<p>Ultimately, I hope to become an opthamologist, but I would also really like a degree in Engineering, likely mechanical or computer engineering..</p>
<p>Is it possible to do this and also get in the requirements for pre-med.. or is premed not necessarily all that important to get into med school? could i get into a great med school with an engineering degree and some, if not all, of the pre-med requirements complete?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Premed requirements must be satisfied in order to apply to med school. So you have to complete english, bio, chem, organic chem, physics, calc, etc... along with all the major requirements dictated by your computer science/mech major.</p>
<p>I would not recommend it since GPA's of engineers are usually lower, which might hurt you in terms of admissions into med school because GPA and MCATs are significant factors that they weight when considering admissions.</p>
<p>Plus, I'm not sure if it is humanely possible (unless you were an amazing genius) to complete premed requirements and all of the mech/CS requirements all within four yrs without kicking yourself in the butt trying to figure out your schedule and all that. </p>
<p>It is easier for Biomedical engineering majors to do so because they have some requirements that overlap say biology, chemistry, organic chem, or whatever. I am sure mech and CS with premed can be done but I've never seen anyone doing it....mainly because it is tough and the GPA might be the problem.</p>
<p>BME's or biomedical engineering is a hot new field right now and according to the AMCAS, the highest percentage of students accepted into medical schools were BME majors. I would give BME some consideration, schools like Johns Hopkins, Duke, UCSD have top programs etc...</p>
<p>study what you're interested in, don't do BME just because it relates to medical school the most. completing premed requirements is not that bad, i've done it myself as a mechE major and can even graduate in 3.5 years. i would strongly recommend having some AP credit for some subset of bio, chem, or physics. After that, you just have to deal with orgo and possibly some advanced bio courses.</p>
<p>what IS difficult is doing the extra-curriculars if you're not completely committed to medicine. it was a problem for me deciding between exciting engineering internships and being a hospital slave. but if you're set on being an ophthamologist, i see no reason why you can't volunteer at hospitals and do medical research while doing something like ECE or ME as a major.</p>
<p>at the same time, keep in mind that you WILL need to still get As in engineering to be competitive in medical school, which is entirely possible. the difficulty varies based on what type of student you are and only you can gauge if you're up for the challenge.</p>
<p>ive taken all three bio chem and physics but no ap credit. i could try the physics this year but honestly I want to take it in college to really understand it thoroughly.</p>
<p>yeah I was hoping that there would be at least some overlap at least with math..</p>
<p>and i'm probably only going to try this if i go to umd, my state school, because just going for the mech engineering degree i could probably graduate several semesters early if i took full advantage of my ap and summer session credits. also, my gpa at umd has a much greater outlook than it does at, say, uc berkeley, if you know what i mean =]</p>
<p>1337hax0r, i'm really glad you responded, you're an inspiration, =].
After getting the engineering degree, I'd be pretty chill about finishing grad school and getting the doctorate because I could probably land a respectable job.</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Well, I have a natural, visceral instinct to tell people not to be premeds...unless they REALLY REALLY see themselves loving the career path. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that the biggest problem is usually not if you can handle all the requirements, but that by doing two things, you effectively cut down your ability to focus on one...sort of by default! That's not a bad thing if you're sure about medical school, but all the same. I faced a similar decision -- I was going to do an engineering degree at Berkeley just to maintain "easier" career prospects [rather than being an all out math major from the start], and one of the big reasons I switched out very fast is that it was stifling my ability to gain depth in my own major...i.e. jeopardizing chances of math grad school. A really, really, really sharp math graduate student in his 3rd year at Berkeley went to MIT as an undergrad, and tripled in math, econ and CS. The guy, not very humble about most things, easily said that he felt some of his math was weak [though he's really bright and could learn fast] because he couldn't spend as much time on it. And most of his advisers said that often, double majors just won't go to the best math grad schools [though not always the case, as in his example]. </p>
<p>Oh, and please, please be careful of coming to Berkeley as a premed. You don't seem, so to speak, unintellectual, and the prospect of being so incredibly GPA-focused can stifle intellectual initiative, especially in a school whose premed courses are really annoyingly competitive.</p>
<p>"at the same time, keep in mind that you WILL need to still get As in engineering to be competitive in medical school, which is entirely possible. the difficulty varies based on what type of student you are and only you can gauge if you're up for the challenge."</p>
<p>Notice that while it is possible, if you're committed to getting A's in engineering, you won't probably load your schedule with as much engineering as engineering cohorts will. It can get to be a nightmare - my CS friends sometimes end up sleeping in Soda Hall's basement as they work on their projects -- even some of the best of them end up getting overloaded. So if computer engineering is on your list, I'd be especially careful...dreadfully time-sucking thing. </p>
