I am looking for some help for my senior(2023) to help him shortlist his colleges
Our school limits the count of the applications and I need to pick 3-4 schools in his target list. We have already finalised our likely schools(Franklin and Marshall, University of Wisconsin, University of Pittsburg)
He has a good GPA and is National Merit Semifinalist, a soccer player. Chances of getting in D1 soccer are low as no coach has connected with him, due to covid we could not attend camps in last 2 years and we attempted few camps this year. His grades are probably good and meets the requirements for Caltech and hence the coach from Caltech D3 soccer program is in touch with him and we are yet to apply to see the outcome, we are planning to do REA for Caltech. Caltech is a reach so it is not in this list. If he does not gets into soccer team then he will attempt try out at admitted college and see if he gets selected.
Based on my sons GPA these are target schools. These are my choices for target colleges for BME. He is leaning towards tissue engineering sub track. I need to pick 4 colleges from this list.
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Southern California
Georgia Tech
Tufts University
Washington University in St Louis
Case Western Reserve University
I am from California so we will be applying for the UCs. If you know which UC is good for BME then please share your knowledge.
Other than Case, these schools should be considered reaches, not targets, unless your school GC has a lot of data suggesting differently. If you are out of state, that is especially true of the publics on your list.
AFAIK, Caltech does not hold spots for recruited athletes the way other schools do. He has to get admitted on the basis of his whole application, of which soccer will be a part (the same as any other extracurricular activities).
BME is very competitive at Purdue, not just for general admission, but then to transition to major after freshman year. It’s one of the few capped majors and even meeting the GPA threshold doesn’t guarantee acceptance into the major. Many BMEs end up doing ME or straight bioengineering. Both can lead to similar grad and job outcomes but just and FYI for the OP.
I just looked and saw that F&M engineering is a 3/2 program. Is your S interested in a double degree and spending at least 5 years pursuing an undergraduate degree for a BME?
The affiliated schools are excellent but the only guarantee is WUSTL, Case, and RPI. Columbia is competitive. I think he would have a fair shot at Case and RPI right now.
We are fortunate in CA to have a lot of really strong public universities, but the flip side is that admissions at the UCs can be unpredictable. He would probably be better off checking the box for all UCs which have a compatible program, rather than trying to pick a single best one before applying.
My son has a spreadsheet of engineering majors offered at each UC, since he is trying to determine which major he will select as his first choice at each one. (His current first choice major, IE, is only offered at UCB, so he is trying to be open minded about majors available at the other UCs.) Your son will want to do something similar, and look into details of each department and major to see if they are basically compatible with what he wants to do. Then apply broadly.
Just from a brief search I see UCI and UC Davis have Biomed E. Cal Poly SLO has Biomed E and is a great school, too. UCB, UCLA, UCSD, UCR have Bio E. There are probably more CSUs that have a compatible major if he wants to look deeper.
I agree with @tamagotchi that applying widely to the UC system as a CA resident is the best option. According to several news rankings, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Irvine and UCLA are considered the top BME UC’s. All these programs offer concentrations geared toward Tissue Engineering.
The most important thing that I don’t see having been mentioned is that Caltech is not a school for everyone. It’s great for some, but it is not the typical college experience. It can be very overwhelming. I’d be leery of combining athletics with the volume they expect students to digest.
He attended a soccer camp and the coach is connected with him, if a spot opens up for his position then he may consider him. The school counselor has some insight and so far no student from Bay area wishes to go this school, so my child may be the first one to apply. Yes the3/2 program is what we were focusing. Given he is a soccer player and will have time constraints we are fine if he spends additional year in the college. Yes Columbia is not a guaranteed admission.
Regarding the grades - during summer we asked the counselor if there is anything more we should do academically and answer was no, he is pretty much good with grades, Superscore SAT is 1580 so we are good with that. In the past 4 years Caltech has not taken a single student from our school, in 2010 there were some kids who went to Caltech, so Counselor was little skeptical. To test it she requested us to ask the coach to see if we can have a pre-read process from my son. We submitted all the documents and admission department looked at it and came back with positive response. My son did verify with the coach if all students in pre-read process were asked to apply and the coach responded that not each pre-read candidate got a positive response. Hence we are under an impression that his grades are good. Our school restricts number of Honors/AP combination so my son’s grade may not be comparable on paper to other candidates from different schools. But within his school he does has good grades and over summer his principal sent us a congratulation letter for his grades.
imo CalTech and F&M don’t suit the same kid. Think of it in terms of intensity.
It could go either way- F&M could give him a more well rounded, less pressured / academically intense 3 years (which could be great for him as a human) and then transfer to Columbia for an intense 2 year push-
But then what? UG BME almost always needs a PG program- what’s his goal? MD? PhD? MD/PhD If it’s PhD and he chooses F&M, he will have to be very active about getting good summer research internships, as the PhD programs will be expecting that.
Thanks - F&M and many LACs have joint degrees with other schools but you have to transfer (not easy - academically and socially) and often it’s a 5th year as you’re getting two degrees.
F&M and Caltech are considered because those are 2 coaches who are showing interest in him so those are colleges which meet his academic and soccer aspirations and hence though they are different we are trying to balance sports and academic interest.
