<p>I will be attending the University of Maryland College Park this Fall 2011 as a freshman and I am currently signed up as a bioengineering major. I want to do pre-med and I want to go to medical school (at least right now). Bioengineering truly does seem like an interesting field to me right now, but my concern is that the engineering courses will be detrimental to my GPA, which seems to be one of the top concerns of medical school admissions committees. I have even heard that adcoms don't care about the rigor of your major, they just care about the GPA, the number itself. Is there any truth to this? </p>
<p>Also, I am thinking about switching my major to chemistry or biochemistry. Both of these major are challenging, but they seem to be less demanding than the bioengineering major. This way, I will have more time for clinical extracurriculars and research. </p>
<p>Is this a wise choice? If I don't go to medical school for some reason, what kind of job prospects am I looking at with a chemistry or biochemistry major?</p>