Second Major in addition to Engineering?

[extremelyfatchicken]

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I am currently a freshman in bioengineering. I have always been very passionate about humanities and foreign languages and want to pursue a second major in a humanities related field or a foreign language.

How would med schools look upon an this double major combination?
Is there any specific major that is especially helpful for the MCAT or that med schools look upon favorably?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Catalystik]

Any major is fine, provided you fit in the prerequisites and keep your GPA high. Two majors with mediocre GPAs won't make you more appealing to adcoms.

 

[Brownshorts]

I was a biomed and there was absolutely no way I could have worked a double major into my schedule. Maybe math, chemistry, or chem eng but it would have destroyed me. You're a freshman, you have no idea how brutal engineering is going to get. My advice if you are actually interested in med school is to do something other than engineering. You like humanities? Great! Do that instead. You'll get a much better GPA with much less work/ stress, and probably be happier. My subpar GPA (actually quite good for an engineer, but poor for med school) hurt me, and my major helped little if any.

I know you probably won't switch. When people told me to get out my freshman year I laughed at them. Just remember that you've been warned.

 

[yoyohomieg5432]

I think telling him to change majors is a bad idea. If he really he enjoys engineering then he will do better and have fun too. Plenty of engineers pull off great gpa's. I would probably advise against the double major though. Engineering is a lot of work and you're also going to need time for ec's abd volunteering mcat study time and fun time. Adding a second major will likely hurt the gpa or certainly reduce time for the above activities

 

[extremelyfatchicken]

I was a biomed and there was absolutely no way I could have worked a double major into my schedule. Maybe math, chemistry, or chem eng but it would have destroyed me. You're a freshman, you have no idea how brutal engineering is going to get. My advice if you are actually interested in med school is to do something other than engineering. You like humanities? Great! Do that instead. You'll get a much better GPA with much less work/ stress, and probably be happier. My subpar GPA (actually quite good for an engineer, but poor for med school) hurt me, and my major helped little if any.

I know you probably won't switch. When people told me to get out my freshman year I laughed at them. Just remember that you've been warned.

Hi thanks for taking time to respond. The impression I have with engineering so far is that although it is challenging, it is rewarding. My current university has one of the strongest BE departments. So far I have a decent GPA and I am doing very well this semester. But then again I have not yet taken perhaps the more hardcore engineering classes yet.

 

[Oso]

I didn't do engineering, but I had several friends who did. They were extremely busy and barely had time for their one major, especially the pre-med ones. I feel like adding a second major may hurt your grades some and really won't do much to boost your app. If you have another interest, I would suggest looking into a minor. But your best bet is to try to talk to some engineers who had a second, non-eng, major (if they exist...). Good luck!

 

[kyamh]

Why do you need another major? Just take the classes you are interested in. If anyone is curious, they will always see a bunch of courses in whatever department you enjoy. Do you really need the officialness of a "major" or a "minor" to pursue your interests? I have a bunch of computer science courses that I took - more credits than necessary for a minor, but I don't have one of the required courses so I don't have that minor - I got the chance to learn something I wanted to learn and didn't have to check boxes for the "right" courses.

 

[Patassa]

I am currently a freshman in bioengineering. I have always been very passionate about humanities and foreign languages and want to pursue a second major in a humanities related field or a foreign language.

How would med schools look upon an this double major combination?
Is there any specific major that is especially helpful for the MCAT or that med schools look upon favorably?

Thanks for your help.

I think a minor would be much more appropriate if you insist on overloading yourself.
Adcoms don't care what you did in school nearly as much as how you did, in my short experience with them.
Some people find Biology super useful for the MCAT and medical school.
Unless you are in a part of the country that has a great job market for BSMEs with just a bachelors degree, and you know you can get a 3.8-4.0, I'd think long and hard about picking this engineering discipline as a major.

 

[Goro]

AdComs don't care about double majors, or minors. We care about you doing well in whatever you take. Do a double major if it interests YOU, not us.

