Is biomedical engineering bad for pre-meds/ someone who wants a social life??

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hello everyone!! Thank you for reading my post.</p>

<p>During the fall of next year, I will (probably) be going to Case Western Reserve U. I got a big scholarship, and have postponed admission for a year and am now taking a gap year. </p>

<p>I never really wanted to go to the school and am trying to get out of it, and am only going because of the scholarship money I received (see the long post about it here and contribute to the discussion--any extra advice is helpful: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1387754-re-applying-new-college-during-gap-year.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1387754-re-applying-new-college-during-gap-year.html&lt;/a&gt;) and the reputation Case's BME program has. </p>

<p>Majoring in BME was something my dad suggested, because I wanted to be pre-med, but needed have a backup plan if I didn't get into med school or changed my mind. I was told that one can get much more out of a B.S. in engineering than in something like biology or chemistry, (in terms of job prospects and pay) and bme is ideal because some of the pre-med requirements overlap the bme requirements. The future in engineering degrees I also was told looks very bright, especially in the economy my generation will be dealing with when we graduate. Naturally, with this info I thought there was no better choice for an aspiring pre-med than to major in bme. </p>

<p>But now I’m having second thoughts for many reasons:</p>

<ol>
<li> For starters, my high school life was spent focusing on playing my sport and school work. My parents really pushed me and I never really got to do much of what I wanted unless it was related to school or my sport, and I didn't have many close friends or hobbies. I was expected to be mature and responsible at a young age, and was deprived of my youth to some degree--everything was success oriented. </li>
</ol>

<p>I wanted to make up for what I lacked in social life in high school by exploring my interests in college--partying, experimenting, finding hobbies and joining clubs to discover my interests, getting a part time job, going crazy, being young and a bit irresponsible. But I’ve heard engineers spend the majority of their time studying, and most engineers are nerds. There is nothing wrong with nerds, but I’ve spent a lot of my time in classes with them and I don't want to go into a field where the majority of people are "introverted" or "nerdy" and don't have time to party, work, or go out much.</p>

<p>I’m very aware that it’s a stereotype, and every single engineer is not like that, but as in my experience, a lot are this way. I have heard arguments about that statement being true and false, but I do know for a fact that it is hard to balance a fruitful social life with a very academically focused life. It is possible, but stressful, and to do it well is hard and in order to do it well one must be gifted to some degree. I know it would stress me out cause academics mean a lot to me and would end up coming first and id be trapped in high school all over again. Plus, I want to work some in school as well, which would be hard as an engineer.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I hear engineering kills your GPA for med school. My goal is to be a surgeon, not an engineer, so wouldn't this "back-up plan" back fire? Wouldn’t I be forced to go into engineering if I ended up with a low GPA because I wouldn't be able to get into med school? Wouldn’t I be stressed out AALLLL the time about this and be putting in extra hours that I could put towards another activity to keep up my GPA for med school? </p></li>
<li><p>This one is about the school I’m supposed to attend and other engineering schools--what if I decide engineering isn't for me? Case western is DEFINATELY a techy school (so is GA tech) so if I didn't want to do bme, what would I do/turn to then? I would be stuck at a school that wasn't very strong in anything but its engineering programs with not a lot of other options to explore my interests. I don't really like case western, so not only would I be stuck at a school that is mainly only strong in a field of study I no longer wanted to pursue, but I would also be stuck at a school with a social atmosphere that is reputed to be largely lacking (I heard that most people at Case fall under the introvert stereotype, and that parties are rare). Also, if my GPA is ruined by a couple semesters of bme required classes, how would I recover?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>My other fear, however, is on the flip side. A B.S. in other majors seems to be a lot less valuable when you compare them to engineering. If not for the fact that I HEARD that a B.S. in psychology gets you NO WHERE and to get a decent job one has to get a PHD at the very least, that’s what I would do, especially if I was told it would help me get into med school. In your junior and senior years as an engineering major, you get to co-op and intern at companies, essentially securing you a place at a company with a job after you graduate. But with a B.S. in psychology, not getting accepted into med school would be detrimental in terms of job prospects for the future. Even if I was able to get into med school, but wanted to work for a few years to save up funds for med school, could I do it with a B.S. in psychology vs. a B.S. in BME?</p>

