My son is trying to compare the merits of Biomedical Engineering, probably with PreMed emphasis, at U of Wisconsin, U of Iowa and U of Missouri. He has been accepted into honors at all three, has some scholarships already and we’re waiting to hear about the larger scholarships.
Cost decisions aside (although that will be a large factor; we just don’t have that info yet), we’d really appreciate your input about whether being in a smaller program like Iowa or Mizzou has benefits that outweigh the higher ranking of Wisconsin.
Iowa reps made the point that at their job fairs, there is a higher ratio of students:employers that at other engineering schools like Purdue and UW. He also might be more likely to be a top student and therefore might have better internship opportunities, etc. Another pro of Iowa is that they don’t have a bunch of engineering graduate students taking up all the research, so undergrads get to be more involved. When we do weigh cost, Iowa has an advantage in that they really push to have students finish in four years (even give a free summer semester to help them catch up). Iowa has a nice “be an engineer and something else” philosophy and overall feels like a nice place to be.
Wisconsin and Mizzou, however, are part of only 16 universities with funding from the Coulter Foundation, a funding program for biomedical research. Mizzou rep of course told us that’s a very big deal and looked down his nose at Iowa.
Being from Missouri, that is likely the cheapest school for us and he has some additional scholarships there that he can’t get anywhere else. It’s also the closest. However, I can’t really compare it in BME rankings because their major is called “bioengineering” instead. If he stays premed, then obviously his MCAT preparation is what will matter.
So puts each school at the top of the list depending on criteria… which factors do you think should have the most weight?
Program size
Ranking
Research Funding
School Experience
Proximity
Cost
These schools are all similar in terms of size/sports/extracurricular. He’ll probably live in the engineering dorm wherever he goes, so that’s about the same too. Weather NOT the same, but he doesn’t care.
One other major difference is that at UW, he is not guaranteed a spot in BME, whereas he is at the other two. (That’s not usual practice at Mizzou, but he was told he could enroll in BME up front if he could up his math ACT to at least 34, which he did (36).
Your son needs to decide whether he wants engineering or medicine in his future. He should not use that major as merely a springboard towards being a physician. If he intends to be an engineer, including doing grad work, that is a great focus. I do not see taking the spot of someone who will continue with biomedical engineering if he really intends to become a physician. There are many other majors with intense math and science that he can pursue and then go to medical school. Since most who enter college will change their major and most who have premedical school intentions it is good to have other passions. However, never pick a major as the easiest/best one to get into medical school (any major works).
There is no such thing as an “engineering dorm” at UW. There are some dedicated houses (subunits of dorms- often a floor) for a few specialized areas but otherwise dorms, mainly populated by freshmen, are a mix- included Honors program students. As a freshman in a STEM major he will be taking mainly L&S courses with all sorts of other science types. And location on campus for him will not matter as his classes will not be in one area- his choices will be made on other factors.
Finances need to trump other factors- no school is worth a lot of undergrad debt. Especially when paying for post BS schooling is anticipated.
The next most important factor for any of these schools is fit. HE needs to choose the school with the flavor he likes best. It’s the physical campus, students, activities available that interest him (a thousand opportunities he’ll never use are useless although they contribute to the tone of the campus). It is the required and available courses in the majors that most interest him. Sounds like he is a likely Honors Program student at UW. UW has many great math, physics, chemistry and Biocore Honors sequences that work for an L&S major who ends up becoming a physician. The engineering fields have their own version of challenging courses (many of them). His path could be different at other schools. UW is known to be more liberal but one doesn’t need to be involved.
Once you choose schools within a set of parameters and higher rankings you do not need to worry about small differences of prestige/rankings. There will always be pros and cons to each one. Look at the experiences to be had- rather your son does this. As parents you have guided him in having some good choices . Now HE needs to decide which campus. Life is much more than one’s major and career.
I’m on a roll- long post. Consider Iowa- does he want to be at the top or amongst peers who will keep him challenging himself? I know he would not be the top student at UW (my then still 16 year old son’s Honors physics had a 14 year old HS girl taking the class) from my and son’s experiences.
Look at the courses he will take- the major’s name is not as important as the material learned. Any school will suffice for premed. Unless one school jumps out at him for experiences he should consider saving money and going instate.
It sounds like instate may be his best bet. UW is not likely to give much, if any, aid. We were lucky it was our flagship.
For what it’s worth Mizzou is ranked 12th for bio engineering by Best Engineering Colleges so it’s not like he is going to a poor program if he stays in state.