I would surmise that being a Biology major would be helpful for, I don't know, the Bio section?

How would med schools look upon an this double major combination?
Is there any specific major that is especially helpful for the MCAT or that med schools look upon favorably?

 

[moop]

AdComs don't care about double majors, or minors. We care about you doing well in whatever you take. Do a double major if it interests YOU, not us.

I would surmise that being a Biology major would be helpful for, I don't know, the Bio section?

Depends on the school and how much critical thinking is being taught in the bio program. Go through 4 years of blindly memorizing facts isn't going to get you anywhere. Many bio majors on SDN are absolutely flabbergasted as to why their BS score is so low; the extra content taught in a bio class really won't come of much use on the MCAT. Med school is a different story, but it's really a critical thinking game on BS now, especially with the research design and experimental stuff.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Engineering=waste of time
Double major=waste of time

You're welcome to do whatever you want, but be aware you aren't really gaining anything from it aside from the personal enlightenment.

 

[moop]

Engineering=waste of time
Double major=waste of time

You're welcome to do whatever you want, but be aware you aren't really gaining anything from it aside from the personal enlightenment.

Which is pretty important, no? Arguably, the most important.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Which is pretty important, no? Arguably, the most important.

To some people maybe. Personally I saw undergrad as an audition for medical school and didn't really care about anything I learned.

 

[moop]

To some people maybe. Personally I saw undergrad as an audition for medical school and didn't really care about anything I learned.

Well, that's unfortunate. A waste of 4 years (personal opinion obv). Yet you did it because that's what made you happy. So "personal enlightenment" is still very important, even to you. That was my point.

 

[moisne]

Hi thanks for taking time to respond. The impression I have with engineering so far is that although it is challenging, it is rewarding. My current university has one of the strongest BE departments. So far I have a decent GPA and I am doing very well this semester. But then again I have not yet taken perhaps the more hardcore engineering classes yet.

I have no idea what BE is like. I was a ChemE and I was thinking of doing a math double major. Don't do it - it's not impossible but you won't have time to volunteer. So I settled with a math minor and got in a few hundred volunteer hours and research.

It's not the difficulty = it's the lack of time to get in EC.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Well, that's unfortunate. A waste of 4 years (personal opinion obv). Yet you did it because that's what made you happy. So "personal enlightenment" is still very important, even to you. That was my point.

I'm not sure I totally understand what you're getting at. By personal enlightenment I was mostly referring to applicable knowledge, which I gained none of in undergrad. If you asked me anything about biomedical engineering now (which is what I majored in), I would not know the answer.

 

[moop]

I'm not sure I totally understand what you're getting at. By personal enlightenment I was mostly referring to applicable knowledge, which I gained none of in undergrad. If you asked me anything about biomedical engineering now (which is what I majored in), I would not know the answer.

Oh, I thought you meant it as personal fulfillment. Guess not. Nvm

 

[sliceofbread136]

Oh, I thought you meant it as personal fulfillment. Guess not. Nvm

Yeah I would agree with you there. I also agree that undergrad was a waste of time for me, if I could have gone straight to med school I would have.

 

[pietachok]

I have 2 degrees -- a BS in Engineering and a BA in a foreign language/literature. I don't see why the latter would hurt one's GPA. You have to fill the rest of your schedule with some type of coursework, so it's not like skipping the language major is going to really change your courseload. If anything, I regret getting the engineering degree because the hit my GPA took nearly kept me out of medical school. However, hindsight is 20/20, and when I was in undergrad, I thought I was going to practice as an engineer -- I loved studying it.

At residency interviews, I'm often asked about my language degree but not about my engineering one, and if my engineering degree had been in BE, I'm sure I'd have been asked even less (it's just not *that* uncommon). Depending on what language/humanities you pursue, it can also have the upshot of helping you develop a close relationship with faculty in a smaller department from which people write eloquent LORs attesting to your character/personality in ways your science profs won't, and it can be easier to get good grades in your humanities courses when they have a common theme. In my experience at med school and residency interviews, interviewers have been far more excited to chat about my more bizarre hobbies or language skills than academic accomplishments . . . I assume the latter feel a dime a dozen once you're looking at people in the interview pool.

