<p>I got in the Johns Hopkins BME program, which I applied to just for the heck of it, because it seemed special, though I am interested in engineering. However, I think that I'm more interested in medicine. So i'm wondering how often BME students go Pre-Med and also how good it is of a fit for Pre-Med. Also, is it a bonus or anything being a bme student and applying to med school?</p>
<p>Congrats on getting into Hopkins and the BME program! To answer your last questions first, about a third of BME graduates go on to medical school. It’s definitely possible to go from the Hopkins BME program into medical school at one of the top med schools in the country. That said, if you decide to pursue the BME program only as an easy way to get into medical school, you’re going to be miserable. As one other poster put it, “Going through Hopkins BME just to get into medical school is like climbing Mount Everest to get a breath of fresh air”. You really need a passion for engineering to enjoy and do well in the BME program. The people in the program all find the work challenging but they stick with it because they really love what they’re learning about. The program is a fully accredited engineering program, and as such, is extremely math-intensive. Being a BME major is not going to give you any “bonus” when applying to medical school, and more than likely your GPA will be slightly lower than if you pursued a “easy” pre-med major. That said, I don’t want to discourage you completely - if you really find the fusion of engineering and medicine fascinating, you’ll love the Hopkins BME program. The department has fantastic faculty who all teach undergrads. The people who teach each course are experts in the field they are teaching (and in the broad overview physiology courses, they bring in different lecturers each week to lecture on their area of expertise). The research being done in the department is amazing, and it’s very possible to get involved in research as a freshmen. The graduates from the program get into really good medical and graduate schools, or find jobs in all the top biotech companies (there’s probably a company or two a week that’s holding information sessions in the BME building). People in the field know what a Hopkins BME degree means and know not to expect the 4.0 GPA that you may see in an other pre-med student. </p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>~1/3 of hopkins BMEs go into premed although ~ more than half start out as premed.</p>
<p>BMEs do well in med admissions, but that’s because it’s primarily filled with bright motivated and talented students. it’s a self-selecting group of kids.</p>
<p>I **dont **recommend BME if you are not interested in engineering and math as much as the biology parts because that’s basically what bme is all about; you are looking at the math and engineering side of dealing with biological systems. For example, I think you’d need like 1 or 2 more math courses to get a math minor after all the core bme reqs are completed.</p>
<p>That said, Hopkins BME is pretty sexy. ~The best bme faculty in the world teach the courses (both from hopkins med and undergrad) and there is opportunity to get involved in ground-breaking research. Very intense, unique and cutting-edge program, but not necessary if you are only interested in medicine. I am not sure there is any boost from completing such an intense major unless you plan on going into ACADEMIC medicine.</p>
<p>something more suitable for reg (and academic) medicine would be cell and molecular biology, biophysics or neuroscience. these are all top 10 programs (more like top 6) in their respective field and are offered at hopkins. they all boast research opportunities (required to graduate) and the opportunity to take classes under renowned faculty. </p>
<p>i can speak for neuro and its awesomeness…for example, dr. hendry is pretty badass. he used to teach at the school of medicine, but those infamous packets and powerpoints in his courses like nervous system are the same ones used at the school of medicine (confirmed by current med students). professors like hendry always try to accommodate students (he runs weekly review sessions on his own time, always offers himself for office hours and individual meetings) and takes pride in making tough concepts understandable.</p>
<p>generally, all the biological science programs at hopkins are very strong and appropriate for pre-med. BME is more of a engineering program and not very appropriate for those uninterested in academic medicine.</p>
<p>Two points:
- Over half of BME freshmen think they’re premed but only a 1/3 end up going to med school. However, this is not because the others are not qualified to get into med school, it’s because they realize that what they really want to do is do BME research as a grad student or get a job in BME.
- Dr. Hendry is definitely badass and makes my list of top three professors at Hopkins</p>
<p>yea…I have about 3 friends who switched out of BME not because they hated it or they thought it was too hard, but because it was more engineering based than bio based. </p>
<p>tanman can correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think BME majors need to even take introductory bio (or have the AP creds for it). They do take chem and organic chem and other stuffs. So definitely make sure you like the math and engineering parts…THAT being said, I have several BME friends who are hardcore pre meds. So there’s room for everything.</p>
<p>wow guys, thanks for the thorough answers. I am really interested in math and science but i wasn’t sure that i’d still like it in the future.</p>
<p>and since you said bme majors have lower gpas, would they be at disadvantage comparatively then? (for med school)</p>
<p>Absolutely no disadvantage to BME - many of them score in the 90th percentiles + on the MCAT because the coursework. It’s definitely a huge advantage and outlet of creativity for sure.</p>
<p>BMEs tend to be brilliant (as are many students in many other majors, of course) so I don’t even know if their GPAs are that much lower, if at all.</p>
<p>tanman, can i request you to please clean up your PM inbox …have been trying to reach you …thanks …you have been awesome on your observations and perspectives…</p>
<p>You never know until you experience the class! Who knows, maybe you’ll love it?</p>