Prospective chemical engineering student

[MintBerryCrunch]

I know it has been discussed a lot and generally the consensus is not to do it; however, I literally cannot find a major or subject matter that interests me more. I like math but not so much the theoretical component. I like physics and chemistry and bio but none enough that I'd want to take the upper division courses. I sometimes enjoy my social science and humanities courses but not enough to want to major in it. Engineering is literally the only subject that excites me, but it also scares me. I don't know if I am smart enough or capable enough to maintain a high GPA. I don't plan on applying to med school immediately after I graduate so I am not worried about fitting in MCAT prep and volunteering stuff right away. I just want to focus on doing well at this point. So should I go with engineering or just power through and do something that will ensure a high gpa?

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[V]

I think it would benefit you to choose a major that you will thoroughly enjoy studying. There is no required major for medical school admissions, but I suggest choosing something you are interested in. BUT there is nothing wrong with keeping gpa in mind. Lol. Med schools like diversity.

Edit: I am in no way an expert, but this is just based on the knowledge I have received from being a reader here on SDN, as well as doing my own research.

 

[DielsAlder]

Engineering is one of those majors I "heard" (no data to support this, feel free to correct me) is given slightly more leeway due to how difficult it is. However, that is provided that your final gpa comes close to the cutoffs for medical school (3.4-3.5). Even with the added difficulty, I would major in engineering if I were you since it interests you. With good time management, I think a good gpa can be attained even while maintaining impressive EC's and a social life.

On a more positive note, engineering majors/more quantitative people seem pretty well prepared for the MCAT compared to everyone else: http://medschoolodyssey.wordpress.c...ics-on-the-mcat-and-your-undergraduate-major/. Unrelated, but I had no idea pre-med majors existed haha

 

[idkididk]

Don't let fear control your life. If other people can do it, why can't you?

 

[Ace-Co-A]

DO IT... if I could do things over again, I would do an Engineering major. 🙁

 

[Wasted Energy]

If med school doesn't work out (for any reason), you'll be in a great position with a ChemE degree. Just don't let your plan B ruin your plan A.

 

[jjmusicman29]

I know it has been discussed a lot and generally the consensus is not to do it; however, I literally cannot find a major or subject matter that interests me more. I like math but not so much the theoretical component. I like physics and chemistry and bio but none enough that I'd want to take the upper division courses. I sometimes enjoy my social science and humanities courses but not enough to want to major in it. Engineering is literally the only subject that excites me, but it also scares me. I don't know if I am smart enough or capable enough to maintain a high GPA. I don't plan on applying to med school immediately after I graduate so I am not worried about fitting in MCAT prep and volunteering stuff right away. I just want to focus on doing well at this point. So should I go with engineering or just power through and do something that will ensure a high gpa?

I'm sorry I know this is a month old thread but since I'm a senior ChemE student I figured I could chime in.

If you are certain you want to apply to medical school I highly advise staying away from engineering, at least chemical engineering. It is one of the hardest engineering disciplines, and I guarantee you, when you're at that last year or two (don't be surprised to be around longer than 4 years), fascination in the subjects will not be what keeps you going through the hard times. I like physics and chemistry. I love biology. I love math. Solving differential equations is fun for me. None of that is enough to push you through to the end; you need to have fierce dedication to power through the weeks where you have multiple tests that require days of studying in advance all at the same time, nights where you and your team spend all night trying to just understand how to approach solving a homework problem, let alone actually solve it, weekends where you do nothing but inhabit the computer lab building models and simulations in Aspen and MatLAB and all sorts of other crap, etc. The only thing keeping me going at this point is the fact that I will have comfortable income if medical school doesn't work out. Really, that is the only just compensation for these 5 years of hell that have taken a toll on my relationships and mental health and that of my other classmates. Fascination in the subjects is not enough to keep your sanity when you have to create long and tedious thermodynamic models of multi-component chemical solutions and their fugacities. I know I am not smart enough to have a 3.8 in my major, I think only a small handful of people in the entire department have something even close to that (I know almost all the seniors and juniors in my department). I do work damn hard though (even if I'm not as smart as some of the crazy smart ChemE's in existence that have a 3.8+ and still maintain sanity) and that gets me close but not to the average Medical School GPA requirement. When you're taking a polymer engineering class and the average for the midterm is a 50....it's not easy to maintain an A average every semester. You're also probably going to have at least one douche professor who's going to threaten to jeopardize your semester GPA every single semester. Assuming you don't drop or fail any classes, you might graduate in 4 years, but you will probably go longer than that. My friends are all graduating in 5 years, some even 5.5 years or more. When your degree plan is something like 140 credit hours and you still will have to take courses afterward to be ready for medical school....it just doesn't make sense to do ChemE to be a doctor.

