chemical engineering. Just because it's hard doesn't mean you can't do better than the rest of your class.

 

[neoevolution]

Have you been accepted into Wharton and Engineering? Aside from M&T, I didnt think this was possible. I know you can do SEAS and Econ from A&S, but your situation seems unusual. M&T is both degrees. Are you in Wharton and thinking of going to SEAS?

EDIT: I think Wharton is the top UG business program, maybe not for MBA though. Wharton has great placement rates into IB, at a level comparable to HYP.

 

[bluebillion]

I myself am an Econ major. I am biased but I really think this is a good route -- it is an interesting subject while still being easy (in comparison to most other pre-med majors) AND is applicable across almost all fields. Like I said I'm majoring in Econ but also picking up a bio minor to stay rooted to the sciences a bit. Time permitting, I might make that minor a major down the road.

You're in Wharton? Econ for sure. Do Engineering if only you think you can see yourself do as a career. It is definitely going to be harder for you to get a high GPA with Engineering tho, and we all know that med school is all about that GPA.

 

[Xiao]

1) wharton econ >>> penn engineering
2) 3.7-3.8 GPA (high chance of being accepted) >>> 3.4-3.6 GPA (you'll struggle gaining an acceptance)
3) major plays at most a very small role in medschool acceptances

the choice is should be clear