<p>Hey everyone,
im an international student who wants to go to med school. I knw its hard and blah blah but thts not the point, im still gonna try.i want to knw if my back up plan is good enough or not....
Right now im thinking about doing a double major in environmental engineering and industrial engineering. I was thinking about chemical engineering before environmental, but i realised that even with the chemE path, i want to end up doing something related to environmental issues, so why not just do environmental E. What do you think?
If you look at the us bureau report, both industrial and environmental are supposed to increase quite significantly and chemE will apparently fall. But when i look at job forums, i see that there r tons of environment engineers unemployed right now (well most say they have a masters in environmental eng, does that make a difference?)
Basically, does environmental engineering have any realistic chances or not? And i personally do think that industrial engineering can really compliment it.
On a different note, i was wondering how i am going to finish the double major in 4 years and i had a few questions regarding that as well. Usually, for people doing a single major, how many courses do students take per semester? As in at my place its 6 to 8 and apparently with that i should have enough time to finish a double major. Is 6 to 8 more than what people take up at other unis? Will i be able to finish on time? Its important coz since im an international student with financial aid, the policy states that the aid will only be available for 4 years. If it helps, i have done the A Levels in maths chem bio and physics so ill defo get extra credit for that. Oh and ill also be doing pre med courses ofc, so have to keep them in mind as well. And i also want to do a minor in writing, coz i love writing, so if i can squeeze that in as well? Lol i knw, too ambitious?
p.s. i do plan on discussing this with my academic advisor but im hoping i can get a few answers here so i can have a more knowledgeable and definite plan once i sit down to sort the details.</p>
<p>Haheho: Lemme get it straight. You basically want to do Double Major in Engineering, like to go Med School (not Engineering) on top of that you want have also minor in English (writing, etc)?..Three undergraduate major and go to Med School?..alright, those things can be done at least in five years in Undergraduate if you are smart or perhaps six years BUT not four years. ALSO, have you seen the requirements for Med School? forget the competition (it’s very fierce) since all of those applicants have stellar records (GPA cumulative very high like 3.8 and above; remember it is cumulative not their last semester in college) and you perhaps have GPA 3.9 cumulative?..and what’s hard to go to Med School is taking the MCAT…You have to take prep classes for the MCAT so you can get high score. Are you up for the challenge? good luck and may the FORCE be with you.</p>
<p>@jan2012…thx for the reply…</p>
<p>“You basically want to do Double Major in Engineering, like to go Med School (not Engineering) on top of that you want have also minor in English (writing, etc)?”
Yea thats right, but the minor is not very important, only if possible, coz i love writing and even sent a literary portfolio to the uni. thing is, like i said before, med school is something im aiming for, but im also trying to be a bit “realistic” which is why i think i need a strong back up. if it were up to me, id do something like biochem and go to med school, but chances r i wont get in and then i dont want to be stuck with a degree i really dont have a future in ( i dont want to work as a lab assistant or something)…</p>
<p>are you sure about 5 years? i have seen plenty of posts that suggest otherwise, but then again its double engineering, so u might be right, but then again, both of these engineerings are assumed to be on the easier side of the spectrum…and like i said, at the uni, you have the option to do 8 classes per semester, and thats like 16 per year, wont that help me?
as for the MACT, the uni seems to have a nice program that places u in ECs that strengthen ur app and prep u for MCAT, its affiliated with UMass medical hospital I think.
anyhoo, i do think i can do it and lets not forget the extra credit of A Levels that i have… but like i said before, im keeping all options open and looking to build up a strong back up…</p>
<p>This sounds like one of the worst ideas in the history of this forums. I will take the position that this is impossible in 4 years even if you simply didn’t sleep and didn’t do anything but work. This would even be difficult in 5 or 6 years. Keep in mind that while doing this you would need to maintain a very high GPA and would need some social interaction, not only for your sanity but so that you know how to communicate effectively as a doctor.</p>
<p>This is an extraordinarily bad idea.</p>
<p>Haheho: “how many courses do students take per semester? As in at my place its 6 to 8 and apparently with that i should have enough time to finish a double major.”</p>
<p>6 to 8 classes are pretty tough. I did six classes this semester and got 5 A’s and 1 B. But 8 classes?..and you want to do it every semester taking 8 classes and try to maintain high GPA like 3.8 in order to go to Med School?..that is wishful thinking and borderline insane. PLUS, you have to take MCAT classes too so you can score big. IF your MCAT is marginal (so-so, ordinary), you will not be able to go to med. school.</p>
<p>Are you posting this just for the sake of practicing your writing skills, wishful thinking? no…</p>
<p>This sounds like one of the worst ideas in the history of this forums. I will take the position that this is impossible in 4 years even if you simply didn’t sleep and didn’t do anything but work.</p>
<p>Wow…impossible sounds a bit too preposterous, but thx for the reply!
