Being a bioengineering
major and pre-med at Berkeley has been quite the interesting ride. Although I
loved my major, it definitely wasn’t the easiest path to med school, and I have
many mixed feelings about it. I was recently asked to answer some questions for
an event for BioE pre-meds. If you’re pre-med and considering an engineering
major, I hope you’ll find these questions helpful!
1. How/when did you decide to pursue both bioengineering and
medicine?
I entered college as
Undeclared in the College of Engineering, and was only considering medicine a
little bit. I was interested in medical devices, so I narrowed my major down to
mechanical engineering or bioengineering. I finally chose bioengineering when I
realized how dry everything seemed to me when it didn’t have a biological or
medical application. Then, by the end of my sophomore year, I realized that my
heart really pulled me toward medicine. I sought experiences to expose me to
the field of medicine, and that how I became a BioE pre-med!
2. What did you enjoy most about your major (and being pre-med)?
Bioengineering is such a
broad discipline. There is a lot of room for designing your own curriculum to
get you where you want to go. Since I knew I wanted to pursue medicine, I chose
more classes that were geared towards biology/medicine and less tech-heavy
classes. I enjoyed my engineering classes because they were either very
conceptual with little memorization, or they were focused on new technologies
with direct clinical applications.
3. What did you enjoy least about your major?
I learned the hard way that
I’m not the best at math and physics. Everyone says that it gets easier after
finishing pre-reqs, but that’s a lie! After realizing this, I stayed away from
math/physics heavy classes to save my GPA. If I wasn’t pre-med, I would’ve been
able to choose the classes would give me the most valuable skills. But knowing
how much med schools look at GPAs, I had to be kind of cautious. Being a bioE
major will NOT compensate for a poor GPA. (By the way, most people in my major
had great GPAs, I think I’m part of the minority!)
4. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of being
an engineer going to med school?
Once you’ve gotten into med
school, I don’t think there are any disadvantages, because there are people
from so many different backgrounds entering med school these days – art majors,
CS majors, and even people who are making a huge career switch. As for
advantages, I think the challenges of our major prepare us well for the rigor
of med school. There is a staggering amount of information that must be learned
in med school. But as a BioE major, we are used to tackling problems sets and
exams that seem impossible at first. We’ve gained discipline and determination
that will help us in the future.
5. How well do the engineering classes help toward the MCAT?
I think engineering classes
help a lot with the MCAT. Although you definitely have to memorize things, much
of the MCAT is about testing your reasoning and critical thinking skills.
Engineering classes teach you to use problem-solving skills to process a bunch
of information to find a solution.
6. What extracurricular were you involved in and how did you
balance all of them?
I had a mix of both
engineering and non-engineering ECs. I was very involved in the Society of
Women Engineers, but I was also involved in a pre-health sorority, research,
tutoring, and volunteering. It was definitely a challenge balancing ECs with
classes, as I tend to spend a lot of ime studying. I made the most of my time
by using an hourly schedule to visualize how much free time I had. Once you see
this visually, you realize how much free time you actually have to
study/eat/relax/whatever.
7. Do the interview questions differ for premed engineers than
other premeds?
Not too often. There are a
lot more BioE’s applying to med school these days, so it’s not too unique.
8. Did you feel pressed for time when trying to finish your
pre-med and engineering pre-requisite classes?
I did not necessarily feel
pressed for time, but I felt limited in what classes I could take. I was only
able to take a couple of classes “for fun,” and I really wished I could have
studied abroad. But remember that I was a little late in choosing both bioE and
pre-med. With proper planning, it’s very possible to have a comfortable
schedule and have room to take extra classes or study abroad.
Hope this was helpful for you potential BioE/pre-meds! If you have any additional questions, feel free to leave a comment below!
<3 kathleen
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