<p>Might I suggest another thing though. What prevents you from just taking the engineering courses you'd like to? Maybe minoring or something. I know at least one guy who's doing a math major, taking the CS courses industry likes to see, and already is doing more in terms of internships and such things than most of my CS friends are. This is a good path <em>if you are not into the idea of grad school in CS or engineering</em>!!! </p>
<p>The best would be to start off figuring out early in your first year, perhaps after taking some classes, what you'd like to do most likely..if med school, double major with some caution, and if grad school, then just go all out with engineering.</p>
<p>Remember many med schools will not accept AP credits. You have to do college level classes with labs. So that means either retake the intro classes or take higher level sci.classes with the possibility of having a difficult time.</p>
<p>"Remember many med schools will not accept AP credits. You have to do college level classes with labs. So that means either retake the intro classes or take higher level sci.classes with the possibility of having a difficult time."</p>
<p>Yeah, and to put it simply, premeds generally will retake some intro courses instead of doing the higher level classes. Doing higher level science classes + engineering + maintaining enough breadth of engineering to go to grad school with + maintaining good enough grades to keep med school an option gets sticky.</p>
<p>Being reminded of that factor, I'd honestly say to choose between the two, so you can really immerse yourself in + potentially enjoy more the courses that matter most for your future. Unless you're one gutsy person split right down the line between the two paths!</p>
<p>It is entirely possible to be pre-med and engineering but as others have pointed out, it will be very rigorous and demanding.</p>
<p>As far as Pre-med requirement, your engineering curriculum will cover most of the math/physics requirement and you will just need OChem/wlab, Biology w/lab, Biochem and some sort of upper division Biology. If you go ChemE, most of these classes will be part of your curriculum anyway. </p>
<p>One thing I suggest is that you look into BME (Biomedical Engineering). The curriculum typically fullfills all premed requirements and since you are interested in ophthalmology, there are often opportunities in researching bioimaging, lenses and etc. </p>
<p>The hardest thing about Premed/engineering is that you need a high GPA to be competitive for medical school. a 3.6/3.7 might be low for a premed but pretty damn high for an engineer.</p>
<p>I've got a question. If I did Chemical Engineering, would it be possible to do pre-med? All the chemistry, o-chem, physics, and math would be covered in my major and all I would have to do is take 2 semesters of biology.</p>
<p>Avman,</p>
<p>I'm BME with pre-med and a ChemE minor. It is quite possible to fulfill the pre-med requirements -- look at the departmental websites for the schools you are interested in -- they'll list the requirements for ChemE with a pre-med option.</p>
<p>I was initially going to major in bio or chem like all other pre meds, but realized that I would only be pursuing those majors because others do. I realized that I had a far greater interest in engineering, since my two passions are math and science. Would it be possible to major in mechanical engineering and complete all pre reqs, while still graduating in four years, or would it be best to extend study to five years. Thanks.</p>
<p>if you want to be a doctor then become a doctor and forget the engineering degree. Study what comes the easiest and most natural to you, which is Biology for most people. All that matters are grades, though you may already know that.</p>
<p>Heres a scenario. </p>
<p>Students A and B go to the same University.
Student A studies Engineering +premed and has a 3.79 GPA
Student B studies photography + premed and has 3.80 GPA</p>
<p>Student B will be chosen every time, even though the engineering curriculum is known to be drastically harder than photography.</p>
<p>Just become a doctor if you want to be one, theres no in between. You are only hurting yourself in the long run. Most engineering students are burnt out upon graduation and to think you would need to go right into med school. Its just not worth it. Study something like Bio which is tailored for such.</p>
<p>Which degree plan is harder: Majoring in biology and trying to ace the MCAT to get into medical school or majoring in EE and trying to get a high GPA all 4 years?</p>
<p>The fact that the Bio degree will actually help you with the MCAT makes that route a lot easier. At My U the Valedictorian of the EE department was a Indian girl and she had a 3.63. It doesn't come easy, its hard. You will try and study engineering, but these are technical classes, then on the side you will try and do the pre-med req's. Something has got to give. </p>
<p>Or you can make nothing give and take the easy route and ensure you get into med school. Admission committees are interested in the candidates that are a sure thing and the candidates who know that they want to be a doctor. Going into engineering, doesn't speed confidence, it speaks uncertainty.</p>
<p>What are the options if I major in Biology and do not get a high enough score on the MCAT to get into medical school? I would probably have to waste another year and get a Masters in Public Health. What kind of job would be open if I had a Masters in Public Health. I want to be able to make good money to support a family after about 3-4 years after graduating.</p>
<p>Why would you even consider getting an MPH if you don't know what to do with it?</p>