oh and u didnt really help, the reason i posted was to ask if its a good plan ( which u think it isnt) and how i can come up with a better one, so for people reading and thinking about posting, plzzzzzz suggest a better route as well, coz i dont just wanna know that its an extraordinarily bad idea, it doesnt help me, AT ALL… it will save u and me a lot of time.</p>
<p>@jan2013…thx for the second reply…
i really appreciate the info ur giving, but do u really have to be so sarcastic and kinnda mean???</p>
<p>IF I KNEW THE ANSWERES TO THE QUESTIONS I ASKED, I WONT BOTHER WRITING HERE WILL I?
gosh people here r more mean than helpful :s
and at the place that i have applied to, u have terms, u do 3 to 4 classes for 7 weeks, so i do think that its quite possible to do 4 classes per term. ofc i cant be sure coz im not there yet and yes it is wishful thinking, coz thats how people learn and improve, im sorry im not sorry, i wasnt born with the wisdom u seem to posses…</p>
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<p>The only preposterous thing here is your plan. This is simply not possible. Shoot, I’d be willing to bet that the difficulty in scheduling all those classes alone would prevent you from doing this in 4 years, let alone the rest of the issues.</p>
<p>A better plan is take one major, do it well, take the MCAT and pre-med courses, and if you don’t get into med school you will have that degree to fall back on.</p>
<p>If people come off as mean in this thread, it’s because this idea is so preposterous that you look an awful lot like you are ■■■■■■■■ the boards.</p>
<p>@boneh3ad …now thts a better plan.thx!!!
as for
If people come off as mean in this thread, it’s because this idea is so preposterous that you look an awful lot like you are trolling the boards.
trolling the boards to do wht exactly???
it was a simple post outlining a few of my questions, if you want to judge a person based on 100 words, then go ahead and do.
believe it or not, some people come here looking for straight forward answers…not to be called “borderline insane”, coz thts beats the purpose of this place and THTS the real trolling…</p>
<p>Maybe you are new to message boards or something, but when you propose half-cocked ideas like this, it makes it appear as though you are doing it simply to get a rise out of people. That is trolling. Thus they are a little shorter with you.</p>
<p>You need one year of English, one year of math, 2 years of chemistry, one year of biology, one year of physics, and one year of psychology/sociology for premed requirements.</p>
<p>If you do Chemical engineering, it covers most of the requirements (not the new MCAT requirements but the current ones). Most engineering schools will not allow double majors though since most of them have detailed depth requirements and can’t accept engineering double majors. In some cases environmental and ChemE are in the same department and it may require a few more courses to cover both but IE and ChemE are always separate and both departments will never let you try to complete both the majors.</p>
<p>If you are doing Env engineering under a civil E dept, you will not cover your premed requirements and will be forced to spend most of your time trying to complete those outside of Env E. So essentially you will need lot more courses to complete both env e and premed if the dept is not under chemE. You have this problem with Ind E too. IE may not require any biology or chemistry as part of the core and so you will need to work those separately.</p>
<p>Most schools don’t care what you are interested in. You will find that what you are proposing is not even acceptable to the school and the rules will stop you right up front. Engineering majors are notorious for needing more classes than other majors for graduation, typically about a semester and half more. So when you suggest double engineering majors, you will get the reaction that you are seeing here. </p>
<p>8 classes per semester in engineering is doable if you want to have a 2.0 GPA.</p>
<p>this place exists to propose "half-cocked ideas "!!!
