<p>My son is very interested in biology, but he's also got an aptitude for math. He's not sure if he wants to go to med school, major in bioengineering, or go to grad school for some kind of medical research.</p>
<p>He has to decide whether to apply to the school of natural sciences, or engineering. Is it harder to get in one or the other? If he started out studying biology, would it be possible for him to switch to bioengineering if he wanted to? Is it easier to get a scholarship in one or the other (I ask that because at UT, it's easier to get one from the engineering school).</p>
<p>He's already talked to the track coach, who wants him to come down for a visit. The coach told him to go ahead and apply to the school now.</p>
<p>At Rice, you apply to the university, not the department (except for architecture and the music conservatory.) The application says something like, “Given that this is not binding, explain why you would want to be in this department/school”. He should indicate on his app which one is most interesting to him now. Changing majors at Rice is easy - students don’t need to declare a major until end of sophomore year, and even after that they can change majors. Dd changed majors several times and was able to graduate in 4 years. DS just changed his major from Chem E to Environmental Eng (he’s a junior) and he will be able to graduate in 4 years. The department allowed him to waive one of the intro courses. That flexibility in coursework and ease of changing majors as interests change and mature is another plus at Rice.</p>
<p>Thanks for the explanation. You’re right, that flexibility is a big plus. That’s one of my hesitations about UT - if he started in biology, it would be almost impossible for him to switch into engineering later. He’s getting very interested in Rice! On the phone, the coach said he would put him on the “protected list,” but I don’t know how much significance that has. We’ll find out, I guess!</p>
<p>I think switching into an engineering major from a non-engineering major would be hard to do and graduate in four years anywhere, unless you did it pretty early. Engineering majors just seem to have the most pre-reqs. My daughter has similar interests to your son (minus the track!). She came into Rice last year thinking she’d probably do Biology/Biochemistry, but decided based on some academic advising to try for BioE since it had more requirements and would be hard to switch into but not hard to switch out of.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your daughter’s experience, BM. That makes sense to me. I was an engineering major, and barely managed to graduate in 4 years, even with AP credits and one summer class at a community college. There is an amazing amount to learn, and then when you get out into the real world, you realize you don’t know nearly enough!</p>