It's pretty much a consensus between all my ChemE friends who dreamed of medical school: do not do this major if you want to be a doctor. It is far too damning and risky...there are much easier routes to medical school. On the bright side, my friends in medical school who were engineers say medical school is a lot more relaxing than their undergrad degree. But that isn't worth it if you have to fight so hard just to be eligible for med school in the first place.

Having said this, if you're not totally sure on medical school, ChemE can be a decent option because it's only 4-5 years of misery and then you have nice stable income for the rest of your life.

But if you're deadset on being a doctor, I can't recommend any reason to go this route.

 

[Contr0lz]

OP, if you are planning to do ChemE (yay!), I HIGHLY advise you to finish ALL of your prereqs (except for the social science stuff) by the end of your 1st semester sophomore year. If you can finish organic chemistry I & II by the end of summer after freshman year and finish Biochem I by your sophomore year 1st semester, you will NOT have a difficult time as most people on this forum think pre-med engineers have. You can either work very hard or you can work smart (& little hard). The way I have my degree plan set up, I will be done with all my pre-reqs by the end of this summer and Biochem I and II by the end of sophomore year. After sophomore year I will only have to take ~ 15 credits each semester and only 12 credits my last semester (solely humanities semester/MCAT studying semester). Btw, this is a 4 year plan, that also consists of upper division biology courses and a couple of other cool courses. Try to model your degree plan this way. I know that there will be a lot of work during your freshman year and sophomore year, but trust me on this, you will not have to go through the pain that some of these guys went through in the upper division years.

If you want to model my freshman year degree plan then here:


Freshman Year 1st Semester:
Vector Calculus
Mechanics
Chem I
Bio I
Medical Ethics
Mechanics I Lab
(17 Creds)

2nd Semester: (I'm in this semester, so far it's been a breeze)
Differential Equations
Linear Algebra (might not be required for u)
E&M
Chem II
Bio II
E&M Lab (toughest course this semester)
Chem Lab
(19 creds)

This Summer:
Organic I w/ Lab
Organic II w/ Lab

^This summer will be a bit extreme...but you will have to start pre-studying for Orgo I as soon as school is over. Once summer classes start, you will be ahead of the game and stay ahead of the game.

Btw, OP I'm just like you. I picked engineering for the same reasons you did. I hope you enjoy it!

 

[x1240tony]

OP, if you are planning to do ChemE (yay!), I HIGHLY advise you to finish ALL of your prereqs (except for the social science stuff) by the end of your 1st semester sophomore year. If you can finish organic chemistry I & II by the end of summer after freshman year and finish Biochem I by your sophomore year 1st semester, you will NOT have a difficult time as most people on this forum think pre-med engineers have. You can either work very hard or you can work smart (& little hard). The way I have my degree plan set up, I will be done with all my pre-reqs by the end of this summer and Biochem I and II by the end of sophomore year. After sophomore year I will only have to take ~ 15 credits each semester and only 12 credits my last semester (solely humanities semester/MCAT studying semester). Btw, this is a 4 year plan, that also consists of upper division biology courses and a couple of other cool courses. Try to model your degree plan this way. I know that there will be a lot of work during your freshman year and sophomore year, but trust me on this, you will not have to go through the pain that some of these guys went through in the upper division years.

If you want to model my freshman year degree plan then here:


Freshman Year 1st Semester:
Vector Calculus
Mechanics
Chem I
Bio I
Medical Ethics
Mechanics I Lab
(17 Creds)

2nd Semester: (I'm in this semester, so far it's been a breeze)
Differential Equations
Linear Algebra (might not be required for u)
E&M
Chem II
Bio II
E&M Lab (toughest course this semester)
Chem Lab
(19 creds)

This Summer:
Organic I w/ Lab
Organic II w/ Lab

^This summer will be a bit extreme...but you will have to start pre-studying for Orgo I as soon as school is over. Once summer classes start, you will be ahead of the game and stay ahead of the game.

