Would a MechE major and BME minor pair well?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

So I have always had an interest in healthcare and physical therapy which has always been a big part of my life due to some health circumstances and I actually wear a brace on my leg most of the time. Anyways I am currently a senior and have been really enjoying math/science throughout high school. Physics this year has been real interesting. I even took an introduction engineering class that was really fun to design things both by hand an on some computer software.

I recently got accepted for full tuition scholarship at Case Western Reserve University and something that caught my eye was BME, since it creates a combination of the two. Since the Field is pretty specific I feel that going something more broad like MechE would be better and I think the minor would help me get into hospitals.

In my head I think this’ll work and Cleveland has great healthcare opportunities all around the area. I mainly want to design and make things like prosthetics and AFO’s and other medical devices.

2

That works well. Are you planning to work after graduation, or are you planning to be pre-health?

3

I am planning to work after graduation. The tuition is only for 8 semesters to getting a major and minor in something like engineering may not be possible, but considering I’d need technical electives in their ME courses I could just use BME courses for those. I will have 49 credits after HS graduation from the local community college so those could save me time from taking courses to make this feasible. I suppose it would be best to ask it there when I visit in the spring, but it seems doable.

4

If you have that many credits going in, that might be doable (make sure you check to see what is transferable, as not all credits transfer). However, also keep in mind that trying to do semesters of nothing but engineering courses can be very rough on your mental health. If the only way you can get it done is by taking nothing but engineering courses every semester, you may have to rethink it.

5

Yeah definitely I’ll consider my health first. I’m sure even without the minor I could get a job in a hospital. I’ve sent a transcript from the community college to an admission advisor and when I get back there in the spring I’ll make sure to send one from their offices.

Thanks for the help! @umcoe16

6

ME and BME, don’t forget E stands for engineering and maybe I am wrong but I have heard that two engineering majors are not allowed. Or, if you insist then you can not do them both for 4 yrs. Then again do not quote me. Check with the school.

7

I meant a minor. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Yeah double major in 4 years sounds like too much stress.

8

I disagree that doing double major in engimeering in 4 years to be impossible. Check out the school for the requirement. Nevertheless, I don’t see a real advantage in having a second engineering major. With that many transfer credits, if they are useful for your graduation requirement, you may save 1-2 semesters. My D has only 38 transfer/AP credits and she only need to take 12-15 redits per semester to finish ChemE major and EnvE minor within 4 years.
@Good-times-r-here Please stop the misleading information.

9

billcsho: I believe that I don’t mislead people. Read my disclaimer : "Then again do not quote me. Check with the school. "

don’t get carried away as I do not try to stop people to do two majors or three majors at all. Go for it. University education is like buffet style restaurant that is you can have three or four majors at the same time with one price. Our son did his Mechanical Engineering in 2.5 or 3 years at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. He could have done two majors but did not like it at all. That is why I posted in here also (in another topic) if dual degrees (dual majors) at graduate school are beneficial for our son even though the employer will pay for those things.

More importantly, there is no benefit at all to have even two or three majors as this issue I believe has been discussed in this forum. You only need one job with one major and make a career out of it.

10

Getting two engineering majors may be allowed at some schools, and may not be allowed at others. Doing a double major in engineering is not impossible to do in 4 years, but may require you to take course loads that are not in the best interest of your mental health. Most transfer credits accepted tend to be gen ed credits, thus while it may seem like you can fit more in four years, course loads of all engineering courses every semester is not something to take lightly. Taking extra semesters to get a second major often does not yield a greater return from the extra cost.

11

Looking at my CC courses this is what I think I’d be able to skip.

15 credits of humanities/social sciences. I have 14 transferable it seems so maybe about 3-5 courses and my English courses would let me skip the first English course at Case. I mostly took basic things in like English,history, a political science course,2 Spanish to fulfill foreign language of HS.
So overall I’d say 5-6 classes I can skip. But yeah all math/science related sounds tough. I may skip on trying a double major. That covers about 20 of my credits. I think I’d skip a PE class also. I know some won’t transfer.

Thanks everyone!

12

“University education is like buffet style restaurant that is you can have three or four majors at the same time with one price” - Not true at most schools, especially for the regimented course sequeces of engineering.

13

Haha if only. But I think the major+minor could work out since I can skip about a semesters worth of those humanities/social science since a semester is about 15 credits. Anyways thanks for the insight I’ll probably just minor in BME.

This is a great site for info. I should’ve been going here more often before throughout high school if even just to read things.

14

@Good-times-r-here There is no point to response to a thread when you are not sure or do not know the answer.

15

billcsho: Our son finished his Mechanical Engineering undergraduate from The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (Columbia Univ) and he is now being given another responsibility to take dual majors (two majors in graduate school) MS Mech Eng and MS Engineering Management (Viterbi - USC) paid by his employer (aerospace company). I posted this issue in this forum since I am worry about this additional responsibility to do two graduate majors and working full time (40 to 50 hours).

In any rate, of course I know the answer about this so called two engineering majors as I have given you such answer above. Moreover, I have read on this forum about dual majors, two majors in engineering and the consensus is such two majors are not worth it all. You perhaps never read nor browse any of the past topics at all.

16

I posted this on different topic and perhaps will help you guys regarding two engineering degrees (or dual degrees):

However, I was talking about two majors in engineering, not one major. And some engineering schools (not all) will not permit to have two engineering degrees at all. For example, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering or Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering and Civil Eng, etc. And if you insist in doing two majors at same time, you will go crazy to get high GPA and get the necessary credentials (co-op, research, internship, etc)

In the end, when you are looking for a job, the hiring manager will look at your GPA plus credentials and your competition GPA. If you have two degrees (two majors) and only get 3.1 or 3.2 GPA and no research, co-op because you don’t have time to do those things while your competitors have only one major with high GPA of 3.4 or 3.5 or 3.6 and stellar credentials (research, Co-Op, internship, etc). Who do you think will get the job ?

So, why do you need to sweat getting two majors and in the end you only have meager GPA for both and no time to do co-op, research, internship at all.

Yes, university educational systems will allow you to have two or even three majors at the same time and it is like buffet, all you-can-eat restaurant with one price. However, you can eat all the food on the table and you will get sick and in college, you do not need two or three majors for one price if they are not beneficial for you at all in looking for a job.

Remember, the hiring manager will not look at your second degree for entry level jobs. They will look at your GPA (the higher the better), credentials (co-op, research, internship, etc). And the competition is fierce as lots of kids will also apply to that same job but they have the edge, advantage of having one major and amazing GPA and stellar credentials.