My DD is planning on going into Biomedical Engineering. I have heard from several sources that an MS in Biomedical Engineering is needed to get a good job in the field.
She is thinking of either going to Med School right out of college or getting a job. With that in mind, is it better to major in Chem E, Mech E, or BioMed E?
I am looking for experiences and opinions so I can advise her if need be. I am not familiar with the market for BioMed E because my engineering experience has been in different fields.
in this case, engineering majors at disadvantage as the most challenging majors, they tend to lower the college GPA. If she is ready to work extremely hard (harder than other pre-meds) and still achieve very high GPA needed for Med. School (preferably at least 3.7) while doing many medical ECs, preparing for MCAT and going to Med. School interviews, then it is OK and some are done it. Keep in mind that Med. Schools DO NOT care about UG major, they do not care much about the name of the college, they care a lot about college GPA, MCAT score, somewhat about medical ECs and social personality.
Personally I am not familiar with either of these majors. But I am very familiar with Electrical Engineering, as I was one for about 11 years, but then switched to CS. Engineering majors are way harder than any others at college.
I have heard the same from many sources. My takeaway is if you really want to go to Med School then you should go to a low level undergrad school and major in something easy and take the required classes for Med School. That way you get a high GPA and can do well on the MCAT.
NOT so low level UG school and NOT so easy major! Moderation is the key.
Granted, just like UG admission where SAT is somewhat “watered down” so that other criteria could be included also to fit the school’s (not necessarily your) admission need, so is med school admission. That is the only reason why you may occasionally hear that you should not go to an extremely hard UG school/major. This is because the importance of GPA, etc., while not insignificant, is watered down a little bit by many UG schools/majors giving “good” grades; med school admission also has to include other criteria besides academic merits like GPA and MCAT. If you are overwhelmed by the academic demand by your school/major, you have no time to build up these other credentials.
However, med schools know it if you go to an extremely easy school/major.
The above link is an example of a school that has BS/MS Biomed Eng degrees. She might consider one of these if she really wants to go BioMed.
Friends daughter did do this program at Drexel and had 3 great internships at biomed companies. She is on the fast track at an international biomed company since graduating. Worked well for her.
You are juggling 3 balls here. Engineering / Med School / finances.
The med school part does throw a wrench in there. She will have to know she will need to work her butt off to get that high GPA.
Finances will play a big part in the decision also. Cheaper school…more money for med school. Paying more for undergrad will probably give her more choices of undergrad BioEng programs to consider.
I know several young people who majored in biomedical engineering. I’m thinking of one young man in particular - extremely bright, won multiple honors in college, had several high-powered internships - who was unable to find a job in biomedical engineering one he graduated with his MS from an engineering powerhouse. (He did, however, get several job offers from fields outside of engineering.)
His advice? Get a degree in mechanical engineering, not biomedical, if you want to work in some kind of engineering capacity. It all comes down to what you want to do with that degree - if you want to go to med school, that’s okay, but engineering isn’t necessary. If you want to work in the biomedical engineering field - then a bio-engineering degree may not be necessary or even optimal. A MechE may be a more flexible degree, especially as an undergrad.
Of course this is just one data point. I think that some young people just think that biomedical engineering sounds more glamorous than other engineering sub-fields.
@sax The cost is a driver as you stated. I am not so sure she wants to go to Med School and time will tell. I think she wants to do BioMed Eng because she wants to work in the industry.
@scout59 I do think your thought about BS Mech Eng is good. She should consider that IF she can get into BioMed field that way because she likes mechanics; have heard that you would need MS in BioMed if undergrad is Mech Eng. Hard for me to give advice because I work as a Mech Eng (Metallurgical Eng degree) in the vehicle business. Not conversant with BioMed field.
If you can give more insight, it would be much appreciated.
you should go to a low level undergrad school and major in something easy
NOT so low level UG school and NOT so easy major! Moderation is the key.
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I’m not sure what you’re calling “low level” and “easy” major…
No one should go to some Podunk unknown univ. The med schools should have at least heard of these schools and can trust that the schools have adequate science classes. The science req’ts are so staple that virtually any good school can easily have strong courses.
The chosen major should be an “academic” major, but eng’g is an exception to that rule of thumb.