Do what you enjoy. Be able to speak about it from an informed perspective and sound enthusiastic about it. As long as you don't hurt your GPA, it can only help you. Also, make sure that any second major allows you to fulfill the min # of humanities courses required by some med schools.

 

[medschoolmyname]

I was a biomed and there was absolutely no way I could have worked a double major into my schedule. Maybe math, chemistry, or chem eng but it would have destroyed me. You're a freshman, you have no idea how brutal engineering is going to get. My advice if you are actually interested in med school is to do something other than engineering. You like humanities? Great! Do that instead. You'll get a much better GPA with much less work/ stress, and probably be happier. My subpar GPA (actually quite good for an engineer, but poor for med school) hurt me, and my major helped little if any.

I know you probably won't switch. When people told me to get out my freshman year I laughed at them. Just remember that you've been warned.

lol speak for yourself im a biomedical engineer, it was tough no doubt but i got a 3.95 gpa. its not impossible to do well in engineering

 

[Brownshorts]

lol speak for yourself im a biomedical engineer, it was tough no doubt but i got a 3.95 gpa. its not impossible to do well in engineering

Well aren't you a special little snowflake. I never said it's impossible just that it's a much harder path, but good job taking the opportunity to brag about your gpa.

 

[terp720]

Well aren't you a special little snowflake. I never said it's impossible just that it's a much harder path, but good job taking the opportunity to brag about your gpa.

I get how you would see this as bragging, but I see where medschoolmyname is coming from. All the time on here, all I ever see is how engineering destroys your GPA. But the reality is, it doesn't for everyone. And people who do have high engineering GPAs are generally not posting about it because others see it as bragging.But there's still a lot of negativity any time these engineering threads come up that may dissuade people from pursuing a major they may actually love because they have only heard that it's rare to do well (not saying impossible).

 

[sliceofbread136]

lol speak for yourself im a biomedical engineer, it was tough no doubt but i got a 3.95 gpa. its not impossible to do well in engineering

BME is barely even engineering. By far the easiest engineering field.

I get how you would see this as bragging, but I see where medschoolmyname is coming from. All the time on here, all I ever see is how engineering destroys your GPA. But the reality is, it doesn't for everyone. And people who do have high engineering GPAs are generally not posting about it because others see it as bragging.But there's still a lot of negativity any time these engineering threads come up that may dissuade people from pursuing a major they may actually love because they have only heard that it's rare to do well (not saying impossible).

Yes you can do well, but it's a rather useless time sink. All that extra time studying could have gone to ECs and actually made you a stronger applicant. Hell you could spend that time pre-studying for the MCAT and it would be more worthwhile.

 

[terp720]

BME is barely even engineering. By far the easiest engineering field.



Yes you can do well, but it's a rather useless time sink. All that extra time studying could have gone to ECs and actually made you a stronger applicant. Hell you could spend that time pre-studying for the MCAT and it would be more worthwhile.

by that reasoning, you could say any class that you don't strictly need to get into medical school is a useless time sink

 

[sliceofbread136]

by that reasoning, you could say any class that you don't strictly need to get into medical school is a useless time sink

No, you need good grades to get into medical school which means putting time into getting good grades is very important. There is no getting around that, so it is not worthless. However there is generally a large time difference between an engineering class and a non-engineering class, and it is that extra time difference that is going to waste.

 

[Patros]

OP, if you are "very passionate" about humanities, why not just major in that? Is BME something you really enjoy? Lot's of successful physicians were not the biology-to-medical school clones you might be afraid of becoming. Take Harold Varmus for example, the guy majored in English literature in a liberal arts college, then went to Columbia P&S and later won the Nobel prize.

