Does anyone know the BME acceptance rate or average scores? I realize other factors matter but this info would be useful. Thanks.
I’m not sure what the stats are, but here are some stats from people who posted acceptances on the RD and ED threads for BME so far this year. Hopefully this gives you a little bit of what they are looking for at least with standardized tests and grades. Obviously there are many more things that they consider. Good luck.
SAT I: 1580 (800 M, 780 R)
SAT II: Math 2 (800), Chemistry (800), Bio Molecular (800), US History (780)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
SAT I: 1560 (800 M, 760 R)
SAT II: Math 2 (750), Chemistry (720)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 97/100
SAT I: 1550 (760 M, 790 R)
SAT II: Math 2 (760), Biology - Ecological (770), US History (770),
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
SAT I: 1520 (800 M, 720R)
ACT: 35 (33E, 35M, 35R, 35Sci)
SAT II: Math 2 (800); Chemistry (710)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89
ACT: 34
SAT II: Math 2 (800), Bio M (800), Chemistry (800), US History (800), World History (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
1 Like
(current BME)
There is no data for the BME admission rate as far as I know. Qualitatively I have heard administrators their around numbers like 3% or 5%,
Most BMEs that I have talked to had high SAT scores (2200+/33+) and high GPAs (3.8+). But that’s true if most of the undergrads - not just BMEs.
Any suggestions for a student who will start BME in fall? What computer languages are used? Also is it hard to pick a focus in the later years or get into the classes? I know design teams are competitive but is it hard to sign up for other classes?Thanks!
I’ll take any suggestions as well @saif235 My son is also starting in BME in the fall.
@MomLA2018 @4togo4 first of all, congrats!
First of all, keep in mind that the BME curriculum is undergoing some major changes. So I will give my perspective on how things stand as of now, but some course names / sequences may be different.
My main suggestion coming into BME is to keep an open mind. Hopkins BME is hard because it is extremely unorthodox. The BME curriculum is focused on solving biological problems through an engineering lens, so it takes a lot of self motivation and creativity to learn what you need to learn and do well in BME classes. You should also get a good group of BME friends to work with - some problem sets are pretty hard to do by yourself.
To answer the questions in order:
- What computer languages are used?
Every BME is “required” to learn MATLAB at some point - and if you’re not a computational biology focus you’ll probably only every use Python and MATLAB. Computational biology folks tend to take a lot of courses through the CS department and learn / use Java, C, C++, Python, and MATLAB.
- Is it hard to pick a focus are? I don't think so. By sophomore year you generally have a good idea of which aspects of BME you enjoy and which focus area you'd prefer. And of course if you don't know you can go with Systems Biology which is kind of the generalist focus area and contains elements of all the focuses. There is no hard deadline to declare a focus area, so there's no real pressure to make a decision by a specific deadline. Most people have made a commitment by the end of their Junior fall.
- Is it hard to get into classes? BME classes are pretty easy to get into because they know approximately how many BMEs there are and budget the seats accordingly. Other departments don't have that luxury and are more competitive. The CS department for example has been tight for space so they've started giving first pick of courses to declared CS majors and minors and opening registration to the general population once all declared CS majors and minors have had a shot. This makes it harder for a CompBio BME who's not double majoring or minoring in CS to get into some of their focus area courses (but of course if you're doing CompBio and you choose the CS track you may as well pick up the minor). A note on DT: yes it's competitive to get into in a given year, but they're working to expand the program and try to give priority to those who haven't done it before (as an upperclassmen). I don't know anyone who wanted to do DT be frozen out of the program.
One thing I’d like to add (and I hate saying this to incoming students/parents) but be aware of WHY you want to study BME. The Hopkins BME curriculum is very geared towards graduate studies in BME - it’s not designed to be premed friendly or to drive you into the medtech / pharmaceutical industry. If you are inclined towards premed, BME will teach you how to solve problems analytically which can come in handy in med school and beyond, but your GPA may suffer. If you’re inclined towards industry, BME doesn’t give you enough depth in a single engineering discipline to make you an attractive candidate - a decent number of industry oriented folks double major in CS, AMS, or EE to give themselves the depth to go into industry. That being said, I know BMEs who’ve gotten into med schools like Harvard and Hopkins and who’ve gone to work in companies like Medtronic and Genentech.
@saif235 – thanks so much. This info is very helpful. Any recommendations on what course to take to start physics? Would you suggest taking AP placement from Physics C or repeating it with Physics for Physical Scientists?
I would take the AP credit for physics. You won’t need pure mechanics or E&M too much in the upper level courses - and what you may need to know if easily relearned.