Academic majors are traditionally: bio, chem, physics, math, philosophy, history, English, The Classics, Poly Sci, etc. Majors that aren’t considered to be “academic majors,” would be: Communications, business, Film Studies, and other pre-occupation majors.
No matter what your major is, the premed prereqs will be a challenge at any “good” school. That is why the BCMP GPA is equally important as the cum GPA. Someone who is an Art History major with A’s in the major, but B’s in the BCMP may end up with a strong cum GPA, but a “too low” BCMP GPA.
That said, one mistake that we often see in the premed forums is students “reaching” for high ranking schools, luckily getting in, and then soon having GPA’s that aren’t med-school worthy because all their classmates are as strong or stronger than they are.
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I am not so sure she wants to go to Med School and time will tell. I think she wants to do BioMed Eng because she wants to work in the industry
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The biomedE industry is one that expects a grad degree. It is one of the few E areas that does expect that.
The good thing is that the biomedE grad programs happily accept applicants who have undergrad degrees in MechE, ChemE, BioMedE, and probably some other E disciplines.
What does your DD want to do “in the industry”? If she wants to develop prosthetics, then MechE is a good undergrad degree to have.
If she wants another area of BioMedE, then ChemE can be the best alternative. Certainly either way, the student can take add’l bio or even biomedE courses.
ChemE tends to include all or nearly all of the premed BCMP req’ts.
My kids’ undergrad doesn’t offer a biomedE major, but does offer some biomedE classes, which my S2 took. My kids’ undergrad has a state of the art 3-D printing lab with several different 3-D printers, and the students are encouraged to use it.
Your DD can keep med school prospects on the “back burner”. It’s not something that an E major has to decide as an incoming frosh. Since many of the basic premed courses are already required as E majors, it’s easier to become premed while in college.
@mom2collegekids I agree with your assessment about going for a standard E major. She, DD, likes mechanics so a Mech E degree would be good. She could take the Med School Chem requirements if needed as she goes.
Her twin bother, DS, is going into Chem E because he does want to go to Med School. He just wants to leave his options open. I believe you said on a different post that your son did the same.
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That said, one mistake that we often see in the premed forums is students “reaching” for high ranking schools, luckily getting in, and then soon having GPA’s that aren’t med-school worthy because all their classmates are as strong or stronger than they are.
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Are you saying they should go to an engineering school where they are closer to the 75th percentile rather than middle of the pack? I assume that is the best route so their BCMP GPA is good but am not sure. I have heard the comment before about kids going to super difficult schools and the GPA being hurt resulting in difficulty getting into Med School.
FWIW, you don’t need an engineering undergrad degree to get accepted into BME grad programs. BME departments will accept just plain bio majors if they have sufficient math backgrounds (like a math minor or major) and have taken calc-based physics.
D2 was a neuroscience & math double major who considered getting her MS in BME. She was told that she would be accepted conditionally into programs with the understanding she would need to take 3-4 core engineering courses as part of her MS. A classmate of hers (neuroscience major with a math minor) was accepted in a PhD program in BME with same conditions. And these were at top 25 engineering programs.
Sorry @CyclonesDad - my insight into biomedical engineering is limited to my one data point! He loved his studies and he really flourished in college, but he just was stymied by the job market when he was done - and he was number one or two in his class at a top ten BME program.
The story had a happy ending. He DID get two great job offers when he was done but neither were remotely related to engineering (one was in consulting, and I can’t remember what the other one was - but it wasn’t tech-y at all). Of course, engineering jobs aren’t the end-all and be-all, but this is a kid who was actively looking for engineering jobs…at least at first.
My child is currently a sophomore in an undergraduate engineering program. Her intention was to study bioengineering with a concentration in premed. The courses taken freshman year are generally foundation courses that can apply to various engineering programs. If after one year your child decides not to pursue premed (maybe due to not maintaining a high g.p.a) they could still switch to mechanical or electrical engineering and then pursue a graduate program in bioengineering. If the intention is to work in the biomedical engineering industry (not premed) I would recommend based on the advise we were given to pursue mechanical, chemical, or electrical engineering for undergrad school and then study bioengineering in grad school. Having knowledge of more than one engineering area would make the student more employable because they are familiar with multiple disciplines of engineering. A mechanical/electrical/or chemical engineering student could be hired for a bioengineering job but not vice versa.
