<p>I'm a high school senior planning to go to UC Berkeley as a mechanical engineering major if I get accepted. But I'm also interested in the medical field and wonder if majoring in ME as a pre-med is irrelevant or impossible. I've heard that the best engineering major for a pre-med is bioengineering. And I've also heard that being an engineering and pre-med student at UCB is extremely difficult since UCB is known for its harsh grading. Should I give up on my pre-med dream and just go into engineering? Or should I consider both ME and pre-med?</p>
<p>first major doesn't matter much to the medical schools. The majors of matriculants are in nearly an identical ratio to the majors of applicants. So if you want to do mechE, do mechE. </p>
<p>Is being an engineer the easiest major for a pre-med? No, but I think you knew that already. If you're passionate about it, find it interesting and can do well, then by all means go for it. </p>
<p>Finally, remember that just b/c you start as ME, doesn't mean you have to finish as ME. </p>
<p>Personally, I think you should try the ME/pre-med, but be looking at which you really want to do the most, and then work to make that specific choice happen. That is not, I REPEAT, not saying you can't or shouldn't be pre-med as an ME, just that you should examine your choice and make sure it's the right thing for you.</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice. I'm really passionate about ME and if I get into UCB, I'll definitely stick with it. But if I do ME and pre-med, would I be able to finish all my prerequisites for med school in four years? I'm not really sure on the process of getting into med school, but I know that there is a set of seven courses or so, like chem, organic chem, calculus, biology, etc, that I have to take and also the MCAT and maintaining a high G.P.A. And the weeding out process that happens to freshman engineering and pre-med students?</p>
<p>2 semesters of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics each. All need labs attached to them.</p>
<p>Most schools require at least a semester of math, and calc is usually enough. Some schools do require a year of math, but typically a semester of calc and a semester of stats are sufficient. Very few schools require 2 semesters of calc. Most schools require some general humanities and social science credits but the hours vary - but they do want you to be well rounded. Most typical requirement is 2 semesters of english, of which one should/must be a writing/composition course. Some schools do require some higher level science courses such as semester or two of biochem or a semester of genetics.</p>
<p>Will you be able to put all those in during 4 years? depends a lot on the requirements of ME. Some of my friends who were ME at my alma mater had very little freedom of choosing electives and still struggled to finish in 5 years. Will that be the case for you? I don't know, but it could be. I wouldn't worry about the length of time you are in school - if you want to be a doctor, youre going to be there for a while anyways, and if it's what you really want to do, then you should be willing to make the sacrifices needed to make it happen. </p>
<p>More questions just to get you thinking about your decisions: Are you as equally passionate about ME as you are medicine? What draws you to ME and to medicine? Do you have some idea on how being ME is going to make you a better doctor than you might if you were some other major? Have you shadowed a physician and an engineer? Do you really know what each job entails (obviously there are many more varieties of physicians doing procedures of a greater variety than there is in ME)?</p>
<p>Thanks. I'll think about the questions you gave me during the next few months before I know whether I'm accepted by UCB or not.</p>
<p>Hey there quicksilver,</p>
<p>I just graduated in mechanical engineering and pre-medicine from Ohio University.
Yes, you can absolutely do it. It did take me 5 years to finish but that could have been shortened if I didn’t retake a few courses and gone year around. I also took a few extra courses to prep me for medical school and the MCAT.</p>
<p>One positive thing to note: My engineering school did credit quite a few of the organic chemistry courses towards my ME degree - which saved me a lot of time. </p>
<p>One negative thing to note: Obviously this is a very difficult path. You must know that almost all of your courses for the first three years will all be designed to fail you. Don’t get down on yourself and burn out. </p>
<p>Hope all goes well and I wish you luck!</p>
<p>Also,</p>
<p>I’d agree you should make a good effort towards becoming more clear on your career preference. However, sometimes it takes going through the experience for that to really occur. From my point of view, you should error on the side of being over-educated if you can afford it.</p>
<p>I would say you don’t have much of a chance but it IS possible. Getting a 3.7-3.9 in engineering is so ridiculously hard.</p>
<p>Quicksilver has probably made his choice by now. 2006…</p>
<p>Oh yes…this is strange, I haven’t been back on CC all those years while I was in college. I’m back on this thread 5 years later, lol.
Thanks for your replies, guys. I never went on the pre-med track during my undergrad. My university’s MechE program is not pre-med friendly at all.
Congrats on finishing that tough pre-med + engineering track, Design36! Best wishes you too!
Getting a 3.5+ in engineering is very hard…in fact, I’m even thankful that I got some sort of job related to engineering after graduation.</p>