<p>My son is interested in BioMedical Engg and he has received several acceptances both instate (CA - UCSanta Cruz, UCSanta Barbara, UCRiverside) and out of state (UIUC, Purdue, Case Western, UWash@Seattle, Gatech, BostonU, etc etc). He has 3.6GPA/2220SAT , 6 APs (Bio, Phy, Chem, CalcAB, Stats, USGov), some ECs.</p>
<p>So far OOS we have narrowed three colleges:
Georgia Tech - 42K
UWash@Seattle - 42K
Case Western - got 22.5K scholarship - Net COA - 35K (after scholarship)</p>
<p>For instate:
Santa Barbara - PreBioMajor 33K - (will consider only if they give him Electrical Engineering - he has applied for major change). </p>
<p>We plan to visit Gatech, UWash and Case next month. I plan to meet the department heads if possible and try to clarify some doubts I have after reading BME UG's career path. My background is in computers so I my knowledge about BME is limited to what I have read in last couple of months. And from what I have read, the job scene for undergrads in BME is scary. Is it true if you graduate from the top colleges such as Gatech or UWash ? Seems like 1/3rd goto post grad, 1/3rd goto med school and only 1/3rd are left for job hunting etc.</p>
<p>If my son wants to do M.S./PhD in BME after undergrad, how importance is the undergrad school name/prestige come into play when getting into admissions to , say, Stanford or MIT. Also, how importance is the school if he wants to work right out of the college after finishing BS. The brand name of Gatech or UDub will cost us about 50K extra in 4 years. </p>
<p>The most important thing for a top PhD program is for him to get some strong undergraduate research. Ask each program how much they spend on research and how common it is for undergraduates to perform research. You might want to ask if there’s a campus-wide undergraduate research journal or poster competition, which would show a commitment to undergraduate research.</p>
<p>CFB53B: Thanks for the reply. I think that’s a real important point. I will try to find out how much time undergrads spend on research programs and what %age of students get to participate.</p>
<p>Do you have any opinion about the colleges ?</p>
<p>Gatech: #2
UW: #9
Case Western: ?? (not top tier) </p>
<p>(Undergraduate) </p>
<p>Maybe GaTech and UW are the best. But if you’re planning graduate school for this field (which is probably necessary), then maybe you should just go for the money is and move elsewhere for grad school.</p>
<p>Not really, other than to say that GT has an undergraduate research journal and poster competition, a business competition and incubator for undergraduates, and more undergraduate research than there are applicants (there are positions that go unfilled throughout campus, including BME).</p>
<p>Looking at total research expenditures for engineering (this reported research in the 2009-2010 school year to the NSF, which is the latest year on the website): </p>
<p>GT: $380 million (#2 in the country behind Johns Hopkins), $27 million for BME (#3 behind MIT and Hopkins))</p>
<p>UW: $81.37 million (#27 in the country), $18.2 million for BME</p>
<p>Case: $46.45 million (#51 in the country), $11.9 million for BME</p>
<p>Case is #10 graduate school for BME, so it is not bad IMO. Wikipedia says that they are ranked #13 for undergrad BME. Also, my friends who attend Case all say that there are plenty of research opportunities there.</p>
<p>James: I read the USNWR too, but I am not sure how much importance does it play in getting a job or a PhD. An example is Rose-Hulman and as per USNWR its ranked number 2. But where I work (the biggest networking company in Bay Area, California), no one has heard of the college. But Gatech and UW definitely carry weight on their own without USNWR ranking.</p>
<p>My son also has some inclination towards medical school (right now he says 15-20%). Considering that, both Case and UW are better choices than Gatech, since upper division classes in BME at Case and UW are taught at the medical school. I am trying to get information about Gatech if they have such an arrangement. Gatech is sure doing most research in BME, but I have to see how much it trickles down to the undergrads.</p>
<p>Santa Barbara is in top 10 public school and heavy involved in research. The close proximity to beach (and home – 3 hours drive) makes it an ideal choice. In 2010-11, UCSB received about 120M$ in fed funds for research and total research money was 184M$.</p>
<p>My main concern is getting a UG degree from UCSB vs say UW or Gatech. All 3 colleges are in top 10 public colleges in US. But is a rank 4 vs rank 10 carries that much weight in the real world for getting a job or a PhD. If you get a degree from Gatech and you apply to Stanford/MIT, do you go to a different priority queue vs someone coming from AnyStateU - assuming the credentials are similar.</p>
