My son is down to two choices for biomedical engineering. Has been offered some scholarship money from Clemson and has Bright Futures for Florida. Just visited Clemson and was impressed by the students and hands on approach. I know that U of F has the reputation but we are hesitant. Has anyone had to make this choice and if so what tipped you one way or the other?
Congratulations to your son! Two wonderful choices! My husband chose to attend Clemson for his first two years and then finished up at the University of Florida. He tells stories of incredibly small classes with great professors at Clemson for early “weed out” type engineering coursework like Linear Differential Equations or Thermodynamics. At Clemson, he had 40-50 students in these classes versus 150 per class at UF. He and I are UF alums and have recently toured both colleges with our kids. I could be wrong, but I think I remember hearing that students aren’t allowed to declare Biomedical Engineering as a major at UF until junior year? So, the two years at Clemson option could be a great one for your son. That said, Senate Bill 002 currently working its way through the Florida state legislature would provide instate students with top level Bright Futures scholarships 100% tuition and $300 each fall and spring for books. If passed, this law would go into effect July 2017. I am happy to hear that you visited Clemson as a family. You may want to consider another UF visit, if you haven’t gone since your son’s acceptance. Have him email someone in the biomedical engineering department and get his questions answered. Then, work together to find the perfect fit for your family. Best of luck!
Whichever school your son goes to, make sure to do your research on biomedical engineering. Unless he wants to go to grad school or med school, it may be very difficult to find a job in the field with just an undergraduate degree. Colleges will gloss this over. Good Luck!!!
UF BME is a limited enrollment program, but it’s been growing quickly, see below for details. It’s an outstanding program, that’s well funded and is geared toward moving students toward grad, med, and law school.
You have to begin using BF within 2 years of your high school graduation. I don’t know if they count Aug, which would be 2 years and 2 months after high school graduation, as being within 2 years, but I doubt it. BF is very picky about deadlines.
My D- is in a very similar situation. She wants to major in biomedical engineering. She does want to go on to get a graduate degree and work in regenerative tissue.
She also was accepted to Clemson (with OOS scholarship) and UF (Benacquisto) along with NC State (still waiting on financial aid packet).
Loved Clemson when we visited, the engineering dept had plenty of research available and she liked the campus. She liked UF when she visited on a quick college tour and then recently visited for a few days. She is headed back up on 3/27.
I’d be interested to know how you decide what you decide. We are still awaiting a few decisions but as for now these are her top 2 choices.
We are in the same situation, so I’m following this discussion! In my research, it seems that UF has the edge as far as being a better ranked school - both in general, and for engineering. For Biomedical, Clemson has an ABET accredited Biomedical program, and UF’s is not currently accredited. I think my daughter would do chemical, materials, or industrial for undergrad and do Biomedical as a graduate degree - just for better marketability. She can go for free to UF, so we are struggling with our decision. But, Clemson seems much more appealing to us “on paper” for the environment. My daughter has yet to visit Clemson, though - and, will visit UF in a couple of weeks. Plus, we are still waiting on top-ranked schools and ivies before making a final decision.
I think that overall the schools are somewhat similar - both top state schools with good engineering programs. UF is twice the size of Clemson, so that is a consideration (for good or bad - or neither). I think that they have different environments and culture, so that is our consideration - but, even then, I’m not positive about their differences…
So, we are considering cost, distance from home, environment, and value of the degree (does one have the edge above the other?).
The ASEE website has profiles on each engineering program and could prove useful when doing a comparison…
You can compare everything from faculty, to student enrollment to research funding.
Is the lack of ABET accreditation for Biomedical Engineering a big drawback for UF? Or does it not matter due to UF’s reputation and the fact that students need to go on to graduate school anyway?
I don’t know the answer - but, there are accredited programs for BME, so I lean towards thinking that it’s better to have a degree from an accredited program. That’s why if my daughter does go to UF, she would get a master’s in BME, and her bachelor’s in one of the accredited majors. UF’s website does say that they’re working towards accreditation, but I don’t know how long the process is, and if it’s a concern that it hasn’t happened yet?
Why is this thread in the Parent’s forum? strange…
At UF, the BME degree is not thought of as a terminal degree, the students are expected to pursue graduate school, med school, etc. That’s why there is a focus on research, and why it’s a limited access program (one of the few at UF). It’s also a fairly new program that’s being ramped up. If you plan on entering the job market after earning your BS (or if you want it to be an option), then the BME program may not be a good fit.
@FLMomof3 I wouldn’t worry about the programs accreditation. It’s a fairly new program, and it takes a few years to go through the process. UF has 12 ABET accredited programs, so I’m sure they can make it 13.
Thank you for all of your input! After much thought, our son decided on University of Florida. He is still questioning the actual personal “fit” as he loved the Clemson environment and the students were very welcoming. Although he was concerned about depleting his college funds as he wants to pursue graduate school. He will be living in the Engineering Living Learning Community and is getting ready to attend PreView in early June. A bit concerned about the large classes and school, he is giving it a go. Explored Tutoring and support services and the LLC provides study groups. As a parent, I could have left him at Clemson the,day we visited…must have been the Carolina magic…University of Florida is a bit more intimidating however I feel confident he will feel comfortable after the first semester. WOULD love to here back from those who commented and what you decided!
@copernicus2 Welcome to the Gator Nation! 
My son and his roommate are also in the Engineering LLC (East Hall), so I’m sure they will run into each other. If you haven’t already, check out the UF forum.
Congratulations as well! Just wondering if your son is starting in fall or,summmer. Also, do you know anything about the Step-up program and if this might be a good opportunity for summer?
He’s starting in the fall. I’m not that familiar with Step-up, but I know a lot of kids that started in Summer B and liked it. It’s a bet easier to get use to campus, and make some friends, before the fall term starts. In fact, I know a few kids petition to get moved from Fall to Summer B, for that reason.
On the other hand, my daughter started in the fall and didn’t have any issues (other than the normal freshman stress). I would recommend not taking a heavy load of classes (in the fall), so he can have some free time to join clubs and do other activities. No more than 14 or 15 credits. No more than one lab class (these take a lot of time for one credit!). During Preview, make sure to check out several of the clubs that will be representing (I think they have one break out session). ALL of the clubs are extremely welcoming.