ABSTRACT: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHBE) at UMD interests students because of the associated job flexibility and starting salaries, but the undergraduate core curriculum is often overwhelming. Notably, CHBE250 and CHBE422 were discussed at a townhall meeting in December 2019 with many students voicing their concerns and struggles. When I was a freshman in 2017, I asked as many upperclassmen as I could about the CHBE coursework, but I ultimately did not get the level of guidance that I wanted because a student-written guide for the various courses was not available. Additionally, as a pre-medical student, I have learned how to structure five pre-medical requisite courses and CHBE technical electives to maximize my interests and minimize unnecessary stress. The large degree of overlap between pre-medical requisite classes, the CHBE core curriculum, and some department-approved technical electives lends the major to pre-medical students who can earn a high GPA. Therefore, I am writing primarily for all prospective students interested in majoring in CHBE at UMD, but I have a section at the end for pre-medical students who will benefit with guidance from a current pre-medical student. I did not receive the pre-medical guidance I am providing in my guide because pre-medical CHBE students are very rare. My informative guide will be shared with the CHBE advising office and students who request advice from me. I will use natural language citation with hyperlinks to sources AND a bibliography and first person in an informative tone to connect with my audience.
WC=247
READER'S PROFILE: I imagine the reader is doubtful that being a pre-medical student while majoring in CHBE, or any engineering major, is sustainable for four years, but he or she is interested in doing so and is more confident after reading this guide.
READER'S RESPONSE: I cannot imagine how taking five additional pre-medical courses in addition to the rigorous CHBE curriculum is possible. From my background knowledge, I know that engineers tend to have lower GPAs and hence I do not know any pre-medical engineering students. However, I have a similar thinking process as Eshwar because ultimately, we want a good backup in case we are not accepted to medical school. I appreciate the thorough breakdown of the first 6 CHBE core courses and the advice on how to manage pre-medical coursework and CHBE technical electives. I will do my best to be a pre-medical CHBE student at UMD.
Problem Statement (has changed): While I have enjoyed my time as a pre-medical CHBE student, I have two major takeaways. First, not only is the core curriculum very intense in the first five semesters, but certain classes are notoriously difficult and no student-written guide with in-depth information regarding the core curriculum is available. Second, I had to learn on my own that as a pre-medical student, I had to take five additional courses and carefully select technical electives to manage my workload and align my coursework with my goal. Pre-medical CHBE students are extremely rare, so I did not receive the guidance I am providing in my guide.
Voice: Same throughout, mainly first person with third person when referring to the general feelings of students who expressed concerns at a townhall meeting.
Citation: Natural language citation with hyperlinks to sources AND a bibliography to reach my audience consisting of prospective CHBE students with an additional section for those who will be pre-medical.
ABSTRACT: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHBE) at UMD interests students because of the associated job flexibility and starting salaries, but the undergraduate core curriculum is often overwhelming. Notably, CHBE250 and CHBE422 were discussed at a townhall meeting in December 2019 with many students voicing their concerns and struggles. When I was a freshman in 2017, I asked as many upperclassmen as I could about the CHBE coursework, but I ultimately did not get the level of guidance that I wanted because a student-written guide for the various courses was not available. Additionally, as a pre-medical student, I have learned how to structure five pre-medical requisite courses and CHBE technical electives to maximize my interests and minimize unnecessary stress. The large degree of overlap between pre-medical requisite classes, the CHBE core curriculum, and some department-approved technical electives lends the major to pre-medical students who can earn a high GPA. Therefore, I am writing primarily for all prospective students interested in majoring in CHBE at UMD, but I have a section at the end for pre-medical students who will benefit with guidance from a current pre-medical student. I did not receive the pre-medical guidance I am providing in my guide because pre-medical CHBE students are very rare. My informative guide will be shared with the CHBE advising office and students who request advice from me. I will use natural language citation with hyperlinks to sources AND a bibliography and first person in an informative tone to connect with my audience.
WC=247
READER'S PROFILE: I imagine the reader is doubtful that being a pre-medical student while majoring in CHBE, or any engineering major, is sustainable for four years, but he or she is interested in doing so and is more confident after reading this guide.
READER'S RESPONSE: I cannot imagine how taking five additional pre-medical courses in addition to the rigorous CHBE curriculum is possible. From my background knowledge, I know that engineers tend to have lower GPAs and hence I do not know any pre-medical engineering students. However, I have a similar thinking process as Eshwar because ultimately, we want a good backup in case we are not accepted to medical school. I appreciate the thorough breakdown of the first 6 CHBE core courses and the advice on how to manage pre-medical coursework and CHBE technical electives. I will do my best to be a pre-medical CHBE student at UMD.
Problem Statement (has changed): While I have enjoyed my time as a pre-medical CHBE student, I have two major takeaways. First, not only is the core curriculum very intense in the first five semesters, but certain classes are notoriously difficult and no student-written guide with in-depth information regarding the core curriculum is available. Second, I had to learn on my own that as a pre-medical student, I had to take five additional courses and carefully select technical electives to manage my workload and align my coursework with my goal. Pre-medical CHBE students are extremely rare, so I did not receive the guidance I am providing in my guide.
Voice: Same throughout, mainly first person with third person when referring to the general feelings of students who expressed concerns at a townhall meeting.
Citation: Natural language citation with hyperlinks to sources AND a bibliography to reach my audience consisting of prospective CHBE students with an additional section for those who will be pre-medical.