Good College for Chemical Engineering Major with a Pre-Med route?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hello CC Community!
I'm a new member here and a senior in HS now.
I'm looking for a college that allows me to undergrad in chemical engineering with a pre-med route.
I know OSU offers this opportunity and a myriad of other schools do too.
I'm maining looking into schools that offer a 100% meeting of needs: <a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I have recently been looking in to LACs and wondering if they offer any opportunities like this?
I know some offer 3-2 programs such as Haverford, but am I able to complete a 3-2 and enroll into a med school after the 5th year with all my prereqs completed?
I'm looking at the LACs of Swarthmore and Haverford - quite prestigious. </p>

<p>Here are my stats for those interested:
31 ACT w/ 12 essay (Planning on retaking in Sept)
730 Math II and Chem on the SAT IIs. (Retaking)
VP FCCLA, Student Senate, and Medical Club.
Secretary of American Cancer Society Youth Ambassadors at HS
Over 600 Volunteer hours at a local hospital.
NHS member
4.45 weighted/3.97 Unweighted
Ranked 3 out of a class of nearly 300.
4 Year Varsity Swimming at HS.
Junior Year - All Ohioan for swimming. </p>

<p>Let me know if you guys need more information!
Anything helps! </p>

2

<p>Premed is nothing more than a set of prerequisite courses you must take for most medical schools to consider your application.</p>

<p>You can major in chemical engineering and take the premed courses (many of which will already be included in the ChemE major) at literally any college.</p>

3

<p>You are off the mark. You’re going about this the wrong way. The preparation that medical schools want to see in applicants is not hard and fast in terms of undergraduate coursework. Of course they want to see excellent performance in your science foundation coursework, but besides General and Organic Chemistry, and Physics, they will thoroughly evaluate any background as long as the grades and MCAT scores are superior.</p>

<p>That being the case, find a school where you believe you’ll be comfortable and thrive. Naturally, some colleges have a great track record of placing their alumni in medical school. But again, a B- average from Yale may not often beat higher test scores from a B+ applicant from St. Olaf College (where a board certified doctor I know got his B.S.) or Xavier U of Louisiana (which has an outstanding med school placement record).</p>

<p>So choose a college that has something extra that appeals to you, be it location, undergraduate research or campus life.</p>

<p>By the way, search 3/2 engineering programs here on CC. Lots of opinions. Personally, I am not impressed by them for reasons I’ve stated before. You are surely aware of the scarcity of engineering departments at LACs. Therefore, investigate some smallish engineering universities to see if they interest you;</p>

<p>Case Western Reserve University
Washington University St. Louis
Saint Louis University
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology
Villanova U
Lafayette College
Carnegie Mellon U
Clarkson University
U of Rochester
U of Tulsa</p>

<p>Getting back to Yale University, obviously it’s a major and prestigious school, although it’s reputation for engineering generally is not gold standard. However, Yale does excel in Chemical Engineering emphasizing biological/medical sciences. Yale, like some of the other Ivies, can have an LAC type of feel to it.</p>

4

<p>@AuraObscura‌, thanks a lot for the reply. I do understand the “pre-med” definition. Any schools you recommend? </p>

<p>@LakeWashington‌, Thank you for the informative reply.
I know WashU in St. Louis is known for rigorous grading, etc. If medical school acceptance is mainly based upon a good MCAT and GPA, are there any schools you recommend with a little grade deflation and preferably from the link I pasted above?</p>

<p>To all: All other college names help! :)</p>

5

<p>Why engineering at all if you intend to go to med school. It’s more rigorous and will require lots of classes that will never be useful again. In my opinion, engineering is one of the worst pre med routes a student can choose.</p>

6

<p>@eyemgh‌, I plan to go into engineering mainly so that I have a fall back for if I do not get into Med School. My friend at OSU is majoring in biomedical engineering and this is also his exact plan. If not engineering, do you have a major recommendation that will be more fit for med school and maybe any college recommendations? </p>

7

<p>The problem with BME and premed is, it’s a flawed plan because the information about BME is misleading. A lot of rising seniors and incoming freshmen believe, BME is an upcoming field, its one the fastest growing fields, and because it’s a field of engineering they will be able to get a job as a BME if med school doesn’t pan out. The reality is, that doesn’t happen, for the following reasons (in no particular order). 1, BME curriculum is too broad, causing graduates to become generalists. Some students believe that is an advantage, but it is actually a disadvantage, because instead of hiring a team of generalists who don’t have enough knowledge, companies form a team of specialists to collaborate. In many cases, a BME grad is overlooked for a MechE ChemE or EE grad.
2 issue, BME is a very small field. This causes a problem because jobs are hard to come by in your field, and higher paying jobs are even harder.</p>

<p>For this reason, many BME grads must go to grad school to work in the field. However, you don’t need a BME undergrad degree for BME post grad degree. Essentially, at this point in time, there is no advantage for BME. </p>

