8 answers
Owen
Student
Santa Clarita, California
1
Question
Asked
1786 views
What are things I can start doing now as a sophomore in High School to help get into the college I want to for Biomedical Engineering.
I have decided through a lot of experimenting and classes that I want to go into Biomedical Engineering. Colleges I was looking at included Cal Poly SLO, MIT, and Stanford.
Login to comment
8 answers
Neel Mainthia
Program Manager
1
Answer
Princeton, Texas
Updated
Neel’s Answer
While I am not a Biomedical Engineer, I did go through engineering school and met many BMEs in my general coursework. I would have a few recommendations for you that could also apply to anybody looking to go into engineering:
A) Take the highest levels of physics you can. A thorough understanding of electricity and mechanics will make your life easier. If you can't find them at your high school, see about taking them at your community college over the summer
B) For BME, make sure you take AP Bio and have a solid understanding of the course content.
C) Take Calculus or AP calculus
D) I would encourage you to research subspecialities within BME. Do you want to work on medical devices? Are you interested in lab work and research? Do you want to go to medical school? Think about what specific outcome you want to achieve. College is a very expensive way to figure out what you want to do so go in with a plan.
E) Are there any companies in the field you aspire to work for? Off the top of my head, I would recommend you research Amgen, Johnson and Johnson, Abbvie, Abbott Labs, Medtronic, McKesson, and Cardinal Health
F) Research exactly how much Biomedical Engineers make and what the current unemployment rate is for Biomedical Engineers.
These are a few practical steps to get started! I wish you the best in your endeavors!
A) Take the highest levels of physics you can. A thorough understanding of electricity and mechanics will make your life easier. If you can't find them at your high school, see about taking them at your community college over the summer
B) For BME, make sure you take AP Bio and have a solid understanding of the course content.
C) Take Calculus or AP calculus
D) I would encourage you to research subspecialities within BME. Do you want to work on medical devices? Are you interested in lab work and research? Do you want to go to medical school? Think about what specific outcome you want to achieve. College is a very expensive way to figure out what you want to do so go in with a plan.
E) Are there any companies in the field you aspire to work for? Off the top of my head, I would recommend you research Amgen, Johnson and Johnson, Abbvie, Abbott Labs, Medtronic, McKesson, and Cardinal Health
F) Research exactly how much Biomedical Engineers make and what the current unemployment rate is for Biomedical Engineers.
These are a few practical steps to get started! I wish you the best in your endeavors!
Emma Verde
Physical Therapist
171
Answers
Tucson, Arizona
Updated
Emma’s Answer
Hey Owen,
Getting into a biomedical engineering program is a journey that ideally starts early, around your sophomore year in high school. The first thing you should focus on is doing really well in your science and math classes, as these are key subjects in this field.
Try to get involved in STEM-related extracurricular activities too. This could be anything from joining a science or engineering club, to being part of a robotics team, or even entering science competitions. If you can, find opportunities to do research or internships in biomedical engineering or similar labs. This will give you some real-world experience in the field.
It's also a great idea to create a portfolio that shows off your projects, research, and any innovative ideas you've come up with. This will show just how passionate you are about biomedical engineering.
Standardized tests like the SAT or ACT are important too, so make sure you prepare well for them. High scores can really make your application stand out. Also, try to build good relationships with your teachers. They can provide strong letters of recommendation that can give your application a boost.
Look for leadership roles in clubs or organizations, and try to do some volunteer work in healthcare or STEM fields. You might also want to check out summer programs, workshops, and STEM camps to deepen your knowledge.
Finally, do some research to find colleges that have strong biomedical engineering programs. Make sure they match up with your academic and career goals. By taking these steps, you'll be well on your way to getting into the biomedical engineering program of your dreams.
Hope this gives you a clear path forward!
Getting into a biomedical engineering program is a journey that ideally starts early, around your sophomore year in high school. The first thing you should focus on is doing really well in your science and math classes, as these are key subjects in this field.
Try to get involved in STEM-related extracurricular activities too. This could be anything from joining a science or engineering club, to being part of a robotics team, or even entering science competitions. If you can, find opportunities to do research or internships in biomedical engineering or similar labs. This will give you some real-world experience in the field.
It's also a great idea to create a portfolio that shows off your projects, research, and any innovative ideas you've come up with. This will show just how passionate you are about biomedical engineering.
Standardized tests like the SAT or ACT are important too, so make sure you prepare well for them. High scores can really make your application stand out. Also, try to build good relationships with your teachers. They can provide strong letters of recommendation that can give your application a boost.
