pre-med/engineer?

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Chemical Engineering here also
 
Biomedical Engineering... sometimes I wonder why i'm studying engineering and put myself through so much if I want to just go to med school.
 
DesiMcatAcer said:
Who here is doing engineering as undergrad, and pre-med? If so, what engineering?
To start off Chemical Engineering here
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yeah man there are TONS of chemE pre-meds. Like me.
 
SeventhSon said:
yeah man there are TONS of chemE pre-meds. Like me.
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I always felt there were way more BioMed Engineers compared to chemE
 
My major is kind of ... obscure. Let's just say it's engineering with a heavy emphasis on physics.

Pretty interesting stuff overall, though it sort of sucks to have to take all the additional premed requirements on top of the regular coursework. Don't really regret it though.
 
Bioengineering a.k.a. Biomedical Engineering. Yeah yer.
 
uvapremed said:
Biomedical Engineering... sometimes I wonder why i'm studying engineering and put myself through so much if I want to just go to med school.
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biomedical. i agree, i shouldve done business and econ
 
Biomedical. I find it kind of funny when some premeds complain that they have more than one science class in a semester....science is all I take, I have like 120 credits and maybe 18 of those are non-science.... :laugh:
 
biomedical engineering. biggest mistake to do engineering undergrad if your hearts set on medicine. HUGE mistake. oh well; a friend of mine said med school has been a breeze compared to BME
 
I've considered switching from Biology to BME mainly because it interests me. Plus, I've heard good comments about UT's BME program.
 
BME Kinda regret it... Should have just done a B.S. in math and taught myself the engineering; too much time waisted in lecture and labs. Oh well, live and learn.
 
I'm just wondering what the highest GPA a pre-med engineer has? I know for sure that engineering classes have hurt my GPA.
 
if you love engineering like i do then do it! I changed to chemE cuz i was fascinated by it. A prerequisite to doing something well is to actually like it, i think. So if you think you can handle the math and courseload go for it. As long as it doesnt hurt your GPA significantly, it makes you that much more marketable. I think my training in engineering makes me that much more unique and marketable, particularly for md/phd
 
ChemE here! Is anyone looking for jobs and applying to med school at the same time? I decided to so in case I don't get accepted anywhere.
 
I agree with SeventhSon, I chose ME because it was hard and interesting. Engineering is a good test to see whether you can hock it or not with the intense workloads. If it's too hot, gtf out of the kitchen. I think adcoms will always curve an ABIT engineering GPA, plus we get the majority of our education learning how to solve problems, not simply rote crap like you get shoveled in biology classes. I think engineering is a great premed choice, it shows drive and testicle size.
 
OwnageMobile said:
I chose ME because it was hard and interesting.
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That's the same reason I chose it.

OwnageMobile said:
I think engineering is a great premed choice, it shows drive and testicle size.
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Couldn't agree more.
 
uvapremed said:
Biomedical Engineering... sometimes I wonder why i'm studying engineering and put myself through so much if I want to just go to med school.
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Well, it is challanging at times 🙂
 
SeventhSon said:
yeah man there are TONS of chemE pre-meds. Like me.
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We are still a lot less than the "typical science majors"
 
OwnageMobile said:
I agree with SeventhSon, I chose ME because it was hard and interesting. Engineering is a good test to see whether you can hock it or not with the intense workloads. If it's too hot, gtf out of the kitchen. I think adcoms will always curve an ABIT engineering GPA, plus we get the majority of our education learning how to solve problems, not simply rote crap like you get shoveled in biology classes. I think engineering is a great premed choice, it shows drive and testicle size.
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Yes, requires a lot of courage and hard work 🙂....But will it really pay off in the long run does anyone know?
 