<p>So I’m very conflicted--bme for pre-med or something else? if I don't major in bme, I would have the opportunity to have fun in college and it would be much more likely that I would be able to keep my gpa high for med school--however, if I don't get in, getting a job after college will be hell and job prospects will be steep, ESPECIALLY majoring in something like psychology.</p>

<p>On the flip-side, if I major in bme I would have a secure future, whether going into medicine works out or not. but by the time I graduated college, I would be drained, exhausted, and I probably would not have gotten to enjoy the luxury of being a bit irresponsible and getting partying out of my system before I went into the working world. and I may enter adulthood wondering "what if", never have been able to explore as many interests as I wanted or ever getting to spend my youth as I wanted.</p>

<p>if it were you, what would you do what do? you think is my better option?</p>

<p>Thanks for any comments or advice on this topic!! I might also post it in a different forum if need be.</p>

2

<p>1) It’s very possibly to juggle having social life, majoring in engineering, doing well academically, getting involved in expected pre med ECs and play sports (if that’s what you want). BUT your time management skills are going to have to very good and you’re going to need to demonstrate maturity and a good deal of self-discipline.</p>

<p>For example, if you need to get a head start on project for class because you’ll be traveling for a away sport meet, then the Thursday night pre-weekend partying will have to get postponed.</p>

<p>You may find one thing on the above list has to go, but I have known kids [my own, for example] who have done it all. (Not sure much sleep they got, but they succeeded.) </p>

<p>Both of kiddos (math & physics, math & neuro double majors respectively) never spent a single Friday night in the library studying in their college years. Neither will you if you have time management/self-discipline/work ethics skills.</p>

<p>2) An engineering major can be a GPA killer BUT ONLY IF YOU LET IT. There are engineers who graduate with 4.0. Will you be one of them? Too early to tell.</p>

<p>If engineering is what your mind says to major in, give a shot it and see IF you like it. (Many people don’t.) Once you decide if you like engineering and if you can judge if you’re going to be able to do well academically, then you can revisit the whole “what should I major in?” question.</p>

<p>3) CWR is not a techy school.<a href=“Well%20not%20like%20GA%20Tech,%20Colorado%20School%20of%20Mines,%20MIT,%20Rose%20Hulman%20or%20CalTech%20where%20if%20you%20aren’t%20an%20engineering%20or%20hard%20science%20major%20you’re%20SOL.”>/u</a>. It offers a diverse range of majors, including some surprisingly good fine arts programs. Its bio major is also well-respected. I’m sure you can find something there you might like. If not, you always have the option to transfer later on. (Though FA for transfers isn’t very good.)</p>

<p>Hearay is hearsay. Don’t believe everything you hear. </p>

<p>I can’t speak from personal knowledge about the social atmosphere of CWR, but you might try asking people who actually attend there. (Try the CWR forum.) I know people who attended a variety of really hard core techy schools (including MIT and CalTech)–there were parties there I can assure you. </p>

<p>Psych grads are having a tough time in the current job market, but so are most college grads. Whether you’ll be able to find a job after graduation is up to you and how well you prepare yourself (by doing internships and developing a resume full of practical skills that businesses desire). Psych majors do get jobs. </p>

<p>Besides you haven’t clue yet what kind of job you actually want after college graduation…</p>

<p>BTW, the job outlook for Psych PhDs isn’t terribly good either, plus you’ve spent 7-10 years of life in grad school possibly taking on additional debt. Outlook for clinical psych (PsyD) is better, but it still requires 5+ years of grad school–which you will have to pay for. </p>

<p>On the whole, you sound like you have a bad case of buyer’s remorse/cold feet/immaturity. Stop panicking and start planning. Think about what’s really important to you. Make a list, decide what you can let go of and what’s “mission critical” for your long-term goals.</p>

<p>P.S. Who said that med students don’t party? (According to D1 who’s a 2nd year med student–there be some awesome parties after exams.)</p>

3

<p>Depends on your math skills, OP. </p>

<p>A ~1900 SAT score, unless unbalanced (i.e., 750+ on Math), does not bode well for success in a top tier engineering program. (Nor does it bode well for the mcat, for that matter.)</p>

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<p>WayOutWestMom–thanks for the advice and support! I certainly will ‘test the waters’ before i jump all the way into BME but what if i don’t want to take the engineering credits right away? will i be behind in graduating?</p>

