ED to Duke or Cornell?

College Search & Selection
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>so if you're actually thinking about getting IN to the school you ED to, I would suggest neither. being that i'm only an inexperienced rising senior myself, my opinion probably counts for moot...but i DO spend a lot of time on this website and from what i've seen your stats are not nearly good enough to break duke or cornell.
a much more realistic goal might be somewhere like UCLA...try for the UCs, since you live in cali anyways</p>

3

<p>Duke is not harder to get into than Cornell. Cornell Arts and Engineering more difficult than Duke, other Cornell schools easier. Cornell and Duke similar rankings overall. Cornell slightly lower on USNWR (probably 9th and 10th this year after 8th and 12th last year) but higher on almost all other rankings, especially on world-wide rankings. Your stats not likely sufficient for ED at either, but shot at RD.</p>

4

<p>To be honest with you, you should probably consider ED to some other universities. Your chances at either one aren't that high... maybe try something like CMU for ED, since they seem to care much more about math/science than verbal skills. Your GPA is still going to hurt you though. I agree with the above poster who recommended UCLA. I think you'd have a better chance there.</p>

5

<p>I'm already applying to the UC's but they don't have ED so I'm looking for another school to apply ED to</p>

<p>And I know Cornell is ranked high overall but according to USNews, it's BioE rank isn't that high which is why I'm wondering if it is on-par with Duke's BioE program</p>

<p>
[quote]

US News 2008 Ranking (cornell isn't even on the top 23):</p>

<p>Undergraduate engineering specialties:
Biomedical / Biomedical Engineering
(At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
Methodology 1. Johns Hopkins University (MD)
2. Duke University (NC)
3. Univ. of California–San Diego *
4. Georgia Institute of Technology *
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
6. University of Pennsylvania
7. Case Western Reserve Univ. (OH)
8. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor *
9. Boston University
10. University of Washington *
11. Rice University (TX)
12. Northwestern University (IL)
University of California–Berkeley *
14. Stanford University (CA)
15. Vanderbilt University (TN)
16. Washington University in St. Louis
17. Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison *
University of Virginia *
19. U. of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign *
University of Texas–Austin *
21. University of California–Davis *
Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. (NY)
23. Tulane University (LA)
* denotes a public school.

[/quote]
</p>

6

<p>I was suggesting maybe looking into other universities that have ED. Duke's Biomed might be better than Cornell's; however, your chances at either are not extremely high. Just from glancing at the rankings, you should probably consider BU, Vanderbilt, RPI, Georgia Tech, Case Western, and University of Washington. I believe a few of those have some type of Early plan? The other publics are good for regular decision though.</p>

7

<p>Duke is significantly stronger than Cornell overall, so I would suggest Duke. Duke is better than Cornell in almost every way for undergrad academics/placement. Also more fun (though this is subjective).</p>

<p>Of course, Cornell is easier to get in than Duke so you may want to consider that - if you'd be happy at either equally than apply where you think you have the best shot. Both are top schools, and you might want to work on your stats a bit before ED time comes around.</p>

8

<p>Cornell is #28. That's still pretty high. Go with the one you would be happier at.</p>

9

<p>Where do you want to spend the next 4 years of your life at? Down South where its relatively warm or in upstate New York where you'll be freezing your ass off. For me, It's definitively the latter.</p>

10

<p>I actually really love both schools (great academics, great campus, know many friends already there) and don't really mind the weather since I've lived in both ass-freezing MN and sunny sunny Cali >_></p>

<p>So basically Duke is quite a bit harder to get into ED?</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
I think there's not much of a difference between the two?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Sorry, Cornell is geared more towards Bioprocess while Duke is more Instrumentation/Biomechanical!</p>

<p>
[quote]
Bio-related Research Internship - current summer

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Do you mind telling me where or how you acquired this?</p>

12

<p>Duke is harder to get in and stronger overall for undergrad (dunno about grad), but if you bring up your stats you'll have a good shot at both.</p>

13

<p>thethoughtprocess - the only stats I can bring up now are my SATI & SATIIs, correct?</p>

<p>milki - Could you explain the diff. between Bioprocess & Biomechanical (ie. what would drug-delivery systems be considered part of?)
Internship is @ a startup company located near Google</p>

14

<p>Bioprocess is more towards drug-delivery. I'm interested in Drug-Delivery too, I'll email you with some stuff you'd find useful (sometime tomorrow). Biomechanical is making limbs and stuff like that!</p>

15

<p>"Duke is harder to get in and stronger overall for undergrad"</p>

<p>Maybe... But, would a person with a 3.7 from Duke and a 3.7 from Cornell be on equal footing for jobs/grad school? It seems that the answer to this is quite easily yes. It is silly to try to say which school is 'stronger' at this level; people should instead focus on going to a place wherein they shall be happy and be able to get good grades!</p>

16

<p>Duke overall is stronger academically for undergrad, so it might help slightly for placement. It also has some positive subjective attributes like warm weather and national level sports. </p>

<p>Either way, Duke is harder to get in...but I think with a 2250 plus the chance ED gets better. Plus relevant experience like a bio internship helps.</p>

17

<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>

18

<p>***. Duke is not significantly better than Cornell. It's hardly qualified to be "better", even.</p>

<p>And dude, Cornell's rank is bad for you? 12 is bad? Your stats are not THAT good.</p>

19

<p>^Duke does significantly better in placement, student strength, and other stuff like fancy scholarships (even in absolute numbers).</p>

<p>hydra, yeah, Duke's Engineering school's 75th percentile for accepted was a 1570 out of 1600 (enrolled was 1560). If you are ED I think you have a strong shot, since you have an internship.</p>

<p>Also, if you are going down the science-business route (with an MBA) you might want to check out Duke's Engineering Management program.</p>

20

<p>Significantly better? No. Even in student strength it's very questionable, as Cornell's stats for arts&science+engineering is stronger than the published data for the overall school. However, Cornell does have far, far more highly ranked programs than Duke. Look at Engineering. The only engineering major Duke has that is better than Cornell (or even matches Cornell) is Biomed, and that's because Cornell refuses to offer a biomed major due to a philosophical reason. Cornell surpasses Duke in virtually every single liberal arts major. Simply put, Duke doesn't have nearly the same academic reputation as Cornell.</p>