<p>My son got UMCP (5K) scholarship. But he got accepted from Upenn, Cornell, Duke and CMU. However he did not get much aid from these universities. We need to spend around 40K if he goes to anywhere except UMCP. He is interesting in doing Bioengineering. Every time we debate about whereto go, we end up thinking about the 40K cost in the prestigious colleges. We would like to get some suggestions and comparison of the colleges vs. UMCP</p>
<p>rajravi,</p>
<p>OK, UMCP grad here, so you may expect I'd be baised. However, I'm going to be brutally honest instead.</p>
<p>So, the jist of your problem sounds like money. I'm not really sure if Duke has a bio-engineering program, and if it does wether it ranks higher than UMCP. However, one thing a Duke diploma has well above a UMCP diploma is prestige, and THAT'S something the tech firms WILL look for. Let's face it, with a Duke diploma your son's starting salary will be thousands of dollars a year more than a UMCP grad, just because of the reputation of the school. Cold hard fact.</p>
<p>Start looking at student loans and grants. With the higher salary of a Duke diploma, yes your son will have to pay them off in 10 years, but 14 years down the road from now, he will be earning that much more than a UMCP grad. Think 40 years instead of 4. There are plenty of outstanding bio-engineers from both Universities. The UMCP grads will enjoy working for a terrific firm, sharing a lab with a lot of other UMCP grads. Their boss, the one in the corner office down the hall, will be a Duke Grad.</p>
<p>Just my thoughts, but sometimes you have to pay for the long term.</p>
<p>Standing by for counter-arguements from my fellow Trep grads...</p>
<p>I agree with most of the things that Bullet said. But I'd recommend UPenn over Duke.</p>
<p>Duke's BME is really good. UMD is pretty weak in Bioengineering. I don't think it's even accredited.</p>
<p>I'm surprised ur son only got a 5K from cp if he got into upenn and duke...both schools are pretty hard to get in. But I agree w/ everyone else...either upenn and duke is a better choice...the long-term benefits are greater at these schools</p>
<p>Duke's BME program is ranked 2nd in the country, with JHU being #1.</p>
<p>We visited Duke last week. The campus is very good, much bigger than college park. Upenn is ranked higher overall while the BME ranking for Duke is higher than Upenn.</p>
<p>Yes, but Penn still has a top 5 BME program and is investing billions into the field.</p>
<p>Give me a break- take the money and go to the Univ of Maryland. </p>
<p>Employers (like me) will hire ambitious students with awesome talent. If you are a mediocre student and the only way you can get a job is with a Duke "pedigree"- go ahead and spend the money on Duke. If you want a great education at a reasonable price from a state school, and you can set yourself apart from the masses, get your undergrad from a good state school and find an employer who will help pay for your (more important) graduate degree.</p>
<p>Duke does not accept mediocre students, I have a friend who was a legacy and did not get in. She was valedictorian with a 5.0+ GPA. Also Duke is down the road from RTP, which is a huge recruiting ground.</p>