<p>I'm planning on majoring in biomedical engineering and have gotten into Duke, Harvard, and Princeton. I know that in terms of pure biomed engineering, Duke is the best of my choices by far, but I'm not really looking for that. I'm actually planning on not going into engineering but medicine or business, so I'll need to take a decent number of electives in order to do either. So would Harvard actually be a better choice? I know that, unlike Duke and Princeton, Harvard has no separate Engineering school/division, so I would be able to take more of the electives I need, right? I'm also guessing that Harvard's program would be a bit less "intense" than Duke's for that very reason as well (which could actually be a plus for me since I probably won't pursue a career in engineering). What do you guys think? Any and all advice would definitely be appreciated.</p>
<p>Harvard pretty much sucks for any type of engineering, if ur thinking about med school the grade inflammation in Harvard will help. I think Princeton is a good choice more respected in engineering than Harvard but not as "intense" as Pratt.</p>
<p>(Hey, sakky, look, I'm plugging Ivy engineering!)</p>
<p>If you're not planning on going into engineering then Harvard or Princeton might actually be a better choice for you because of networking/flexibility/good business and premed opportunities, though Duke would probably be almost as good in those regards.</p>
<p>Any reason why you're planning on majoring in biomed instead of something that has a better chance of not tanking your GPA in preparation for med or business school?</p>
<p>Edit: hey, joeshmoebx, you might not want to say that Harvard engineering sucks too loudly.</p>
<p>Well it's mostly because of my dad. I was planning on just majoring in biochem, but he convinced me that it would probably be in my best interests to do biomed engineering (i.e. he won't pay for my college if I don't) since I'll have 3 options (rather than 1) at the end of college if I take the right electives- 1. Pure biomed engineering 2. Med School 3. Business School. It makes sense though (although he was a bit harsh with the whole not paying thing...). Does that change anything? I'm kind of leaning toward Harvard BECAUSE their program isn't as good and would give me more "freedoms" (comparatively), but does anyone else have any suggestions?</p>
<p>Have you thought of just not listing to your dad, how good are your fin aid packets for Harvard and Princeton, maybe just talk to your dad.</p>
<p>I've decided that it would probably be in my best interest (for my future) to just listen to him. I think that I was just blinded by the IVY-allure when I posted earlier (since I had just gotten in a few hours before). </p>
<p>So now my bottom-line is this: Would going to study biomed engineering @ Duke give me fewer opportunities for other non-engineering activities/courses?</p>
<p>joeshmoebx: I didn't apply for fin aid, but I'm a finalist for a full merit scholarship to Duke, which would make enrollment there even more desirable to me.</p>
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Harvard pretty much sucks for any type of engineering
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<p>Uh, "sucks for any type of engineering"? Let me put it to you this way. According to the latest USNews Graduate Edition, Harvard is ranked #22 for engineering. Duke? #20. That hardly seems like a big difference to me. Yet I don't see anybody accusing Duke of "sucking" at engineering.</p>
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Well it's mostly because of my dad. I was planning on just majoring in biochem, but he convinced me that it would probably be in my best interests to do biomed engineering (i.e. he won't pay for my college if I don't) since I'll have 3 options (rather than 1) at the end of college if I take the right electives- 1. Pure biomed engineering
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<p>The sad truth is that a biomed engineering career with just a bachelor's degree is a tough row to hoe, relative to what you could get with a more traditional engineering degree. For whatever reason, the market for BS biomed engineers is relatively weak (compared to other engineers). </p>
<p>Hence, I would say that if you are seriously considering working as an engineer right after school, then EE, ME, or ChemE would probably be a better choice than would be BiomedE.</p>
<p>I highly doubt going to Duke will give you fewer opportunities for other non-engineering activities/courses, but it will be hard for you to go to med school because you will need a high GPA, i agree with sakky in that if you want to work as an engineer you might want to have a more traditional major and minor or double major in BME</p>
<p>Sakky: We are talking about undergrad, sorry if I hurt your feelings.</p>
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Sakky: We are talking about undergrad, .
