Help perfecting my list?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello CollegeConfidential :)
I, like the majority of rising seniors, have been working on perfecting my college list, and plan to have it finalized before the Common Application comes out on August 1st. I'm happy with the schools on it now, but I'm looking for one or two new schools that I'm crazy about to add :).</p>

<p>What you should know about me:
-I'm not going to list all of my stats, but with a 4.0 GPA and 34 ACT and excellent recommendations coming my way I have a fighting chance wherever I apply.
-I am majoring in Biomedical Engineering.
-I live in smalltown New York (yes, smalltown New York exists), and staying close to New York/ the Northeast is definitely a plus! I am willing to consider schools elsewhere, but no farther west than Missouri please :)
-I really don't have any preferences when it comes to urban/rural because I love the outdoors, and would love to be near a lake/ski mountain/hiking trails at a rural college :). However, as I live in a small town, being near a city would be a wonderful change of pace. My ideal college would have aspects of both outdoors/nature and city life. For example, I think Northwestern incorporates both wonderfully.
-I prefer medium size colleges (2,000-15,000 students), but wouldn't mind going larger or smaller.</p>

<p>My list so far:
REACH:
Brown University (LOVE, know it's a longshot but considering applying ED)
Northwestern University
Washington University
Macaulay Honors at CUNY City College (don't like the lack of campus life though :/)</p>

<p>MATCH:
Boston University
Case Western Reserve University</p>

<p>SAFETY:
RPI (I list this as a safety rather than a match because I recieved the RPI Medal Award, which gives me extremely high chances of admission)
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology</p>

<p>I love every school on my list right now, including the matches and safeties, but do you guys have any other schools to suggest!? Other schools I considered were Rice (I decided it's too far away), Columbia (may still apply, but feels to competitive), and Duke (love, but I'm not a big fan of the southern climate)</p>

<p>Thanks so much! Sorry for being lengthy!</p>

2

<p>We have a friend who is studying Biomedical Engineering at Univ. of Rochester. He loves it there, but it does get cold :slight_smile: They are on a lake and have @5000 undergrad.
What about CMU?
Brown sounds like a good fit, too.</p>

3

<p>Have you ever thought about Bowdoin? It seems to fit your outdoor desires.</p>

4

<p>^Doesn’t have an engineering program, though, other than a 3/2. </p>

<p>Great list so far! You’re definitely on the right track. I do have to put in a shameless plug for my future school, Carnegie Mellon. I will be a freshman this fall, and I will also be studying engineering. It would definitely fit in well with a lot of the other schools you listed. Great engineering program, in a manageable city (Pittsburgh) with lots of other colleges around it, about the right size. I also don’t think the campus feels overwhelmingly urban. The only thing is that biomedical engineering can’t be your primary major at CMU - you have to choose another major (like chemical, materials, etc.) as your primary major. I think Mat Sci + BME is pretty common. </p>

<p>Also, I wouldn’t be so quick to drop Columbia off your list if you’re really interested in it. </p>

<p>How about Johns Hopkins? I somewhat randomly visited JHU, not expecting to like it, and I loved it. I’d heard a lot about competition and stuff there, but it felt very warm and welcoming. I would note, however, that BME is an insanely hard program to get into there, so it may (though I can’t be sure) have more of that competitive feel. But it’s an excellent school for BME. </p>

<p>I might be back with more suggestions later, but hope that helps for now!</p>

5

<p>Have you considered Johns Hopkins or UPenn? Both have strong biomedical engineering programs.</p>

6

<p>Thank you all so much for helping!</p>

<p>CMU and the University of Rochester were awesome suggestions! I just spent some time researching both of these school and they look like awesome fits with their location/weather/size/programs! I wouldn’t mind taking on another major at CMU with Biomedical Engineering :)</p>

<p>I had previously looked into Bowdoin and loved the school, but I am not interested in getting my engineering degree through a 3/2 program :/</p>

<p>As for John Hopkins, I visited briefly with my cousin about 2 years ago and just did not like the feel of it. Our tour guide wasn’t very friendly and the students seemed over competitive :/. That was a while ago though, so I’ll definitely look into it again.</p>

