Hello all, I am currently a senior in high school and know that I want to do either medicine or engineering, but I do not know which I want yet and am not ready to decide my career for the rest of my life right now. However, the time has come for me to apply to schools. The approach I am currently taking is I am applying to engineering schools with the hope to try out one year of engineering, and if I like it I will stick with it. If not, I plan to switch into premed and pursue medicine.
I love Georgia Tech’s environment and campus, and was wondering if its a good idea for me to apply to Georgia Tech’s engineering program, and if I get in, then try out the first year of engineering. If I don’t like that, I will start taking courses required for med school. I know tech has research opportunties that could also help my med school application if that’s what I choose to pursue in the end.
Is this a good idea or is it unheard of?
I would greatly appreciate if someone replies asap!
A large portion of biomedical engineering students at Tech are pre-med, as are some in the chemical engineering program. And you can be “pre-med” with literally any degree, so there is no reason not to try out engineering and see if you like it. That said, medical school is highly competitive and you should start volunteering, shadowing, and pursuing research earlier in your college career if your plan is to immediately attend medical school after undergrad. However, many students take time after undergrad to pursue research and other opportunities and then apply to medical school a couple of years after undergrad. Both paths can be successful.
Engineering and medicine are also very different careers and I doubt taking classes for a year is going to help you much in making a decision. It sounds like you need to give more thought to what you like and where you think you will be most fulfilled and perhaps spend some time talking to people in the fields you are considering.
I would actually get into Georgia Tech before making solid plans particular to this school. It’s very tough to be accepted, especially if you are an out-of-state applicant. The acceptance rate for OOS applicants this spring was only 14%. It’s somewhat higher for Georgia residents but not easy by any means, and getting harder every year. The undergrad biomed engineering program at GT is ranked #3 in the US, so it’s very competitive. Good luck to you. Agree with the advice already given about navigating the coursework path.
About that, I have more extra curriculars in biology than any sort of engineering. Would it be a smarter decision for me to apply to tech as a biology major than as any engineering major? Like, would my chances of getting in me higher?
As mentioned up thread, there are many BME majors that are pre-med so if that’s how you spin your application, there shouldn’t be a problem that your ECs lean more towards biology. Just be sure that you have the course work to back up BME - AP physics, AP calc, AP chem…
I’m not familiar with GT’s policy about switching majors. At many schools, it’s much easier to transfer out of engineering than into engineering.
I would not recommend making your decision about what major based on admissions chances. Go for the major that you most want to pursue.
Engineering at a highly competitive college does need collaborative math-sci ECs. This is where, if you’re still involved with F1, it may help. We don’t know what else you do, but the quality of ECs matters. And you still need the stats, rigor, and more.
You need to try to match yourself to what the targets want to see, not just how they meed your wants. (Means, you have to get an idea of what they do look for, in total.) I think that would help you assess whether you’re a good match for an engineering focused app, in the first place.
Compared to most schools GT is relatively easy to transfer to different majors. Even engineering and CS.
Be aware that most first year classes are pretty basic classes and no real engineering classes per se. You might not see more engineering classes till end of your sophomore year. Meet with a counselor to discuss both fields but I will be honest with you. Most doctors I know including myself “needed” to go into medicine. As much as my junior year engineering son “needed” to go into engineering. It’s hard to decide what you want to do at such a young age but having a true interest /passion also helps.
Also mechanical engineering is a good major if you might want to get into medical devices, don’t limit yourself to BME. Orthodontists benefit from a mechanical engineering background. Math or electrical engineering are also good premedical majors, because medicine is becoming more and more about measurements science, like CT scans, and ultra sound measurements, as well as drugs.
If you are interested in premed, do not go to Ga Tech. For pre-med you need best GPA possible. Ga Tech is engineering school. I have family member whose medical dreams were ruined by Ga Tech.
@momsearcheng This simply isn’t true. The average GPA at Tech is around 3.4 and you can get into many medical schools with a 3.6 or so GPA, provided the rest of the application is solid. Most grades given at Tech are A’s and B’s. Tech is a hard school, no doubt about that, but most students succeed, and the student you referred to likely performed poorly due to a lack of good study habits. Tech didn’t single-handedly ruin their dreams…