Yeah, I’m not sure, interested in BME now… how can a 17 year old really know what they want … so to leave options open. I’m very very familiar with CWRU as there are about several degrees from the school, BME, EE, MBA, MD in the immediate family. This is why my personal dealings with CWRU places GT above ever so slightly. But would say I very very much agree. Cost is no issue. Cost might be a small issue if save $80K undergrad that might pay for one year of med school. And, I guess his volunteer shadowing at the hospitals will help him decide if MD is something to even worth nurturing in his mind… or if he decides nope, its engineering. Crap shoot.
Great points! And in fact, we discuss NOTHING outside of our house about college… NOTHING… people ask, we decline and say everyone will know when he decides by May 1st.
Until then, we let him focus on being a high school kid. He’s out now doing some school activity.
So here’s my reference… about five kids we know now second hand if I can say… well, first hand in some cases because I met them… anyone mildly driven, well behaved, is WILDLY successful finding graduate programs MD/PHD/VET … easily catapulted from PSU SHC into the stratosphere.
To be honest, I personally am pulling for PSU SHC. Half the cost of GT. Much closer to home. And, will set him up should he be interested to go to MED or GRAD school… they won’t hand him anything… but they will get him right to the doorstep.
Where we live, we’re very private. Don’t show boat… live below our means… focus on our children. SO TO SOME EXTENT… you’re right, I look to random people for thoughts… because we simply don’t blurt things out to friends and family…some of that just brings bad karma/juju anyway… so then I sleep on it and decide what to do with it if anything at all.
So appreciate insights anyway… even the 100% stepping back… but just so you know we’re already in the back row!!! But in next few weeks we’ll help prioritize, etc.
2 Likes
You mention cost. That should always play a part if an issue to you.
The other thing is - don’t forget, if your son is driven, he will be successful - whether PSU, Ga Tech or E Stroudsburg.
This is just one small part of a long journey.
3 Likes
For BME, I would pick GT over Cornell. (I’m a Cornell alum). For a pre-med, I would pick Case over both GT and Cornell.
4 Likes
Ok.
But what about the question?
GT vs PSU Schreyer Honors college?
I’d pick GT.
2 Likes
Med scholars
https://www.shc.psu.edu/life/student-programs/index.cfm
Summer programs
Early admission to med school
I love GT but I doubt he’ll get the individual attention Schreyer would offer. Plus a guaranteed chance at med school.
6 Likes
Combine with Emory is only for PhD. There is no combined for undergraduate!
You know my opinion. No GT if premed. CWRU was on my DD list, she got in, and had a great scholarship but we decided against it exactly because she was not interested in premed and was interested in Engineering. I do not know much about PSU. But I know CWRU has 3 (or even 4 hospitals on campus) and half of the school is premed/prehealth. That is good and bad at the same time. I would say it is too competitive/crowded for premed. In my opinion, your son needs to decide premed or not premed. If he is mostly interested in engineering and premed is just a remote possibility then go to GT. If he wants to be a doctor choose a school where he is most likely will be on a good more “guaranteed” premed path. Go for lower level school from your list to have a guaranteed highest possible GPA and best premed advising. I have no clue what school it is from your list (sounds like PSU), but definitely, it is not GT.
If I am not mistaken Cornell has grade deflation - so in my books it is not the best idea. Boston has grade deflation too! I would eliminate both. CMU has Biomedical Engineering only as second add on Engineering degree (DD discovered it too only after she got accepted there) plus again grade deflation.
What is UM? University of Michigan? Then it is too expensive OOS.
I have heard is RPI has not best premed advising.
You are trying to look at it as best Engineering possible and economical for tuition, but that may be not best for premed.
Notre Dame maybe a good option and PSU as you suggested. However, I do not know them enough.
I’ll restate my earlier suggestion on your other thread to meet with the pre-health advisor at each of his top choices. That may help with his decision in addition to his other fit criteria.
This GT article is a bit dated but may be of interest to your S.
https://news.gatech.edu/archive/features/next-stop-med-school.shtml
2 Likes
Note. Mentioned in that old article student was ISYE major. This is very different from BME. ISYE has different tracks, and you can graduate taking mostly management, economics, ISYE classes and very limited math. Science is elective, i.e. you need only 2 classes and you can choose them. Also, ISYE undergraduate body and Graduate body are two different levels (at list in the past when I attended .) GaTech calls ISYE majors Imaginary Engineering students (that is partially true :)).
Because of that do no look at the average GPA for ISYE. Smart students will have no problems to get relatively high GPA for ISYE. So this very bright hard working student left GaTech with good GPA,then he took only required classes for Medschool and was successful to get to Emory already as a mature person (medschools love it). This route is available for your son too, but I doubt that is the one he is interested in.
1 Like
We are doing just that!!! Note taken!!!