If the student still wants to pursue bioengineering in undergrad but not premed then be prepared for continuing on to grad school afterwards. If med school is the goal I will say it is definitely more challenging to maintain a high g.p.a in engineering while doing premed courses. Also the other issue is graduating within four years trying to meet both requirements. In some programs bioengineering/premed is actually nine semesters unless you decide to take summer classes. At the same time the student has to make time for healthcare related research, shadowing, and volunteer opportunities.
If you are looking for a plan B option to med school I think mechanical, chemical, or electrical would be better because the student would be employable after a bachelor’s degree if the option for med school doesn’t work out.
I agree with everything you and mom2collegekids have said. I will be counseling my DD on that in the future. Right now she is applying to colleges of her choice, with my input, and then we can have the major choice discussion before she begins next year. I can revisit with her during her Freshman year also.
Thanks to everyone for your input so far. Your thoughts have given me good insight since I am not very familiar with this field of engineering. I am old school having graduated in 1982 and Biomedical Eng was obscure at that time.
As a senior in high school definitely she may want to include schools with a 5 year combined BS/MS program in bioengineering to keep her options open. Other schools could be just good engineering schools or direct med school programs. By end of senior year she may change her mind so at least she may have several options to choose from in April.
Look for and apply for some bioengineering/healthcare research opportunities for summer after senior year if they are available. If student decides to pursue the engineering route to medicine and hasn’t taken any programming classes in high school look for some programming class she can do in the summer prior to freshman year of college to avoid the challenges of taking a college level programming class without prior knowledge.
DD did 3 years of bioengineering summer research internships starting the summer after 11th grade. She also accumulated about 400 hospital volunteer hours in the last three years. (as a premed student)
DD chose to attend an inexpensive state school with an honors program with scholarships so that she would graduate debt free for undergrad to save money for grad/med school. You have to see what best suits your situation or circumstances.
ANY major works for medical school. However, STEM majors usually are chosen for interest. Your D needs to choose a major she would be happy in without planning on medical school. Then, if she does not go the medical route she has job skills that she can use and enjoy (perhaps with a higher degree). She should choose engineering because she actively likes it, not because it may be a path to medical school. There are so many majors that incorporate the sciences needed by premed students in addition to engineering. Eons ago I was a chemistry major with no intention of doing Chem E, and decided on medical school instead of grad school (btw, the world for women in sciences/medicine was so much harsher in my day). Please- do not let her try to game the system for medical school admissions. The “in” majors today seem to be biomedical engineering and neurosciences for medical school hopefuls. It is most important to choose a major one actively enjoys, then if a student changes his/her mind or doesn’t get into a medical school s/he will have a satisfying alternative.
She needs to research the similarities/differences, pros/cons of potential majors. Hopefully she will attend a school where getting in is independent on proposed major so she has flexibility in changing her mind as she evolves while in college. A why spend the time and energy required for one of these majors unless she can picture herself doing them in the future? Why engineering instead of a pure science major? All sorts of questions for her to ask herself.
I pulled this out of the previous post because, IMO, it is the most salient point towards the OP’s question. It’s one your D needs to answer for herself.
In regard to “something easy and take the required classes for Med School.” and finances.
There is no reason under the sun to spend money in UG if one is planning on Med. School. Another point is, while you would look for schools that potentially may offer a great Merit scholarship to your kid, you still would like the school that matches personality and wide range of interests of the future student. That “fit” factor is essential for pre-med, more so than for others because of the high college GPA requirement. You want a kid to be as happy as possible, minimize the adjustment struggles (which are inevitable). However, do not think that academics at ANY place, the lowest of the lowest ranked will be easy. It will not!! It is NOT easy for the valedictorians who graduated at the top of their respective HSs, that may be some of the best HS’s in nation. It will not be easy, the kid has to recognize to work her ----- off from day #1 of freshman year or face a high possibility that her goal will be derailed. It happens over and over and competition among Med. School applicants increases every year (as well as the competition for residency spots, which was the highest in history in 2015).
Got to be prepared to work the hardest, participate in all those medical EC’s and develop as a person (the last is somewhat neglected by some “sciencie” kids, but it is a very important factor and more so for a future Medical student)
OK, this is as much as I know as a mother of a first year resident who graduated from Med. School in May.
Best wishes to your D.!