Caltech v. Columbia SEAS v. UMCP

<p>Hey, I'm currently having a tough time deciding between these schools. One big problem is the fact that I have no idea what I want to study - I'm thinking engineering with either biology or econ. I don't know whether I want to be an engineer, doctor, or do some finance thing on Wall Street ... I'm mainly concerned with Caltech's course diversity (since I'm undecided about what to study), which is why I'm also considering Columbia and UMCP (state school, and I also have a full ride there). Any advice is greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>Caltech has great course offerings in the areas of engineering, biology, and economics. Ben can tell you more about economics and Craig can tell you about engineering, I'm a freshman physics major myself so I haven't gotten very deep into courses in physics yet.</p>

<p>hmmm ... how feasible would something like a MechE (or other engineering) major + lots of bio courses be for premed (since theres no bioengineering major)? And how difficult is ChemE? I'm considering it, but judging from prefrosh weekend, ChemE majors seem to have almost no time at all ...</p>

<p>You should def. realize that premed requirements are light (compared to our core curriculum).</p>

<p>Maybe a year of phys (with lab), a year of math, a year of chem with lab + o. chem, a year of bio w/ lab, and a year of english.</p>

<p>You already fulfill the math and phys requirements with core (choose prac phys), the chem requirement with core, and you would need to add o. chem at some time. You can take Bi8/9 instead of Bi1 for core, and then you only need one bio lab. Finally, of the one HSS per term, you would need 3 of these 12 to be in English.</p>

<p>I might be missing some courses, but I know that as a ChemE, I'm practically done w/ all these requirements except for the bio lab by the end of soph year. But yeah, chemE is almost ridiculous here. At this point, after 5 quarters, I still have some 240 units required for my major. Compare this to my EE roommate, who has ~100 units less than me required for his major (so he has much more flexibility).</p>

<p>CalTech has always struck me as being a place that rewards students who know EXACTLY what they want to do and are ready, willing and able to undergo total immersion.</p>

<p>"CalTech has always struck me as being a place that rewards students who know EXACTLY what they want to do and are ready, willing and able to undergo total immersion."</p>

<p>hmm, I just know I want to study engineering undergrad with some other stuff, not that I want to become a pure engineer after I graduate ... I think there's a good chance I'm going to want to try to go into business, medicine or law ... Are there any other thoughts on this?</p>

<p>"CalTech has always struck me as being a place that rewards students who know EXACTLY what they want to do and are ready, willing and able to undergo total immersion."</p>

<p>There are very few students like that at caltech...
In every incoming class 2/3 of the students want to major in physics or math...almost all of them end up majoring in something else.
Some options (eg those within the GPS division and to a lesser extent economics) are almost exclusively filled by students who switched majors during their time at caltech.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the responses! I'm definitely leaning toward Caltech at this point, though I still have a few questions about life at Caltech.</p>

<p>At Caltech, majors/options are declared in the sophmore year, right? How much time would engineering take up? Would a lot of time management be needed to squeeze out some free time, assuming you're also on a sports team (say, tennis)?</p>

<p>Also, what are the people and the social life at Caltech like? I hope the stereotype is far from the truth, because at my prefrosh weekend, I stayed at the "dead alley" in Avery, which didn't help me get a good impression of the social life at Caltech ...</p>

<p>I know plenty of engineers who play sports. If you pick an option other than ChemE (which is famously requirement-heavy) then you will have lots of time and opportunity to shift your courses to suit your lifestyle.</p>

<p>Stopping by the Dabney Courtyard or the Page Courtyard or the Ricketts Courtyard should convince you that there is indeed lots of vibrant social life at Caltech, in a very wide range of styles. I know people who have a drinking party every week and people who go to clubs every weekend and people who play intramural sports with their friends every other day... and, of course, also people who don't get out much. It all depends on what you want -- but you can definitely find a social group that suits you.</p>

<p>Where I stayed it was far from dead!</p>

<p>hmmm, currently I'm contemplating either doing ChemE (biomolecular) or MechE (with bio concentration) at the undergrad level. Regarding the ChemE workload: do 45 credit terms really involve that much work?!
Is it feasible to try a MechE-Bio double major in case I want to do premed (would it involve work comparable to ChemE?), or should i just major in MechE with lots of bio courses if I want to leave the premed option open (or do Bio major with MechE courses)? What kind of courses should I take the first year in order to figure out whether to do ChemE or MechE, and bio or econ? The Core seems to dominate much of the freshman schedule - would trying to place out of a lot of those courses be advisable?
BTW, do Caltech students interact at all with students from the schools in the area (ie, USC)?</p>

<p>ChemE courses can be hard. MechE-Bio would involve probably too much work to be reasonable. You should major in MechE and take lots of bio or lots of econ on the side (which you can do; I did this with math and lots of econ on the side). The core will help you determine your interests. And there are seminar courses in chem, physics, and various kinds of engineering which add little work to core and will let you get a feel for what goes on in each department and whether you are interested.</p>

<p>Btw, a Math/science/engineering major with an econ double major is quite reasonable and has been done.</p>

<p>What are seminar courses? THanks for all your help! :-)</p>

<p>They're pizza classes! You come at noon on an appointed day each week and professors come and talk about their research while everyone eats pizza on department money. You can ask questions and find out about what professors are interested in, what kind of courses they teach, and what kind of research you can get involved in. Off the top of my head, there is a pizza class in the chemistry department, physics, and various engineering fields (including Chemical engineering and a seminar in a broad range of engineering fields).</p>

<p>you should check out some med school pages</p>

<p>you don't have to major in bio to go to med school, you don't even have to take that many bio classes...</p>

<p>you don't get any food for the physics seminar class =(</p>

<p>ack! stupid physicists. well, you do in chem ; )</p>

<p>I'm afraid that this fact will have a pivotal role on whether I apply. I have an interest in physics, and if Caltech can't give me free pizza... well, that's just bad.</p>

<p>Listen to Ben; free food is offered at club meetings, humanity classes, etc</p>

<p>Well, I guess that's OK then. I'll choose whichever university offers the "best" free food. The question becomes whether to base the decision entirely on the food's tastiness ("merit," so to speak), or to weigh the food relative to its context, challenges (a harsh winter), and potential to create diversity in my diet.</p>

<p>Then again, perhaps free food is free food.</p>