Bioengineering vs. Biology / Computer Science Double Major

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, I am currently a sophomore in high school. I am looking ahead to my future and what I want to do, and I have a bit of a problem.</p>

<p>First of all, I want to go to medical school and become a physician. I know, I know that people might eventually change their career goals, but for now, med school is carved in stone as my primary career goal in life. </p>

<p>I plan to apply to both UC Berkeley and UCLA for college. My original plan was to apply as a Bioengineering major so that even if I do not get in to medical school, I will have a secure major to fall back on. More so, I love the field, and I feel that it is a perfect combination of my passion for the life sciences along with my interest in computers and technology.</p>

<p>However, I've recently been discovering the competitiveness of the Bioengineering field. Not only is it a 'hot' major and nearly impossible to get into, both Berkeley and UCLA engineering are cut throat and hard to come out of even with a semi good GPA, Especially Berkeley engineering, which is like GPA suicide (all comments based on other College Confidential discussions). Basically, the chances of anyone getting into the Bioengineering programs at Cal or UCLA are very slim. And even if one does, its nearly impossible to graduate with a med school worthy GPA. </p>

<p>It's not that I don't want a challenge, it's just that I want to go into medical school and I don't want to ruin my chances at that.</p>

<p>The alternative plan that I've formulated is to double major in Biology and Computer Science. Both of these majors are available in the Letters and Science Colleges of both Berkeley and UCLA, which tend to be less competitive than the Engineering Colleges. Biology is generally an easy topic in my opinion, but it's completely worthless in the job market at the bachelor level. Computer Science on the other hand is one of the most in demand majors out there, especially in California, and the Silicon Valley specifically. So I can count on getting a good job. Best of both worlds. Biology and Computer Science appear to be easy majors individually. Bio will prepare me for Medical School, Computer Science for the Job Market in the event Med Schools don't want me :'( lol. </p>

<p>Plus, I enjoy both topics. The reason I wanted to do Bioengineering in the first place IS because I like both of these fields. The only difference is that Bioengineering is, well, engineering, and it combines everything, and this is simply studying each field individually but simultaneously.</p>

<p>So do you guys think that this is a good idea?
Should I just take the risk and apply as a BioE Major?
Will Double Majoring in Comp.Sci./Bio. be difficult?</p>

<p>p.s. I do plan to apply to other schools as a Bioengineering or BioMedical Engineering major. I'm just concerned about UCLA and Berkeley which seem to consider your major A LOT when determining whether to give you admission or not.</p>

2

<p>It’s possible to get a master’s in CS after getting a BS in bio if med school doesn’t work out. In order to maximize your chances at med school, you need to concentrate on keeping your GPA up, and double majoring might spread you too thin to do that. Your other option is to do your BS in CS while taking the 10 pre-med classes. Might not be possible to do that in four years, but at the end of it you’d already have your fallback.</p>

3

<p>Computer Science at UCLA and UCB seems to be very time consuming, one high school friend of D2 is suffering right now as a premed/CS major, he is not admitted to engineering yet, the other kid was admitted to engineering and he also spends an enormous time on class project(north of 50 hours/week), he has maintain reasonably good grades but not excellent.
I would think Bio at UCLA is also hard, can you pick easier major for premed. You can always do an MS in CS if all else fails. Backup has the way of choking up real plan sometimes.</p>

4

<p>How about a minor in Computer Science?</p>

5

<p>Check the requirements for a minor at Berkeley or LA in CS -and the major requirements for whatever major you want to pursue. Like others have said, premed is a very time consuming course which doesn’t mix to well with overtly difficult majors/minors. </p>

6

<p>You do not need to major in biology or bioengineering to complete the pre-med courses. You could, for example, major in computer science (or math, history, economics, etc.) while taking the pre-med courses alongside without needing to major in biology.</p>

<p>Only about half of applicants and matriculants to medical schools were undergraduate biology majors.</p>

<p>Bioengineering does not have that great job and career prospects at the bachelor’s degree level compared to other engineering majors. For example, see Berkeley’s career survey: <a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm&lt;/a&gt; .</p>

<p>Note that the computer industry has its highs and lows. CS majors currently have good job prospects, but that was not the case in the early 2000s.</p>

7

<p>Ok, Thank You everybody, I really appreciate everybody’s opinions. Obviously, I still have a lot of time. Ultimately, I just want to get into medical school, and if I don’t, I want to have a secure career in a field that I like (Bio Science/ Comp Science). And I want to apply so that I actually stand a chance of getting in. Applying to Berkeley as an engineering major does not meet that qualification, lol. But we’ll see.</p>