<p>also i HEAR what you say about CWR not being a techy school, but several people keep telling me the same thing over and over–Case Western is a nerdy place. i know i shouldn’t believe everything ppl say, and i don’t–however, when you hear many people telling you the same thing over and over (and not by people passing on rumors–alumni, current students, parents of currents students, employees ect) you begin to wonder if it’s true. i do have cold feet, and id love to be proven wrong about my thoughts about Case–but id rather go in preparing for the worst and only be met with pleasant surprises than to have my hopes high and be continually disappointed.</p>

<p>bluebayou–stop being such a donwer on my posts! what do you know what my success will be! why don’t you ACTUALLY answer my question instead of saying i won’t do well!!</p>

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<p>All engineering majors have a fairly rigid lockstep curriculum. If you don’t start out in engineering you will be behind in terms of graduating on time.</p>

<p>Much easier to start in engineering and switch out than to try to switch in later on.</p>

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<p>that’s what i think i will do, hopefully my gpa wont be killed too much if i decide to switch out. </p>

<p>but you’re telling me that it IS indeed possible to balance a social life with doing bme AND still have a high gpa? only time will tell if BME is something i still really want to do, but a lot of people i know have sucess stories with careers in BME, so i’m only looking to having a good future after i graduate and to keep my options open.</p>

7

<p>The standing joke is that BME stands for Business Major Eventually. A lot of people try and a lot of people fail. </p>

<p>It is a very tough major at Case (or any top-tier school). It is a shock to many high-schools students how hard it is.</p>

<p>Earlier comments about it being possible to balance school and outside activities are spot on. You need to have excellent time management skills. It doesn’t hurt if you are a student who understands things quickly i.e. you don’t have to re-read lecture notes and text books. </p>

<p>While Case may not be as nerdy as some, the average engineering student there is very bright and very driven. Also - there is very little grade inflation at Case.
Something to keep in mind.</p>

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<p>bluebayou is right and you would do well to heed the advice. If you’re not strong in math than you’re going to have a very difficult time majoring in engineering (much more difficult than if you were good at math at least). Same goes with science.</p>

9

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<p>You are correct. I do not know anything about any anonymous poster (nor you). But I do know about averages. And the average ~600 math student will struggle mightily at a top Engineering school, such as Case. The students who earn most of the A’s are in the 700+ category, and enter with Calc BC under their belts. And note, 25% of the students at Case had a 740+ SAT math score. That is the competitive cohort for the As that you will need for premed. (You can earn C’s and still graduate and become a successful biomedical engineer, but a sub-3.0 gpa will not suffice for professional schools.)</p>

<p>Can you beat the averages? Sure. Will you? (No one can possibly say.)</p>

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<p>i’m really good in math and science–trust me, i took college algerbra and statistics at a university or dual enrollment and aced them my senior year. however, i didn’t prep well for the SAT, and only took it twice because i graduated early and i was crunched for time during application season. that’s why i had a 3.8/3.9 out of 4.0 unweighted for my gpa and only a 1910 on my SAT. i pick up math concepts pretty quickly, and am someone who isn’t discouraged easily. though i agree i won’t know for sure until i try.</p>

<p>but you can’t knock it till you try it!!</p>

<p>also, what do you mean by grade inflation starfire75?</p>

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<p>BMEPREMEDgirl–you do realize that most your classmates will have had 1-2 semesters of calculus and stats before they start classes with you next fall. These will be your competition.</p>

<p>If you haven’t had pre-calc, much less a full semester of calc, you will be at pretty grevious disadvantage w/r/t your fellow engineering students and competitors.</p>

<p>If you are serious in your plan to major in BME, please do yourself a favor and take Calc 1 & 2 now during your gap year.</p>

<p>~~~~</p>

<p>RE: grade inflation–some school are know to grade easier than others (grade inflation) and some are known to grade harder than others (grade deflation).</p>

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<p>WayOutWestMom–I am trying to find a way to do that, whether it be teaching it to myself using library books or getting a tutor. That is only AFTER I apply to colleges and finish with SAT prep–remember I have a WHOLEE year. The only thing I will be doing is volunteering and MAYBE working, other than that I will be sitting at home. So I will try to utilize calculus and physics resources to get myself at the same science/math level as my peers, maybe even further ahead. But again, there is no rush in my opinion, and my schedule is pretty empty.</p>