I dont know how you guys that are enigneering majors, who want to be doctors do it. At least here at Georgia tech. Engineering is so hard, much harder than a bio or chemistry major. I wonder how ADCOMS look at a enginering GPA. A 3.5 in CE is much more impressive than a 3.6 in Bio. Personally, if had it to do again i would major in something like sociology or something easy where you get graded on your opinoin and effort rather than hardcore science classes and minor in bio and just take the pre-reqs.
 
jackets5 said:
I dont know how you guys that are enigneering majors, who want to be doctors do it. At least here at Georgia tech. Engineering is so hard, much harder than a bio or chemistry major. I wonder how ADCOMS look at a enginering GPA. A 3.5 in CE is much more impressive than a 3.6 in Bio. Personally, if had it to do again i would major in something like sociology or something easy where you get graded on your opinoin and effort rather than hardcore science classes and minor in bio and just take the pre-reqs.
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Well, agreed its challanging...but does anyone know how do ADCOMS look at our GPA differently...I mean if someone has a 3.5 or above does that really signify anything to them or is it just another pre-med with that GPA?
 
they have to consider the difficulty of the program. Im not a Engineering major but i will definatley agree that it is much more challenging than a Bio major. To view a 3.5 the same from CE to a 3.6 english major cant be the same. 3.6 in english majors are pretty common, 3.6 in CE arent. I hope you guys get some breaks when it comes to GPA because of the difficulty of the program. good luck


DesiMcatAcer said:
Well, agreed its challanging...but does anyone know how do ADCOMS look at our GPA differently...I mean if someone has a 3.5 or above does that really signify anything to them or is it just another pre-med with that GPA?
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DesiMcatAcer said:
Who here is doing engineering as undergrad, and pre-med? If so, what engineering?
To start off Chemical Engineering here
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Computer Science Engineer here
 
I'm willing to say there's probably a 0.3-0.5 GPA differential between equivalent non-engineering majors to engineering majors. Med College of GA used to add 0.5 points onto any Engineering major from Georgia Tech, no questions asked. I went to their presentation last week, they said that they give more leeway to an Engineer major than to a non-engineer...they said they're familiar with the cirriculums, and how they're not on an even playing field.
 
Computer Engineering here
[Half Electircal Engineerin Half Computer Science/Engineering]
 
juiceman311 said:
I'm willing to say there's probably a 0.3-0.5 GPA differential between equivalent non-engineering majors to engineering majors. Med College of GA used to add 0.5 points onto any Engineering major from Georgia Tech, no questions asked. I went to their presentation last week, they said that they give more leeway to an Engineer major than to a non-engineer...they said they're familiar with the cirriculums, and how they're not on an even playing field.
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really... thats what we've been waiting to hear.
 
For me, getting a degree in biomedical engineering was way easier than getting a degree in molecular biology (i've done BSs in both at a top notch school for both). I'm down with math and problem solving, so I rarely had to put in much studying at all for engineering classes. I just did the HWs and showed up to nail the exams. Bio on the other hand requires much more reading/memorizing/studying/etc., and I would imagine that this distinction is the reason why we're all engineers. I like to think of it as an innate "engineering mindset" that you either have or you don't. Some people try to force their way through engineering degrees when they just don't have the basic mental building blocks to ever make it as an engineer...and end up hating it and having a really hard time. These people should help themselves out with a reality check and switch to bio. Others (like myself) have a knack for engineering and cruise right though, while the tedium of bio classes poses more of a headache. It just depends...whatever you are personally "good" at is what is easy...for some it's engineering and some it's straight bio/chem/etc. Anyway, just my 2 cents from an engineer that has been down both roads. 🙂
 
