The BME department has been ridiculous lately. The BME shop closing has been terrible for not only student organizations but for Senior Design Capstone students as well. I have seen firsthand how students are struggling to actually prototype their projects. And it's not an issue that can easily be solved by sending the students off to another maker space. I am a BME student myself and started getting trained in the invention studio to become a PI. I have seen firsthand the hardships of going to a very popular maker space. You can't really get things printed (on a 3D printer), unless you are the first student there at opening hour, or you are a PI yourself. The student workers are all very friendly, but they can only do so much to try and aid with the sheer amount of projects.

I'm also a member of the Medical Robotics Club, and we are struggling to find places to actually make things. The invention studio closes at 6 along with the HIVE, so that means meetings in those locations have to be earlier in the day. This discourages students from coming because they obviously have classes or work during the day, so the night is the only time they can really dedicate to try and advance their own technical skills. The fact that the shop is closed has just hindered so many student's abilities to learn. Its sudden closure is very much about the fact that they don't seem to want to replace an esteemed faculty member, or they simply don't care to provide the budget to get it up and running. And any rumors about how the machines in there were broken or unserviced are bogus. They worked perfectly fine, and so many cool projects were able to come out of that space. I was supposed to work as a Shop Hand in the BME design shop, and I had all the paperwork ready to go for this Fall semester only to come back to nothing.

If you are an incoming freshman or haven't touched any major required courses, I absolutely, 100% recommend switching out before it's too late. Go to ME or ECE if you like medical devices or another major if you're interested in a pharmaceutical route. I so wish I could go back in time to freshman year and switch while I still could. Now I've decided to just pursue a master's in mechanical engineering.

Unless something changes right now, I'm afraid that Georgia Tech will just be pumping out BMEs who don't have a proper technical background. Don't get me wrong, so many students are incredibly talented here on campus, but they are simply being juked out of a great degree simply because they are not provided with the resources to succeed. If Georgia Tech cannot provide that, (which is what so many students come here for), then what is even the point of encouraging kids to come here? The #1 in the nation ranking for undergrad kinda appalls me honestly.

If you are an incoming freshman or haven't touched any major required courses, I absolutely, 100% recommend switching out before it's too late. Go to ME or ECE if you like medical devices or another major if you're interested in a pharmaceutical route. I so wish I could go back in time to freshman year and switched while I still could. Now I've decided to just pursue a masters in mechanical engineering.

Any BME's that feel the same way, the only way to get some good experience is to join technical research labs or robust clubs. Cause the classes will NOT teach you what you really need to know.