ED to Duke or Cornell?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
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>Hoping to get on honest opinion even though this is the Duke thread</p>

<p>Thanks very much!</p>

2

<p>Duke probably isn't that much harder (if it all) to get into ED than Cornell. For RD, there is a significant difference and Duke is definetly harder. But I know ED apps have been down lately at Duke, and I think it is a bit easier ED. So in terms of which school you should apply to ED, I think you'd have a fairly good chance at either (assuming you bring you SAT up). It's more important you decide which school you'd rather attend and whether you're ready to make a binding commitment to either. </p>

<p>Also, I think Duke was ranked #2 for BME this year, not 4. ;) Even so, Cornell is an excellent school in the sciences and I don't think the difference in rankings is indicative of the school's strengths in those fields</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the insight. I'd love to go to either school - both Campuses are amazing and know many current students</p>

<p>Just trying to get a suggestion on the BioE field since I noticed Cornell wasn't in the top23 USNews rank for Undergrad BioE last year</p>

<p>Any more opinions please? This ED decision is so hard to make T_T</p>

4

<p>Well, my final reason not to go to Cornell was that they don't have a true biomedical engineering major. Biological engineering, yes, but that department doesn't deal with the stuff I really like. Look into the type of research done in the Biological engineering department at Cornell and see if that's the stuff you want to do/like to do.</p>