Hi, I was admitted to UCSB as a regents scholar under the mechanical engineering major (yay!), but most of the other schools I applied to were under biomedical engineering. I really like UCSB and applied under mech eng because I figured I could somehow specialize in bio, or maybe environmental studies. I was wondering if anyone knows how flexible that major is, if it’s possible to minor or specialize in biomed or environmental engineering and whether that would be worthwhile. Thanks!
Go for the Mechanical Engineering Degree. I am an ME and work at a biomedical company. My daughter is a biomedical engineering student at Tulane. My daughter is finding it difficult to get an internship. The biomedical engineering majors that I work with, mostly in their 20s and 30s wish they had their degrees in mechanical engineering. The world hires mechanical engineers for design, development and manufacturing. The world hires biomedical engineers for FDA compliance, research, and lab testing. ME degrees open so many doors, you won’t be disappointed in the results. If you decide to go BioMed, you should consider a 5 year masters, since I hear that gives you more opportunities when you graduate. Good luck!
@alli18 some more thoughts: if you are thinking pre-med, then go biomed at a school that offers a pre-med program in engineering. And find out if you can take biotechnical classes at UCSB. Did you see they offer ME 128 Design of Biomedical Devices class? You didn’t say what your other schools are, but if you aren’t sure what engineering field you want, choose one that offers many solid engineering majors. I still think getting your mechanical engineering degree and taking additional classes in biomedical topics is more valuable and more flexible than the biomedical degree. And you should choose what you want, what feels right to you, and where you think you will thrive.