Bluntman said:
For me, getting a degree in biomedical engineering was way easier than getting a degree in molecular biology (i've done BSs in both at a top notch school for both). I'm down with math and problem solving, so I rarely had to put in much studying at all for engineering classes. I just did the HWs and showed up to nail the exams. Bio on the other hand requires much more reading/memorizing/studying/etc., and I would imagine that this distinction is the reason why we're all engineers. I like to think of it as an innate "engineering mindset" that you either have or you don't. Some people try to force their way through engineering degrees when they just don't have the basic mental building blocks to ever make it as an engineer...and end up hating it and having a really hard time. These people should help themselves out with a reality check and switch to bio. Others (like myself) have a knack for engineering and cruise right though, while the tedium of bio classes poses more of a headache. It just depends...whatever you are personally "good" at is what is easy...for some it's engineering and some it's straight bio/chem/etc. Anyway, just my 2 cents from an engineer that has been down both roads. 🙂
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I agree with your pov. I loved ME due to the fact that I could stop studying as soon as I understood the concepts. Not nearly as much rote memorization as in all the pre-med classes I took. But the props come when you take into account the conceptual difficulty of the major. Rote memorization can be acheived by everybody here, but as blizzuntman stated, with engineering, some just try to jam the square peg into the circular hole and have a real tough time doing it. No pre-med class I took came near the conceptual difficulty of some controls, fluid, or thermo classes we had to take.
Now whether or not conceptual abilites of med school students/doctors are important would probably explain the credit engineering majors recieve.

$.02 more
 
OwnageMobile said:
with engineering, some just try to jam the square peg into the circular hole and have a real tough time doing it.
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To keep with the workshop examples: you hit the nail on the head with that post! well said.
 
Agree with some of the other posts here. Engineering might be harder on average for people, but if you "get it" it can be easier than other majors because you barely have to study once you understand what's going on (since most engineering classes allow you to have notecards for the MT/Finals).

Not sure how I feel about engineers getting a "boost" from ADCOMs.
 
out of the 5 classes im taking....one is bio 1. i spend more time on bio then all my other upper engineering classes its nuts. lots of memorization when you can just know the theory and concepts and solve problems with it. granted the work in engineering is time consumingr. its not bad compared to trying to remember three chapters for an exam. although i did get an 80 on the first exam. now on the cell and membranes. WOOT!
 
Mister Pie said:
My major is kind of ... obscure. Let's just say it's engineering with a heavy emphasis on physics.

Pretty interesting stuff overall, though it sort of sucks to have to take all the additional premed requirements on top of the regular coursework. Don't really regret it though.
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Is it called "Engineering Physics"? That is my degree.

It makes fulfilling the pre-med requirements simple...you take calculus, tons of physics, chemistry, all you need to do is fit in some biology, o-chem, and some english/humanties courses (20 credits ought to do it.)
 
thegenius said:
Is it called "Engineering Physics"? That is my degree.

It makes fulfilling the pre-med requirements simple...you take calculus, tons of physics, chemistry, all you need to do is fit in some biology, o-chem, and some english/humanties courses (20 credits ought to do it.)
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Yes, that's exactly what my major is called. =)

It added a lot to my course load because I did not plan on trying the premed path till the second half of sophomore year. One year of chem (which I was originally opting out of), one year of bio, one year of english (had it fulfilled with some other humanities already), one year of ochem, and then I decided to add in biochemistry and statistics for good measure.

At least I got the math and physics out of the way.
 
juiceman311 said:
I'm willing to say there's probably a 0.3-0.5 GPA differential between equivalent non-engineering majors to engineering majors. Med College of GA used to add 0.5 points onto any Engineering major from Georgia Tech, no questions asked. I went to their presentation last week, they said that they give more leeway to an Engineer major than to a non-engineer...they said they're familiar with the cirriculums, and how they're not on an even playing field.
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I was an engineer in college, and I don't agree with this policy. You choose your major in college and the pros and cons that go with it. I mean, should a person who majors in dance and engineering count less than a person who only does engineering? The first person sounds much more interesting on paper.
 
Mister Pie said:
Yes, that's exactly what my major is called. =)

It added a lot to my course load because I did not plan on trying the premed path till the second half of sophomore year. One year of chem (which I was originally opting out of), one year of bio, one year of english (had it fulfilled with some other humanities already), one year of ochem, and then I decided to add in biochemistry and statistics for good measure.

At least I got the math and physics out of the way.
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What school do you go to?

I graduated with almost a full year extra in credits with that degree and going pre-med. Needing 125 credits to graduate I ended with something like 149. It wasn't worth it in the end.

I have no regrets majoring in Engineering Physics but if you know prior to starting college that you want to go to medical school I would major in something a little easier than engineering. It's just not worth the grade point suffrage.
 
