Boston University vs. RPI vs. U of Texas @ Austin

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So I was accepted at these three colleges. Here's my preference:</p>

<p>Intended major: 1. Biomedical Engineering </p>

<p>Student group: Diverse but not too conservative or liberal</p>

<p>Enviroment: I don't mind large cities, but safety is my #1 concern</p>

<p>College courses: competative and rigorous.</p>

<p>I'd like good networks too from student bodies and a decent tennis program.</p>

<p>Financial aid wise, I have decent finaid from all. So tuition is not a big deal.</p>

<p>So, what's your suggestion? Please also explain your reasonings behind your answer.</p>

<p>Thank you very much!</p>

2

<p>Austin: More prestigious, probably cheaper (though not a big deal), great student body, sexy girls, and Southern hospitality.</p>

3

<p>Agreed. 10 characters.</p>

4

<p>I would definitely go with UT. Even if you're an OOS student, it would still be cheaper than BU...and it's still a better school. Plus, the social life at UT seems awesome and it actually HAS a campus unlike BU. RPI looks like a good school academically, but it seems like the location+social life blows there.</p>

<ol>
<li>UT</li>
<li>BU</li>
<li>RPI</li>
</ol>

5

<ol>
<li>U of Texas at Austin</li>
<li>Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute</li>
<li>Boston University</li>
</ol>

6

<p>UT I would say</p>

7

<p>I would go with RPI so long as you can take not being around an equal student body in terms of gender (only about 35% female). you will get the best bme education and have great networking for once you leave.</p>

8

<p>Thank you!</p>

<p>I saw this on yahoo education:</p>

<p><a href="http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/school_rankings/college/college_rank_eng.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://education.yahoo.com/college/essentials/school_rankings/college/college_rank_eng.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Obviously, the ranks are not everything. But does anybody know the ranks for BME?</p>

9

<p>... OK, but remember, these are rankings of PhD programs, not undergrad, and while an indicator, sometimes, it doesn't always work out that way. Also, remember, when measuring these PhD programs, USN&WR specifically states the rely on reputation, only... not reliable, imho.</p>

10

<p>for BME it goes Texas and then right behind them is RPI and Boston isnt ranked in the top 30. i think texas is 20 and rpi is like 25.</p>

11

<p>I picked UT McCombs over BU half-tuition scholarship to their famed Communications School, and I'd do it again. Texas is also better than the other 2 for engineering - GO TO TEXAS</p>

12

<p>Bobbobbob, is there a link for the rankings? I saw USNews page and it only shows top 3 colleges. </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

13

<p>Sorry, but RPI engineering is better than UT. US News ranks UT eng above RPI but RPI is ranked higher overall. RPI is 43 nationally, UT not in top 50. Anyway that shows a flaw with US News. How can RPI be a better university than Texas but not have a better eng program since RPI is primarily an engineering school? US news is worthless when it comes to rankings.
Look how much higher RPI freshman SAT scores are than UT. RPI all the way.</p>

14

<p>RPI might be <em>slightly</em> better than UT in engineering. However, you need to look at the other criteria that OP cited. One of them is a decent tennis program. UT's tennis program is definitely better than RPI's. Check this out: <a href="http://www.texassports.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.texassports.com/&lt;/a> .</p>

<p>Therefore, my recommendation for OP is UT.</p>

15

<p>Well, it turns out that UT is actually <em>much</em> better than RPI in engineering, according to USNews. UT is ranked #13, whereas RPI #37. It is the graduate program ranking though. Not sure about undergrad, probably similar.</p>

<p>Check this link: <a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/eng/brief/engrank_brief.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/eng/brief/engrank_brief.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>So, again, to the OP: "Pick UT!"</p>

16

<p>undergrad. RPI is at 18 with a 3.8 and UT at 11 with a 4.2</p>

17

<p>Boston is one of the leading Biotech areas in the country. Therefore Boston University is situated in a very advantageous region. So, I would not rule out Boston.</p>

<p>The school is important but lets remember why you want the degree and where you may want to work after school.</p>

18

<p>While these schools are so completely different that they're very difficult to compare, if you're focusing on quality of engineering as a factor, RPI completely blows UT out of the water. RPI is the oldest engineering school in the country and like someone mentioned above, the avg SAT of RPI is much higher than UT. In looking at the respect of the degree and what people go on to do, check out this study on pp. 80-85 of what undergrads PhD students come from and you will see RPI undergrads consistently ranking in the Top 15 in a variety of engineering & science disciplines (Top 3 in chem & engineering, only behind MIT and Cornell), while UT (which is much larger) is not on the Top 25 in ANY discipline. Since these people will be the ones hiring candidates in many cases, they will certainly be aware of the difference accorded to an RPI degree over a UT degree (at least in engineering & other sciences).</p>

<p><a href="http://server1.fandm.edu/departments/CollegeRelations/BacOrigins/BacOrg98.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://server1.fandm.edu/departments/CollegeRelations/BacOrigins/BacOrg98.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

19

<p>rico2--- I'm not sure about the reliability of this source but:
<a href="http://www.bu.edu/dbin/bme/home/ranking.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bu.edu/dbin/bme/home/ranking.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>That's bothering me right now. Many ppl on this board didn't know anything about BU's BME program. So i'm not sure about the reliability of this link. But i don't think BU would just state wrong facts on their webpages.</p>

20

<p>Don't get too caught up in the "rankings". Who appointed US News as the final judge of quality of engineering schools? Anyway, consider these facts: </p>

<p>1) Rensselaer has been educating engineers since 1824. Thats 182 years (longer than MIT or Caltech). </p>

<p>2) Of the schools you mentioned, RPI has the most talented student body. (I know SAT is not everything but is a good place to start).</p>

<p>3) Of the schools you mentioned the percentage of students studying engineering is far higher at RPI than at the other 2 (hence the name Polytechnic Institute). Don't you think that the best environment to learn engineering is to be surrounded by people who share a passion for
math/science/engineering? Engineering is the heart and soul of Rensselaer, not so at BU and UT. </p>

<p>4) As I posted before, look at Rensselaer's new 218,000 sq ft Biotech Center. Go see it in person and I think you'll be convinced that UT and BU can't match it. </p>

<p>5) I looked at BU's eng program through the link you posted and they only seem to offer 4 major divisions. Rensselaer has areas such as nuclear
,materials, environmental, civil, chemical that BU doesn't appear to offer. This should tell you something about the overall quality of the engineering schools. </p>

<p>I think BU's program is likely pretty good but at RPI you'll get to experience one of the world's great undergrad engineering programs. </p>

<p>It all comes down to what is most important to you. In my case I wanted to be the best engineer I could be and I went to RPI. To others
social seen / well balanced evironment / nice college town is more important. Nothing wrong with that. In that case pick UT or BU.</p>