I would love advice! I have visited both campuses multiple times and honestly don’t have a preference to either one. I do love liberal arts, but want to major in either Bio or Psych, most likely neuroscience (which Tech is set to have by 2016-2017, confirmed by professor). I plan on going pre-med, or aiming to do so if I do not change my mind. At tech I would probably major in BME, at UGA probably cognitive science.
So here are the things I want to consider, and I would love any and all input and advice as far as these points:
Pre-med Grad placement->I aim to go to either Vanderbilt or UChicago for med school/Grad school (I set high goals for myself, and I really LOVE these schools), so I take stats as far as pre-meds getting into med school and into really good programs seriously
study abroad
-research/internships--> opportunity, quality, grants, and variety
activities
average GPA
If you go to either UGA honors, or Tech please describe why you chose to go there?
variety of classes--> whats one of your fav classes/most memorable? How are classes varied at each school for pre-med?
How do professors compare?
-activites/honors societies/ academic association on campus?
-food/dorms/facilities
One thing I want to share with you is that you might want to rethink BME as a major. Most of my D’s friends who went into Tech as BME freshman year have switched majors. It is very difficult. Plus it is better to major in ME with an BME minor. You are more marketable to companies if you decide not to go the med school route.
Uhmmm. Your goals are your goals and the “school” doesn’t place you anywhere. You do. Vanderbilt and Chicago are obtainable but not easy even if you have the credentials, so no school can be owed to success or failure unless the courses were too easy and thus you did poorly on the MCAT or something. Not many places publish stats on elite placement into med. school…also, even overall placement rates are supersensitive to how many people apply (if HUGE amounts apply, then it will be lower). Also, BME is not the best for the pre-med GPA…(nor is any engineering major really). You will have to work much harder than the normal pre-health. I would recommend what itsv just said. I also find that many people do not exactly understand what BME is and what it looks like at the undergrad. level.
I plan on working hard wherever I go, and I say I’m going pre-med now, but really I just want to do something super productive and interesting, and become a professional at it. If I go to tech, most likely I’ll major in bio starting out. And I know these goals are far-fetched but its something to shoot for.
Really, I’m looking for a contrast between the two, is there really a difference between the academics other than rigor?
How do overall experiences contrast/vary?
@ttiramisu "rigor"can mean different things. If anything, it is the type of rigor that matters. Like UGA will be decently “rigorous”, but perhaps more often in the “wrong” ways. Like a more difficult course at a school typically deemed as “less rigorous” will often be difficult because the class overloads students with content/ideas to memorize at a surface level (and thus students do not retain much or accrue misconceptions). More “rigorous” schools typically throw harder material at students and then ask them to do more than the normal (memorization). Like problem sets and homework MAY (unfortunately many biology departments, even at good schools, are stuck in high school mode) focus more on application and problem solving at a more rigorous school (and honestly, that is good for MCAT prep, even if it costs you a couple of B’s-If you get good training in some key courses on the MCAT or whatever standardized test, even if a GRE subject test, and then Ace those exams, they can and often do overlook a couple of imperfections). Also, keep in mind that rigor is instructor dependent, so often harder schools are just schools where, for whatever reason (maybe institutional culture), a higher number of instructors than normal decide to hold students to high standards (as this has apparently become a rare thing even at “good” colleges). And often, you get these types of differences in the sciences, though I suppose you can have schools with many instructors that give higher than normal reading and writing loads in the social sciences.
One difference I notice between UGA and Tech (but you would not experience in honors at UGA) is that class sections are much larger at UGA. But honestly, your experience in honors at UGA may be better or comparable to places like Tech or Emory but with much smaller class sizes and a different grading scheme for certain honors courses that will give honors students an advantage GPA wise over both non-honors students and students who attend standard courses at selective institutions. Another difference is that UGA in biological sciences will simply have much more variety (concentration and course wise) and this may be appealing. It’s really up to you. You may enjoy “big fish, small pond” over “small fish, big sea”. However, I imagine Tech is better if you decide to deviate from the BIG 3 pre-prof. track that is pre-med but remain in science (but at the same time, UGA is associated directly with certain government agencies and has the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center which is amazing!). It, in theory, has more ways of positioning future scientists (perhaps because it is a target for science recruiters) of all kinds and there is something good about being motivated by tons of students who are at your caliber (or better in many cases). I suppose it just isn’t good if you view things from more of a competitive point of view, but being surrounded by insane students a school that caters to them can be inspiring (though stressful at times). At this point, the options are so apples and oranges that will come down to your personal preferences.
Apologies, but besides the grammatical boo-boos in your posts that are like nails on a blackboard to me (sorry) it does not sound like you have thought this though well. If you start in bio at Tech, it will be hard to change into BME, as there are usually engineering course sequences that have to be taken (haven’t checked the BME course requirements at Tech, so am just talking in generalities) and if you add in co-op’ing, you’ll be attending for many years. It s also probably a bad idea to consider majoring in a program that hasn’t started yet, and isn’t scheduled to until your sophomore year. There will be growing pains, may be limited courses or faculty, etc. You are better off going to UGA and considering a major in Biological engineering or biochemical engineering, if, and only IF you really want an engineering degree. As others have said, GPA will matter for med school if you go that route. Many start out pre-med, but redirect.