Btw, OP I'm just like you. I picked engineering for the same reasons you did. I hope you enjoy it!

Most people don't take Diff Eq and Calc III freshman year. I think as long as you keep a good time schedule and do your work, you could do it.

I was thinking about it, but it's just too risky for me. A friend of a friend took 24 credits last semester, he is a EE, not a premed though.

He took all math and EE core classes and managed a 3.9 GPA that semester, but he also spend the whole day in the library.

 

[Contr0lz]

Most people don't take Diff Eq and Calc III freshman year. I think as long as you keep a good time schedule and do your work, you could do it.

I was thinking about it, but it's just too risky for me. A friend of a friend took 24 credits last semester, he is a EE, not a premed though.

He took all math and EE core classes and managed a 3.9 GPA that semester, but he also spend the whole day in the library.

^That's exactly why many engineering students end up with ****ty GPAs. Many start taking 21< credits of upper div. engineering classes in their junior year, which is just plain hell. Not only is it detrimental to one's GPA, but it's also detrimental to his/her health. Either your friend's friend is an absolute genius or he had a bunch of "easy" engineering professors, which is definitely a possibility.

 

[x1240tony]

^That's exactly why many engineering students end up with ****** GPAs. Many start taking 21< credits of upper div. engineering classes in their junior year, which is just plain hell. Not only is it detrimental to one's GPA, but it's also detrimental to his/her health. Either your friend's friend is an absolute genius or he had a bunch of "easy" engineering professors, which is definitely a possibility.

I agree with your post of doing the hard stuff first, he is only a sophomore I believe, I was saying that doing a 20+ unit schedule is difficult but doable to the OP.

Definitely not easy professors, and not a genius, hard word and dedication. Also, >he also spend the whole day in the library.

 

[MintBerryCrunch]

So happy to see new replies. I probably should mention that I currently attend community college so I have already taken some of the classes. I would graduate in 3 years. I would take on average 13 credit hours until my last semester of my last year during which I'd take 17. I have been planning diligently on how I can make it easier on myself and I think low course loads is a good option but I am open to suggestions.

 

[moop]

So happy to see new replies. I probably should mention that I currently attend community college so I have already taken some of the classes. I would graduate in 3 years. I would take on average 13 credit hours until my last semester of my last year during which I'd take 17. I have been planning diligently on how I can make it easier on myself and I think low course loads is a good option but I am open to suggestions.

Woah der hold the horses. Are you saying that you'll be getting a ChemE degree from a 2-year institution? Not 4-year? Most med schools want degrees from 4-year institutions ICYDK.

 

[moisne]

I know it has been discussed a lot and generally the consensus is not to do it; however, I literally cannot find a major or subject matter that interests me more. I like math but not so much the theoretical component. I like physics and chemistry and bio but none enough that I'd want to take the upper division courses. I sometimes enjoy my social science and humanities courses but not enough to want to major in it. Engineering is literally the only subject that excites me, but it also scares me. I don't know if I am smart enough or capable enough to maintain a high GPA. I don't plan on applying to med school immediately after I graduate so I am not worried about fitting in MCAT prep and volunteering stuff right away. I just want to focus on doing well at this point. So should I go with engineering or just power through and do something that will ensure a high gpa?

You like math but are you good at math? Chem E is 95% math.

I saw a lot of people drop out of chemE - out graduating average GPA for chemE (and similar trends for all engineering) was a 2.85.

I picked ChemE not because I liked it (it was ok) but because I was good at it. So it's a balance between interest and talent. If you are sure you want to go to med school - pick an area you are good at.

Edit: you can also work as a chem E for a few years, save up, and get through med school without debt. I wish I worked longer for the money.

 

[moisne]

Woah der hold the horses. Are you saying that you'll be getting a ChemE degree from a 2-year institution? Not 4-year? Most med schools want degrees from 4-year institutions ICYDK.

I think she means that she is taking 1 year of basics at a community college and going to transfer to university. Which I should warn - community college is ridiculously easy compared to a engineering school. :/

 

[Shjanzey]

If you are planning on doing medicine as a career and ChemE as a hobby, then just skip ChemE. I totally regret doing Engineering, even though it was pretty fun. My GPA wasn't the best and admissions doesn't take your major into account when reviewing GPA and deciding who to give interviews.