Look for leadership roles in clubs or organizations, and try to do some volunteer work in healthcare or STEM fields. You might also want to check out summer programs, workshops, and STEM camps to deepen your knowledge.
Finally, do some research to find colleges that have strong biomedical engineering programs. Make sure they match up with your academic and career goals. By taking these steps, you'll be well on your way to getting into the biomedical engineering program of your dreams.
Hope this gives you a clear path forward!
Robert Epstein
General Manager
83
Answers
Naples, Florida
Updated
Robert’s Answer
In addition to the great answers already provided, I’d add one more tip regarding colleges. Getting into a top school like those you’re considering is definitely a real plus. But, over the years I’ve concluded that how well you do your job and your sincere dedication to succeed will pay off the best. I’ve had Ivy League biomedical engineers that used to work for me that wound up in dead-end positions, and biomed techs with 2-year degrees that became presidents of their own profitable businesses.
Alan Weber
writer and retired teacher, teacher educator and academic advisor
207
Answers
Woodstock, New York
Updated
Alan’s Answer
Owen, I'll leave it to others to answer specifically about Biomedical Engineering, and best of luck in your pursuit. What I can say more generically is to work on developing your writing, organizational and time management skills. Those are among the keys to college success. Certainly, note taking, reading comprehension and research skills and techniques are also very important. And I wouldn't discount things like proper nutrition, sufficient rest and sleep, exercise, and living a balanced life, with sufficient socializing, hobbies and new experiences.
Jacob Taylor
Production Manager
521
Answers
Stafford, Virginia
Updated
Jacob’s Answer
It's great that you're planning ahead for your future in biomedical engineering. Here are steps you can take as a sophomore in high school to improve your chances of getting into the college of your choice:
1. **Maintain Strong Academics**: Continue to excel in your coursework. Biomedical engineering is a demanding field, so strive for high grades in math and science subjects, such as physics, biology, and chemistry.
2. **Extracurricular Activities**: Join clubs and extracurricular activities related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Consider starting or participating in a robotics club, science Olympiad, or engineering competition.
3. **Research Opportunities**: Look for research opportunities in your area of interest. Reach out to professors or researchers at local universities or institutions for potential internships or projects.
4. **Summer Programs**: Investigate summer programs, workshops, or camps in biomedical engineering. These can provide hands-on experience and demonstrate your commitment to the field.
5. **Volunteer Work**: Seek volunteer opportunities at healthcare facilities, medical clinics, or organizations related to healthcare or biomedical research. This demonstrates your passion for improving healthcare.
6. **Science Fairs**: Participate in science fairs and engineering competitions. Winning or even just participating in such events can showcase your skills and commitment to STEM subjects.
7. **Advanced Courses**: If your school offers advanced courses or AP (Advanced Placement) classes in STEM subjects, consider enrolling in them. These courses can prepare you for the rigor of college-level work.
8. **Build a Portfolio**: Keep a portfolio of your academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and any significant projects or research. This can be useful when applying to colleges.
9. **Recommendations**: Build strong relationships with your teachers, especially those in science and math. Their recommendations can carry significant weight in college admissions.
10. **Stay Informed**: Keep up with the latest advancements and news in the field of biomedical engineering. Being well-informed can be beneficial in interviews and essays.
11. **College Visits**: If possible, visit the colleges you're interested in, including Cal Poly SLO, MIT, and Stanford. Attend information sessions and meet with faculty or current students to learn more about their programs.
12. **Essay and Interview Preparation**: Start developing your personal essay and interview skills. Reflect on your passion for biomedical engineering and your unique experiences.
13. **Financial Planning**: Research scholarship opportunities and financial aid options. Biomedical engineering programs can be competitive, so securing financial support can be crucial.
Remember that admission to top-tier colleges can be highly competitive. Focus on showcasing your passion for biomedical engineering, your dedication to learning, and your commitment to making a positive impact in the field. Tailor your high school experience to reflect these qualities, and be open to exploring other colleges as well to find the best fit for your goals.
1. **Maintain Strong Academics**: Continue to excel in your coursework. Biomedical engineering is a demanding field, so strive for high grades in math and science subjects, such as physics, biology, and chemistry.
2. **Extracurricular Activities**: Join clubs and extracurricular activities related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Consider starting or participating in a robotics club, science Olympiad, or engineering competition.
