Schools that favor engineers?

[TimothyRags]

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[snorlax]

Why would you expect any med school to favor an engineer?

 

[drizzt3117]

In previous threads I've found hints that some adcoms may look favorably on engineers because of course rigor, problem-solving skills, diverse background, etc. However, if engineer pre-meds have found this to generally not be the case, I would welcome their input as well.

Schools like engineers if their stats are competitive with the norms, it's not an excuse to do worse than average and get consideration. I feel like the skill set has certainly helped me in med school but not necc in admissions.

 

[drizzt3117]

drizzt - In what ways do you feel it has helped you as a medical school student? Also, what branch(es) of engineering did you major/work in?

Chem e.

It's helped with me deal with quantitative things in med school, concepts, etc. It has also helped a lot with my research; which is very quantitative. That said, med school isn't realit about problem solving, at least not in the pre clinical years.

 

[surftheiop]

Chem e.

It's helped with me deal with quantitative things in med school, concepts, etc. It has also helped a lot with my research; which is very quantitative. That said, med school isn't realit about problem solving, at least not in the pre clinical years.

The interventional radiologist (nuclear engineer) I first shadowed with had a similar experience. He said he was really struggling during MS 1/2, but start doing really well in MS3 and continued up from there.

His general conclusion was that engineers make bad med students, but make really good physicians.

 

[xnfs93hy]

The interventional radiologist (nuclear engineer) I first shadowed with had a similar experience. He said he was really struggling during MS 1/2, but start doing really well in MS3 and continued up from there.

His general conclusion was that engineers make bad med students, but make really good physicians.

That's quite a generalization..

 

[drizzt3117]

The interventional radiologist (nuclear engineer) I first shadowed with had a similar experience. He said he was really struggling during MS 1/2, but start doing really well in MS3 and continued up from there.

His general conclusion was that engineers make bad med students, but make really good physicians.

I guess, I didn't find the preclinicals too tough, it's all just about time management and how good you are at retaining info.

 

[surftheiop]

That's quite a generalization..

....your point?

I was just throwing in one person's thoughts

 

[greasygirl]

Did schools ask you about your major choice? Did adcoms note your major positively? negatively?

I am wondering the same. If I do not address my major specifically in my PS and/or secondaries, do I need to be prepared to heavily defend it at interviews? even more so at panel interviews?

 

[bomgd3]

I graduated in BME and did not feel like it really helped in terms of admissions. However, I learned a TON and I'm sure some of it will come in handy in the future. Plus, the math and technical writing skills I learned helped me get a first-author paper. I've told this to a bunch of other BME's too: do engineering if you love it, but not to get a break during med school admissions, because you will not get one.

 

[bomgd3]

drizzt & bomgd - Has having an engineering background helped open doors in terms of more flexibility or engaging in more interesting research whilst in med school?

Hell yeah. The skills learned in engineering are incredibly helpful in labs. Profs are always looking for better data collection and analysis tools. I'm working on an optical C. elegans tracker right now, and it's basically a 100% independent and well funded project. Prior to that, I was working on determining spectral and temporal cues for sound localization, which would basically be applicable to hearing aids, cochlear implants, and amazing surround sound movies. Beats running gels ANYDAY.

Plus, as an engineer, you can bring skills to the table that are worth some real money, instead of the peanuts that typical bio majors are paid.

 

[drizzt3117]

To be clear, I'm not pursuing my major because of adcoms perspectives nor do I expect to get any "break" because of it. I was merely wondering if it would act as a differentiating factor in the admissions process (and, if so, where/how).

drizzt & bomgd - Has having an engineering background helped open doors in terms of more flexibility or engaging in more interesting research whilst in med school?

All in all, thank you guys so far for your contributions!

Yeah, I'm doing very quantitative research in MR, and while I'm not doing the technical work of writing pulse sequences and designing hardware, interfacing between the hardcore basic science people and clinicians who don't have a good grasp what makes the technology work requires a lot of skill. Honestly, the most difficult part is explaining very difficult concepts in terms physicians can understand and understand the utility.

 

[xnfs93hy]

....your point?

I was just throwing in one person's thoughts

I know. I just disagree with your mentor's statement.

