I know a lot of people that go to medical school major in biology. I want to go to med school, but I also want to have a back up plan if med school doesn’t work out. I am interested in Computer Science, Engineering, and medicine, obviously. I was thinking about Biomedical Engineering or even just Computer Science to get into the tech field as a back up. My question is… What is my best option? If I do biomedical engineering or computer science, will it be very hard to maintain the GPA I would need to get into med school? Also, what other tips would you give to someone who is interesting in going to med school?
In most good schools - yes, it is hard to maintain a good GPA in BME or CS.
Only do BME or CS if you are genuinely interested I would say. I am a CS student, and I know it would be hell for anyone who hated it.
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Chance me
SAT: haven’t taken it yet, but expecting around 600 on English and 700 on Math based off of my two psat scores (1300 combined)
Subject Tests: Planning to take Biology and Math II
AP:
Sophomore Year: Computer Science A
Junior Year: Biology, Calculus AB, Physics A, English Lit, APUSH
Senior Year: Planning to take Calculus BC, Chemistry, Spanish Language and Culture, Statistics (Maybe Psychology and US Gov/Politics)
GPA: 4.15 Weighted, 3.6 Unweighted (School does not rank)
EC:
Math Honor Society
Beta Club
Ultimate Frisbee
Spanish Club
JV Volleyball (Sophomore year)
Varsity Track (Freshmen and Sophomore Year)
Other:
State (if domestic applicant): VA (In-State)
School Type: Competitive public school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.): First Generation
I can speak 3 languages fluently.
Concerns: I am not really at the top of my class in terms of GPA or SAT scores.
Planning to apply to:
University of Virginia
College of William and Mary
Virginia Tech
Virginia Commonwealth University\
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It is very difficult to maintain a med school worthy GPA as an Eng’g or CS major.
What are your best and most loved subjects?? The best premed major is one where you’ll get all A’s.
Are you taking the AP exams?
Your UW GPA is rather modest/low for the best schools. Maybe would be ok for VCU. Seems like UW GPA too low for your top 3 schools.
Where else will you apply?
What is your college budget? What are your parents saying about how much they’ll pay each year?
If you’re serious, very serious, about going to med school and it’s not just some passing fancy or parent-picked career path, then you would need to carefully proceed. You’re an ORM, so your stats will have to be excellent for your best chances at a med school acceptance.
I am taking the AP exams. Those are the only 4 schools that I am thinking of at the moment. Are the statistics for each majors available publicly? If so, can someone share links?
Will going to VCU increase my chances of having a higher GPA than going to UVA or VT (if I get in)?
My favorite subjects are science and math. I have an interest in science and I am good in math, in my opinion.
Also, what GPA do I need to get into a good or a top med school?
All med schools are excellent. EVERY single one. The US doesn’t have any “so so” med schools. They’re all excellent and the education is flat. Your goal is to get into at least one med school. Half of the med school applicants don’t get into ANY med schools.
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Will going to VCU increase my chances of having a higher GPA than going to UVA or VT (if I get in)?
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Uh yes. Med schools don’t give a priority to UVA or VT students. A better GPA from VCU is better than a lower GPA from UVA or TV…absolutely.
“Will going to VCU increase my chances of having a higher GPA than going to UVA or VT (if I get in)?”
Although the school attended is not of zero importance, what will increase your chances is a competitive app is all respects (eg, GPAs, MCAT, ECs, LoRs PS, interview). A high GPA from any of the 4 schools coupled with being rude, arrogant, etc during an interview equals Plan B.
And yes, all US med schools are good schools and can serve as a starting point for any pathway in medicine you want.
For clinical medicine, it really does not matter which med school you go to, the graduates from Stanford and UCSF work hand with hand from graduates from Albany or Howard, they are all MD’s.
For medical research, you may have an edge if you go to Stanford or the top tier. If you want to be in the top tier and try to cure the cancer, you’d better to have sterling gpa, at least 3.9 or above. A friend works for Stanford med school told me that there are plenty 4.0 students being turned down.