Anyway, my advice: major in humanities and take a BME minor if possible. Or, take BME and just a few humanities classes. Remember, the classes you take (besides for the pre-med requirements) are for your own sake, adcoms don't care either way as long as you do well.

 

[terp720]

No, you need good grades to get into medical school which means putting time into getting good grades is very important. There is no getting around that, so it is not worthless. However there is generally a large time difference between an engineering class and a non-engineering class, and it is that extra time difference that is going to waste.

this is not what I said... and I know that
I didn't say you could get bad grades.

but, to each his own. I 100% don't believe I wasted my time in engineering, and I don't believe that I would have been a better applicant in a different major. I do believe I would have been an unhappy person in a different major. But that's me. If you see UG as an ends to a mean, then sure, maybe it's a waste of time.
People have different experiences and like different things -- point of my original post.

 

[sliceofbread136]

this is not what I said... and I know that
I didn't say you could get bad grades.

but, to each his own. I 100% don't believe I wasted my time in engineering, and I don't believe that I would have been a better applicant in a different major. I do believe I would have been an unhappy person in a different major. But that's me. If you see UG as an ends to a mean, then sure, maybe it's a waste of time.
People have different experiences and like different things -- point of my original post.

I'm not trying to be that black and white. If someone genuinely wants to do engineering for their own knowledge/fulfillment, then that's fine. They should just be aware that it is a large time sink without much application benefit.

As an aside, if I could do it all over again I would major in spanish, which is IMO the most practical premed major you can have.

 

[Patassa]

BME is barely even engineering. By far the easiest engineering field.

This is true at my state university as well. Plus, there are no jobs anywhere near here with only a BSBE. It's a terrible "fall back" plan for pre-med kids here, but they don't know that for some reason.

 

[moisne]

lol speak for yourself im a biomedical engineer, it was tough no doubt but i got a 3.95 gpa. its not impossible to do well in engineering

The previous president of our pre-med society had a 4.0 GPA (BS in ChemE and MAth, 38 on MCAT, 500+ hours in volunteer/research, but was rejected from every school. You know why? During the interview, he was too full of himself. Be careful of your attitude. No need to look down on others. No one like people like that and no one like doctors who are too high and mighty.

In case you plan to tell me to "speak for myself" - as an BS/MS chemE, you do not have a higher GPA than me. I still recommend OP not to double major if she is aiming for med school and get more meaningful EC.

 

[Brownshorts]

BME is barely even engineering. By far the easiest engineering field.



Yes you can do well, but it's a rather useless time sink. All that extra time studying could have gone to ECs and actually made you a stronger applicant. Hell you could spend that time pre-studying for the MCAT and it would be more worthwhile.

Due to the breadth of BME it varies a lot depending on what school you're at. I'm sure at your school it was the easiest, at my school it was one of if not the most difficult enginerding major.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Due to the breadth of BME it varies a lot depending on what school you're at. I'm sure at your school it was the easiest, at my school it was one of if not the most difficult enginerding major.

Even if that is true (I remain skeptical), I still hate BME. You spend 4 years learning a whole bunch of nothing and end up with zero applicable skills. Much better to go electrical/chemical/mechanical with extra bio classes

 

[sliceofbread136]

This is true at my state university as well. Plus, there are no jobs anywhere near here with only a BSBE. It's a terrible "fall back" plan for pre-med kids here, but they don't know that for some reason.

I totally agree, BME is awful

 

[terp720]

Even if that is true (I remain skeptical), I still hate BME. You spend 4 years learning a whole bunch of nothing and end up with zero applicable skills. Much better to go electrical/chemical/mechanical with extra bio classes

I totally agree, BME is awful

lol sliceofbread, why do you have such a hatred of BME?

 

[sliceofbread136]

lol sliceofbread, why do you have such a hatred of BME?

Oh I could write a whole book about why I hate BME. Let's just say I wish I chose a different major.

 

[ObLaDi]

If you can handle it, go for it. Many people struggle through Engineering school. If you're the type who will breeze through it, then it just might make you a more competitive med school applicant.