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<p>So then let's talk about the undergrad engineering rankings then. What exactly is the difference between Duke and Harvard when it comes to undergrad engineering? It's not that large, when you consider that there are literally hundreds and hundreds of engineering programs out there, and there is certainly no call for such verbiage such as "sucks for any type of engineering". After all, if Harvard sucks for engineering, then what does that say for the hundreds of engineering programs that are ranked even lower? </p>
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sorry if I hurt your feelings
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<p>Trust me, it takes a heck of a lot more than that to hurt my feelings.</p>
<p>But I would warn you that when you go to the workforce, you're inevitably going to be working with people who went to schools that are not highly ranked. For example, I was recently working with a guy who went to Southern Utah University (SUU). I had never even heard of SUU before. Yet he's a very competent guy. But it certainly would not have helped matters if I had adopted the arrogant attitude that this guy went to a school that "completely sucks".</p>
<p>Sorry for my verbiage, just trying to get the point across that Harvard isn't one one the very best engineering schools, and I don't care if a person went to MIT, Harvard, or community college it's what they did their that counts.</p>
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Sorry for my verbiage, just trying to get the point across that Harvard isn't one one the very best engineering schools
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<p>And using that same logic, Duke also isn't one of the very best engineering schools. </p>
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and I don't care if a person went to MIT, Harvard, or community college it's what they did their that counts.
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<p>So then to follow that logic, you believe it doesn't matter what school a person goes to, right? In other words, the OP might as well just go to a community college.</p>
<p>Duke compared to the "hundreds and hundreds of engineering programs out there" is one of the best engineering schools in the country. </p>
<p>If the OP would be happier in a community college or choose to go to a community college for whatever reason, and works hard, there is nothing stopping him from becoming "successful". Note I said "I don't care" not it doesn't matter or anyone else cares. IMHO, I think "prestige" is overrated and it's the opportunities at a given institution that really matter but not over the work ethic/intellect/skills/talent of the person going to the institution. There are people that do not agree with that and I respect their opinions.
I know many people who have gone the community colleges and have become very successful, rich, et cetera and more so than some people that went to HPY for undergrad.</p>
<p>"the OP might as well just go to a community college."
I think the OP can figurer out which institution will be better for his desires. </p>
<p>"you believe it doesn't matter what school a person goes to"
I believe that what a person learns, their skills/talents, and work ethic are MUCH more important than whatever school a person goes to.</p>
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Duke compared to the "hundreds and hundreds of engineering programs out there" is one of the best engineering schools in the country.
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<p>And similarly, Harvard compared to the hundreds and hundreds of engineering programs out there is one of the best engineering schools in the country. I don't understand why you just don't concede this quite obvious point and withdraw your previous statement. </p>
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If the OP would be happier in a community college or choose to go to a community college for whatever reason, and works hard, there is nothing stopping him from becoming "successful". Note I said "I don't care" not it doesn't matter or anyone else cares. IMHO, I think "prestige" is overrated and it's the opportunities at a given institution that really matter but not over the work ethic/intellect/skills/talent of the person going to the institution. There are people that do not agree with that and I respect their opinions.
I know many people who have gone the community colleges and have become very successful, rich, et cetera and more so than some people that went to HPY for undergrad.</p>
<p>"the OP might as well just go to a community college."
I think the OP can figurer out which institution will be better for his desires.</p>
<p>"you believe it doesn't matter what school a person goes to"
I believe that what a person learns, their skills/talents, and work ethic are MUCH more important than whatever school a person goes to.
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<p>So in other words, you don't think that the choice of a school is very important. Hence, there is no strong reason not to choose Harvard over Duke (or any other school) for engineering.</p>
<p>Harvard compared to the hundreds and hundreds of engineering programs out there is one of the best engineering schools in the country, but Duke is better.</p>
<p>"I believe that what a person learns, their skills/talents, and work ethic are MUCH more important than whatever school a person goes to."</p>
<p>I didn't say were a person goes to school isn't important, but that other factors are more important, and that the OP can figurer out which institution will be better for his desires.</p>
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Harvard compared to the hundreds and hundreds of engineering programs out there is one of the best engineering schools in the country,
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<p>Exactly. And how does that compare to your original statement that, your quote: "Harvard pretty much sucks for any type of engineering"? What does that say for the vast majority of programs that are ranked even lower than Harvard's?</p>
<p>Your putting to much weight on ranks, but that fact that there are schools that have worse engineering programs than Harvard's is obvious.</p>
<p>So then, I ask again, compared to your original statement that "Harvard pretty much sucks for any type of engineering", what does that say about the hundreds of programs that have worse engineering programs than Harvard's?</p>
<p>I am not going to hold my breath waiting for you to answer that question. I expect you to dodge it again.</p>
<p>it seems like your dad doesn't know what hes doing. if your dad's and your goal is for you to get filthy rich later in life then your best bet would be to go to harvard and study economics. instead of going the complicated route of studying biomedical engineering, then medicine, then business school, economics at harvard would be a sure bet.</p>
<p>keep in mind that transitioning from 1 field to another isnt as easy they said it is. when you want to get a job or do something in a different field you need a valid reason. "Just because" isn't going to work rather youre going at it on your own or applying for a job.</p>
<p>for biomedical engineering, Duke is ranked #5, and Harvard doesn't make the top 50</p>