columbia seas vs. cooper union

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>im a nyc resident and was accepted to both, so both schools are comparable to me, in terms of location, reputation, etc, except cost of course</p>

<p>but which really has a better reputation for biomed/chem engineering?</p>

<p>i plan to do biomed eng, if i go to columbia. chemical engineering at cooper (biomed is only offered as a minor at cooper, which i plan to pursue if i go there)</p>

<p>i sort of figure that if i go to cooper, it's ok if i only minor in biomed, because of the money i save, affording grad school becomes a total reality</p>

<p>any thoughts?</p>

2

<p>Grad school (PhD programs, NOT med/law/business school) is free, first of all. In fact, they pay you to go to grad school.</p>

<p>How much is money an issue to your family, and how much are you getting at Columbia? If the money is a big issue for your family and unless you have fell in love with Columbia, Cooper might be a smarter move. </p>

<p>You'll get a similar engineering education and good opportunities from either school. I'd make the decision based on where you want to spend 4 years of your life, and the money.</p>

3

<p>wait, what do you mean PhD grad programs are FREE?</p>

<p>my contribution for columbia has been calculated to be approx 32K.</p>

<p>but don't you think it would be a dumb move to major in chem engineering as an undergrad, only to pursue biomed engineering in grad school</p>

4

<p>PhD grad programs are free, and they pay you a stipend ($30K a year or so in the sciences). You're providing services to the university -- TAing / teaching classes, doing slave labor in the labs, etc.</p>

<p>Do you really know what you want to do your PhD in, given that you've never taken classes in ChemE and BME? You may not even want to go to grad school. It is too early to be worrying about that.</p>

<p>And, ChemE and BME are quite similar. People who were doing PhDs in ChemE when I was at Columbia majored in anything from math to bio to chemistry, in addition to ChemE. There is a ton of overlap in these areas.</p>

5

<p>how competitive are these PhD programs?, do all universities offer these programs free? (ive never heard of them), and typically how long do they take to complete?</p>

6

<p>This is the case at all of the big research universities. The top schools are very competitive, obviously. The not-so-top schools are less competitive. If you do reasonably well at Columbia you'll be fine.</p>

<p>A PhD is going to take a minimum of 4 years. Average nowadays seems to be around 5-6. It could be 7+ if you really get screwed.</p>

7

<p>c2002, do you know any BME majors, and what are they up to now, after columbia?</p>

8

<p>Yep, I know tons of them.</p>

<p>Many are in med school now. They either went directly or took some time off.</p>

<p>A few are getting PhDs in BME/bio related fields.</p>

<p>Several are working in industry... engineering companies, drug companies, etc.</p>

<p>A few are doing other things (investment banking, law school, etc.).</p>