 

[specialK32]

For engineering or computer science majors who have gone through the application process:

Did schools ask you about your major choice?
Did adcoms note your major positively? negatively?
If so, which schools seemed to favor engineers?

My background is chemical engineering and I had worked for an oil refinery for 3 years as a process/project engineer.

No schools asked for a reason for my choice of major. They were interested in my employment as an engineer, though, and all schools viewed it favorably. For example, my interviewer at Penn State was very interested in my background as a process engineer and was explaining to me how germane it would be for his current job: streamlining the ER patient admission process.

I was accepted into 5 schools: University of Washington, OHSU (Oregon), University of Arizona, University of North Dakota and Penn State. I was waitlisted at the University of Colorado and rejected at the University of Nevada. I applied to many other schools, including Loyola, Tufts, Mayo and Creighton to name a few.

To me, the schools weren't so interested that I had a chemical engineering degree but were more interested in what I had done with it. Hope this helps!

 

[Medwell]

The following is taken word-for-word off my undergrad's ChemE page:

"It is important to dispel the myth that engineering premeds have an advantage that displaces a high GPA and high MCAT score. In recent years admission to medical school has become very competitive. Consequently, medical school applicants have a low probability of acceptance without a reputable GPA, even if they opted for a more difficult undergraduate major. Do not expect admissions committees to utilize another academic standard because of the relative difficulty of Chemical Engineering curricula. In fact, most schools clearly state the indifference in undergraduate majors as a selection factor."

Yes, this is the ChemE department warning pre-meds that choosing an engineering major makes absolutely no difference whatsoever when applying to medical school.

 

[bomgd3]

The following is taken word-for-word off my undergrad's ChemE page:

"It is important to dispel the myth that engineering premeds have an advantage that displaces a high GPA and high MCAT score. In recent years admission to medical school has become very competitive. Consequently, medical school applicants have a low probability of acceptance without a reputable GPA, even if they opted for a more difficult undergraduate major. Do not expect admissions committees to utilize another academic standard because of the relative difficulty of Chemical Engineering curricula. In fact, most schools clearly state the indifference in undergraduate majors as a selection factor."

Yes, this is the ChemE department warning pre-meds that choosing an engineering major makes absolutely no difference whatsoever when applying to medical school.

I found that to be true of BME as well. But you get to matriculate with a smug sense of superiority over lazy psych majors.

 

[mdeast]

The following is taken word-for-word off my undergrad's ChemE page:

"It is important to dispel the myth that engineering premeds have an advantage that displaces a high GPA and high MCAT score. In recent years admission to medical school has become very competitive. Consequently, medical school applicants have a low probability of acceptance without a reputable GPA, even if they opted for a more difficult undergraduate major. Do not expect admissions committees to utilize another academic standard because of the relative difficulty of Chemical Engineering curricula. In fact, most schools clearly state the indifference in undergraduate majors as a selection factor."

Yes, this is the ChemE department warning pre-meds that choosing an engineering major makes absolutely no difference whatsoever when applying to medical school.

I agree. They take into account that engineering is difficult....but they really want people who are choosing the fields they'll be most successful in, so if you got a 4.0 in your English major, you'll be more attractive than a 3.7 in an engineering major. It's just the way it works.

Some schools have a strong engineering/bioscience/basic science focus, so I'd assume they'd love engineers. But, every school wants a diverse class.

 

[JokerMD]

asdf

 

[surftheiop]

Yeah just to clarify something, under almost no circumstances would I suggest someone who knows they want to be a physician be an engineering major. Engineering will bring down even the smartest folks gpa, and if you make a 4.0 in engineering, you could have made that 4.0 with half the effort in another major and used your time for other stuff.

But I think the majority of engineering majors applying to med school didn't know they wanted to be physicians until after they had completed enough of the major to not be able to justify backing out (or had already graduated).

 

[TheRadiologist]

I was an EE in undergrad and I do not think it helped me get into med school, but it was very helpful for research. When I applied to radiology residencies, I think my EE background was helpful. All my radiology interviewers noticed and talked about my undergrad major. The radiology physics that we had to learn in residency was a piece of cake for me. Some non technical types had to study quite a bit to master the radiology physics needed for the written radiology boards.