<p>GT’s BME program is joint with the Emory School of Medicine.</p>
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<p>Peer schools do carry more weight than non-peer schools, but that’s not really the deciding factor. The biggest factor is how much research experience you have and under what professor you researched. A strong LOR from a well known professor is the key to a top grad school. Top schools and schools with more research funds tend to have the most well known researchers performing cutting-edge work, but that’s no guarantee that your son will with a top researcher at GT or UW, or that he won’t work with a top researcher at a lower tier school.</p>
<p>CFB53B - I think I understand better now about the admission process to MS/PhD now. The quality of your work/research/LOR in undergrad carries more weight than the college itself. One can goto #2 college and still not benefit from it if he/she doesn’t put the effort in going above and beyond the regular class curriculum. </p>
<p>So now the question comes about the opportunities for research for the undergrads. If the resources of the Univ are spread too thin, then undergrads may not get chance to participate and there will be too much competition for a few spots.</p>
<p>But from job perspective, when I am interviewing a UG candidate, I put more weight on the internship as it shows real industry work experience. I don’t know if its the norm but thats my perspective.</p>
<p>So in the end, you need to have some balance between internship and research projects. I dont know if its even possible with the BME field so competitive to begin with.</p>
<p>I know that at UW, everyone in BME does undergrad research. In order to graduate, you’re required to do a pretty intensive year-long capstone project, so research is unavoidable. That’s just the minimum, though; many students start research well before that (even as freshmen).</p>
<p>BME at UW definitely has a really strong connection with the medical school (it’s a joint department in Engineering and Medicine), which is one of the best in the nation. You should take US News with a grain of salt, of course, but it doesn’t hurt to have a #1 primary care and #10 research ranking. Back to BME, here’s a random story - I remember taking one intro BME class and one of the labs involved dissecting cadavers to measure some properties of the knee…it was really cool that we got to do stuff like that as just undergrads. Also, for future reference, skull bone dust smells sweet. >_></p>
<p>As far as job prospects go, I have heard much the same as you. One of my BME friends has told me that jobs are available for undergrads, but you have to seek more actively to get them than you would in another major. Salary potential also seems to be lower without graduate study. So grad school is almost a must.</p>
<p>Source: both of my roommates are BME majors at UW and I almost became one, myself.</p>
<p>sumzup: I got accepted to UW for this Autumn 2012. I am out of the state and would like to pursue BME. However, I didn’t get selected to Direct Freshmen Admision. I was told that next possible admission to BME is after one year when early admission is open.
Now, I would like to know how hard is to get admitted to BME through early admission?</p>
<p>This is what my roommate told someone who asked him the same thing:</p>
<p>“I was a direct admit, BioE is definitely competitive to get into. My friend who has a less than outstanding GPA, got into BioE. Honestly, I think if you want to do early admission, a solid 3.7-3.8 GPA should be sufficient.
If you’re also in a lab, I wouldn’t say you’re definitely in, but it certainly helps… a lot. My friend worked at his lab for a while and applied with a letter of recommendation and he got in with that fairly low-ish GPA.
Just out of curiosity, what’s your current high school GPA and what kind of extracurricular activities do you do? Any incoming college credits?”</p>
<p>So it depends on your answers to those questions, and also whether you join a lab and get a good letter of rec. You should definitely speak in-depth with an advisor about this.</p>
<p>I is 2240. My GPA at HS is around 3.7 (spring quarter is still in progrss). My SAT
SAT II: Chem: 740 and Math 780.
I took around 8 AP courses. Also Chem course at CC and got A- grade.</p>
<p>Also, I got admitted to the UC Santa Barbara into Computer Engineering. I really want to attend UW and major in BiOE, but I am afraid if I don’t have any clear message on how to get into BiOE by early admission.</p>