Okay, so what I am observing is that the most important thing I can do is maintain a high gpa. I would like to have a back up plan so if I cannot go to med school, I have something to do at least. Just to explore my options, what can I major in that can also be useful if I do not make it to med school? I am interested in Science (Biology and Chemistry in particular) and Math.
Math
I second the math recommendation.
With math you can go into biostatistics or if you’re still interested in engineering, you can enter a MS BME program with about 4-6 additional basic engineering classes.
(For the record my daughters were both math majors who went to med school.)
That sounds like a good choice. Is there any thing I can do with that math degree or just use it to continue my education?
There is a lot you can do with the math degree, you should take the applied math route, not the pure theoretical math route. One of the major employee of math graduates is the insurance companies, if you start the actuary route. You also can convert it to a computer programmer and stock brokers hire math majors to forecast the economy or stock prices. I was interviewed for an APL programmer by Goldman Sacks, APL is often used by math majors.
The above are only two of the potential employees for math majors, the opportunities are endless. Biostat as mentioned above, is another choice.
Lots of wonderful information here about applied math jobs–https://www.siam.org/careers/thinking/work.php
One of D1’s math major classmates is an analyst for the local MorganStanley branch. Another models optimal cell tower placement for a cell phone service provider. One went to grad school in meteorology and works for the NWS. Government agencies hire math majors to manage other scientists.
Take a couple of coding classes --or even just learn something like MatLAB of GNU Octave–and you’ll increase your employability. Learn to use a couple statistical software packages (like SPSS or R)–it’ll also increase your marketability.
Which other universities out there are good in math? I know I can know to VCU, but that seems to be my only option if I do not get into the other 3. Also, VT seems far from my house too.
Also, if someone finds it, can you post a link to a site where it shows the courses required to graduate with a bachelors in Biomedical Engineering, CS, and math degree? I was just curious of the courses, but couldn’t find anything when I tried looking for it. Thank you.
URichmond, JMU, UMW, would be good colleges, respectively reach match safety.
Along those lines, you would be urm at St Olaf (match) and Butler (low match).
St Olaf is good for math/premed.
A good pre-med major is a major that is not too easy or insanely hard plus the pre-med requirements. Then just look to do research, physician shadowing, and volunteering as some of your EC’s.
Consider GMU. The coursework for a degree in bioengineering along with premed is 9 semesters but can be completed in four years if you attend class in summer terms. You want to be able to graduate debt free if you want to go to medical school. This is a very rigorous program. They offer tons of medical research opportunities and internships. They also offer a neuroscience, psychology, biology, and computer science degree. If this interests you, make sure to apply Early Action as well as to the honors program. Take a good look at their website and look at all the degrees they have to offer.
http://bioengineering.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BMPH-2016_final.pdf
@raclut Thank you. The link gives me an idea of what I can expect if I actually do it which is very helpful.
The schedule above shows how rigorous your 4.5 years will be. You won’t have any room in your schedule just to pick electives of your choice. There will be added stress on you to maintain a high gpa not just in your premed classes but also in your engineering classes. Low grades in your engineering classes will drop down your overall gpa and your goal is to maintain a high gpa to be considered for med school. On one side you are preparing for admission to med school and on the other hand you are trying to complete the requirements to obtain your bachelor’s degree in another field. You still need time for your ec’s (shadowing, clinical volunteering, research, preparing for the mcat) Even after doing all that admission to med school is not guaranteed.
If you decide to drop premed and just major in biomedical engineering I would recommend majoring in another concentration in engineering and then doing your masters in biomedical engineering.
As you can see the planning and execution gets very complicated. If you major in computer science it is not any easier. It is just as difficult and more complex.
You may delay applying to med school for a year because you haven’t completed all the premed classes required for preparing for the MCAT unless you study on your own. Is that something you are willing to do? I would go for an easier major or start out the first year trying out your premed classes and see how you do.
@raclut are you saying that computer science is a harder major than BME?