BME: Is it worth the Ivy prestige?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I've been searching for colleges and majors that I'm interested in, and for the longest time I've found that biomedical engineering (BME) is my passion. I also want to pursue an MD after I have earned my undergraduate degree. Here's the question: Is the Ivy League name worth it if the engineering department at a school is not that great? For example, I have read on this forum and on the college rankings that Boston University's BME program is very strong compared to, say, Brown University (or Columbia). How about my chances of getting into a good medical school? How do the Ivies compare to other programs at other schools (such as BU). </p>

<p>Maybe some of you who are already in college can give me an insight into your experiences in your engineering programs.</p>

2

<p>If you want to go into medical school, you should go to the school where you feel you will be happiest and where you will thrive academically/socially. An Ivy may not necessarily be the best fit for you based on these criteria.</p>

<p>If you are looking into BME/bioengineering and medicine, I would suggest the following schools: Duke, Rice (bioengineering; Rice is next to the world’s largest medical center), Penn (Ivy), Stanford, Johns Hopkins, or Case Western.</p>

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<p>Since there is so much competition at each of these top-level schools, are the chances of getting into a top medical school lower? What are med school acceptance rates for each of the schools you’ve mentioned? Thanks for the information!</p>

4

<p>As slik nik pointed out, Penn’s bioengineering program is one of the top programs in the country, AND it’s in the Ivy League, for what it’s worth. Here’s the latest US News ranking of graduate BME/BE programs (a decent proxy for undergrad rankings):</p>

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<p>[Biomedical</a> / Bioengineering - Best Engineering Schools - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/biomedical]Biomedical”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/biomedical)</p>

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<p>Duke, Penn and Stanford would be the ivies/peers to look at. All have grade inflation, so getting a high GPA should not be a problem if you can get into them without a hook. IMO, it is worth it to go to the better overall school.</p>

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<p>chances are that if you go to a school that is great in your particular field, people in your field will recognize the strength of the program.</p>

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<p>What exactly is grade inflation and how does it work? Which schools offer it and why?</p>

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<p>Also, BME is completely unnecessary for medical school. They’re completely different careers- one is engineering, basically a lot of math and physics with a bit of a bio, and the other is treating people. If BME is your passion, you’d be better off with a Ph.D rather than an MD.</p>

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<p>First of all, I’m going to be a senior in the 2010-2011 school year, so whatever I think I like now will most likely change before I graduate (or even enroll) in college. Second, I want to keep my options open. I want to go to a school that will offer the most flexibility for me to change my major/pre-professional advising program and still give me a top-class education. I know that BME is unnecessary for medical school, but if I was to do it, I would do BME because I like it. </p>

<p>What majors are good for a student in the pre-med advising program? Biology is the obvious one, but I have read and heard that it doesn’t really matter what you major in during college if you are premed (an economics major can still do well in college overall and get into a top med school). </p>

<p>The above reasons are why I posted in the “College Search & Selection” thread. I am still searching for what I want. Right now, the most important thing is going to a good school where I “will thrive academically/socially” in the words of slik nik and will afford me the opportunity to find what I really want to do and will support me in any education path.</p>

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<p>MIT - Undergraduate acceptance rate to medical schools: 94%</p>

<p>[Preprofessional</a> Stats - MIT Careers Office](<a href=“http://www.mit.edu/~career/infostats/preprof.html]Preprofessional”>http://www.mit.edu/~career/infostats/preprof.html)</p>

<p>MIT is also a huge center for medical research.</p>

<p>[Harvard-MIT</a> Health Sciences and Technology](<a href=“http://hst.mit.edu/index.jsp]Harvard-MIT”>http://hst.mit.edu/index.jsp)</p>

<p>I used to think MIT is only for engineering. But when I visited the campus I knew that I was wrong. There are several medical research buildings around MIT campus.</p>

<p>MIT is very flexible for major change.</p>

11

<p>@ redroses and OP: I also think Rice would be appropriate to look at. I finished my 1st year there, and it is definitely a great place to be a pre-med, especially since it is next to the world’s largest medical center (Texas Medical Center) with 8-10 hospitals (including MD Anderson Cancer Center) and 2 medical schools (including Baylor). There are PLENTY of internship and volunteering opportunities. Rice also has partnerships with many of these hospitals and with Baylor, especially through the Bioscience Research Collaborative: [BioScience</a> Research Collaborative | Home](<a href=“http://www.rice.edu/brc/]BioScience”>BIOSCIENCE RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE | Rice University). As long as you put in the work, it is definitely doable to earn a great GPA. Rice grads also do well in the med school process, with 88% getting into med school, and Rice does not pre-screen applicants (anyone can apply). Although I suggest taking these statistics with a grain of salt, Rice’s med school acceptance rate is higher than both Duke’s and Stanford’s.</p>