<p>I want to do engineering while preparing for Medical school, but how exactly could I get experience for both fields? If I don't make it into Med school, I'd want to have engineering experience I could use with my degree. If I apply for med school though, I'd want clinical volunteering, shadowing or w/e and probably not engineering internships?</p>
<p>You know, sometimes you just have to place your money and take your chances…</p>
<p>If you want to be engineer–fine. If you want to be a doctor–fine. But you can’t spend your entire undergrad career trying your hardest not to choose. Sooner or later you’re going to need to commit to one or the other.</p>
<p>You would probably be best served by getting experience in each area early on in your undergrad career. Since it’s easier to get clinical volunteering than to get an engineering internship, start doing volunteering as a freshman, preferably first semester. Join the pre-med club at your school and actually attend the meetings and go to the lectures. Go to the pre-med advising meetings. You’ll start to get a feel as to whether this career is for you. Many, many high school students think they want to be a doctor but when it gets to the nitty-gritty find out they really don’t. (Same is true for engineering. Lots of kids good at science and math think they want to be engineers–until they get a real taste of it and then they don’t.)</p>
<p>At the end of freshman year, look for a summer research position in the engineering dept. Find out if you like doing engineering type of activities.</p>
<p>Once you have developed a feel for the kinds of things you like and don’t, then you’ll be in a better position to make thoughtful choices.</p>
<p>Try to relax a bit. Lots of things may change once you actually get to college. You don’t have to map out your entire future today.</p>
<p>P.S. An at your age, there only a very few decisions that are truly irrevocable. </p>
<p>You career path might not be optimal (in terms of quickest and most cost effective), but life isn’t efficient. </p>
<p>I can give you examples of people who have done it both ways. Followed the pre med path, then went to grad school in engineering despite not majoring in it as an undergrad. Engineering majors who worked as engineers and then went to med school a couple of years later.</p>
<p>Also, what kind of engineering are we talking? Obviously BME is going to be easy to cross into pre-med, EE or CE might be a little harder.</p>
<p>Well I’m currently submitted as an electrical engineering major. But I’m thinking about switching to Biomedical engineering to get the best of both worlds</p>
<p>Engineering has become a popular major for pre-meds, and many of the core engineering requirements overlap the basic course requirements for medical school, e.g., calc, physics, chemistry. The only additional chem requirement for most med schools is organic, which most likely will be a requirement for bioengineering. The biggest disadvantage is that most engineering schools are more demanding that the average college of arts and crafts, so a high GPA will be challenging.</p>
<p>Yup, that’s exactly my dilemma. I’d like to do engineering, but I risk my GPA doing so</p>
<p>Yodelo- Plenty of good advice on this forum. Check other threads here and on engineering forum. I think that it is possible to prep for a viable engineeering career and for application to med school, but it is not for the faint of heart. Most engineering degrees are 5 year programs to allow for co-ops/internships and rigid class sequences. Throw in time for extra classes to meet med school prerequisites, then med school and residency, and you are in for a long haul. </p>
<p>If you choose biomed, you are probably looking at a masters degree too if you really want to be employable in engineering. Also, biomed interships can be harder to come by than internships for other engineering fileds. </p>
<p>DS is chem engineering/pre-med. He will graduate in 4 years thanks to plenty of AP credit, and a willingness to take summer general ed classes online while working/researching/volunteering. Ideally, you’d start medical volunteer work and shadowing right way, start medical/engineering research by your second year, and find engineering/medically-related co-ops or internships by your third year. Whether you find these opportunities depends on what school you attend, how aggressively you seek out opportunities, and how qualified you are. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>You can have engineering internships during summer and do your Medical ones during schools year. It is going to be very tough though as engineering majors are hardest of all UG majors. D. did all her EC (she had almost insane amount according to her pre-med advisor) during school year, but she was NOT engineering major, although she had Minor (which was easy for her). She did close to nothing in all her summers, did not take single summer class. We do not have any aopportunities in our home town, even volunteering positions have waiting lists.<br>
So, I woud say that it is possible but will be very tough. Keep in mind that you college GPA and MCAT score are you priority number one if you seriously thinking about applying to Med. School. Best wishes!</p>