Well, I'm a first year in engineering, and I'd really like to specialize in electrical/biomedical eng next year. I just have two questions for any upper years that are already in the program:
1) In terms of difficulty, how does biomed compare to first year eng?
2) What was the cut-off average last year? Roughly what should I be aiming for?

Thanks a lot!

Biomed is usually the highest cutoff, probably about a 7 should get you in. As for difficulty... well, the electrical courses you take arn't exactly easy

It takes balls to get through Electrical Engineering.

So in terms of difficulty, it depends. If you don't mind mathematics on a daily basis like second order differential equations, laplace transforms, complex/imaginary numbers, setting up your own integrals, etc etc.

By all means, take this program.

Originally Posted by Bhaltair

It takes balls to get through Electrical Engineering.

So in terms of difficulty, it depends. If you don't mind mathematics on a daily basis like second order differential equations, laplace transforms, complex/imaginary numbers, setting up your own integrals, etc etc.

By all means, take this program.

Dont forget Fourier Transformers. FML 3TR4 is something else...

Honestly, I found second year Elec and BioMed to actually be easier than first year engineering. Because most of your courses overlap, it is a lot easier to understand the concepts covered. Also, you don't have to take subjects like materials that you may not be interested in, so it's also a lot easier to stay focused.

As for the cutoff average, it really varies. I believe last year it was 5.9 or something, but it has also been as high as 10 in the past.

Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend you apply for Elec and BioMed if you are interested in it. You can always put Elec as your second choice, as then (if you don't get BioMed) all you need to do is chem 1aa3 and bio 1a03 during the summer to be able to transfer in.

And put computer as a choice too.

2nd year def. was easier than first, but third year is harder.

Originally Posted by Bhaltair

It takes balls to get through Electrical Engineering.

So in terms of difficulty, it depends. If you don't mind mathematics on a daily basis like second order differential equations, laplace transforms, complex/imaginary numbers, setting up your own integrals, etc etc.

By all means, take this program.

So what if you mind doing mathematics on a daily basis? What other stream is available to you?

Being an electrical engineering graduate (however, not from McMaster) I feel I can give you a few pointers. Fast forward to 4th year I actually took several biomedical courses, which eventually lead to what I am pursuing at McMaster. Biomedical engineering made me realize my strong interest in medicine. It requires you have a basic understanding of physiological process and how they work. Once you have a grasp of that you can transform that into so called "electrical language" and work with it on a level you are comfortable with.

Personally, I do not see myself partaking in any other discipline of engineering other then elec/biomed. Having a strong background in mathematics helped, since I am not a fan of physics. I feel electrical requires the least amount of physics when compared to other disciplines.

Finally, I think you shouldn't choose your discipline on how hard it is. Given that engineering is one of the most difficult undergraduate programs, it helps to enjoy the discipline your studying. Selecting a discipline that is deemed easy, but you have little interest in will lead to a difficult 3 years of you not wanting to study the material on top of the already difficult material.

First year has given you a generalized taste of several courses somewhat related to several disciplines and its up to you to decide what courses you enjoyed and which ones you never want to see again. If you didn't enjoy the math courses you took then stay away since as others have mentioned derivatives and integration are a daily language in the life of an EE. Hope this helps your decision.

Disclaimer: theres quite a lot of math in biomed.

The circuit theory is very easy if you like working with that sort of stuff.. there are lots of shortcut analytical techniques you'll develop, so its not so much pure math as it is applying formulae and steps. Lots of people aren't fond of microelectronics because of the iterative nature of circuit analysis (again, the math is easy), and its pretty tedious.

Biomed/chem/bio/anatomy is pretty easy in comparison to the electrical/math side.

Make sure you take a look a the courses in the undergraduate calender to get an idea of what the program consists of (for all the streams, for that matter).

Originally Posted by RyanC

Lots of people aren't fond of microelectronics because of the iterative nature of circuit analysis (again, the math is easy), and its pretty tedious.

This was my favorite part, which eventually lead to my thesis project. Circuit analysis FTW lol

Originally Posted by PHLN

So what if you mind doing mathematics on a daily basis? What other stream is available to you?

Probably not mathematics.

what is the cutoff this year for getting into second year electrical eng?

Safe to assume it is about 4-5. Electrical is one of the biggest streams, so you will get in pretty easily. However, staying in, can be pretty tough - especially 3rd year. (EJ, TQ term 1.. omg, death.)

Originally Posted by Thagsana.R

Well, I'm a first year in engineering, and I'd really like to specialize in electrical/biomedical eng next year. I just have two questions for any upper years that are already in the program:
1) In terms of difficulty, how does biomed compare to first year eng?
2) What was the cut-off average last year? Roughly what should I be aiming for?

Thanks a lot!

Hey, I am elec and biomed, and just finished my third year. To answer your questions:

1) My cumulative avg was actually higher for second year than it was for first year but not by a lot. In terms of what was difficult, you will be surprised to know that I did pretty well in electrical eng courses compared to the rest(comp eng, bio, chem). I think everyone in my year had a tough time with chem(esp. me because I don't like chem that much). However, that being said, there were ppl who were great with comp eng, bio, and chem but not so good with the elec eng courses. I have also seen ppl fail courses and struggle in general. So ultimately it all boils down to what your interests are and how well you deal with courses that you don't like.

2) The cutoff usually tends to be around 5.5-7 depending on the demand. You should be aiming for an 8. That should guarantee you in.

Also, just for your info, third year elec and biomed is much much harder than second year. In third year, not only do the elec eng courses become tough, anatomy and organic chem also become challenging. So really, be prepared for anything.. Life is not going to be easy from here onwards..

That's just my experience. I wish you the best in your journey to be a successful biomedical engineer.

Thanks for all the help, everyone!

I asked Sally a while after posting this, and she said that a 7.2 (with a full course load) was the highest cut-off that elec&biomed's ever had. She did say, though, that the cut-off would probably be lower than that this year, because not as many people were asking her about it. I think it's still going to be pretty high, though...

And yep, just like BD said, she thinks the cut-off for electrical alone should be around 4-5. It's pretty constant every year.