<p>I was accepted into Harvard, Princeton, and offered some research scholar program at Cornell (which I think gives a few thousand towards research every year). Anyway, I want to do biomedical engineering, or something related during my undergrad years and then go to med school. I'm very into calculus, biology, and physics.</p>
<p>Do you guys have any advice as to what I should pick? Cornell is ranked higher in the engineering department... but i don't knowwww</p>
<p>Not only is it better in the program, but the research scholar program sounds like a huge perk. Being funded to do research already is a great opportunity. Also, picking the best option in your given program is the wisest thing to do in my opinion.</p>
<p>Go to Harvard. Harvard’s biomedical engineering programs are great, and if you change your mind, you are at an amazing school that will help you make that decision and offer you amazing resources in wherever you choose to go. I know I’m biased. But choose Harvard. It’s amazing. Come to Visiting Weekend and you’ll see.</p>
<p>thefishofsorts, are you in biomed engineering? I’m leaning towards Harvard right now, but I would feel much better after talking to someone in it you know?</p>
<p>Also, I’ve heard from quite a few people that Harvard is ultra-competitive and cut throat (also somewhat condescending). I’m not sure as to the validity of those claims. Can you clarify for me, in your honest opinion? :)</p>
<p>indian guy, I want to know who told you that it’s ultra-competitive. That’s absolute crap. I study with people all the time. I talk with pre-med people and even they say it’s not competitive. There is tons of grade inflation. The fact that it’s uber-competitive and impossible here is one big myth, so please, if you take nothing else from me, understand that Harvard’s academic environment, is warm, welcoming, and collaborative. I promise. Students here discuss the lack of validity of your claim every day. I’m not in biomed engineering, but you should use the admitted student chats or visiting weekend and you will find people who are. I think there may be an SEAS-specific chat (engineering) that you should check out now.</p>
<p>Seriously, I’m going to say this again. HARVARD IS NOT UBER-COMPETITIVE. I don’t know why the school gets a bad rap about that. There is so much curving, and even where there is not curving, there are tons of easy assignments that inflate your grades if you just go to class and do your homework. I assume that won’t be a problem for you! Don’t worry, I’m not angry at you for asking. I’m just happy I got to you before you made a decision based on false information!</p>
<p>thefishofsorts, thanks for the clarification.
that’s the reason i posted this in the forum… haha. I wanted to make sure I had the right information before I made a choice. Where can I find the admitted student chats? I haven’t gotten the acceptance packet yet… so I don’t have an HUID or anything.</p>
<p>ALSO, can you comment on Boston? I love the Red Sox, and have always thought Boston is awesome… but I’ve never had a chance to visit. haha.</p>
<p>Though Harvard College is certainly competitive and (at times) cutthroat, the level of cutthroatedness (not a word) in the College is far below that of graduate schools at Harvard.</p>
<p>My dad attended Harvard as an undergrad and loved the experience.
He also attended Harvard Law School and says it was the worst four years of his life. He has told me of how kids would rip pages out of other kids’ notebooks to ‘get an edge’ and how the level of animosity and competitiveness between kids to ‘make it big’ was just absolutely ridiculous.</p>
<p>The Government, are you a student at Harvard?</p>
<p>indianguy, you can go to the admissions office website, go to the admitted students login page, and enter your access code and last name (access code should have been emailed to you, but you can give your email address on your application and I think they can send it, if not you can just call the office tomorrow).</p>
<p>“He also attended Harvard Law School and says it was the worst four years of his life.”</p>
<p>Since law school is only three years, I’m not impressed with the authenticity of this information. Never mind the fact that the ripping-pages story is an urban legend that’s been around for decades.</p>
<p>If your #1 priority is getting the best ever BME education - Harvard may not be the best choice (I don’t know much about BME here other than it’s relatively new and getting a lot of attention/investment).</p>
<p>If your #1 priority is getting into a top med school - Harvard may very well be the best choice. Our premed classes aren’t easy, but they are definitely not competitive and definitely not “weed out” classes. The professors want everyone to succeed - lots of office hours/tutoring is offered, and people work together on problem sets every week. Additionally, as mentioned above, Harvard has some grade inflation (most classes are curved to about a B+), which I’ve heard is <em>very</em> helpful in med school applications. Last but not least, the engineering requirements are difficult, but not absurd like they are at some schools.</p>
<p>Last but not least, congratulations on the Cornell scholarship - but research funding is relatively easy to come by at both Harvard and Princeton, so I wouldn’t let that factor into your decision too much.</p>
<p>just<em>forget</em>me, I’m not dead-set on getting the best BME education. It’s just a major I want to pursue. I think I’m more inclined towards getting into Med School and having a very satisfying college experience. I’m hoping the visiting days really offer me some insight.</p>
<p>As for the research, I actually did summer research at the end of my sophomore year at Rutgers microbiology lab (at the Waksman Institute). [My mentor professor was a Harvard graduate for both undergrad and med school]. What I would like to specifically know is what kind of opportunities are available for research in microbiology/cell biology/really something medicine related. I’m definitely open to anything in that field. </p>
<p>The research opportunities you talked about… would they be at Harvard itself, or some nearby institution? Also, when would I really have the opportunity to research (for example end of freshman year), and how easy is it to obtain funding.</p>
<p>Also also, what can you tell me about the Life Science 1a and 1b courses that I believe freshman are required to take. I will have completed ap bio, ap chem, and ap physics c by June and wanted to know just how introductory they are. The last thing I want is to not get anything useful out of those classes, you know?</p>
<p>Maybe there are higher placement classes in case these classes are very introductory?</p>
<p>What sort of research opportunities are there and when could I get started?
The hard part here is figuring out what kind of research you want to do, and finding the time to actually do the research… there are so many labs here, and as a rule they’re very undergrad-friendly. I think people typically just email 5-10 professors doing stuff they find interesting, have some “informal” interviews with labs, and then end up with a spot.</p>
<p>You could start doing research as soon as you get here - although I’m not sure I’d recommend it freshman fall (it’s nice to get settled first). Freshman spring can be a good time so that you have a lab you can work in over the summer.</p>
<p>If you want some ideas of what you could research, check out: [Dept</a> of MCB, Harvard U: Faculty and Research - Faculty](<a href=“http://www.mcb.harvard.edu/Faculty/faculty_list.php]Dept”>http://www.mcb.harvard.edu/Faculty/faculty_list.php) These are the MCB faculty, who have labs on campus. You could also reach out to Harvard Med School faculty, the downside is that you’d have to go to the med school campus to work (free, ~20 minute shuttle).</p>
<p>Do I have to take LS1a + LS1b?
Short answer: yes. You’ll find out that your science background (while very impressive!) is relatively typical for Harvard pre-med types. LS1a/b are designed to be “one sized fits all” with some enrichment opportunities for people with more advanced backgrounds, and some extra help for people who have weaker backgrounds (there’s also LPS A for people without much chem background).</p>
<p>Thanks a lot just<em>for</em>me! I’ll definitely check all this information out… it’s very informative.</p>
<p>Does the premed/molecular biology curriculum let me take upper level math classes? I am very much a math lover. I also want to take some business courses - finance, some management perhaps, etc.–just so I know how to handle money, be prudent with finances, etc.</p>
<p>Basically, how feasible/how hard is it to perhaps pick up a minor in some sort finance/math (I guess it would be a joint concentration at Harvard)?</p>
