<p>I'm an incoming freshman into the class of 2016 planning to major in BME. I've set my eyes on premed, but I'm been thinking about the difficulty of BME at WashU. I know that premed is difficult no matter where you go, but I've heard BMEs have it the hardest at WashU. Can anyone explain what makes BME classes so hard?</p>
<p>Biomedical</a> Engineering Sample Curriculum | Washington University in St. Louis</p>
<p>I plan to follow this but replace physics 117/118 with 197/198, start with Calc III. I'm worried about intro to BME because I've heard it's pretty much a BME's hardest class. Can anyone explain why?</p>
<p>I am in the exact same boat. I’d also really appreciate a response. Thanks.</p>
<p>Premed BME is basically as hard as regular BME, the only difference is that premeds also take orgo. It’s harder than artsci premed because you basically blow through the entire sequence in the first two years, while most non-engineering premeds take fewer premed classes per semester, and are thus subjected to an overall less stressful schedule. </p>
<p>Intro to BME is usually considered difficult because there isn’t a ton of teaching in the class, you end up having to learn a lot of the homework as you do it. It’s also on a curve, which means how well you do is determined by how well the top 5 students do, which in some cases causes a large gap between the average and the grading scale. However, after taking the class and grading for it, it’s pretty clear that a lot of the issue is people not understanding the homework, since it’s pretty obvious when people copy. The tests are pretty much the same questions, maybe slightly altered. If you take the time to actually understand the assignment, the class becomes a whole lot easier.</p>
<p>Also, usually quantitative physiology is considered the hardest BME course, maybe the toughest course at Wash U. It’s basically Intro on steroids.</p>
<p>@DJEureka how heavy is the BME courseload? How many classes out of BME did you have time for without falling behind? I’ve heard that BME majors really don’t have the time for ‘fun’ classes.</p>