Please share your views about the two programs. Strength and weakness of two programs. Why is the four-year
graduation rate at Georgia Tech so low? Is the program too hard ?
@care2learn well the GTech biomedical engineering program is ranked around 2nd or 3rd in the country. The graduation rate is low because GT is a top engineering school with a lot of students majoring in some sort of engineering as opposed to Pitt (Engineering is typically more difficult for students to graduate on time). GT BME has strong ties with Emory and has access to their medical school. However, I am not so sure about Pitts BME program even though their med school is fantastic. If you think about the top BME programs in the country, then Hopkins, GT, Duke, MIT, Stanford, and UCB come to mind. I’d say go to GT. Do not worry so much about graduation rate and the difficulty of the program. BME is not going to be easy at any major school whether it be at Pittsburgh or MIT.
Thank you @XAtlas. Your response was very helpful.
Someone pointed out that 5 year graduation rate is much better. Is Internship and Co-op program the cause of low 4 year graduation rate?
Yes re: co-ops and internships and research to a smaller extent. My DD goes to GT and wants to have as much experience as possible before she graduates so she is doing back to back internships this summer and fall meaning she will need an extra semester in order to graduate. We don’t mind because she is earning the money for the extra tuition. . GT has lots of great opportunities and students want to do them. She has several friends graduating in four years, but they may not do as many co-ops. Out in California where we live we have low graduation rates at many Cal-State because students have difficulty getting their classes, that has not been the case with my DD because she has always been able to get the classes she wants each term. Also GT offers a lot of needed classes during summer and study abroad.
Thank you @itsv for responding, it is helpful
@care2learn My DD’s best friend at GT is from Pittsburgh Plus some students like my DD might want to take four classes instead of five so that they can participate in the various activities offered at GT which lead to a fuller college experience. Right now my DD is in another state representing GT at a competition. She has learned a lot doing it and employers really value her participation. If you were asking about the UC’s or Cal-States then I would definitely share my concern, but at GT it doesn’t seem to be an issue. Plus if taking just four classes a term means you can get better grades than in the long run it might be worth the extra expense since some employers look at GPA. Again that is just my opinion based on my DD’s experience.
@itsv Thank you for sharing your opinion it is very helpful and I realize there is no need to rush to graduate in 4 years