<p>I was admitted to Columbia and UChicago this spring and I'm having a hard time deciding which one I should go to and I only have 12 days to choose.
A few deciding factors to consider:
- Financing: I haven't received the financial aid package from Columbia yet. UChicago has already given me a $10,000 merit scholarship.
- I was accepted SEAS for Columbia for biomedical engineering. At UChicago, I was planning on majoring in their new molecular engineering program. I'm not planning on being pre-med but I'd like to keep that option open.</p>
<p>Please feel free to contribute. I need all the advice I can get! </p>
<p>Two outstanding universities that are roughly equivalent with regard to graduate school placement, employment and anticipated longevity of reputation. </p>
<p>Assuming your financial aid packages are similar and you can study what interests you at either, your choice should be strictly based fit - where you think you will have the happiest and most productive 4 years. If the financial aid packages differ you may need to weigh the marginal value of fit versus cost. </p>
<p>Best wishes with your decision - you are very blessed to have great choices. </p>
<p>Chicago is pouring boatloads of money into its new molecular engineering program. How do you feel about being part of a start up, with new buildings, new faculty, and new courses? In Fall 2014 they begin offering their first 5 courses to undergrads in support of a minor in molecular engineering. The downside is having so few courses. On the upside, It appears all of them are taught by very distinguished professors. Your graduating class would be one of the first to have the option of a full major in this field. </p>
<p>The combination of Chicago’s time-tested Core curriculum and this innovative new program sounds pretty exciting to me. You’d be one of the guinea pigs, so to speak. However, I would think that for the first majors, the faculty has extra incentive to make sure you succeed (graduate on time, participate in research, get into top graduate school programs.) Their 2013 annual report claims they’ve already engaged 14 undergraduate researchers. </p>
<p>Thanks for the help!
I’m also curious about life after college. My parents have been emphasizing that Columbia is the more prestigious school and that I’ll have a lot more luck when it comes to getting a job, but does the “Ivy League Tag” really make a noticeable difference when applying to grad schools, jobs, or internships?</p>
<p>Columbia isn’t going to give you any advantage over chicago when it comes to grad school. If anything, Chicago might have the slight (And I mean slight, as in, inconsequential) edge there. </p>
<p>Columbia will probably edge out Chicago when it comes to East Coast job opportunities - but again, it will be an ‘edging out’ rather than anything really noticeable. </p>
<p>If it matters to you (for PE licensing or the patent exam), it does not appear to be seeking ABET accreditation.</p>
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<p>It does seem odd that they mention patent attorneys, when the patent exam does consider ABET accreditation for engineering as a prerequisite. Without ABET accreditation, the student needs to include enough science and engineering course work to fulfill the patent exam prerequisites (it is possible that the molecular engineering major has enough, but someone interested in this route needs to check this specifically).</p>