If you aren't sure how difficult the Engineering major will be for you, I would hold off on overloading myself with two majors before I knew what type of a student I was.

 

[terp720]

Oh I could write a whole book about why I hate BME. Let's just say I wish I chose a different major.

soo you just have a lot of regrets that you are expressing vehemently in a thread and criticizing a major that other people enjoyed, got something out of, and did get jobs with

of course you're entitled to your opinion

 

[sliceofbread136]

soo you just have a lot of regrets that you are expressing vehemently in a thread and criticizing a major that other people enjoyed, got something out of, and did get jobs with

of course you're entitled to your opinion

Or I see many downsides to the major that were reinforced through personal experience.

 

[MrChance2]

If you want to do both and have the money do 5 years. College should be some of the best years of your life. It won't be if you do 2 majors in 4 years and try to keep a med school acceptable GPA.

 

[Lucca]

Even if that is true (I remain skeptical), I still hate BME. You spend 4 years learning a whole bunch of nothing and end up with zero applicable skills. Much better to go electrical/chemical/mechanical with extra bio classes

That's so not true. The BMEs at my University are super-well equipped and most if not all of them get hired right out of college (even though BME is a very masters requisite field). The BME degree here is basically ChemE+EE with a BME design project stacked on it + Bio/Chem/Orgo.

I have mad respect for them anyone taking EE courses here. It's the smallest engineering major by far (as in hour requirement) but it's definitely the hardest.

 

[sliceofbread136]

That's so not true. The BMEs at my University are super-well equipped and most if not all of them get hired right out of college (even though BME is a very masters requisite field). The BME degree here is basically ChemE+EE with a BME design project stacked on it + Bio/Chem/Orgo.

I have mad respect for them anyone taking EE courses here. It's the smallest engineering major by far (as in hour requirement) but it's definitely the hardest.

It's a very masters requisite field because the undergrad major is so broad that you end up with less applicable skills than your peers. I think the fact that most BMEs claim to be EEs at job fairs is self explanatory.

 

[terp720]

That's so not true. The BMEs at my University are super-well equipped and most if not all of them get hired right out of college (even though BME is a very masters requisite field). The BME degree here is basically ChemE+EE with a BME design project stacked on it + Bio/Chem/Orgo.

I have mad respect for them anyone taking EE courses here. It's the smallest engineering major by far (as in hour requirement) but it's definitely the hardest.

at mine, all pretty much had the same requirements in terms of hours, but with Aero, BME, and ChemE at the top.
each school, and therefore different students experiences are different.

But here there are also tons of biotech opportunities and I also knew a lot of people getting relevant internships/jobs, so maybe it's more applicable than at schools like Patassa's

 

[medschoolmyname]

The previous president of our pre-med society had a 4.0 GPA (BS in ChemE and MAth, 38 on MCAT, 500+ hours in volunteer/research, but was rejected from every school. You know why? During the interview, he was too full of himself. Be careful of your attitude. No need to look down on others. No one like people like that and no one like doctors who are too high and mighty.

In case you plan to tell me to "speak for myself" - as an BS/MS chemE, you do not have a higher GPA than me. I still recommend OP not to double major if she is aiming for med school and get more meaningful EC.

lol funny how everyone is so sensitive. i wasn't posting my gpa as a a means to show off, i was showing it as an example of being able to do well in engineering. And to those who say biomedical engineering is the easiest engineering your probably saying that because you got burned in a different field of engineering. Its a new field that got tons of potential, not to mention the fact that it practically incorporates a piece of every type of engineering along with biology and organic chemistry. @moisne i wasnt recommeding op to double major, i was just telling op that engineering isn't impossible to do well at (especially those who discourage it because they had a bad experience with it). It really depends on the person, if that person puts the time and effort theyll do well in any major. and great job at getting a 4.0 moisne!

 

[TexasSurgeon]

I am currently a freshman in bioengineering. I have always been very passionate about humanities and foreign languages and want to pursue a second major in a humanities related field or a foreign language.

