We are going to the summer tour program for CSE this weekend. Any suggested questions would be appreciated. My initial thoughts:
Any other questions would be appreciated.
Do you (OP, that is) have an expected major? I could offer some that were major-specific, but here are some general themes you should consider for all your schools. (Full disclosure- I studied and work at Minnesota, so these questions may not be totally unbiased)
Good luck- hope you like our school!
My daughter knows some of the answers through her sister who graduated from UMN a year ago. Good questions though. She wants to major in Biomedical Engineering.
@khidhala - See my response above about major. My real big question is on help getting internships (experience before graduation) and how good is the placement office. I went to Iowa State and the placement office was great.
Any insight you can give on the above would be much appreciated.
With one daughter already graduated, I didn’t want to repeat stuff you and your younger daughter may already know. Stuff like the WISE (Women in Science & Engineering) initiative, or the mentoring groups (SWE is very strong here).
Most of what you seem to be interested in would be channeled through the CSE Career Center. They organize on-campus employer interviews, as well as the typical placement office support (resume workshops, practice interviews).
Each semester, they hold a career fair, and there are plenty of local and national companies that recruit interns, employees and co-ops there. It’s grown so big that they are making it a two-day affair this year. I don’t have first-hand knowledge of Biomedical Engineering, but I know (and you and your daughter probably know better) the Twin Cities is very innovative in that field.
The U maintains GoldPASS- a resource linking students and alumni to businesses seeking interns and employees. I just looked today, and see internships available for BioMedEng from at least 3 local biotech firms. Perhaps your other daughter could let her sister see some of what is available to her and all graduates from Minnesota.
Iowa State does have a very strong placement office from all that I’ve heard. I’ve heard nothing but good things from my engineering friends about the Minnesota’s offices- particularly those of CSE and CSOM. The offices and the colleges really work to give the students the skills they need to project well at interviews. From my admittedly limited knowledge (I was a math major, not engineering- so most of my knowledge is from friends and colleagues), the biggest difference between the two schools is the corporate connections available.
Personally, I couldn’t think of a better school between the coasts for BioMedical Engineering than Minnesota and that’s not entirely school pride. I hope you and your daughter enjoy the tour and get all the answers she needs to make her choice! Best of luck to you!
@khidhala The CES preview was really good this weekend and they answered all of my questions. I saw more of the campus than I ever did during my visits to my daughter previously. It is very nice, especially the fitness center!
I cannot imagine any campus being nicer or offering more. I have been to IU and UIUC over the last 3 years.
My son decided he is not going into CLA. He is going to apply to CSE in Chem Eng. What do you think my kids chances are of getting accepted (see my other thread for stats)?
What are their chances of getting Gold National Scholarship? They will need it to afford UMN.
Any info you can give would be appreciated.
@khidhala Forgot to say the Associate Dean of CSE is an awesome speaker and so is the Chemistry Professor for breakout this last Friday. BioMed presenter was not so good. The panel discussion was very good.