<p>I'm currently Junior and I'm making a list of the colleges/universities I want to go to. Most of the colleges on the list don't offer Biomedical Engineering but instead Mechanical. I was wondering, if I don't get into a school with Biomedical Engineering, is it ok to just get a BS in Mechanical Engineering then get a Masters or Ph.D in Biomedical Engineering because I don't want to waste four years in undergrad. school for Mechanical Eng. if it's not going to do me any good but people told me it's better of to just get a BS Mechanical then advance into Biomedical. </p>
<p>Should I just hope I get into a school with Biomedical Engineering? LOL</p>
<p>Which college path is the right way to go; BS then Ph.D in Biomedical Eng. or BS in Mechanical Eng. then Ph.D in Biomedical Eng. ?</p>
<p>After you get a Ph.D. In something, no one will give a rat’s behind what you studied for your BS. Take the path that interests you.</p>
<p>Second, and most important, don’t make an undergraduate college choice based on the assumption that you will get a Ph.D. Most of the time people decide against it so make sure you are happy with your choice purely as an undergraduate field of study.</p>
<p>There really aren’t very many prospects for bachelor’s degrees in BME. Many people seem to do PhDs or MDs afterwards. I think there’s somewhat of a “Jack of all trades, master of none” thing going on. So yeah, it’s probably best to focus on the subfield of BME you are interested in, which is ME.</p>
<p>@boneh3ad so are you saying that since I have an interest in Biomedical Engineering more than Mechanical, I should just study BME as an undergraduate field of study rather than ME?</p>
<p>I am saying look at the jobs available to someone with an undergraduate degree in all the fields you are considering and take that into consideration. It is fine to have an ultimate goal of getting a Ph.D. in BME, but you can’t bank on that, so find a list of candidate fields of study that can lead to a Ph.D. in BME, and then make sure that in each field, should you change your mind, you would be fine doing those sorts of jobs available to those who hold a BS in that field.</p>
<ul>
<li>What other engineering is closest to your area of interest in biomedical engineering (may be mechanical, chemical, materials, etc.).</li>
<li>Bachelor’s degree job prospects of biomedical engineering versus other engineering.</li>
<li>What PhD programs in biomedical engineering look for in terms of undergraduate preparation (check their web sites).</li>
<li>In other engineering majors, check the course and curriculum options to see if elective courses for your biomedical interests are available.</li>
</ul>