Chemical Engineering vs. Biomedical Engineering

College Search & Selection
1

I am a high school senior who will be attending a top 15 public university in the fall with the intent to study BME. I have considered medical school as a possibility, but am not entirely sure at the moment.

My problem is that I’m torn between ChemE and BME. I was wondering which major is better for someone who shares an interest in both fields, but also may want to go on to medical school (considering undergrad GPA, research, MCAT, ECs, etc.)

Thanks.

2

It doesn’t matter which one you choose if your goal is med school. Med schools won’t care either way.

Neither major will make a difference MCAT wise. They’re both hard majors, so GPA-wise won’t matter either.

If you don’t end up going to med school, then a ChemE degree would give you more options.

mother of a med student who was a ChemE major.

3

mom2collegekids,
Thanks for the reply.

Will either of the two majors better prepare one for medical school? It seems that BME overlaps better with the premed requisites, which means less additional prereq courses than ChemE major. Does this make BME any better or “easier” than ChemE as a premed major?

4

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It seems that BME overlaps better with the premed requisites, which means less additional prereq courses than ChemE major.


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Not really. ChemE overlaps very well with the premed prereqs. I don’t think my son took any extra classes. His school even had a ChemE premed track.


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Will either of the two majors better prepare one for medical school? It

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No. Undergrad doesn’t prepare anyone for med school. It really doesn’t matter which way you go. However, ChemE will give you a lot more options if you don’t go to med school.

5

Hmm there are some differences between them but nothing that would matter for you… You know what, since Chem engineering deals with a bit more industries, go with it! It won’t matter for med but it will give you a broader knowledge that can be applied to more industries which should make you a more useful person in general! :slight_smile: Though it really doesn’t matter that much so don’t worry. Also, take a look at their curriculums. They overlap a lot but choose the one that has more interesting courses for you :slight_smile:

6

My son is a ChemE major at Georgia Tech. He told me that, at GT, the ChemE curriculum overlaps with the pre-med requirements better than BME.