In hindsight getting into Medical School depends a lot on presenting yourself in the best light possible. If I were to do it again, I would do liberal arts for an easy GPA boost, while taking 1 or 2 medical school prerequisites per semester. Although this strategy makes sense now, I suspect that I wouldn't kill Physics as hard on the MCAT since I would have never seen Engineering Physics. Even with that being said, you still come out further ahead with a top GPA and tons of extra time to spend on ECs and studying for MCAT. Things you don't have in Engineering. Senior year is notorious for project heavy curriculum and the more difficult courses.

 

[moop]

If you are planning on doing medicine as a career and ChemE as a hobby, then just skip ChemE. I totally regret doing Engineering, even though it was pretty fun. My GPA wasn't the best and admissions doesn't take your major into account when reviewing GPA and deciding who to give interviews.

In hindsight getting into Medical School depends a lot on presenting yourself in the best light possible. If I were to do it again, I would do liberal arts for an easy GPA boost, while taking 1 or 2 medical school prerequisites per semester. Although this strategy makes sense now, I suspect that I wouldn't kill Physics as hard on the MCAT since I would have never seen Engineering Physics. Even with that being said, you still come out further ahead with a top GPA and tons of extra time to spend on ECs and studying for MCAT. Things you don't have in Engineering. Senior year is notorious for project heavy curriculum and the more difficult courses.

I'd add a qualification: the average premed is not so great at reading and writing, so a "liberal arts major" (lol) may not come as easily to some as it does to others with the load of reading and writing. I know tons of premeds who dodge even social science classes because they're slow at reading and can't write a 15-pg paper to save their lives. Depends on school, though, obviously.

 

[moisne]

I'd add a qualification: the average premed is not so great at reading and writing, so a "liberal arts major" (lol) may not come as easily to some as it does to others with the load of reading and writing. I know tons of premeds who dodge even social science classes because they're slow at reading and can't write a 15-pg paper to save their lives. Depends on school, though, obviously.

That was me. Couldn't get an A in those classes to save my life. I spent more time in my two elective classes than all my engineering classes put together haha. People are so different - it's awesome

 

[contender603]

If it is what you like to do, then 100% do it. The work load may be harder in terms of the amount of time spent on homework, but if it is something you enjoy, the time will be way easier than majoring in something you do not enjoy. I majored in bio-medical engineering for my undergrad and the takeaways I received from it far outweigh what I had to put in. Yes, you will work harder to keep a high GPA, but no, it is not impossible to graduate with a 3.8+. Also, unlike the rumors, you will not have to become a social zombie to achieve this.

Every single interview for medical school I had asked me about my choice of being an engineer and the benefits behind it. Although I cannot speak on behalf of the admission committees, I believe that my engineering undergrad played a big role in my acceptances.

Some things you need to know though...You will be taking a full semester of classes every year with the addition of summer/winter semester classes. DO NOT take any medical school pre-requisites at a community college during these summer/winter semesters. You would be amazed at how many medical schools assume you are trying to "avoid" taking the pre-reqs at your University to boost your GPA. I used the summer/winter semesters to knock out my general education courses I needed as well as taking advantage of the many research/internship opportunities that are available for engineering students.

Obviously the decision is ultimately yours but I figured you should hear some insight from somebody who loved their time as an engineering undergrad. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help.

 

[jjmusicman29]

I'd also like to mention that engineering widely varies. An industrial engineer is hardly comparable to a chemical engineer, for example, in terms of curriculum difficulty and other things. If you want an easier time preparing for med school but still want an engineering degree to fall back on, industrial engineering is a good choice because it blends a good balance of business and engineering principles and it is by far the easiest engineering track lol. Industrial distribution is similar although that is often not offered as an engineering degree.

If you really like chemical engineering, go for it, but you risk becoming a cynic when you reach your senior year and everybody is withered and clawing their way through their senior plant design class, and just wants their diploma.

 

[moop]

That was me. Couldn't get an A in those classes to save my life. I spent more time in my two elective classes than all my engineering classes put together haha. People are so different - it's awesome

Yeah I think way too many premeds look back on this point and lament how high their GPAs would've been if they didn't do a science major. It's not that simple for most people lol. When you spend 4 years doing STEM, you can't just automatically loop back and assume you know how to write a smanging research paper..

