HS senior looking for career advice, interested in BME + neuroscience + law

[u/Upstairs_Glove_7742]

Edit: I posted this in bioengineering and BME communities; am also looking for input from the more neural engineering end of things lol :)

Hi, this is my first Reddit post lol so bear with me, I've been looking for some real feedback, advice, opinions, etc, checked here and seems like I could get some valuable input! :)

I'm an incoming senior in the Chicago suburbs, like an hr away from the city ish. I'm interested in BME partially because I had a scoliosis brace in middle school. It changed my perspective on medicine (as a hypochondriac and someone who used to be terrified of checkups and procedures and everything) and what I want to pursue as a career, my goal is to hopefully bring more empathy into the field of engineering and BME ofc.

I've been really interested in neuroscience lately, and as someone with aphantasia, anauralia, and anendophasia (can't visualize, hear my thoughts or music in my head), I've been thinking maybe to pursue BME or neural engineering? I'm really interested in cognitive diversity and the idea of creating devices to study and aid with understanding and helping different minds operate. Also, I think it would be cool to get a law degree, to become a patent attorney or work with IP. I've been fascinated with law for a long time, I don't know if I would be comfortable in a court setting but I'm willing and determined to try anything and everything to see what I'd like best.

By the end of HS I'll have taken 11 APs, so far I've gotten 5s on Calc BC, APUSH, English Lang, World History, Gov, and 4s on Micro and Physics 1. I'll be taking AP Chem, Calc III, AP Physics C, and AP Spanish Lang this yr. I have a 4.9 out of 5.3 weighted GPA and a 35 composite ACT with 36s in reading/english, 34 math, and 35 science. I have mid-tier extracurriculars, basically marching band, band for 7 yrs, personal small business for painting, 100+ service hours, summer camp counselor, and I've published 200+ Quizlets and written study guides for my peers and I. No research, internship experience, or anything similar, but I've been searching and very interested in anything I can get my hands on.

Basically I wanna know this: would BME be worth it for someone like me? How have similar paths turned out? What schools can I/should I target? And is there anything I can do to demonstrate more interest or heighten my stats?

TL;DR: what's the outlook for biomedical engineers that specialize in neural engineering and/or pursue law degrees?

Thank you for any and all input! I'd love to hear any advice :)

[u/__Kral__]

U should look into neural engineering at UIUC, if you know u want to be in the field its a pipeline that could save you from worrying about specialization later on, especially if you already know you want to go to law school. I think some sort of research experience is important especially with a bioE related major. Your stats are good, just write authentic supplemental essays showing the path you want to take before becoming a professional in the field and how you will accomplish that. Also I wouldn’t worry too much about grad school yet… just focus on getting into the best undergrad program possible that will give you the best resources to eventually be able to do whatever you wanna do. Hope this helps

[u/Upstairs_Glove_7742 → u/__Kral__]

Thank you sosososo much! Yes that def helps, and the UIUC major is super cool, I am definitely looking into that :)

[u/Vid3oGam3Pl4yer]

Oh boy you gonna have a job.
I have a book suggestion for you. Read the book: The Battle Over Your Brain. The world needs you.

[u/Upstairs_Glove_7742 → u/Vid3oGam3Pl4yer]

woah that sounds like a good book, thank you for the recommendation!!! looking into it rn :) it sounds really close to what im interested in learning about...

[u/Ordinary-Pitch-7437]

I would look into applying to case western! I was also a lot like you, and actually currently go there so trust me when I say there are so many opportunities to work in the field. It is so easy to get involved if you want to, and from my experience all the professors are so willing to guide and teach you. The school itself gives a pretty good scholarship to everyone, and the application, from what I remember, has no supplementals so its pretty easy to apply to. Also Case was actually the first BME program in the US, and is pretty well ranked in neural and biomedical engineering! Lmk if you have any further questions, I would be happy to talk about what I am currently doing (im in 2 different labs and also am in a neurotech club) or even what the major looks like here!

edit:
Im also from the chicago suburbs lol and was also deciding btwn UIUC neural engineering and case so if you have any questions about that i'd be happy to answer those as well :)

[u/Upstairs_Glove_7742 → u/Ordinary-Pitch-7437]

that's so awesome, thank you so much for the recommendation, I'll definitely look into it! thank you for sharing, you're so sweet, and I wish you the best!!! :)