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<p>Here is what I gleened from quickly reading your post: you graduated early, your gpa was 3.9?/4.0, but you don’t know if you really want to major in engineering because it’s a lot of work and may be a drag on your social life. Well, it’s all about priorities. </p>

<p>If you want to focus on grades and courses and career, then college is that next step to take. But, that doesn’t seem to have much charm for you. In fact, it sounds like you really do not want to do that. You often blame your parents/dad for pushing you to 1) accept Case 2) major in BME. How about see that college will really be up to you? For you, it seems that your view will be that college will be an opportunity to socialize, party, and “find yourself”. That’s fine too, but with that focus, it may be less likely you’ll manage to get those top grades. Again, it’s just a matter of priorities.</p>

<p>BTW, my son got 800 in his math SAT I and SAT II, had taken AP Calc, got a 5, and yet in college, he said calc was one of his hardest courses.</p>

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<p>OP–unless you’re some sort of math phenom, you really need the structure of class and the assistance of a good teacher for calculus. It’s a non-intuitive kind of math with many difficult visualizations and concepts.</p>

<p>By contrast, stats is easy. Heck I had to take stats to completed my MLIS a few years ago. I passed with an A- without too much trouble, despite the fact my last formal math class was over 25 years ago. (Calc 2 where I got a D.)</p>

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<p>It is actually a very bad choice for planning to go to med school. And if you are not that interested in it, it will be worst. The medical schools want to see that you met the minimum requirements, have good grades, and scored well on the MCATs. Most BME don’t even end up admitted. It is hard to keep the higher GPAs in the BME that people applying to med school need to get in. You will be competing against people with far easier degrees, therefore, better GPAs. You might not be happy when someone with a history degree gets in and you don’t, because they have a better gpa.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice, taking it with a tutor will probably be better then. Do you know if I should take an online class, or do you think taking it at a community college or something would be better? If I take it for credit, then I loose my scholarship at Case Western. Is there a way around that?</p>

<p>Trust me Limabeans, school is my number 1 focus, always my priority, but I did BME because it sounds like a smart idea, and I WANT to plan smart for the future. Though I didn’t want to go to Case, I understood that its the best option finances wise, especially for BME. If I told my dad I wanted to go elsewhere, he would say “find the money yourself” because passing up a 22,500$ scholarship to go elsewhere and pay full tuition is just dumb in this economy.</p>

<p>Like I said in my first post, I had NO SOCIAL LIFE in high school and now I want to enjoy some of a social life in college. All work and know play makes jack a dull boy. I was just asking if it was feasible to do both–have a social life AND do well in BME</p>

<p>Imkh70–that fear is what drove me to write this post, but I do think I would like BME, even if it was hard. My plan is to try it, and see if I like it and see if I can do it. If not, I’ll switch. Simple. But if I already didn’t like Case, going to a school that isnt very socially vibrant and being stuck there majoring in history sounds like pure misery. But im not one to give up easy. If I find out that BME isn’t for me though, I’ll switch without hesitation.</p>

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<p>Two choices if you can’t earn any college credits–take it as an online high school level AP class (maybe audit it) or audit the class at a CC. (While an audit earns no credit, it will generate a transcript. If the terms of your scholarship are very narrow, then this might violate the restriction. Please check with the scholarship office to make sure this won’t cause a problem.)</p>

<p>And usually students see an audit as a free pass not to go to class and not to do the classwork. Don’t do that. Work thru the assignments and do go to class.</p>

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<p>Which one costs more? I know an online AP class can run 500+ $'s (I took one last summer–not fun)…plus, a lot of it is busy work. however I want it to be easy in order for me to understand the basics well, so I dont need AP or anything. I don’t want pointless busy work, just enough for me to learn it well. Would a class a CC be cheaper or easier? I know college level classes move faster, but I want to UNDERSTAND it and learn it well–perhaps even mastering it.</p>

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<p>If by busywork, you mean homework…math requires lots of practice so you get fast at it. Seriously, the only way to get good at calc is to do tons and tons of problems. (Both my kids were math majors and they both say this.) Skimping on homework sets will come back later to bite you on the butt.</p>

<p>An audited class costs the same a a class-for-credit at the local CC. So it depends on what your local community college charges per credit.</p>

20

<p>Homework isn’t an issue, but I know with online classes they have you do a lot more written work to make up for the time that you don’t spend in class. </p>

<p>I guess I’ll check with my local CC</p>