Bioengineering Major (BE-SB) - limited enrollment???

mit_hopefulgirl · 02-01-2005, 09:51 AM

check this out - http://web.mit.edu/be/education/ugrad-reqs.htm

Enrollment in the BE SB is initially limited to about 20 students per year. Students who complete BE.110 and the freshmen requirements described above are eligible to apply for admission during fall term of their sophomore year. If the number of applications exceeds the available slots, a lottery will be conducted at the end of fall term to select sophomores for the class and a wait list will be maintained. Students who are not admitted to the BE SB may still take most of the core subjects and earn a BME Minor degree.

Does this mean that those admitted to the class of '09 who wanna major in BE are VERY unlikely to get their first choice? Did I read wrongly or is the figure really "20"?

lithiumbromide · 02-01-2005, 11:07 AM

ye, u are right. so.....well a lot of people want to study BioE. so it got to be competitive.

staticsoliloquy · 02-01-2005, 12:56 PM

ehh if I can't get into BE, there's always course 7 or 10.

mit_hopefulgirl · 02-01-2005, 08:30 PM

oh you mean course 10XB in particular? It's pretty similar to BE right?

paulhomework · 02-01-2005, 08:43 PM

Wow! another thing to worry about

bubbloy_two · 02-01-2005, 10:36 PM

bahahaha "there's always course 10." That is like the hardest course in MIT.

mit_hopefulgirl · 02-02-2005, 12:16 AM

oh dear... I think quite a few of us put the BE-SB major down in our MIT app. Since MIT can't admit so many freshmen to this program, will our choice of major hurt our chances of being admitted?

To bubloy_two: why's course 10 the Hardest course in MIT, and not any other engineering course?

staticsoliloquy · 02-02-2005, 07:33 AM

it's all relative

paulhomework · 02-02-2005, 01:59 PM

I'm wondering the same thing as mit_hopeful. Will they still be major-blind in admission?

alejandria · 02-02-2005, 08:38 PM

they dont look at majors. it's just for stats purposes. chances are you wont major in what you thought you were going to. the average undergrad changes majors 7 times.

doublespresso · 02-02-2005, 09:39 PM

only 20? how crazy...

maybe that's just for now, though, since the bioengineering major is just getting off the ground. maybe they'll expand the program when they see a lot of student enthusiasm toward studying that major?

streetlight · 02-02-2005, 09:42 PM

oh no....

tech_ninja · 02-03-2005, 01:37 PM

I don't think major on your application matters.

You first declare your major at the end of your Freshman year. Many people completely change their minds after getting their butts kicked the first two terms. (For instance, I went from Brain and Cog (9) to Computer Science (6-3) w/ BME Minor)

The bioengineering major is brand new, but they've had a Minor and Master's program for a time, now. I wouldn't worry about whether they have enough room in it or not. I've never heard of a student not being able to declare a major because of space constraints.

mit_hopefulgirl · 02-04-2005, 02:20 AM

Really? Then why this terrible competition and a "lottery"? This is so alarming=(

dainerussell · 02-05-2005, 12:54 AM

I went to an info session last fall about the BE major because I was considering it at the time, but since then have declared 10-B so I'm not completely up to date with what's going on.

From what I gather, because this year (class of 2008) is the first year it's being offered as a major, there's limited lab space, so they're limiting the number of people in the major. So, that's why there's a lottery. I assume that in the next few years, they'll be able to expand the facilities and department, and there will no longer need to be a cap.

As for the major question on the app, at an admissions talk by Marilee Jones, she said that what department you choose as absolutely no bearing whatsoever on your application. The question is only posed for statistical purposes, because professors are curious about what percentage of students end up majoring in the same field that they intend to when enterring MIT. that's it, just for statistical/research purposes. Putting down a less popular major will not make you a more desireable candidate. That being said, this is yet another chance for you to demonstrate in your app what your passions/interests in. If you can encapsulate, in a couple hundred words, what academic subject really fascinates you and why you think that MIT is a good fit for you, that's a plus.