if students already have detailed fail proof plans, then the postings here will not only be redundant but also be reduced to trivial matters like “which is the better engineering”“which engineering is more harder” :S</p>
<p>true that, i came here looking for answers, i came here expecting some mature guidance!!! not to be called insane or similar…i never said that my plans were perfect did i? i KNEW THEY WERNT hence i posted…</p>
<p>Haheho: Crazy ideas (aka half-cooked idea, not cocked like you have written) will beget crazy answers. But, hey this is a FREE COUNTRY and if you wanna do Two Major (Engineering) one Minor (English) and wanting to go Med. School, go for it…who is stopping you. And when you have done talking with your advisor (you will talk to your advisor, right? as you said above) then, kindly let us know. I am also, curious what your ADVISOR will say about this idea…but if your duly advisor will say otherwise, please also post it in here. Maybe…just maybe your advisor will go along with your idea? no…</p>
<p>texaspg : thx for the reply, u seem to have reasoned it very well, which has got me thinking about environmental science instead of engineering…</p>
<p>Jann2013: ill do tht. and FYI i honestly respect ur answers, the helpful ones that is, my problem is with the sarcasm and patronization that comes with it… frankly u could do without it, its not only juvenile but also quite…well useless…</p>
<p>OP:</p>
<p>On your main goal, med school, please recall that this alone is a difficult path with specific course requirements and the expectation of a stratospheric GPA. Going from ChemE or BioE to med school is too difficult for most aspiring doctors.</p>
<p>Double-majoring, considered on its own, is difficult, time-consuming, and largely pointless, even more so when both are engineering. The coursework will be difficult, there will be a great many classes with minimal overlap, and there will be long sequences of courses that will make graduating “on time” all but impossible. And your reward for doing all of that will likely be about the same as if you had done a single major and done it well. I won’t elaborate too much here because there are literally hundreds of double-majoring threads on CC and they all say the same thing: don’t. Even assuming that your school allows it, don’t.</p>
<p>Combining these aims is just going to be painful. Double engineering plus med school prerequisites will mean massive course loads that will 99.99% likely mean a substantially extended stay in school and/or a lower GPA than you would normally have gotten. And a lower GPA means a “lesser” med school? If you want to be a doctor, would you rather have a ChemE undergrad and do med school at Johns Hopkins, or have an IE/EnvE double undergrad (that you never really intend to use) and go to South Central Louisiana State (go Muddogs!)?</p>
<p>Speaking of schools, where are you planning on doing this, anyway? And when?</p>
<p>It is fine to have a back-up plan, but your back-up plan is killing your primary goal. You presumably have not even started college yet, you have no real idea how hard it is going to be - don’t bury yourself before you even start. If you get there and do exceptionally well out of the gate, then your advisors can help you find challenging and worthwhile ways to get ready for med school, have a separately useful undergrad, and still have a life.</p>
<p>Sometimes we need crazy idea(s) to stimulate our boring life? even Einstein if not mistaken was kicked out of school when he was little as the teacher thought he was crazy or could not comprehend things in school?..one thing for sure. IF you really like to be medical doctor or like to work in medical field/research then just concentrate in one major only, pre-med or whatever then do good in taking the MCAT. MCAT is hard and needs lots of your attention. Why bother with two Engineering majors since any engineering major is hard to begin with let alone to maintain high GPA for going to Med School. Remember all of the applicants for Med School, they all have high GPA not 3.0 not 3.2 not even 3.4…but 3.75 or 3.8 at least. Lots of smart kids want to go med school therefore competition is tough. By doing two engineering majors (engineering is GPA killer), your chances are astronomical to get high GPA. It is even worse if you go to highly selective school.</p>
<p>Comicfish: thx for the reply…
I agree with most of what u have said 
except
“If you want to be a doctor, would you rather have a ChemE undergrad and do med school at Johns Hopkins, or have an IE/EnvE double undergrad (that you never really intend to use)”
Thing is, the whole reason i want to do IE/EnvE is because i KNW i will use it… for the sake of being a doctor im open to doing biomed eng or biochem, but for those i knw that besides trying to get into med, i have no intention of using them.
As for chemical engineering, i wanted to do it and eventually use it for something environmental related, but then i thought, why not just do EnvE for that!</p>
<p>All in all, fact is, that im international, and the odds of med school are against me so i want a solid backup to fall back to. And by the look of it, i need to work on that…thankfully i still have time…
Im planning to go to WPI fall 2013. (if i get accepted that is lol)</p>
<p>
I am not saying you cannot do either of the engineering courses that you want, just that by choosing something with no bio/chem component you are increasing what will already be a heavy courseload. It is your time and money to spend, not mine.</p>
<p>
So you think med school is a long shot, and engineering your probably career? Fine. Then consider this like any other “double-major” question on here, exacerbated by your med school aspirations - double-majoring will mean more work and more time with no more reward. To whatever extent it opens doors, it closes others due to some drop in GPA (due to increased workload) or due to the appearance of a mixed commitment to a field. And, as I said before, it almost certainly costs you extra semesters.</p>
<p>Pick a major, IE, EnvE, Underwater Basketweaving, whatever. Add the additional courses you will need to qualify for med school. Then spend all that extra energy and time you think you will have getting A’s in everything and rocking the MCAT. It will yield far better dividends down the road than an additional engineering major.</p>
<p>WPI
Env E
[WPI</a> Undergraduate Catalog 2012-13](<a href=“http://www.wpi.edu/academics/catalogs/ugrad/flip/?page=77]WPI”>http://www.wpi.edu/academics/catalogs/ugrad/flip/?page=77)</p>
<p>Chem E</p>
<p>[Chemical</a> Engineering: Degree Requirements - WPI](<a href=“http://www.wpi.edu/academics/che/undergrad-degree-requirement.html]Chemical”>http://www.wpi.edu/academics/che/undergrad-degree-requirement.html)</p>
<p>Don’t see one for Ind E. What would you do at WPI if you get in?</p>
<p>texaspg : industrial eng comes under the school of business and it isnt very “sciencey” its more of a mix of economics and science. and most science courses needed for it arent very advanced either…</p>
<p>cosmicfish : med school is in fact my first choice, but after posting here i guess i have realised that a double major will jeopardize that, hence i guess i need to work out my priorities.</p>