Thanks. Do they need to take a higher level physics class instead?
Thanks! @saif235 My son is not premed so it is very helpful to hear that people often double major if they want to work after. I met a BME sophomore who is doubling with Applied Math and he said has been able to find classes that satisfy both BME and Applied Math, but it’s nice to know that it’s possible with other second majors.
@MomLA2018 No - they do have to take a course in Statistical Mechanics & Thermodynamics (called Statistical Physics) but they don’t need to take any higher level physics.
@4togo4 yup, the BME program is flexible enough to allow for some double majors. The most common second majors are CS and AMS. You’ll also see some CE (Computer Engineering) and EE doubles but those are a bit harder. Other majors are pretty difficult to double with.
@saif235 You meniton that the BME program is undergoing a curriculum revision. Would you happen to know how the program is going to change?
It’s a bit hard to describe if you don’t know much about the old program, but I’ll do my best.
Keep in mind that these requirements may not be completely accurate. I’m going off memory here:
The curriculum that ended in Spring 2018 required:
General Eds: General Physics, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry 1, Calculus 1-3, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics (calculus based), 18 Humanities / Social Science credits, and 6 Writing Intensive Credits
Core Courses: BME Modeling and Design, BME In the Real World, Molecules and Cells, Signals Systems and Controls, Models and Simulations, Systems Bioengineering 1-3, Systems Bioengineering Lab 1-2, and Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics
Focus: 21 credits of focus area / BME elective credits based on your chosen focus
Electives: 6 credits of free electives
The new curriculum
- Does not require Organic Chemistry 1 (though premed students will have to take Organic Chemistry 1-2 and Lab)
- Replaces Systems Bioengineering 3 and Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics with a semester long course meant to combine the two.
- The number of focus area credits is increased to account for the loss of Orgo 1, SBE 3, and Thermo
This doesn’t sound like a particularly drastic shift, but it removes a lot of pressure from senior year and adds it to sophomore year. It also increases the feasibility of double majoring and makes life a tad easier for non-premeds. However, some faculty has argued that the program is now much easier than it used to be (and I would not disagree with them)…
Thank you @saif235. I am trying to see what the benefit of these BME programs (Duke & JHU) is. Beyond the intellectual interest and challenge, these programs do not seem to confer benefits that a student couldn’t put together on his own. Do they give you such a leg up in critical thinking? Being able to think well as an MD or captain of industry is probably pretty valuable.
@saif235 - do you have a suggestion for the most useful first year comp science course for a new BME student? The first year BME one? Another one? Thanks!!
@Roseystoney it’s hard to say what the benefit of a BME program is. From a purely utilitarian perspective, BME is (in my experience) never the optimal path (which I mentioned in #5). However the program is very intellectually invigorating - you will be exposed to ideas that you would never see in a more traditional program and you’ll be forced to think in very creative ways to done problems. The latter is certainly useful later in life, but I don’t know that you can’t pick up that problem solving acumem in another program (you’ll just have to sell it out instead of having it be your norm).
@MomLA2018 Before now, I would’ve said Introductory Programming in Java However, the CS department is currently working with the rest of the engineering school to make a more consistent intro programming curriculum across all engineering disciplines. Once that goes into effect that course will be the go-to for BMEs.
@saif235 – Just wondered if you had any thoughts on the 3-1 combined BME bachelors/masters program for a student entering this fall. Is this a common choice? Have over 24 AP credits, which meets the AP requirement, but of course who knows if grades will meet the GPA minimum! Thanks for all your helpful BME posts on here.
That program is relatively new so I don’t know too much about it. I know a few people who are doing it, but it’s not a particularly common path. It doesn’t hurt to express interest in the program on your application if you have the requisite number of credits - you don’t matriculate into the masters program until your 3rd year anyways. If you’re on track to complete a BME degree in 3 years (which many students who come in with a lot of AP credits and plan well are) this isn’t a bad option for you to get the full 4 year college experience and come away with a graduate degree. However, enrolling in this program will make it much harder to complete a double major or minor (if you’re so inclined).
Similar to the bachelors degree you should consider why you want to get the MS - the program is very focused on research and not very well suited to those interested in industry or medicine. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this program unless you have a good reason for getting the Masters (interest in going into academia / medical device R&D or something else that requires a lot of research experience).
@saif235 Organic Chem 1 is still listed as a requirement on the BME website. Just checking because I would hate for my son to take it if it isn’t really required.
@4togo4 the website hasn’t been changed to reflect the curriculum change.