<p>Hey, oddly enough, I'm in a situation similar to you gimp. getting my masters in bioengineering with no funding at my 2 top choices. I've been accepted to Rice and UPenn as my top choices. Rice is 9th, Upenn is 7th in Bioeng. As with you, I'd like to go into consulting (for a medical firm or research company). At Rice I won't be getting a thesis, however, at UPenn, I will be doing research and getting a thesis. Going into consulting, I doubt getting a thesis is really all that needed. However, the UPenn name itself (as well as the higher ranking in Bioengineering) really draws me. Money is a big factor for me, and with Rice, tuition is cheaper, and I'll be at school for a semester less amount of time (1.5 yrs vs 2 yrs). In either case, both are situated in decent to good areas for the biotech industry (Houston vs Philly). I'm also from the south (finishing my b.s. from Georgia Tech in Biomed. eng), and am not too fond of moving up north to the colder weather/and just the whole vibe of the north in general. </p>
<p>I also plan on getting an MBA in a few years, and I'm really not sure how a thesis will affect my chances of getting into an MBA (i'm guessing it won't). Does anyone know? I do, however, feel as if having a master's from UPenn (because of name recognition) will in the long run help me more for getting into a good MBA program. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>I'm leading towards UPenn at the moment, but it's really neck and neck. Any suggestions? What would some of you do? </p>
<p>Gimp: To answer your question - what kind of company do you want to work for? Northwestern is near Chicago, so it's not as if that's a bad location. I would say that Northwestern has a bigger name in terms of engineering, or if you're looking to do consulting specifically for an engineering firm. Obviously, Columbia has a bigger name otherwise. Is funding a big issue for you? If so, I'd imagine Columbia is a bit more expensive (tuition wise as well as living expense wise). I guess I'd probably choose Northwestern because of it's rank, it's in a good location near Chicago (though admittedly not quite as good as NYC), and it's likely to be cheaper since tuition is not covered. However, I'd take a look at the research that's going on at each school. If you end up working on something that you're really interested in, you can do good research and have good publications, and get good recs. So looking into the research areas at each school may help. </p>
<p>Hehe, I'm just the opposite of you. I've been admitted into UPenn bioengineering, but I'm waiting for Columbia. Though, it's obvious to me that I didn't get into Columbia based on the fact that I haven't received it, with the deadline fast approaching. But yea, UPenn was very very fast in processing my application. I submitted my master's app on 3/12, and received a decision online on 4/2.</p>