I graduated from Engineering a few years ago, I began in Chemical Engineering and really like it up until Fluids, Heat transfer, Quantum physics etc...I transfered into a different Engineering degree and struggled to keep a good GPA. Now I'm working on a post bac to bring up my GPA and its very time consuming and frustrating. One day I will get into med school, but the time and money spent will be a ton. I would recommend to get out of engineering and go into a pre-med or bio-medical degree. Third and fourth year in Engineering are very hard and especially in Chemical.

Hey if you really want a Engineering degree and then go to med school then more power to you, but then I would recommend a material science Engineering.
 
2010hopefully said:
I graduated from Engineering a few years ago, I began in Chemical Engineering and really like it up until Fluids, Heat transfer, Quantum physics etc...I transfered into a different Engineering degree and struggled to keep a good GPA. Now I'm working on a post bac to bring up my GPA and its very time consuming and frustrating. One day I will get into med school, but the time and money spent will be a ton. I would recommend to get out of engineering and go into a pre-med or bio-medical degree. Third and fourth year in Engineering are very hard and especially in Chemical.

Hey if you really want a Engineering degree and then go to med school then more power to you, but then I would recommend a material science Engineering.
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I bet they would have loved this advice 3 years ago
 
Honestly, my engineering courses were much easier to get A's in than my upper division biology courses...engineering courses brought my grade up, while biology courses brought my grade down. Of course, it would be self-destructive for me to attempt to persuade everyone that biology is harder than engineering (for me, at least), so I probably should stop here and let the "engineering is harder than biology" myth continue :laugh: Then again, maybe it's just the way I think that makes engineering easier, similar to some others in this thread...many others may find engineering to be much more difficult.
 
Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Chemistry here, very glad I did BME, but wish it incorporated more biology classes.
 
Is this thread seriously almost 3 years old?

And for the record, I majored in biomedical engineering as an undergrad.
 
A question to all the med students who did premed in engineering. How hard is it, in terms of course load? I am planning to do undergrad in either engineering or health sciences but not sure which one to choose. I know that the engineering environment prepares u well for the medical school environment (time management, stress control, etc). So which one would you recommend I do?

O ya, crap the thread is like 3 years old.
 
epenis.gif
 
I always love mentioning how we engineers are much more prepared for the work load of med school due to the rigor of our undergrad programs (sorry biology majors). Just about every BME friend of mine that has progressed on to med school mentions that there is no shock in terms of dealing with so much material. Secondly, since we are engineers, we have a good grasp on problem solving, and for the BMEs, we've also accomplished everything a generic biology major has.

That and BME is probably the best MCAT prep strategy known to premeds. Not only will you be required to take higher level biology/biochem classes, but you will have mastered physics by the time you take the test. The physical sciences section was a breeze for me and I attribute it all to being a BME.
 
vpv said:
A question to all the med students who did premed in engineering. How hard is it, in terms of course load? I am planning to do undergrad in either engineering or health sciences but not sure which one to choose. I know that the engineering environment prepares u well for the medical school environment (time management, stress control, etc). So which one would you recommend I do?

O ya, crap the thread is like 3 years old.
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You'll be sitting around most nights pissed off at all the business majors who are out drinking.

Course load its difficult as all ****. Other majors can have difficult classes too. Chem isn't easy for example. The difference is that engineering majors are going to be taking maximum credit loads every semester for all four (sometimes more for some people) years of college.

You do eventually get semi-used to it. Like you said, you learn time management.

BME is the obvious choice for med school. ChemE can be a good choice though, you normally take all the med school prereqs except gen bio. I know that for my school you have the option to specialize in your ChemE major. Some of the options include things like pharmacology which is probably a good choice, probably the one I would have made if I could go back two years or so. Oh well.

The thing you might want to consider is from what I hear, the market is saturated with BMEs because its become the "sexy" engineering field, so there isn't as high a demand for them. ChemE demand is still strong. You might find once you get into it that you don't want to go to med school, so an engineering degree is a better second option than most people's first options.
 
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