<p>I would like to major in BioE at Penn, but I’ve heard that it’s the hardest major in the school. Is this true, and if so, how hard IS it? Any Penn BioE’s out there?</p>
<p>i am also going to penn bioengineering this year. some help will be appreciated. COLLEGE! where are you from?</p>
<p>freshman year classes will not give you much of a perspective on bioengineering as a major; the only freshman BE class is BE 100 (fall semester only), which is a very broad overview of the field / group design project, but which involves no actual calculation / concept coverage.</p>
<p>you won't get a real taste of bioengineering itself until fall of sophomore year, when you take biomaterials (BE 200) and the first bioengineering design lab (BE 209).</p>
<p>those who decide to drop out of bioengineering during freshman year to switch to the college do so usually as a result of difficulties experienced in science and math prerequisite courses, not in bioengineering courses, or as a result of a general switch in desired career (away from sciences).</p>
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I would like to major in BioE at Penn, but I've heard that it's the hardest major in the school.
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<p>I don't think it's the hardest. From what I've heard, computer science and engineering is. Of course this si relative, and in general any engineering is hard.</p>
<p>haha.. so that means if I want to dual-major in Computer Science and Bioengineering, I'm in for a tough 4 years..</p>
<p>well, I went to the Penn Preview Day and I spoke with one of the bioengineers and a BioE student. They said that engineering students in general are always studying... I took 7 AP classes this year, so I got a taste of what "always studying" feels like. I'm not too crazy about doing that for another 4 years (plus, I'm premed, and if I want to go to med school, I need SOME time to study for MCATs). </p>
<p>I'm right now debating between going to Penn or UCSD (#2 in BioE in the country), so does anyone know how the rigor/time consumption of that program compares? thanks a lot!</p>
<p>COLLEGE!, I too am Pre-Med and in BE. It's not easy, but not impossible. The worst thing is sophomore year, you have to take Organic Chemistry as your free electives in order to fulfill the Pre-Med requirements before taking the MCATs. I also took plenty of AP classes my senior year of high school, and unfortunately they did not adequately prepare me for the amount of studying I would be doing once I got to Penn. You adjust quickly, but it is a lot. </p>
<p>There are many, many BE majors at Penn who are Pre-Med, so you are not alone and it IS possible! Best of luck. Any further questions, feel free to email me (<a href="mailto:kevinrak@seas.upenn.edu">kevinrak@seas.upenn.edu</a>).</p>
<p>Hey krtrumpet182, do you really need to take orgo in your sophomore year if you are pre-med? Could you take Orgo I in spring of your sophomore year, and Orgo II in fall of junior year? What about Orgo I and Orgo II in spring and fall of junior year, respectively?</p>
<p>i don't think it matters when a student takes the chem 241/242 sequence, as long as he / she is sufficiently prepared for the mcats, and takes them in time for med school admissions...</p>
<p>Anyone on this thread thinking of MD/PhD at Penn?</p>
<p>Do they go easier on Penn undergrads?</p>
<p>It doesn't necessarily matter when you take Orgo, but most of the pre-med advisors do stress the importance of getting these out of the way before the MCATs. Also, sometimes (I believe) Orgo I is only offered in the fall and II only in the spring. You could also take it over the summer.</p>
<p>Right now, I'm stuck trying to fit orgo into my fall schedule. With BE, the only orgo section I can take is the majors section, which I have yet to be admitted into. The other sections conflict with BE classes.</p>
<p>Yea... I only took Chem101 on fall 2005, but I haven't taken Chem102 yet, which I may take next semester and then start with Orgo. At least for fall 2006, according to the Registrar's website, they are offering both Orgo I and Orgo II, same goes for current semester. I'm not even sure if I want medicine yet, but I want to keep my options open...</p>