<pre><code> I haven’t used this board in about 4 years, but when I was using it frequently there was a senior in SMG who opened himself up to any questions about the school. I thought that he was doing a pretty great thing, and decided that when it was my last year I would do the same. I see that there’s a freshman and maybe some others that have beaten me to the punch, but if any of you have questions for me about BU, housing, the college of engineering, or about Biomedical Engineering in particular I’d be happy to do my best to answer them for you.
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<p>Hmmm… I am also a BME, freshman - Just so I know what to expect (and what to be afraid of) what would you say were your hardest courses in the Biomedical Engineering curriculum? And overall - any tips, suggestions on what to do/not to do in BME?</p>
<p>My first tip would be to realize and try to appreciate that your course load will never be easier than it is Freshman year. Therefore, work as hard as you possibly can to give your GPA a boost when it’s easy. I wish someone had told me that Freshman year. On the same note, don’t pay less attention to your electives outside of engineering because they’re easier, they can also boost your GPA a whole lot if you put effort into them.</p>
<p>Your hardest courses are going to be Junior year I think, Fluid Dynamics and Solid Mechanics are both brutal and you’ll have to take one of them. So far I wouldn’t really say senior year is easier than the past few (which is what I was told), but you definitely have way more freedom in your class choices.</p>
<p>Try to make connections with professors and get involved doing research or a side project early if you can (Junior and Senior year mainly). You’ll learn your most marketable skills in the lab and not in the class room.</p>
<p>Colburn, Collins, Michael Smith, Attaway, and Jara are all really good professors, though you most likely won’t be able to take classes with any of them except Attaway until Junior and Senior year.</p>
<p>That’s all I can think of at the moment. Let me know if you have any more specific questions.</p>
<p>=/ thats depressing - considering I got out of most of my general education classes and I am struggling for CH101 and MA225. In addition, I got credit for EK 127, so I won’t have attaway next semester.</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> looking forward to three years of hell >_<</p>
<p>Well, I struggled with CH101 and 102 as well. I just feel like I could have put more effort in and done better, but that might just be hindsight bias. I also got a worse grade in MA 225 than I did in 226, so I wouldn’t count yourself out yet. Also, if you’re already taking Multivariate you’re apparently pretty far ahead of the curve.</p>
<p>It is going to be hard, but I do think you’ll adapt to it a good amount.</p>
<p>Also, think seriously about what you want to do when you graduate. BME is one of the hardest engineering disciplines at BU, and it also has the lowest average starting salary and is hardest to get a job for.</p>
<p>For me, I still think BME was the right choice, and I’m not trying to be totally pessimistic about it. I think the BME program might have better profs than the other programs, it has a WAY better research program, and BU’s undergrad and grad programs for BME are both in the top 10 for the country. It’s really awesome to have a senior project where I’m working on analyzing novel Tuberculosis sequencing data at the Broad Institute, and also have a side project where I’m learning about cell culture and silk synthesis to create a tissue engineered blood vessel. I believe the most desirable senior projects for the Mechanical engineers were a dirt/rock separator and a device to keep snow of the top of trucks.</p>
<p>If you really feel passionate about BME and think you can put in the work, then definitely stay with it. It will be really hard, but rewarding and satisfying in the end. If you’re not that passionate about BME, finish up the semester or year and see where you stand. LOTS of kids switch from BME to electrical or mechanical over the first year or two, and you won’t have to play catch-up since the programs are all almost identical for the first couple years (except BMEs take two chem classes instead of one).</p>
<p>Yea - I was aware of the terrible starting salary - although my engineering floor (which is full of BMEs) still think they will be making at least 70k after graduation. </p>
<p>I just feel that BME nowadays is way too general - the curriculum patches in so many aspects of different engineering/science fields i.e. mechanical, electrical, and biotech. So its both a good thing and a bad thing.</p>
<p>I guess I will definitely wait and see. I haven’t really “seen” BME yet as I am still in the core curriculum. The field really peaks my curiosity about biology and the limits of human life. If I choose to switch I will likely still have enough credits to still be ahead in the curriculum. </p>
<p>While true Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers, and Chemical Engineers tend to make more - BME is still a really new field and will probably catch up in this generation.</p>
<p>I think it will catch up eventually for sure. However, as I understand it now, even though BME is the fastest growing engineering area, the number of students graduating is increasing even faster. The other problem is that a lot of the people heading up companies/hiring don’t really understand what a degree in BME means. To design an implantable device they’ll hire a mechanical engineer, an electrical engineer, a physiologist, and a biologist, even though a team of BMEs might be better. Both of those problems will hopefully improve with time.</p>
<p>Just to give your floormates some perspective, most of the BMEs in my class would be happy with $45k right after graduation. Obviously that will change with the economy, but if I remember correctly that was the average starting salary they told us we would get freshman year. I think they said Mechanical and Electrical were around $55k and Computer was around $60k. If you want to stick with it until you get a Ph.D., you definitely have a shot at a $70k+ starting salary.</p>
<p>I agree with you that the BME curriculum is too broad for it’s own good in most situations. However, your last couple years (mainly senior year) will allow you to sort of choose an informal “specialty” if you want to. It’s very possible to take a bunch of courses in software design or bioinformatics or tissue engineering, or whatever subset of BME you’re most interested in, do some research work in that field, and graduate in a much better position than many others will be who are competing with you.</p>