 

[Zhetiga]

Current ChemE student here. I would say that you really have to decide if ChemE really is your passion, and go forward based on that. ChemE is really all chemistry and math applied to problems, but with the theoretical bits distilled out and applied to real-world things. It is a hard major. But:

At least at my institution, the engineering courses are often much more generously graded than the general Pre-med prerequisites - e.g. the averages on my last intro bio test and organic test were both 60%, while the average on my heat transfer test was a low B, even though the latter was definitely harder material. Maybe engineering is taking away time I could use to do better in other science classes, but the readily obtainable A's in engineering are certainly helping out my science GPA.

There's a good bit of data proving that engineers do better on the MCAT than other majors. Maybe it's a self-selecting group, but I do think your learn to problem solve in a unique way that certainly helps. And I know my thermodynamics class helped me with a few physics problems I might have missed otherwise.

A lot of good research opportunities. Got a much better position working in a small lab that doesn't work me to the bone than I could've gotten if I were, say, a bio major. My department is a lot smaller, and I'm not just another pre-med who has to do the grunt work before I can do anything meaningful, like in a lot of the larger labs at my school. Also, got to know my profs in a way I couldn't have in the 200+ basic science lectures. All my LORs are from profs of a chemistry or physics related engineering course.

Obviously varies school to school, but you do get some sort of a "bump" with the Ad Coms as an engineer. I actually spoke earlier today with a professor who interviews for the state med school, and told me "we like engineers."

For me, I know that no other major would be as interesting for me, and I would regret it if I did something else just to maybe have a higher GPA. I've got a 3.75, and besides some particularly terrible weeks (like this one), it's really not too bad. I also know a number of pre-med ChemEs who are pulling 3.9's and 4.0's although they spend a lot more time in the library and aren't as involved in EC's.

 

[jjmusicman29]

Maybe engineering is taking away time I could use to do better in other science classes, but the readily obtainable A's in engineering are certainly helping out my science GPA.

Wait a second; I thought AMCAS doesn't count Chemical Engineering courses toward your BPCM gpa (which I thought was the "science" gpa everyone talks about)?

 

[Zhetiga]

Wait a second; I thought AMCAS doesn't count Chemical Engineering courses toward your BPCM gpa (which I thought was the "science" gpa everyone talks about)?

Depends on the class. If it's more than 50% math, science, biology, chemistry, or physics, you can count it in your science / BPCM gpa. You just have to classify it on the AMCAS as one of those 4 disciplines.

Not going to try to count my "Introduction to Chemical Engineering" class, but I think it's hard to say a class like "Fluid Flow," for instance, which is solely about how fluids flow in pipes, is less than 50% physics.

 

[jjmusicman29]

Depends on the class. If it's more than 50% math, science, biology, chemistry, or physics, you can count it in your science / BPCM gpa. You just have to classify it on the AMCAS as one of those 4 disciplines.

Not going to try to count my "Introduction to Chemical Engineering" class, but I think it's hard to say a class like "Fluid Flow," for instance, which is solely about how fluids flow in pipes, is less than 50% physics.

So I can pick and choose which of my ChemE courses I can count for my BPCM gpa?

That would change a lot for me lol.

 

[Contr0lz]

So I can pick and choose which of my ChemE courses I can count for my BPCM gpa?

That would change a lot for me lol.

Thermodynamics definitely counts as a BCPM course. I would say Transport Phenomena counts as well.

 

[moisne]

Wait a second; I thought AMCAS doesn't count Chemical Engineering courses toward your BPCM gpa (which I thought was the "science" gpa everyone talks about)?

Oh I can speak towards this. Amcas and I had a pretty long relationship. They counted anything as long as I could make a statement relating to BPCM.

Ie. kinetics - falls indeed a branch of chem
Ie. process control - chemistry, physics, and math
Ie. fluid dynamics - I said it was physics sector that involved liquids

If they doing count it - email amcas with a reason why they would count it and which sector it falls into and they will count it. Hope that helps!

 

[jjmusicman29]

Oh I can speak towards this. Amcas and I had a pretty long relationship. They counted anything as long as I could make a statement relating to BPCM.

Ie. kinetics - falls indeed a branch of chem
Ie. process control - chemistry, physics, and math
Ie. fluid dynamics - I said it was physics sector that involved liquids

If they doing count it - email amcas with a reason why they would count it and which sector it falls into and they will count it. Hope that helps!