How would med schools look upon an this double major combination?
Is there any specific major that is especially helpful for the MCAT or that med schools look upon favorably?

Thanks for your help.

Do u want to get steamrolled? Because you're asking for it

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Depends on the school and how much critical thinking is being taught in the bio program. Go through 4 years of blindly memorizing facts isn't going to get you anywhere. Many bio majors on SDN are absolutely flabbergasted as to why their BS score is so low; the extra content taught in a bio class really won't come of much use on the MCAT. Med school is a different story, but it's really a critical thinking game on BS now, especially with the research design and experimental stuff.

This is very true and I'm grateful that I had research gigs. Really taught me to apply myself and think about experiments in journals.

 

[Brownshorts]

It's a very masters requisite field because the undergrad major is so broad that you end up with less applicable skills than your peers. I think the fact that most BMEs claim to be EEs at job fairs is self explanatory.

I agree with you completely (about needing a masters, and being a broad undergrad major), although everyone who I graduated with who wanted a BME job got one straight out, or shortly after graduation. I also wish I didn't go BME, but more because I found I didn't like engineering in general, and there are easier paths to med school. Unlike you I LOVED that it was a broad major. I thought getting a little bit of everything was super interesting, and although I wouldn't do it again, I'm quite happy with the education I got, and how I feel it prepared me for med school. I suppose different strokes for different folks, although I don't know why you're so up in arms about it when you're obviously not interested in pursuing engineering.

Side note, one of the most interesting aspects of BME is the variability between schools. At your school it seems to be a more EE related field. At my school we were much more closely related to the ChemEs. I've seen other schools where the curriculum is closer to the MechEs. That's because since BME is so new it tends to grow out of an existing department, and the department at a particular school that spawns it tends to be the one it's related to. Fun stuff.

 

[medschoolmyname]

I agree with you completely (about needing a masters, and being a broad undergrad major), although everyone who I graduated with who wanted a BME job got one straight out, or shortly after graduation. I also wish I didn't go BME, but more because I found I didn't like engineering in general, and there are easier paths to med school. Unlike you I LOVED that it was a broad major. I thought getting a little bit of everything was super interesting, and although I wouldn't do it again, I'm quite happy with the education I got, and how I feel it prepared me for med school. I suppose different strokes for different folks, although I don't know why you're so up in arms about it when you're obviously not interested in pursuing engineering.

Side note, one of the most interesting aspects of BME is the variability between schools. At your school it seems to be a more EE related field. At my school we were much more closely related to the ChemEs. I've seen other schools where the curriculum is closer to the MechEs. That's because since BME is so new it tends to grow out of an existing department, and the department at a particular school that spawns it tends to be the one it's related to. Fun stuff.

Amen, our BME program is closely related to ME and EE.

 

[moisne]

That's so not true. The BMEs at my University are super-well equipped and most if not all of them get hired right out of college (even though BME is a very masters requisite field). The BME degree here is basically ChemE+EE with a BME design project stacked on it + Bio/Chem/Orgo.

I have mad respect for them anyone taking EE courses here. It's the smallest engineering major by far (as in hour requirement) but it's definitely the hardest.

It's not + bio/chem/orgo - all that is included in chemE

 

[moop]

All this talk about whether BME is "good" or not is bullocks. It totally depends on the school. BME at MIT/Princeton? Probably intense and good job training and prospects. BME at SUNY Podunk with few resources and networking opportunities? Probably not.

There's nothing wrong with the BME major itself. It's all about how the school handles and structures the program.

 

[487806]

All this talk about whether BME is "good" or not is bullocks. It totally depends on the school. BME at MIT/Princeton? Probably intense and good job training and prospects. BME at SUNY Podunk with few resources and networking opportunities? Probably not.

There's nothing wrong with the BME major itself. It's all about how the school handles and structures the program.

It's SDN. What do you expect? People can't have a normal, straightforward discussion without engaging in an argument and flame wars.