<p>Cool - interesting info - though I am pretty sure I will be aiming for my MS for BME - I am hoping to do a BS/MS - but the GPA req worries me =/. </p>
<p>By specialty - are you referring to concentrations (which would be cool in nanotech)? </p>
<p>I will definitely consider doing some research work! Though I don’t have much information on where/how to do that…</p>
<p>I didn’t mean the concentrations necessarily, as those weren’t really available until last year. Instead I meant that that freedom you have senior year allows you to take a lot of courses specific to whatever you’re interested in, and if you choose do to so you can finish your degree knowing a lot about one specific area.</p>
<p>There are a good deal of research/internship opportunities BU has, but I’ve found them to be really competitive. You can look around on the Engineering website/look for emails for more info on those I think. I think you’ll have more luck if you can get in contact with a professor or better yet a grad student working in a field you’re interested in.</p>
<p>I was interested in Tissue Engineering, so I got in contact with a professor who was doing Tissue Engineering research. She flat out told me that they weren’t looking for anyone to volunteer at the moment. By an enormous stroke of luck I met one of the grad students working in that lab from a mutual friend, and she agreed to let me volunteer for her. If you talk to enough people you’ll eventually find someone who can help you out.</p>
<p>Yikes - that seems really hard to sink a position in. I took the EK 131 Tissue Engineering class with Professor Joyce Wong and I thought it was really interesting - but I think I may be a little more into the genetic side.</p>
<p>I see though that making lots of contacts is important! I have a job in a lab right now and its helpful to get acquainted with the procedures of a lab and the layouts of the lab. It is really really useful info. I actually saw a grad student take on a junior for his research in my lab, which is very similar to what you did.</p>
<p>Any suggestions on when to do this? I think junior year or senior year are great times to do this - but the summers may be better in timing.</p>
<p>I’m a high school junior, and I’m pretty set on BME. On that note,</p>
<p>a. What other schools than BU did you consider?</p>
<p>b. How long have you been following the BME path? Did you ever consider Mechanical, Chemical, etc?</p>
<p>c. Many schools (especially Engineering schools) do not accept the AP Phys B Exam, however, they do accept the AP Phys C Exam. My small high school does not offer the Physics C as a course, so I am considering taking Physics B and studying independently. Do you have any advice as to the subject?</p>
<p>i applied to the northeastern engineering school and got in EA and all i am waiting on now is Boston U. Assuming i get into BU im not sure which i would pick for engineering. Any Tips?</p>
<p>Guess CrazedChimp isn’t doin this anymore, but I might as well respond…</p>
<p>kbeaman (I will try my best, I am a freshman, but I come from a very long line of engineers in my family)</p>
<p>a. I considered RIT and Rutgers - New Brunswick. Not super well known engineering schools, well Rutgers maybe. I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to pursue engineering anymore after high school, but I finally decided to pursue it after some reflecting. Had I known this beforehand, I would have applied to more well known engineering schools - but meh I was delt with the cards I was given</p>
<p>b. Its may be a good decision for some people who aren’t sure if they want to pursue BME to go into other engineering fields as undergrads. Mechanical and Electrical are very popular ones to go into. After graduating, most who finally decide on BME pursue a BME grad degree. IF you are SURE this is really what you want to do with your life, definitely pursue BME as an undergrad. The BME curriculum is very general at BU, it encompasses electrical , mechanical, with knowledge in chemistry and biology. This is mainly since BME is a very new engineering discipline and as you can read from CrazedChimp’s comments, there are A LOT of problems.</p>
<p>c. The reason they don’t take Physics B is because the class does not involve Calculus. Speaking of that, Physics C does involve Calculus and as far as I know, it is VERY difficult. I would really make sure you understand the concepts.</p>
<p>d. Not really much more I can add that wouldn’t help you…</p>
<p>Badassbass016 - Northeastern has an actual campus and is also very well known for its internships that upperclassmen take. It provides work experience, which is very useful for engineers. On the otherhand, I don’t believe they offer biomedical engineering as an engineering discipline. IF you want to pursue that specific engineering field, you might want to consider BU.</p>
<p>Hey CrazedChimp(or TheMan777 ), are you familiar with the faculty members in BME? Coz I will soon be doing my PhD at BU BME, and I really need some advice on choosing my advisor. Can I ask you any thing like that?</p>
<p>Well Athera, I depends o what part of BME you’d like to focus on? Personally a few good professors I have met and talk with are Professor Collins, Damiano, and Jackson. <em>Warning Stay away from Professor Cassandra Smith, she is slightly insane…</em></p>
<p>Professor Collins is a well known professor and a favorite of many. Most undergrads don’t work with him untill their Junior/Senior year depending on their courses. However since you are getting your PhD you will be working quite alot with him. Oh and he is actually a biomedical engineer</p>
<p>Professor Damiano, he’s my current adviser. He is very nice and is willing to talk to you, if your intelligent, he also is on the acceptance committee of the PhD and Master Degree’s. So it’s good to get on his side. He also does very interesting research, if diabetes interests you at all, he’s currently trying to develop a pump that works on a closed loop system for administering insulin to the body. It’s actually being tested by the FDA at the moment so that’s really cool. Plus he specializes in applied mathematics, and fluid mechanics instead of solid mechanics. Well that’s what I know of =O</p>