1 Like
Here is something I found interesting ( I am doing it for my other DD. It is just happened that I have one in GaTech BME and another wanting to be a doctor.)
The following copied from another post in premed/med forum .
“@icuinNm and @texaspg Thanks!!! She’s “leaving no stone unturned” this time! So far has a 4.0 in her masters program from a medical school she would love to go to. She has 7 secondaries back so far, so that is helping her focus on something (besides gross anatomy, which is her last masters class) waiting on scores!. And @dpBU23 , my middle was one of the 60% who got no admittance 2 years ago. Waitlisted at 2 schools, but no admittance. She did go to a top 20 undergrad, and her science grades suffered greatly the first 2 years. Made several C’s (which were average at her school), and studied 100’s of hours to get those! While she grew, learned and worked her way out of a hole, she still had a low science GPA (3.0). Her MCAT and overall GPA were fine, but not stellar. But ultimately she feels the GPA is what held her back, since many of her peers had lower MCATs and got in. She is not giving up on her dream, and decided a SMP would be the best way to prove her abilities and boost her science GPA. So far that is working. She re-took the MCAT last Saturday, hoping for a few more points. Her big sister is in her last year of medical school, and my middle has NO BLINDERS as to how hard it will be, and the sacrifices she will make. But I will say, she did say her advice to others is “go to your state flagship, get great grades, don’t try for the highly academic route and med school admission, it’s just too risky”. Her core group of friends were 7 girls. All but 1 pre-med. She is the only one who has/is applying to med school. She does NOT want to go to a top 20 Med school, and would be HAPPY, THRILLED and ELATED to go to her state flagship, where she was waitlisted 2 years ago!”
2 Likes
I’m 99.9% aligned on all that is written… and the last 0.1% is just semantics!!!
Believe me… I’m there… its his choice, he need decide, we’re trying to give him good advise.
If we could see into the future that would help! If he could say hey I know I can get a 4.0 at GT BME and blah blah blah… and while we’re confident he can do well… to leave the MD route open… its just a RISK at a school like GT.
But separate research shows GT has significantly increased graduating GPA rates as if to say a course-correction on grade deflation. (Personally, I liked the 1960’s era where a D was a passing grade… and nearly-everyone didn’t go to college, and one could be happy with a B b/c going to college was “good enough”… alas, the good ole days that I only read about).
THANKS! Good tips… I think UND is OUT with the cost and being more of a business school (as said from two ND grads).
1 Like
Strongly agree with advice to visit top contenders. It’s March - pick several weekends and go. Fit is the most important criteria to me when choosing school. Much more so than ranking. There are opportunities at all and motivated students can be super successful at many places. But not if they hate it 
If kids are miserable it turns into anxiety, depression and lack of motivation and many times grades suffer. College should be fun in my opinion and if it isn’t you’ve chosen the wrong school. Fit is also very individual. One of my kids loved UVA. The other two did not. Two liked Clemson. One kid hated it. One kid loved Michigan, another refused to visit or apply. Very possible your kid will know within 10 minutes of stepping foot on campus whether they can see themselves there.
4 Likes
This is often said. I don’t even know what this means. How can you make a 4 year decision in 10 minutes? Looks like speed dating to me.
Sometimes a student will just not like an attribute of a particular school (ex. urban/rural/size etc.). Same can happen with first dates sometimes as well (you know it isn’t a good match) LOL.
But lets get back to the OP’s question.
2 Likes
That sure is a hodge podge of schools for BME. PSU is a massive campus, albeit a beautiful campus but the complete opposite of CMU and CWR.
I can’t speak of GTech except my friends child went for civil engineering on the Hope scholarship so it cost nearly nothing and he got a job immediately.
Pitt has a very well-known BME program and works in conjunction with CMU. A great combo.
If cost is not an issue, I’d pick CMU over PSU but it has to be a good fit for the child. These 2 schools are polar opposites in almost every way.
To me, PSU and Va Tech are very similar, having toured both.
So if GT won over Va Tech, I’d assume it’d win over the Happy Valley too.
Not sure where CMU came in - but I won’t get into that one.
I did and it happened to my kids as well. Environment, feel of the campus, are apparent immediately. Is everybody on a computer while they eat, is anyone doing anything social outside, is it a pleasant place to be or does everyone look miserable, etc. It really gives a negative feeling when you walk into a cafeteria and everyone is glued to their screen with no interaction - happened to my nephew on a boarding school tour and he crossed it off even though he got in and it was number one in the country.
Some colleges are in less than desirable locations. Sketchy neighborhood, middle of nowhere, no real campus (NYU I’m looking at you).
I definitely got a gut first impression that turned out to be accurate the longer I stayed, and so did two of my kids. The third loved everywhere he went🤪
3 Likes