Are you saying that I can declare BCPM for ChemE classes that I make A's in and can defend as BCPM material, and can leave alone the ChemE classes I didn't make A's in so that they don't count as BPCM material? Lol.

 

[moisne]

Are you saying that I can declare BCPM for ChemE classes that I make A's in and can defend as BCPM material, and can leave alone the ChemE classes I didn't make A's in so that they don't count as BPCM material? Lol.

Um not sure about the second part. I didn't have this issue as my grades were consistent throughout my BS and MS in chemE. But Amcas seemed to have just taken my word for it. But tread carefully.

 

[moop]

Are you saying that I can declare BCPM for ChemE classes that I make A's in and can defend as BCPM material, and can leave alone the ChemE classes I didn't make A's in so that they don't count as BPCM material? Lol.

I don't think it would matter THAT much how you count them. It's either BCPM or AO, so the grades will be counted one way or another. I wouldn't try to pull any tricks. Which is problematic for me too as I have a whole bunch of stat/finance stuff idk if they would be BCPM or not

 

[yoyohomieg5432]

Id say to do it. Not trying to brag but I pulled off nearly a 4.0 in engineering. If you enjoy it you will do fine and also develop a work ethic that will serve you very well in med school.

 

[Patassa]

Id say to do it. Not trying to brag but I pulled off nearly a 4.0 in engineering. If you enjoy it you will do fine and also develop a work ethic that will serve you very well in med school.

Which engineering major? Unless it was ChemE this might be irrelevant to the OP.

 

[Patassa]

Engineering is literally the only subject that excites me

Explain this, what do you think ChemE is? What about it do you find exciting?

 

[moisne]

Explain this, what do you think ChemE is? What about it do you find exciting?

I wonder if OP is idolizing chemE. I had a 4.0 in chemE and I don't regret it because it was the only major I probably could have done well in and was moderately interested (I'd like to have done chemistry but I am not abstract enough 🙁 ).

ChemE = calculations all day long. McCabe-Thiele all day, distillation, scaling, process control monitoring, thermodyanmics and residuals, diffusion calculations in gas, liquid, solid (membrane).

I also wonder what in the world OP thinks chemE is about - personally found it boring and did it only because I was good at practical math and science.

My english prof said I was the "worst student who cared" that she ever had in her entire teaching career. :/ haha. I think I got pity B's from all my history and English classes (class average was 95+%) XD

BTW: working as a Chem E = sit at a computer and monitor efficiency and HAZOP

 

[ChemEngMD]

Take it from me:

Medical schools cared way more about all of my ECs that I did than they did about my ChemE degree (also have a BioE degree).

Most of my classmates participated in very few ECs. They did AIChE, Engineers w/o Borders (maybe), and their co-ops. The reason is because ChemE is a ton of work and it's hard to make yourself competitive on paper in comparison to someone with a ton of EC work when you've had to live in the library to maintain a 3.6+.

Just my $0.02

 

[yoyohomieg5432]

Which engineering major? Unless it was ChemE this might be irrelevant to the OP.

I was electrical, just saying it's possible to get a good gpa in engineering.

 

[Patassa]

I was electrical, just saying it's possible to get a good gpa in engineering.

No fair enough, just making sure it wasn't one of the less rigorous disciplines. Good job getting through EE with those grades, not easy to do.

 

[jjmusicman29]

I was electrical, just saying it's possible to get a good gpa in engineering.

Well of course it's possible for at least some people, but I'd surmise that less people end up with 4.0s in something like electrical engineering compared to something like biology or history or finance. And since medical school cares mostly about numbers, if you want to be a doctor, you have to think about the numbers game.

I know that 90% of my university's engineering college (this means every department included, chemical + biomedical + nuclear + petroleum + ocean + mechanical + electrical + computer + industrial, etc.) has below a 3.7 GPA and the average GPA for an engineering student here is below a 3.0.

 

[aich]

Id say to do it. Not trying to brag but I pulled off nearly a 4.0 in engineering. If you enjoy it you will do fine and also develop a work ethic that will serve you very well in med school.

Same story here. If I could do it all over, I would do something biology or chemistry (at least ChemE covers more med prereqs than the other disciplines) related because med schools won't care too much about how hard your major or school was. If you're really serious about med school and you know you have what it takes to at least get into the bottom DO schools, using engineering as a backup career is useless - save your effort and time.