Are you familiar with this advising department at Penn State?
Second- BME and pre-med are not always good friends. Engineering has so many requirements that it can be tough to work in pre-med requirements. There are some great majors in HHD (kinesiology, bio behavioral health, etc) that might be better options. Just encouraging you to think outside the box-
(I have a kines major at penn state, so admittedly biased. But grad school requires 100 hours of shadowing. For her graduation requirements, she will have about 350 hours of shadowing. Helps with applications).
I was a Schreyer Scholar at PSU and I chose it over Cornell. Partly because of price, partly because of the “big fish little pond” idea. That was specifically mentioned to me by my senior English teacher and was very influential. I loved my time at PSU and have had a great career since then, recruiting at PSU cannot be beat. But I wasn’t aiming for med school, I was a ChemE.
My research was with the department chair, obviously he was highly regarded. I didn’t live in Atherton, the old honors dorm, I lived on an honors only floor of Beaver and it was life changing. I experienced diversity for the first time in my life. But of course I spent time in the honors dorm as I made friends in my honors classes. Definitely smarter kids than the university as a whole. I loved that vibe.
I keep seeing people refer to PSU as cowtown. It does not feel at all like that on campus. I didn’t look at GaTech too closely, I don’t remember why. If it was today I’m sure I would have.
I’m chuckling about the sad kids at Cornell vs the happy ones at PSU. That is really the feeling I got when choosing between those two. That vibe made all the difference to me.
My son is a senior at GT. He makes similar comments about his brother at FSU and his friends at Pitt and PSU.
I graduated from Pitt. When my sons started their search one condition for me was to apply to every honors program. A top notch HC like Schreyer is a difference maker. My son at FSU would agree. GT not so much.
I’ll say it one last time. If med school is even a remote possibility take GT off the list. Good luck.
Well… if my DS a BME (considering med school but who knows?) does decide to go to GT… then all I can say is I as a parent will be a nervous wreck over GPA for him… we won’t stress him out but I hear you LOUD AND CLEAR… and exactly my underlying concern (not a fear).
I would be a nervous wreck for any engineering major at any school, knowing that nationally, depending on the study 40-60% don’t make it to graduation - either drop out or change majors.
That’s probably less likely for an elite kid but what isn’t less likely is a stud getting their butt kicked anywhere. My ‘stud’ has a 3.2 in his major at a lesser school (he chose over Purdue) with two WDs.
I can’t find current data but in 2011, GT had 1500 in pre health advising.
I have no doubt the path from engineering will be hard. I have no stats, but I’m sure some people do go from Ga Tech to med school. But most engineers likely end up in professional roles. But I wouldn’t say - go to one college, get into med school. Go to another for the same major, no shot.
Let me give you some anecdata fwiw. A friend’s kid went to GT, did CS, took up a job at Amazon, quit after a year (pre planned) and went to medical school :-).
If I were a kid wanting to go pre-med, I would choose Schreyer over GIT. It’s probably a bit easier to earn a high GPA, if he is going to take the same or similar courses at both schools.
Plus, he’ll have the benefits of the honors program, which others have mentioned.
That being said, both are fine opportunities, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit them. They are so different that a visit will probably greatly inform his decision.
And if he is also interested in Case or Cornell, well… it’s a three-hour drive from PSU to Cornell, and about a four-hour drive from PSU to Case.
CWRU and Cornell are on the list… notification dates are 3/18 and 4/1 respectively.
He should get into CWRU and Cornell is a coinflip.
That written, GT is ahead in his mind over CWRU … similar schools but GIT is a bit better (won’t get into backstory here but that’s the general findings we have considering no aide will be given).
PSU Schreyer is a bit ahead in his mind over Cornell… all things consider, similar location, Cornell grads describe it as anti social, nobody talks, painful, etc. No disrespect.
BUT … I agree 100% which is why those schools are/were on his list… should either come through with merit or something that sways the cost way down for either school it could make it a contender… but he will receive no aide (and cost isn’t really a factor… other than any money saved is in fact money saved).
Yes, because Parchment is not perfect. And kids that are driven to apply to more “elite” schools to begin with are probably more apt to go with the higher ranked school if they get in and the finances work. Many/most kids still go to community college or their state schools or their cheaper options (whether with merit or need based aid) in general.
Parchment is not perfect. When the gap is so stark, it likely gets the direction right. Obviously the costs are different. And no one is arguing that. Other things equal, the choice seems to be clear for the vast majority of people. And if you are going to OOS GT, costs are closer. Some 50k vs 80k
:-). I am not being flippant about this. They are somewhat apart. But if if you could afford either, the long term outcomes could be somewhat different.
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