ED to Duke or Cornell?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Wanting to apply ED Biomedical Engineering/Bio Engineering (I think there's not much of a difference between the two?)</p>

<p>I think I have a better chance @ Cornell ED but I checked the undergraduate BioMedE USNews Rankings & Cornell wasn't even in the top 23 while Duke was #4. How do these two programs compare & which one should I ED to?</p>

<p>From what I've read so far, I'm thinking: </p>

<p>Duke - Pros: better ranking, Cons: harder to get in
Cornell - Pros: easier to get in, Cons: bad rank?</p>

<p>Cali/Male/Asian</p>

<p>1st generation to go to college in USA
born outside USA
One of the most competitive schools in Cali (1H, 1Y, 1P, 2S this year, 6-7 to each UC, 1UPenn, 1JHU, 1Cornell)
68/646 until 1st semes Junior year.. awaiting 2nd semes. rank</p>

<p>GPA: ~3.61 UW & ~4.045 W (10th-11th); ~3.61UW & 3.87W (9th-11th... did really bad 9th grade because new state/new school)
SAT: Superscore 2140; 2100 (640CR, 720W, 740M), 2100 (600CR, 720W, 780M) ,retaking for 2250+</p>

<p>SAT II: MathIIc 800, Phys 750 (retaking), Bio (pending)
APs: Calc BC (5), Calc AB Subscore (5), Eng Lang. (3), Phys Mech (3), Phys E&M (3), World History (3)</p>

<p>Frosh: HGeometry, HGlobal Studies, Bio
Summer: H Alg 2. @ CC
Sopho: AP World, H Eng, H Pre Calc, Chem, Phys
Summer: H US History @ CC
Junior: AP Calc BC, AP Phys C, AP Eng Lang
Senior: AP Bio, AP Stat, AP CS, AP Gov&MacroEcon, AP Eng Lit</p>

<p>ECs: Piano - 7yrs, Marching Band - 4yrs (Instrument for 6yrs), Bio-related Research Internship - current summer, Siemens/Intel - (pending), Local Science Fair - (pending), Math Club - 4yrs, Riddle Club - 2yrs (President), Website Design both commercially & for non-profit organizations (ie. school band, ptsa, teachers, chinese school, etc.) - countless hours, Chinese school student council - 1 year, Volunteer @ local museum, thrift store - many hours during summer</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Cornell's Biomedical Engineering for 2006 was #28--I don't know if you would consider that "low", but it surely isn't as high as Duke was in 2006 (#5). I would apply ED to Duke, since the competition is about equal for both schools.</p>

3

<p>I agree with mj93...it's generally known that Duke is a little bit harder to get in, so you should probably ED there and you'll still Cornell as a possible option if you get deferred.</p>

4

<p>But then won't I have almost no chance @ Cornell RD if I get deferred?</p>

5

<p>Stop worrying about silly rankings. Apply to the school where you fit better. #28 for BME is still ridiculously good.</p>

6

<p>i agree w/ loslobos. who gives a d@mn about rankings? and most of the time if you go to a "weaker" school (it hurts me to say that because cornell is in no way weak), you can stand out more and get more opportunities than you would at a "stronger" school</p>

7

<p>So ignoring ranks, which school would I have a better chance @ getting into with ED? Cornell?</p>

8

<p>I'm a little confused about your approach. What other schools are you considering? Are you sure you want only to commit to either Cornell or Duke (I hear they're pretty different)? I mostly second what loslobos said--visit and decide by fit, not ranking/prestige/better chances.</p>

9

<p>I would love to visit but my family doesn't have time to fly to the other coast this summer</p>

<p>I'm considering UMich., UIUC, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Duke, Cal, UCLA, UCSD, UCD. UMich. & the UCs don't have ED & I think I have a decent chance @ UIUC/Carnegie so it's just these 2 schools left.</p>

10

<p>i'd say you have a better shot at cornell, but you really need to visit to decide if that's what you wanna do. duke and cornell are both on my list too. my odds are probably better at cornell, but i think duke is a better fit for me.</p>

11

<p>Ok it's good to see you have plenty of good match schools. It's true you probably have a better shot at Cornell ED than Duke ED (probably not by a lot, though). Read up on both as much as possible to try and figure out which one is more appealing to you and go with that.</p>

12

<p>Go with your gut. Write both college names on a paper scraps, drop them in a jar, and randomly pick one. See your reaction when you look at the college name. That ought to do the trick.</p>

13

<p>Does a 2250+ with ED put me near a match/slight-reach range?</p>

<p>I think I'm gonna stick with Cornell because I'm really just trying to get a BioE background. I'm ultimately going for an MBA @ a different grad school</p>

<p>tetrisfan, I should record tallies >_></p>

14

<p>look at the schools locations and check on the student stats, programs descriptions, faculty, surroundings, etc. I personally would rather be in Ithica, but Dukes program for Bio Eng is stronger. For schools at this overall level, top 10, i wouldnt worry about rankings. I agree with loslobos71, go to the school that fits you best. getting a ivy league or duke education would both be an amazing opportunity.</p>