3. **Research Opportunities**: Look for research opportunities in your area of interest. Reach out to professors or researchers at local universities or institutions for potential internships or projects.
4. **Summer Programs**: Investigate summer programs, workshops, or camps in biomedical engineering. These can provide hands-on experience and demonstrate your commitment to the field.
5. **Volunteer Work**: Seek volunteer opportunities at healthcare facilities, medical clinics, or organizations related to healthcare or biomedical research. This demonstrates your passion for improving healthcare.
6. **Science Fairs**: Participate in science fairs and engineering competitions. Winning or even just participating in such events can showcase your skills and commitment to STEM subjects.
7. **Advanced Courses**: If your school offers advanced courses or AP (Advanced Placement) classes in STEM subjects, consider enrolling in them. These courses can prepare you for the rigor of college-level work.
8. **Build a Portfolio**: Keep a portfolio of your academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and any significant projects or research. This can be useful when applying to colleges.
9. **Recommendations**: Build strong relationships with your teachers, especially those in science and math. Their recommendations can carry significant weight in college admissions.
10. **Stay Informed**: Keep up with the latest advancements and news in the field of biomedical engineering. Being well-informed can be beneficial in interviews and essays.
11. **College Visits**: If possible, visit the colleges you're interested in, including Cal Poly SLO, MIT, and Stanford. Attend information sessions and meet with faculty or current students to learn more about their programs.
12. **Essay and Interview Preparation**: Start developing your personal essay and interview skills. Reflect on your passion for biomedical engineering and your unique experiences.
13. **Financial Planning**: Research scholarship opportunities and financial aid options. Biomedical engineering programs can be competitive, so securing financial support can be crucial.
Remember that admission to top-tier colleges can be highly competitive. Focus on showcasing your passion for biomedical engineering, your dedication to learning, and your commitment to making a positive impact in the field. Tailor your high school experience to reflect these qualities, and be open to exploring other colleges as well to find the best fit for your goals.
Michael Torio
Consultant - Data Reporting & Analysis (HQ Finance)
342
Answers
Alpharetta, Georgia
Updated
Michael’s Answer
Hi Owen,
While in high school, one will need to focus on science and math classes to prepare for a career in Biomedical Engineering. Physics, biology and chemistry will be the core science courses. For math, statistics and calculus will be needed. Both concentrations will enable you to focus and refine your analytical skills; complex problem solving; investigative and innovative critical thinking; attention to detail and observation skills; etc.
Other skills that will need to be built upon center around team building, team work and communication. In any work culture, collaboration amongst team members, partner departments and clients occur on a daily basis. A college course in public speaking, communications and English will help with one's communication and writing skills since analysis reports are generated and findings are presented to colleagues and other professionals who deal with Biomedical Engineering. Another recommendation is to seek the advice from your high school guidance counselor and teachers. They can help guide your educational pathway for Biomedical Engineering.
According to U.S. News & World Report, here are the top colleges and universities to consider for Biomedical Engineering:
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-biological-biomedical
- John Hopkins University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Duke University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Stanford University
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
- University California (Berkeley)
- University of California (San Diego)
- Rice University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Northwestern University
- Boston University
When reviewing colleges and universities, it is best to check the following:
- In-State vs Out of State Tuition
- Internships
- Scholarships
- Career Placement upon graduation
- Course work and offered classes
- Post-Graduate Degrees - Master and Doctoral
There will be a application fee to pay for when submitting college applications. The amount of application fee will depend on the college that you are applying to. If there are questions about the college application process, please reach out to the college's Registrar Office.
College and scholarship applications can start to be submitted during your Junior year and will continue throughout your Senior year in high school. It is best to ask your Academic Advisor/School Counselor on the timeline process as well. College and scholarship applications will have specific deadlines and requirements to meet in order to be submitted for review and consideration.
You may want to start to compile your resume/portfolio since a majority of college and scholarship applications will require academic grade point average (GPA), academic accomplishments, school activities (clubs, sports, etc.), community involvement (volunteer, church, etc.), academic and personal recommendations, etc. There may be essay requirements on why you are a qualified candidate to receive the scholarship and to gain entry to the college of your choice, what your future goals are academically and professionally and other questions centering around who you are, your beliefs, etc.
Here are a couple of links for College Scholarships:
https://www.mometrix.com/blog/scholarships-for-college/
https://www.nchchonors.org/students/awards-scholarships/national-scholarships
Also, it will be best to check with the colleges and universities that you will be applying to. You can check with the School/Department of your desired major, the Campus Career Center and the Register's Office for additional information for college scholarships and grants and specific requirements for qualifications.
