<p>I was accepted to WCAS for Biology and I’m looking to go to medical school, though that may change in the future. My question is, wouldn’t it be wiser to perhaps major in BME and apply to medical school than to just go for a BS in biology and apply? If I major in BME i have so many more career options if i end up reconsidering medical school for any reason, whereas a BS in biology wouldn’t really get me too far in life. </p>
<p>This also brings up another question: can you switch undergraduate schools (specifically from WCAS to McCormick) after freshman yr? If so, can you do it between quarters or only in between school years. (I know the admissions packet says that you can write a request by July 1st but i want to know if there is sitll an opportunity after that date.)</p>
<p>Daughter has a similar question. She has been admitted to the School of Communication as a potential theater major, but now thinks she may want to go to medical school. How easy is it to switch schools and alternatively how easy is it to double major or major/minor in areas as different as pre med/theater?</p>
<p>@tl…etc
I think it’s worth spending a quarter in weinberg before switching over to mccormick. You also can switch schools fairly easily, though depending on the school you may have to fill out an application. You should also meet with your advisor once you get to school.</p>
<p>@hktk
There is not premed major per-se. There are just certain requirements that you will have to take as a premed, and those requirements shouldn’t be too difficult to find out. Theres a lot of random premed pairings, it’s just that most people seem to be science because classes overlap, so its easier to get a degree since your classes are being used for dual purposes.</p>
<p>On the other hand, don’t give up theater major if that’s what her passion is. In a way, she may have the edge over others if all else equal because there are so many premeds that are science or even humanities/social science majors. Theater sounds kinda “exotic” to the adcom. ;)</p>
<p>tl1029530921,
If you think you may want to pursue BME, you should switch ASAP, unless they let you take the EA sequence as a WCAS student. As far as I know, the EA is a 4-course sequence starting the first quarter of your freshmen year, so I doubt you can just jump into the school in winter quarter. But I could be wrong…maybe they offer EA1 more than once and in winter quarter. I am not sure. You need to figure this out and talk to the engineering dean…etc.</p>
<p>does anybody have more input on this? i’m in a similar situation and i ultimately want the best preperation for med school (aside from doing HPME).</p>
<p>So… it would be wise to switch to mccormick/BME before freshman year starts? That’s definitely a possibility. I wouldn’t be sacrificing much by being BME instead of Bio, in terms of MCAT prep and the whole application process, right? This way, i have to option of going to medical school as well as several other options.</p>
<p>(What does EA stand for?..haha…gotta love freshmen)</p>
<p>And it’s nice to know other people have the same problem as well :)</p>
<p>I was admitted ED to WCAS, but I just internally transfered to McCormick. It’s a very easy process. Just email the undergrad admissions office and tell them why you want to switch schools.</p>
<p>“does anybody have more input on this? i’m in a similar situation and i ultimately want the best preperation for med school (aside from doing HPME).”</p>
<p>Make sure you like engineering (of course, most high schoolers wouldn’t know this either way.) I’ve known premeds that were very smart that hurt their career by doing BME. If you’re good quantitatively, you might want to consider just being a math major with a bio minor. BME won’t get any more points than a math major, and many people who are great quantitatively hate the grind of engineering and consequently don’t do that great in it.</p>
<p>If you’re in HPME, then your GPA isn’t as critical so just do what you want.</p>
<p>The EA sequence is a general engineering series, containing general matlab programming, some statics and dynamics, springs and dampers, and differential equations. I don’t think EA is restricted to engineers, and i believe there is always a trailer course offered one quarter after the main class is offered. Do contact one of the deans for more information though.</p>
<p>if you are passionate about being a doctor, DON’T go the engineering route. I think pre-meds here who are engineers as back ups end up becoming engineers because their GPAs are not good enough for med school. </p>
<p>Also, if you are an engineer practically all of your classes will be engineering classes. As a bio major in weinberg you get tons of electives, plus the 12 distribution requirements that include literature, ethics, history etc… Don’t forget that the ad coms of med schools are looking for well rounded individuals.</p>
<p>I actually read somewhere that a good chunk of BMEs do get into med shcool somewhere on the mccormick website…can’t find it though haha, although i do understand what you are saying. It’s just hard when you hear about how 50% of med school applicants actually are admitted, and thats probably being very optimistic. </p>
<p>And yeah i was looking at the curriculum for pre-med BME and i’d much rather be taking more biology/chem classes during my undergrad.</p>
<p>It kinda sucks premeds have to pay that admission game all over again. College isn’t really supposed to be about that but that’s just life, I guess.</p>
<p>I’m in the same situation right now, except I’m considering pre-law and IB, both of which focus a lot on GPA. Not sure I want to do engineering anymore… although job prospects are much better if I cannot get into a top law school or IB. It’s much easier if you start out in McCormick and then transfer out though, so you might want to take that into consideration. The other way around is probably not such a great idea, as others have said.</p>
<p>No, there is no journalism minor. You also can’t double major between schools if one of the schools is not Weinberg.</p>
<p>The RTVF major focuses more on production aspects: direction, sound design, screenwriting, etc. with some other courses on things like analyzing media and understanding media/culture. If what he is really interested in is broadcast journalism, that should probably be his major. There IS a film/media studies minor, but it does not focus on any production aspects, only on the “analyzing media” part of it.</p>