<p>I just recently got into both GATech and UCSD and I'm looking to do a bio/biomedical engineering program. I've checked out both programs quite thoroughly and it seems that both are tops in the field. I seem to be at some sort of stalemate as to deciding where to go between the two and was wondering if anyone could provide new insight as to the differences between the two schools that could act as a "tiebreaker" of sorts. I got accepted to the Thurgood Marshal school at UCSD in the honors program which is appealing to me in terms of academics, but in terms of actual living, I like big city life much better and therefore might like Atlanta as a home better. However, its not like I hate San Diego (I live in CA) and I would very much like warm weather and nice beaches, so location is also in stalemate for me. And also, even though from my impression the bioengineering programs are identical in terms of ranking and quality, is there any difference that I might not know of atm? </p>
<p>If you live in CA, I would personally go to SD. That was my first choice, I applied in biomed/bioengineering there as well. However, I got rejected but got into Gtech, so now that's one of my top choices.</p>
<p>If you really want to go OOS and have the money, etc., then I guess going to Gtech would be better since it's generally a better school at engineering, and incase you want to switch majors, you'll have more options and variability.</p>
<p>Yeah, I live in CA. Another big thing keeping me from SD is how close it is to my home (moving to San Diego in a few months). I've been to San Diego downtown and I like it but San Diego is a considerable distance (15-20 min drive) from La Jolla. What is downtown Atlanta like? Is it anything like a major city like Boston, NYC, LA, etc? Again, any help would be really appreciated.</p>
<p>I liked Atlanta from what I saw of it; Lots of huge, awe-inspiring buildings and a lot of different activities, though they might not all be concentrated near campus. One thing that's noteworthy is that the area around Tech is experiencing somewhat of a revival, so the area is improving, but I hear right now it's popular to go to Buckhead on the other side of town for most diversions.</p>
<p>One thing you might not like is the weather is way more variable than CA (assuming you live on the coast). Some days it gets over 100 and others you will barely hit freezing all day.</p>
<p>Regarding academics, the amount of breadth involved in Tech's biomed program is pretty impressive. I think it might be one of the biggest programs in the nation given how many different courses I saw related to biomed engineering cross-listed with ECE (my major).</p>