There should be no limit on the amount of scholarships that one can apply to. It will take time to fill out the scholarship applications and provide all of the necessary required information. Also, there should no fee and no cost to fill out and submit scholarship applications. If there is a fee or cost that is associated with a scholarship application, then please do not send this particular scholarship application in. It will be a scam and money will be lost.
Here is a link for U.S. News & World Report that provides a career overview of a Biomedical Engineer:
https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/biomedical-engineer
Hope this helps and best wishes for your education and career in Biomedical Engineering!
While in high school, one will need to focus on science and math classes to prepare for a career in Biomedical Engineering. Physics, biology and chemistry will be the core science courses. For math, statistics and calculus will be needed. Both concentrations will enable you to focus and refine your analytical skills; complex problem solving; investigative and innovative critical thinking; attention to detail and observation skills; etc.
Other skills that will need to be built upon center around team building, team work and communication. In any work culture, collaboration amongst team members, partner departments and clients occur on a daily basis. A college course in public speaking, communications and English will help with one's communication and writing skills since analysis reports are generated and findings are presented to colleagues and other professionals who deal with Biomedical Engineering. Another recommendation is to seek the advice from your high school guidance counselor and teachers. They can help guide your educational pathway for Biomedical Engineering.
According to U.S. News & World Report, here are the top colleges and universities to consider for Biomedical Engineering:
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-biological-biomedical
- John Hopkins University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Duke University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Stanford University
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
- University California (Berkeley)
- University of California (San Diego)
- Rice University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Northwestern University
- Boston University
When reviewing colleges and universities, it is best to check the following:
- In-State vs Out of State Tuition
- Internships
- Scholarships
- Career Placement upon graduation
- Course work and offered classes
- Post-Graduate Degrees - Master and Doctoral
There will be a application fee to pay for when submitting college applications. The amount of application fee will depend on the college that you are applying to. If there are questions about the college application process, please reach out to the college's Registrar Office.
College and scholarship applications can start to be submitted during your Junior year and will continue throughout your Senior year in high school. It is best to ask your Academic Advisor/School Counselor on the timeline process as well. College and scholarship applications will have specific deadlines and requirements to meet in order to be submitted for review and consideration.
You may want to start to compile your resume/portfolio since a majority of college and scholarship applications will require academic grade point average (GPA), academic accomplishments, school activities (clubs, sports, etc.), community involvement (volunteer, church, etc.), academic and personal recommendations, etc. There may be essay requirements on why you are a qualified candidate to receive the scholarship and to gain entry to the college of your choice, what your future goals are academically and professionally and other questions centering around who you are, your beliefs, etc.
Here are a couple of links for College Scholarships:
https://www.mometrix.com/blog/scholarships-for-college/
https://www.nchchonors.org/students/awards-scholarships/national-scholarships
Also, it will be best to check with the colleges and universities that you will be applying to. You can check with the School/Department of your desired major, the Campus Career Center and the Register's Office for additional information for college scholarships and grants and specific requirements for qualifications.
There should be no limit on the amount of scholarships that one can apply to. It will take time to fill out the scholarship applications and provide all of the necessary required information. Also, there should no fee and no cost to fill out and submit scholarship applications. If there is a fee or cost that is associated with a scholarship application, then please do not send this particular scholarship application in. It will be a scam and money will be lost.
Here is a link for U.S. News & World Report that provides a career overview of a Biomedical Engineer:
https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/biomedical-engineer
Hope this helps and best wishes for your education and career in Biomedical Engineering!
Rian Alam
Student
139
Answers
Seattle, Washington
Updated
Rian’s Answer
Hi Owen!
One thing that I could recommend to you would be to participate in some form of academic research. While it may be difficult to get, research is a great opportunity for you to showcase your critical thinking and reasoning skills in a real world environment. Opportunities such as that are rare and would help you stand out in your application!
One thing that I could recommend to you would be to participate in some form of academic research. While it may be difficult to get, research is a great opportunity for you to showcase your critical thinking and reasoning skills in a real world environment. Opportunities such as that are rare and would help you stand out in your application!
TRAVIS UPCHURCH
Federal Contract Admin
127
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
TRAVIS’s Answer
Start signing up for Dual Credit courses in high school. I knew a student who was a junior in college when he graduated high school due to all the college credit they had earned in high school. Most colleges require two years of basic stuff, just do as much of that as you can while still in high school. Good luck