<p>I was accepted to USC's Viterbi School of Engineering for biomedical engineering, but I was also accepted to Fordham University. At Fordham, I could participate in the 3-2 Engineering Collaborative Program with Columbia University. This means that I would be able to earn two bachelors degrees in five years - one from Fordham and one from Columbia, the latter being an engineering degree. I would be given guaranteed admission to Columbia with a 3.3 GPA and taking required courses at Fordham for three years. Both USC and Fordham have given me enough money that money is not part of the equation anymore. I love both Los Angeles and New York for very different reasons. </p>
<p>In my college experience I hope to be able to go to a graduate school at a high ranking university, possibly Stanford. I am just looking for opinions as to which school to attend. Location does not affect me much but I hope to be given good opportunities for undergrad research, and I want to attend a school that will help me get a good job after school. USC definitely has a large alumni network and good research opportunities. Columbia is Ivy League and the name could help me get into a grad school if I have the research, resume, and GPA to support it, but the same goes for USC. Fordham is also a great school that I would enjoy spending three years at studying for a bachelor of arts degree before continuing to Columbia. </p>
<p>Thanks for your time to give me your opinions!</p>
<p>You sound pretty focused. I recommend USC, simply because you’d have fewer core requirements. Had I come to Fordham with goals planned years into the future, I’d have been miserable during the first four semesters while being forced to work my way through the huge core curriculum. Even if you come in wanting to spend a lot of time reading (and reading, and reading) for history/philosophy/English courses, you end up thinking the core is pretty Mickey Mouse by the time you finish with it. And if you did the 3-2 program, the huge number of humanities requirements means you’d be taking something like 20 credits every semester, which means you might not have as much time for research as you’d like.</p>
<p>Subjectively, I’d say the Trojan alumni network in metro LA is much better than Columbia’s in metro NYC. And although it might be easier to get into a top grad school from Columbia, if you can excel there you’d also excel at USC.</p>
<p>I love New York and was tired of living in LA, so I’m here, but you sound like you’d be happier out west. Fight on!</p>
<p>@angle Thank you for your advice. I never really considered all of the humanities courses I would have to take and how that would affect my desire to participate in research. It was also good to know that you think USC has a better alumni network in LA than Columbia does in NYC. Thank you for your advice!</p>
<p>Is it really true that the core curriculum is overwhelmed? Do you think the credit I gained in Fordham the first year will also be valuable if I do transfer the next year? And is really freshman can only take core curriculum even if there are a little AP credits?</p>
<p>LA is one thing, New York is another. Its up to you and what you want out of a college experience. USC is of course a sports mecca. Fordham is not. But its a great school and gorgeous campus and so much to offer.</p>
<p>3-2 program is very tough…but worth it for those who have the strength and determination to get it done.</p>
<p>I have the same options but going to neither. Looking at the UCs for the moment because I want to do study abroad. My parents don’t want to pay for the cost of study abroad on top of the $40K+ tuition at USC. I don’t blame them.</p>
<p>Well, USC is a fabulous school and you will never see a football game at Fordham and Columbia match that of Trojan football! Then there are winters in New York…BUT two things the Fordham-3-2 program has going for it: the solid and well-rounded education you will receive with the core curriculum (not a bad thing for many) AND that the Fu School of Engineering is ranked #4 to Viterbi’s rank of #9. Not a big difference but a difference none the less. As great as USC is, one can never claim it is an Ivy League education.</p>
<p>Fu is not ranked in top 10 for biomedical engineering but neither is USC. Don’t forget that you have to pay full tuition at Columbia for 2 years eventhough you get full tuition aid from Fordham.</p>
<p>*>> Don’t come to Fordham in spite of the core, come because of</p>
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<p>I shouldn’t have said that I’d definitely send my kids to Fordham over Northeastern. I prefer Fordham myself, but I’d let my kids choose where they went, depending on how focused they were. Like I said then, a kid who isn’t entirely sure what he wants to do is probably better off taking courses in a variety of subjects but, like I implied then, someone with well-defined disciplinary goals shouldn’t go to a college that forces him to take more than a year’s worth of courses that get in the way of those goals. And hollabackgurl seems like this type of driven, focused person.</p>
<p>Calling the core “Mickey Mouse”… That was too strong an indictment. My own goals have crystallized and the core is a hindrance to my achieving them, as it would be for hollabackgurl from her very first semester here, but I still enjoy the honors core for the reasons I mentioned in previous threads–the work is challenging and usually rewarding, the community is great, and the facilities are a nice perk. If someone were set on Fordham (and thus on taking core classes), of course I’d still recommend the honors program. Still, I’m a tad impatient towards the core now, in the same way that one’s high-school home can seem too small the summer before one moves away to college even if it’s a lovely and dear home indeed.</p>
<p>I think I am leaning towards USC because the only thing I feel I would be missing is claiming an Ivy League education, and USC is still a very good school</p>
<p>I don’t understand your comment that Fordham is not top 10 Biomed program; it does not have biomed engineering, but Columbia does and it is ranked 10th in the nation:
“The School’s applied mathematics, biomedical engineering, and computer science programs are each regarded as one of the strongest programs in the United States according to US News and the National Research Council”</p>
<p>USC, without a doubt. Fordham/Columbia 3+2 is not worth it when you have USC as an option. In engineering, USC and Columbia are pretty equal academically. I don’t see any reason to choose Fordham/Columbia 3+2 over USC, unless cost was a concern. Go to USC.</p>
<p>Check out the Coumbia.edu site, the Columbia U school of Engineering Wiki site and USN&WR rankings. Columbia Fu is the #4 school of Engineering as per USN&WR. Is it your opinion Columbia is not top 10, or do you have facts as I do to show it is?</p>
<p>I stand corrected, AirForceWuhn. I was going by last’s years numbers and they indeed are no longer in the top 10, but are now 15th. You are correct.
(But then, neither is USC in the top 25 ;^).</p>
<p>So for the purpose of this thread, it is still safe to say that Columbia’s engineering is higher rated than USC’s, albeit not a top 10 program (15th ain’t too shabby).</p>
<p>Looks to me like the core makes the difference. </p>
<p>If you want a balanced education where you’ll be studying multivariate calculus and Aristotelian philosophy on the same day, then go with Fordham / Columbia. </p>
<p>I’m in the 3-2 program right now, and I love that kind of balance. A lot of students (especially engineering majors) despise taking literature or music classes in addition to the sciences.</p>
<p>Though the prestige of Columbia is also worth considering. </p>
<p>Bear in mind that the 3.3 GPA is very misleading. That is only one GPA requirement - the other states that you cannot get a B- or below in any of your classes (excluding the core). That means you can have a 3.5 GPA and a B- in Multi ll, and you are no longer guaranteed to get into Columbia.</p>