I have been accepted to Engineering Mechanics major at UIUC as well as First Year Engineering at Purdue and Biomedical Engineering at University of Wisconsin Madison for Fall 2019. I have always wanted to study Biomedical Engineering ever since I was a sophomore in high school. I heard Engineering Mechanics at UIUC is more geared towards people who want to study engineering continually in Grad School after undergrad and there’s as much Hands-on opportunities weaved into the curriculum in comparison to other traditional engineering majors such as Mechanical Engineering or Bioengineering. Would majoring in Engineering Mechanics only be worth it only if I do Grad School after Undergrad, in terms of job opportunities in terms of job opportunities as an engineer (I’m planning on doing just 4 years of undergrad and maybe return to more schooling at Grad School after working an engineering job for several years)? Do you guys know how much hands-on opportunities would be available in Engineering Mechanics in comparison to traditional engineering majors such as Mechanical Engineering which also happens to be the major people say Engineering Mechanics is very similar to? One last one: How likely would I be able to pursue a career as a Biomedical/Bioengineer if I become a Engineering Mechanics major at UIUC? I understand UIUC has a better engineering program overall, but would majoring in engineering mechanics at UIUC just undergrad guarantee me a better chance of succeeding as a biomedical/bioengineer compared to majoring in exactly Biomedical Engineering at UW-Madison?
I’m not sure there is a way to rationalize UIUC Engineering Mechanics as a better choice, since UW-Madison offered your desired BioE major. All three are very good engineering schools, but if only the one offered the major of interest, that seems like the big consideration unless costs or other factors are also a concern. Good luck with your choice, congrats on earning three very good offers!
But do note the relatively high GPA that Madison requires to continue in BME. I believe you have to have a 3.5 in your core engineering classes to progress. And it’s only four classes so not a lot of room for error. And the grading system is a bit different. No way to get a 3.7 A- instead if you don’t get an A, the next grade down is a 3.5 (AB) in their grading. But if you love biomedical, I wouldn’t think engineering mechanics would be quite the right fit.