<p>Similarly, the same can be said about students who hedge their bets with med school and BME. If they go to med school, then the bme portion is useless. Alternatively, they don’t go to med school, they would need to do grad school regardless. Essentially, different path, same end point. The difference is, BME is more difficult and longer path for med school compared to bio and biochem. </p>

<p>I’m assuming you understand this to some degree which is why you chose chemical engineering. I advise against it. ChemE is a very intensive major and adding premed courses may make your classes unbearable. There are not many free electives in engineering. Not to mention, the additional coursework may reduce your gpa. Even for engineering, you want your gpa as high as possible. hedging your bets may be detrimental to you. “Chasing two rabbits, catching none” type of deal.</p>

<p>If you are serious about being a physician, the easiest would be biology, second biochem, third chem. In order, they generally have easier course work and less coursework. If you maintain a high gpa high mcat score and do internships your likelyhood to med school is quite good. </p>

8

<p>Pre Med is pretty simple, pay as little as you can, get all the prereqs out of the way, make all As and do very well on the MCAT. Don’t carry a bunch of undergraduate debt because med school (or optometry, podiatry, dent, or pharm) will cost a bunch and aid is not as widely available. </p>

9

<p>You don’t sound interested in ChemE at all - it seems more like you want a major which covers the premed requirements while offering better job prospects than biology should you fail to get into med school. That’s a reasonable course of action, of course, but as mentioned above, you will be compromising your med school chances for something I suspect you don’t really want.</p>

<p>If you have another topic completely unrelated to medical school that you have interest in, you would probably be better off majoring in that - especially if the job prospects are relatively good. If you want something with more direct application to med school, I recommend biochemistry or chemistry. Biochem is definitely more applicable to med school in particular, but chemistry is more quantitative - more error analysis, a more in-depth coverage of physical chemistry, etc. The skills in chemistry are more universally applicable - for example, you are unlikely to use anything from organic chemistry outside of organic chemistry work, but quantitative analysis in classes such as physical chemistry and higher level chemistry courses will definitely be useful in any quantitative field, not just chemistry. </p>

<p>You also want to consider doing medical work during your undergrad, such as volunteering at a hospital. Engineering wouldn’t give you enough time for that.</p>

10

<p>"…are there any schools you recommend with a little grade deflation and preferably from the link I pasted above?"</p>

<p>Don’t know if the schools from your link engage in “grade deflation,” but a few of them provide a very fine Chemical Engineering education:</p>

<p>Vanderbilt University
U of Pennsylvania
Rice University
Northwestern University</p>

<p>The Chemical Engineering department at Rice, like Yale Engineering, has strength in biological/medical research. Also, here’s a suggestion if you think you’re adventurous enough to enroll in college in Alabama. U Alabama-Birmingham (not the football power) is an excellent life sciences/ health sciences university. The UAB Medical School has a very good reputation. UAB doesn’t offer a Chemical Engineering degree. But…they do offer a combined BS/MD program.</p>

<p>UAB does have BME, but as stated above, many folks are of the opinion that an undergraduate BME diploma is not very useful at this time. Take a look to find out if a Materials Engineering degree, combined with some Chemistry coursework, would get you into the BS/MD program at UAB. If you didn’t win admission to the BS/MD program (you apply as a junior, I believe), at least you would have a marketable engineering degree after four years. And of course you could apply to other med schools as well.</p>

<p>Incidentally, UAB is a bargain, tuition-wise.</p>

11

<p>@ninjex‌, Thank you for the very informative reply! Your post is actually making me decide against ChemE or BME. I might as well just major in Chemistry and take on a double minor if I have the time. Thank you very much for the encouragement. Are there any colleges you may recommend with great pre-med advising staff? :slight_smile: </p>

<p>@eyemgh‌, informative and to the point. I have heard people say this very often haha. Any college recommendations? </p>

<p>@LakeWashington‌, from the above posts, I might just plan to drop my plan of majoring ChemE and just major Chemistry. Do you think LACs would prepare me enough for the pre-med? Of course, I will look into the schools you’ve mentioned! </p>

12

<p>No doubt where I’d go, Miami (of Ohio of course). It’s a very good mid sized school with a good honors program that should be very cheap for you. It has a great reputation. The total COA is right at $100k before merit and needs based FA. You’d be eligible for good merit at Miami. Get your ACT up and you’d be eligible for even more. Here’s the link: <a href=“http://miamioh.edu/admission/merit-grid/index.html”>Scholarships | Costs and Financial Aid | Miami University;

<p>Case Western is also a good local option. The education is good and they have a reputation of offering good merit money (my son was offered $100k). The total cost of attendance with $100k in merit is roughly $135k before need based aid.</p>

<p>Kenyon is a great Ohio LAC, but you’ll get minimal to no merit aid. Ditto all the schools on LakeWashington’s list. </p>

<p>Remember, medical school at a public institution in your home state will be over $200k with little to no opportunity for merit aid and very tight needs based aid. The quality of doctor you’ll be has almost nothing to do with where you go to med school and nearly everything to do with how engaged you are keeping up with the ever evolving medical literature.</p>

