<p>Which major will give me a better shot at getting a 3.5+ GPA, Bioengin. Premed or Biochemistry? Overall how much more work do you have to put in to both, respectively? Do med schools prefer students with a bioengineering degree over just biochem??</p>
<p>Bioeng is the most prestigious of the Pre-med majors in UCSD, but because of the broad breadth and overall difficulty of the Chem, Bio, and Engineering classes, it's also one of the most difficult to pull off a decent major GPA.</p>
<p>ok but what do med schools like?</p>
<p>I've heard from some people that a 3.5+ GPA depends what kind of classes/major you are. A 3.5 as a Bio major is probably a lot easier than a 3.2 in a Bioengineering major, but medical schools should know the differing degrees of difficulty of these two majors. Doesn't UCSF do something where they recalibrate the GPA to account for grade inflation/deflation?</p>
<p>Majoring in BioE is not going to impress medical schools.
A useful source for pre-health majors is studentdoctor.net</p>
<p>Besides the fact that it does not impress medical schools, you'll be at a disadvantage. Engineering courses are tough and they will savage your GPA unless you can handle both the pre-med competition and engineering course difficulty.</p>
<p>Chem or Bio, or anything with science.</p>
<p>what about majoring in BioE: premedical? any disadvantages besides engineering classes are hard? any possible advantages?</p>
<p>^ I'd like to know also-
If I attend UCSD this fall I'll be majoring in BioE: premed but if I go to USC then I'll be majoring in Biology</p>
<p>My guess is that it's going to be harder for me to earn a 3.5+ GPA at SD than at USC.
But what about research/internship opportunities? I know SD should be in more advantage for those, but I also would like the personal attention from a private...</p>
<p>If at USC the curve for Bio classes are easier than the curve at SD's bioE premed classes, and USC gives me enough attention (though i'll definitely be seeking them not sitting and waiting) and research/internship opportunities, then I'm going to pick USC over SD.. for the sake of my GPA.</p>
<p>Why would you think USC would not have good research opportunities with a medical school there?</p>
<p>Such a common misconception that medical schools want you to major in science. I've actually heard (don't quote me on this, I don't know if it's true) that they actually like if you DON'T major in science, because it means you're more well-rounded. Of course, you still have to take the prerequisites like Chem, Calc, Bio, Physics, etc. But majoring in like the humanities or a social science may actually give you an edge, and at the very least, medical schools don't care what you major in as long as you've fulfilled their prerequisites.</p>