<p>Posted in the premed forum and did not get any responses, so taught I'd try my luck here;p</p>
<p>Currently a freshman attending UCSD, majoring in Electrical Engineering.
I just finished my first quarter here at UCSD and realized EE is not for me.
I plan on switching my major to Bioengineering: Premedical or Human Biology.</p>
<p>I dont mind doing either major, but I am reluctant to pursue BioEng because of its rigor.
My GPA is really bad(2.7). Do I still have time to bring it up?</p>
<p>Question: BioE or Human Bio? Which should I chose? Our BioEng program is supposedly one of the best in the nation, but with that comes immense difficulty in getting a decent GPA for med school. Our Human Bio program is also great and is not as difficult as BioEng.</p>
<p>I'm also scared that I might not get accepted or for some reason decide not to attend med school. Which major would be strong enough to hold itself without Med school behind its back?</p>
<p>Right now I'm not 100% sure what I like. I'm just a freshman and I'm still testing waters. Am I interested in research yes. As far as applications hell no; who does?</p>
<p>I don't know how to answer your bioE vs. human bio dilemma since that's something you have to figure out for yourself, but 2.7 your first quarter isn't horrible. And you still have ~11 quarters to bring that GPA up...at the end, that 2.7 is not going to have that big of an impact if the rest of your grades are ok.</p>
<p>Try taking some bioE related classes next quarter and see if you like it...stuff like bild1 and phys2a will carry over to a human bio major if you end up changing again.</p>
<p>keep in mind that biology will be impacted. and i THINK bioE gets harder to get in the later you sign up (something like you cant switch if you have above 90 units or junior standing -- i'm not too sure which)</p>
<p>eeekkk. I'm not exactly afraid of the difficulties ahead. I'm sure I can get through either major, but with a decent GPA I dont know. I've heard bioengineering prepares me more, but if I go through it, get a good MCAT score and crappy GPA, how will I get into med school then. No use going through the hardships to end up with something less than what you wanted. :(</p>
<p>bioe is an awesome major, but only choose it if you are confident in your math and physics skills. if not, all the math/physics/engineering will just end up hurting your gpa for med school. that being said, your gpa is already a bit low, so raising it is def your biggest priority right now, and human bio will allow you to do that much more easily. if i were you i would try switching in before it becomes impacted.</p>
<p>Are med schools more lenient towards UCSD BioEng's when it comes to GPA, since UCSD's BioE program is supposed to be one of the best in the nation(i think just behind duke and john hopkins)?
I really want to do BioE, but I'm just not confident in my math and physics skills.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Are med schools more lenient towards UCSD BioEng's when it comes to GPA, since UCSD's BioE program is supposed to be one of the best in the nation
[/quote]
This will definitely not make up for a lower gpa. Engineering undergrad is typically a very bad idea for premeds for its notorious grade deflation.</p>
<p>Ok Grades were updated and now I am extremely worried. :(
The following were my grades:
Math20a: C
ECE15: F
Chem6a: W
JAPN10a: B
MMW1: B+
This brings my GPA to a 2.1, I think.
Question: (Sorry if some of them are stupid questions)
1.Since Im changing my major to Human Bio, will I have to retake the engineering class I failed?
2.If I dont have to retake the class, would it be beneficial to retake it even though its not part of my major requirements?
3. Will Med Schools count the ECE class towards my GPA?
4. Did anyone have similar experiences their 1st quarter freshman year?</p>
<p>as for the questions
1. Not sure since Human Bio doesnt require you to take engineering classes (Im human Bio)
2. you can if you want
3. Yes, they look at all your GPA's mostly your science (from what upper classmen have told me)
4. Even though I aced his class, If you had Czworkowski I would understand why you dropped him lol. </p>
<p>You should probably retake chem sometime soon though, you need to be pretty good at it if ur doing human bio major I would assume.</p>
<p>I dropped chem6a not because it was extremely hard, but because I could not hack the course load. I was taking five classes. I'm also under the afrotc scholarship which requires me take two extra classes and a bunch of physical training exercises. I had Stacey Brydges by the way.</p>