When must I commit to medical school?

[Moomoo123]

I'm a high school junior right now and I plan to major in either chemical engineering or biomedical engineering in college (depending on the school). Medical school is an option for me, but I'm not 100% sure that I want to commit so much time to becoming a physician. I've heard that bio/chem engineers who are also premeds give up a lot of internships in order to shadow physicians and take all the necessary med school pre reqs.

How much time do I have after I start college to decide if I want to go to medical school for sure?

If I don't get into medical school, is bio/chem engineering still something that I could fall back on, or will it be difficult to find a job?

Thanks!

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[Levo]

I'm a high school junior right now and I plan to major in either chemical engineering or biomedical engineering in college (depending on the school). Medical school is an option for me, but I'm not 100% sure that I want to commit so much time to becoming a physician. I've heard that bio/chem engineers who are also premeds give up a lot of internships in order to shadow physicians and take all the necessary med school pre reqs.

How much time do I have after I start college to decide if I want to go to medical school for sure?

If I don't get into medical school, is bio/chem engineering still something that I could fall back on, or will it be difficult to find a job?

Thanks!

The sooner you decide that you want to go to medical school, the sooner you can get into medical school. People who know on the first day of college can try their best to make sure they take all of their required classes, take their MCAT early, build their resume, and apply so that they have a med school acceptance in hand before they walk at their graduation. People who take longer to make up their minds may need to take one or more gap years after college to cover their bases. Some people graduate from college, get a job, realize they've made a mistake, do a post-baccalaureate program to finish their required classes, and apply to medical school in their 30s. There's nothing wrong with any of those paths. Med schools don't view applicants as "damaged goods" just for taking longer. In fact, some schools seem to prefer applicants with a little bit of "real world" experience. The biggest limiting factor is whether the you're willing to put off finishing your training all of those years.

I don't know very much about the job market for biomedical engineers right now, but it seems to me like jobs for people with bachelors degrees in chemical engineering are out there. There's so many different industries that employ chemical engineers. That said, I don't think it's a great major if your eventual goal is medical school. Chem E students tend to have very heavy course loads, which makes it hard to do all of the other things that are expected of premeds like volunteering, and puts them at risk of destroying their grades, which are all-important in the med school admission process.

 

[Neuroplasticity]

I think a benefit to choosing BME is that it would allow you to fulfill more of the pre-med requirements without having to add extra courses.
A benefit of ChemE is that it is a much broader area of study, opening up job opportunities if you don't go into medicine.

You do not need to decide on medicine anytime soon, but if you are considering it, I'd recommend aiming for as high a GPA as possible and to shadow some physicians to see more of what it's like.

 

[Thalamood]

Chemical engineering is a much more difficult major than is necessary to be admitted to medical school, so most people would advise against it as a pre-med major, but it is not impossible to explore possibilities within ChemE and medicine at the same time. In fact, admissions directors would rather see you explore your interests than simply check the boxes on all the pre-med checklists. It isn't so much a question of when you must commit to medical school as much as it is just taking the necessary steps to keep all doors open until you're ready to make a decision.

 

[Goro]

There's n o law that says you have to go to med school at age 22. You have all the time in the world. Follow your heart.

I'm a high school junior right now and I plan to major in either chemical engineering or biomedical engineering in college (depending on the school). Medical school is an option for me, but I'm not 100% sure that I want to commit so much time to becoming a physician. I've heard that bio/chem engineers who are also premeds give up a lot of internships in order to shadow physicians and take all the necessary med school pre reqs.

How much time do I have after I start college to decide if I want to go to medical school for sure?

If I don't get into medical school, is bio/chem engineering still something that I could fall back on, or will it be difficult to find a job?

Thanks!

 

[yanks26dmb]

I committed at 28. So yeah...there's no rush.

 

[eteshoe]

I was a ChemE (had internships and REUs during the summer), worked for a couple yrs and then committed to medicine. There's no deadline - just wait until you're ready to commit to the pathway. Do well in school, study something you enjoy and is marketable and you'll have the flexibility to do whatever when/if you decide to go into medicine.

 

[Gilakend]

I would be weary of majoring in BioE, depending on the school. My friend is an engineering student where I go and he said the BioE average GPA is below a 3.0. I'm sure it's not like that everywhere, but something to be mindful of. How much time studying to get a med school quality GPA will take away from clubs, volunteering, research etc.

 

[Mad Jack]

Whenever. I didn't commit until five years after graduation from college lol.