@jym626 : I don’t know if many freshmen start the actual engineering courses. Now, juggling the “potential” for switching to BME is a risk, as on top of the general biology courses (and perhaps chemistry), they will likely have to throw in CS1370/1371 and maybe even physics. So playing the whole pre-med “game” (and unless you are abnormally strong/devoted to science, it is primarily a game of picking the right sciences/schedule at the right times and with the right instructors to ensure a high GPA while also not being a complete dummy. Sadly, that is the nature of med. school admissions and everyone knows it, and you kind of allude to it) while also keeping BME open as a freshman is rough as you want to start off with at least an okay GPA. And to be bluntly honest, many pre-meds take “soft” schedules in comparison to engineering and pre-PhD science students for that very reason. Like you may likely only see them take chem and biology their freshman year and sometimes they even avoid that and take only one STEM class. Needless to say, that won’t cut it if the student wants to switch into an engineering major. I suppose one could be like a stereotypical pre-health that doubles up on sciences, but throws in CS1370/1371 and saves physics for sophomore year, but then that will likely offset entry into engineering courses. Not to mention what happens if they do not have AP credits for any of this stuff (including the math that I have not even brought into the conversation).
@bernie12 - At GT the BME majors have to take the BME 1000 intro course before they can take anything else. It’s an engineering course. Assuming they can get in it first semester they also should then be taking BME 1300 second semester freshman year. Also other engineering majors stat taking engineering classes freshman year. I know EE majors takes ECE 2020 second semester freshman year. I wouldn’t recommend BME for med school though… Too hard to keep the high GPA necessary.
@MichiganGeorgia: Okay, I just didn’t know that many people took it freshman year. Is 5 classes normal over there for engineering majors: Something like CS 1370/1371, chem 1310 (if non-pre-med), physics 2211, and math 1501, and general biology(is that required for BME?), and in one of those semesters, the engineering class you speak of (I just assumed physics was a pre-req for the engineering courses. Guess I was wrong)? This is of course assuming forfeiture or non-existence of AP credit in most intro. courses. One of the main reasons it is hard is because the courseload. Those courseloads, like I said, are not typical of pre-healths. Also, as I already said, In my opinion, pre-health is not about actually being great at science so much as taking the right science courses and making A’s in them.
Sometimes the two are not related. For example, many schools, including Emory offer a non-Calc. based physics that is of course dominated by pre-healths (many who have AP credit for calc. mind you). Emory is not the only selective school like this (some other privates claim to offer a low level calc. based for pre-healths are honestly doing the same thing. Usually no calculus is used/assessed). The pre-med core is all introductory classes except for ochem and at many places that even turns into another class with service course level of instruction. Except for biology, pre-healths usually do not go higher into the other scientific disciplines (I suppose that makes sense) and definitely are not encouraged or required to.
Again, all a game. Engineering doesn’t really allow one to play it as the course load is demanding often requiring higher level maths and a legitimate calculus based physics course to be successful. It is certainly not for the faint-hearted person merely “needing to get a high GPA while doing the right extra curriculars”. Though ironically, it is often found that engineering, because of its interdisciplinary nature, is good preparation/training for something like medical school. It is just that the training is not as valued as much as the credentialing (grades). Many engineering majors with lower end GPA’s apparently get solid (or even very good) MCAT scores, but the GPA is a stumbling block/deal breaker. Kind of disappointing…
@ttiramisu - I would seriously look at the job prospects for bio majors. I don’t think they are very good. A lot of kids go into bio for med school and then don’t get into med school…
The person will just need to work…If they do research for an extended period of time (at least 2 years) during undergraduate years (for one it will strengthen their med. school application if everything else is okay), they will likely qualify for technician positions and can take a gap year. Also, many folks will just take a gap year regardless. They can find something to do that is not biology related and as long as they use the time to strengthen the med. school application, they’ll live. The problem is those who choose to do nothing after not gaining admission the first time and many, no matter the major, can be in that boat. You just have to be smart to make sure you develop skills in other areas to ensure that you have options. Many people do this by double majoring, or taking courses in areas outside of the major (especially math and CS). Diversifying or getting involved in research (and becoming good at/enjoying it) can help significantly. On the other hand, humdrum, “jump through the med. school hoops” biology majors will end up having trouble because their undergraduate time was almost too focused on that goal to the point where they avoided classes and activities that do not directly help with medical school admissions and that is a huge pitfall. I don’t know, I would just get involved on campus to develop additional skills along with diversifying coursework toward skills that are marketable. Many of my friends who are seniors and juniors were great at this and thus, despite being natural science majors, were able to land consulting/advertising/marketing jobs and jobs at more Tech oriented companies with solid pay. Many of these are the weird types who have the stats. for things like med. and grad school, but are just unsure whether or not and when they would want to do those things so became good enough to try out other things they enjoy. Mind you, these kids are at Emory. I can only imagine the benefits that Tech can offer those who are like my friends as the recruiting is amazing there. Prospective employees are rewarded when they are not 1-dimensional and possess several marketable skills that they have gained over time.