<p>I never even thought to look into University of Pennsylvania because I always associated it with business majors :). That’s definitely a school I’ll look into more :)</p>

<p>Thanks again for all the suggestions! I’m the oldest child in my family, and me and my parents aren’t as knowledgable about the applications process as many others, so you guys are a huge help!</p>

7

<p>Take a look at University of Maryland. Highly regarded for engineering, including biomedical engineering and you are a metro ride away from Washington DC. In particular, check out the Gemstrone program, the honors program for engineers and science-types. It’s residential for the first year, and you get preference in signing up for classes. Nicer weather than a lot of the other NE schools too.</p>

8

<p>The key question-is money an issue? If you need much aid some of these schools will not necessarily work well like CMU and OOS publics. RPI can also only be a safety if it’s a financial safety.</p>

9

<p>M’s Mom- Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll definitely look into the University of Maryland :)</p>

<p>Redroses- Money isn’t necessarily an issue. I am by no means wealthy, but my father makes in the three figures as a lawyer, so chances of Financial Aid are super slim. However, generous merit-aid is ALWAYS a plus, and I would love to get out of college with as little debt as possible. RPI is a financial safety because the RPI Medal Award I had previously mentioned gives me 15,000 dollars of merit money a year if I gain admission, and I’m pretty confident I could win one or two more scholarships.</p>

10

<p>I’d suggest applying to Columbia even if you think it’s too competitive. I know an engineering major there and he loves it. This doesn’t mean Columbia would be right for you, of course, but you never know. Since you’re from NY, I assume you’ve visited it?</p>

<p>Maybe Whitman as a safety? I usually recommend it to everyone because it’s not uber selective and hard to get into, but at the same time it has a great reputation for academics. It’s a very friendly place from what I’ve heard, and everybody I know there absolutely loves it, even the failed Ivy Leaguer who initially thought it was “humiliating” to settle for it. Not to mention their joint engineering programs with Caltech, Columbia and Duke, which might be of interest to you. The only thing is, it’s a bit smaller than what you’re looking for.</p>

<p>Edit: I see that you don’t want a 3-2 degree, though. So maybe no to Whitman. But what about some other LAC?</p>

11

<p>I feel like if you are certain about biomedical engineering you should definitely consider both JHU and Duke.</p>

12

<p>I have been to Columbia. The campus is beautiful and it’s a good distance away from home, but the student body just seemed very uptight/competitive when I was looking for a more collaborative feel. I visited semi-close to finals though, so it could have been all the stress, and I’ll definitely give it a second look :D.
As for Duke and JHU, I really like Duke but I really <em>don’t</em> like the southern weather, I love cold winters/the change of seasons up in New York and would miss that. Like I mentioned before, I visited JHU two years back when my cousin was going through the application process and wasn’t particularly fond of the campus or super competitive students.</p>

13

<p>Even if Rose is your safety, you should totally still consider it in your final process. It’s an incredible school. :)</p>

<p>As for others - have you considered Harvey Mudd and/or Berkeley?</p>

14

<p>

</p>

<p>Oh my god I’m going to start killing people</p>

15

<p>How about Tufts and MIT?</p>

<p>BTW, with the stats you cite, BU seems like a safety to me, not a match.</p>

16

<p>how much have your parents SAID that they will pay each year? If you don’t know, ask. </p>

<p>Your dad earns a good living as a lawyer but he may not be prepared to pay $50k per year at the school of your choice. You mention younger kids in the family. Many students with parents with high incomes sadly find out that their parents won’t pay as much as the students thought they would.</p>

<p>So…find out for sure! :slight_smile: Otherwise, you could find yourself with a handful of unaffordable acceptances in the spring :(</p>

<p>If you find that your parents will only pay an amount that is less than RPI’s balance after the $15k per year scholarship, then you’ll need to apply to another safety school that you know for SURE will give you lots of scholarship money.</p>

<p>But, if you find out that your parents will pay however much your school costs, then great! But, it’s good to know that now. :)</p>