<p>So I'm out of state and Michigan has offered me the $20k/year engineering scholarship. I also got into Duke...they are giving me 0 aid. I am planning on calling them, I think I can get some but who knows we'll see. How good is Michigan overall compared to Duke? Duke's biomedical engineering (my major) is #2, while Mich's is #9. Is there a big difference? Is the difference worth like...paying 80k$ more for Duke? I know this might be biased since it's in a Michigan forum but I want to hear your opinions. I am having a hard time discussing this with my parents hah. </p>
<p>H is a UofM engineering grad, so I asked his opinion. He says that while Duke's biomed program may be better, he doesn't think Duke's engineering programs overall are better. Once you have some exposure to other areas of engineering, should you veer in another direction, Michigan would most likely provide a stronger program than Duke. He adds, "Besides, Duke's football team sucks." I include that FWIW :-D</p>
<p>Yeah, I know overall Duke's program is weaker than Michigan. Biomedical is Duke's only program that is in top 3 or 5 I believe....quite a few of Michigan's are top, it's just weird to me how they manage this and they are a public school.</p>
<p>def michigan... as good as duke is, its not worth all that extra money. If you want, you can probably transfer if your not satisfied by michigan (though I think you will be)</p>
<p>Michigan will cost you $25,000 to attend...Duke will cost you $50,000 to attend. Unless Duke chenges its mind or unless your parents are loaded, this is a no-brainer. We are talking about two top 15 universities that are ranked among the top 10 in your chosen field of study, so it's not like you are sacrificing on quality.</p>
<p>michigan, the cost difference overwhelms all the other factors. You'll get the same jobs coming out. And doing BME, you'll probably want to do grad school, 80k is enough for a master's degree and a very expensive car. Michigan has a 1 year Master's program in BME if you satisfy the 3.2 gpa requirement by your third year, enabling you to double count your senior year classes toward that MS in BME degree. </p>
<p>Michigan's BME is on the rise, no other college except Stanford has the combination of Biomedical research, Medical school, and engineering school.</p>
<p>80,000 is a lot of money. Seriously, go with Michigan. The US News rankings are subjective anyway, so you really shouldn't depend on them too much.</p>
<p>The OP saves $80k by attending Michigan, but he should also consider the fact that Duke is $20k (over 4 years) more expensive than Michigan to start with. So by attending Michigan, he would in fact save $100k.</p>
<p>Here I think some people are a bit confused about my financial...</p>
<p>I am out of state. Thus...</p>
<p>Michigan is 42k/year.
They are giving me 20k/year.</p>
<p>Duke is around 48k/year.</p>
<p>So...I am actually saving pretty much...like 100k, yes youre right by going to Michigan (if I went to Michigan, I'd have to pay around 88k, went to Duke, around 160k, my parents haev some $$ saved up)</p>
<p>But I guess the whole prestige thing gets me. I got into Duke this year when they had record # of applicants...should I just throw that away? I dunno man...</p>
<p>If you have the money and you're willing to spend it go to Duke then. If you're willing save 100k throughout your college career go to Michigan. Duke is a great college and so is Michigan. Its your call in the end.</p>
<p>Predator, once you are in college, interviewing with employers, they are not going to think Michigan is less prestigious than Duke. Neither are graduate school adcoms when you apply to graduate school. Michigan and Duke are equally prestigious in the real world. Only here, in CC, and among high schoolers is Duke more prestigious. </p>
<p>Once you leave that bunch behind, Duke and Michigan are virtually identical in terms of academic excellence and prestige. Just look at the Peer Assessment score in the USNWR. Michigan has a peer rating of 4.5/5.0. Duke's peer rating is actually slightly lower at 4.4/5.0. In academic circles, Michigan is definitely as prestigious as Duke. Employers also respect Michigan a great deal.</p>
<p>You should do what you think is right of course, but remember that it will cost your folks $100k to send you to Michigan and 200k to send you to Michigan.</p>
<p>I wouldnt trust the national rankings for biomed engineering. Its such a new field that hasnt had much time to develop yet. I would actually say Michigan would be a better choice for biomed engineering because it has such huge engineering and medical departments it can get resources from. Plus you got that scholarship money which is a definate plus. Not to mention that all of UMs engineering programs are strong while maybe only a few of Dukes are - in case you change your mind. I would say UM>Duke</p>
<p>Unless Duke has a particular type of biomed and specific profs that fascinate you and are willing to let you work with them as a noobie undergrad, you're going to spend most of your undergrad learning basic undergrad stuff. Save your money for grad school.</p>