<p>i was accepted to john hopkins undergraduate this year in mechanical engineering, but now i'm leaning towards BME. can i switch into BME, and if so, is there an application or essay process? any links or FAQs would be helpful, thank you</p>
<p>Unfortunately you can not switch into the BME major. The only incoming students eligible to start the BME major are those who specifically applied to the major and were admitted during the ED or RD process. This is our one limited enrollment major and therefore you must be apply and be admitted directly into the major. The application instructions clearly stated this policy. </p>
<p>You may switch into other bioengineering programs such as Biomolecular, Biomaterials, or Biomechanics, but the Whiting School of Engineering will not allow you to switch into Biomedical.</p>
<p>Finally, there will be a slight chance that at the end of your freshman year a few seats in the BME major open up. This is not expected to happen, but if it does students will be provided the opportunity by Engineering Advising to apply for one of those seats. Do not expect this to happen, but do know last year about 12 students did transfer into the BME program for their sophomore year (nearly 100 applied).</p>
<p>Just because you aren't in the BME program and won't officially get a B.S. in BME doesn't mean you can't study BME as a MechE. Let me try to put it in perspective. BME is in some ways a made up major. BME is really just a compilation of several different engineering concentrations (mechanical, electrical, materials, chemical, etc). So say for instance you have a profound interest in the mechanics of BME, aka biomechanics. Studying MechE with a concentration in bio courses (and yes there are a lot of them) will be nearly as effective in getting a BME degree without actually studying BME. There are several BME's that take MechE courses each semester, and you can do the same, take some of their courses if it fits in and you get approval (which shouldn't be too hard). So just because you aren't technically majoring in BME, you can essentially do it anyway through any of the engineering programs at Hopkins, and in the end your degree will hold nearly the same weight as a BME degree in the biotech world and you will be much more versatile if you decide to go another route (say industrial or aerospace). I for one am a MechE who got an internship at one of the leading biotech companies in the world this summer. So it just goes to show you the tremendous versatility of an engineering degree, you don't have to be so worried about picking a particular branch of it because in the end they ALL work together. </p>
<p>hope that helps</p>
<p>well stated spe07!!!</p>
<p>I am one of the 12 students that transferred into BME this year, which Admissions Daniel had mentioned. All I had to do was write an essay about why I wanted to be in the program. The other components of the application consisted of my grades during first semester and course selection. So it is possible to transfer into the BME deparment...but it does depend on how many open spots there are, as previously mentioned.</p>
<p>Have you looked at the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering major? It is pretty similiar to BME and is a great program. Also, while you may not necessarily be able to major in BME, I heard that you can still take BME classes ( I could be wrong, so don't take this too seriously. Maybe someone can clarify this?) You can also do research in the BME department if you are interested in that.</p>