The valedictorian from my daughter’s high school is planning to become a doctor, and she is majoring in biomedical engineering. It makes the most sense for preparing for med school because it will cover some of the basic required sciences and something like electrical engineering won’t. It also makes the most sense as the backup engineering career, because it is related to the medical field, which is obviously (I hope) something you are truly interested in. There are very exciting things going on in the biomedical engineering field, so I’m sure there are plenty of opportunities if you chose that instead of med school.
Yes, it is very difficult to switch into engineering if you start in a different major, if you plan to graduate in four years. I would think you definitely want to graduate in four years if you’re looking at med school or any other graduate degree. However, keep in mind that you can major in something like chemistry and then, if you decide you want to do engineering instead of med school, you can just get a master’s degree in engineering and become an engineer that way.
I’m no expert on admissions to med school, but from what I’ve heard, your GPA will be very important. When choosing a major undergrad, keep in mind that engineering programs have lots of weed-out courses that are extremely difficult even for highly capable students, and that the average GPA of engineering students is often below a B average – certainly not a 4.0, all A average. You don’t want to crush your dreams of medical school by choosing a major that forces you into a different path because of grades. Some medical programs accept students who have “easier” majors in the humanities, and by easier, I mean that they are degree programs that tend to have much higher GPAs across the board and require fewer all-nighters to do the work.
Know yourself. For some students, certain subjects come naturally and easily, and a “difficult” STEM course requires little effort from them to master. For other students, it takes tons of study and work to master the same material. Go to college websites for the various majors you are considering and actually look at the courses you would have to take to complete the major, and think about how those line up with your abilities and interests, and choose accordingly.