<p>Good luck. Go Red Hawks. :wink: </p>

13

<p>the good news is bio programs are very common, thus a lot of schools have good-great programs. For financial reason I would say go to the cheapest school with a competitive bio major. If you live in CA, any uc would do and a lot of CSU’s too.</p>

14

<p>Yes, there is a multitude of excellent Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry departments around. Eyemgh is right about Miami University. One of Lake Jr.'s friends applied to the summer undergraduate Chemistry research internship at Miami last year. It’s very hard to get into. For the sciences, let me add a very fine private LAC in your region: Ohio Wesleyan University. I hear chemistry and related sciences at OWU is no cakewalk. Very well respected. There’s also Creighton University in Omaha. But again, if you stick with the life sciences as opposed to engineering, then do not overlook Miami University, a great public option.</p>

15

<p>@eyemgh & @LakeWashington‌, Thank you for the few college options. I do have a friend studying business this coming semester at Miami of Ohio and I have also heard great things about Kenyon and OWU, however, I’m not too fond of Ohio’s colleges besides OSU… haha. (I’m an explorer :)>- ). Are there any other college choices out of state? Even if the tuition costs may be a lot higher and acceptance more selective, I’m still up to hearing other college options! I have a list of a few I am interested in but currently looking for match schools as most of these are all reach.</p>

<p>•UPenn
•Brown
•Yale
•UC Berkeley
•UCLA
•Boston College
•Vanderbilt
•U of Southern Cali
•Northwestern
•Rice</p>

<p>LACs:
•Swarthmore
•Haverford</p>

<p>Safety:
•OSU</p>

<p>My other post is here: <a href=“Chances for me? Big schools, mediocre test scores, high GPA, many ECs! Happy to chance back! - #6 by NROTCgrad - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums”>Chances for me? Big schools, mediocre test scores, high GPA, many ECs! Happy to chance back! - #6 by NROTCgrad - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums;
Thanks in advance! </p>

<p>@ninjex‌, it would be great if I could get into a UC :(</p>

16

<p>If money is no object, then there are LOTS of GREAT schools that would be suitable for premed. </p>

<p>You’d have to first decide if you’re still wedded to engineering. Then you need to decide what size student body you want to mix in with, region of the country, weather, urban, suburban, rural, access to your hobbies, etc. You’re looking for a fit, both academically and just as importantly, for your non-academic interests. </p>

<p>What you’ve listed is a bunch of very different schools that are well regarded by the US News Rankings. That criteria is one, misleading because all rankings are flawed and two, insufficient to find a good fit. Seeing Berkeley and Haverford on the same list is interesting. If you were from Cali, I might get it, otherwise the experience at both schools would be wildly different. The introduction to computer science lecture at UCB has about the same number of students as the whole Haverford student body.</p>

<p>Do a little soul searching about what you want and then with more information we can be of better assistance.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

17

<p>@eyemgh‌, Haha, yeah you got me. I really haven’t narrowed down deeply into the basics of college search. About your claim regarding Berkeley vs Haverford, I do like both colleges and I wouldn’t mind the large class sizes at UCB versus Haverford. My main concern boils down to their pre-med advising regardless of class size. Basically, the preparation towards med school acceptance is more of my concern rather than class size. If I’m able to learn well enough in a large or small class environment, then either is fine. I apologize if this is confusing haha. However, thank you for all of your help so far! </p>

18

<p>There are hundreds upon hundreds of schools that will prepare you for medical school adequately. Forget about that for now. It’s actually the least important part of your search.</p>

<p>Haverford and UCB are both good schools that would adequately prepare you for med school. The experience however will be vastly different at each school. It’s very much like saying I’m in the market for a car and i can’t decide between a chevy half ton truck or a porsche. Both are good in their own right. Don’t tow a trailer with the porsche and don’t take your truck to the track.</p>

19

<p>@eyemgh‌, Great analogy!
You’re genuinely very helpful towards my medical dream!
I’m glad I encountered you here through CC.
I’ll search up colleges, in the meantime, and I’ll let you know if I need anything else. Take care! </p>

20

<p>PM me since this is really the only board on CC that I read and this seems to be trending away from engineering. </p>

<p>Remember, the non-academics, both within the school (intramurals, parties, clubs, etc.) and in the community (hiking, surfing, skiing, restaurants, etc.) are just as much of the college experience as the academics. Don’t get me wrong, school is the reason to be there and you need to stay on top of it, especially as a premed, but if someone tells you that Cornell and RPI are your best choices and you hate cold weather, you’ll be miserable for 4 years.</p>

<p>There are lots of good pre-health options and lots of medical schools. Unless you want to practice in New York City, no one will care where you went to UG or med school. Once you’re hooded and if you have good references, you’ll be fine. </p>

<p>So, turn your search on its head and figure out some of your non-academic wants first. Then look for good schools that fit those criteria.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>