MIT vs JHU vs Upenn vs Columbia vs Yale vs Caltech vs Rice

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

Having tough deciding between these (deadline this weekend!). Major is BME, or Course 2A (mechE)/Course 20 (Biological Engineering)/Course 10 (ChemE) for MIT. Current goal is to go for a PhD in area relating to nanotechnology, biosensors, or biomaterials. Finances not a primary concern.

Any thoughts appreciated!

MIT:
+: amazing at engineering, research opportunities, Cambridge, spirit of innovation, more marketable degree if stop with BS.
-: too hard to enjoy self or have time to do research? Also arguably less academically diverse (less humanities)
?: Is the workload manageable with planning?

JHU:
+: top BME program (amazing curriculum), good engineering administration, outreach opportunities
-: social life is primarily the library?, less strong in other majors if change, competitive environment?

UPenn:
+: overall academic strength, alumni network, strong BME research
-: more pre-professional focus in undergrad students

Columbia:
+: strong humanities, diverse and passionate students, favorite campus and city, alumni network
-: curriculum arguably less strong, administration has reputation for being difficult, most expensive option.

Yale
+: diverse and passionate students, music and art opportunities
-: curriculum arguably less strong, don’t like some of the requirements, less engineering research going on

Caltech:
+: high percent of people go to grad school, strong academics, great professor contact, weather
-: similar to MIT - workload so tough it is difficult to have time for ECs or research? Less academic diversity of students.

Rice:
+: solid overall, good bioengineering program, nice residential system
-: not too much to complain about, less name recognition than some

2

JHU, Yale, or Caltech for me.

3

If you plan on having a life outside of just studying, then pick the school that fits you personally the best. You will have a great career if you attend either one. Some of the points you make are stereotypes and may not be your actual experience in the school. You will be in this place for four years. You deserve to enjoy it. Pick the one that you feel the most at home in, the rest will fall into place.

4

@undecider

If i were u I would focus on JHU, MIT, Penn and Caltech. Rice, while good in bioengineering is not as strong overall as a school and I think that is important for undergrad. This might be true for JHU too but to a lesser degree and also JHU has by far the best bioengineering so it makes up for it. Yale while it has a great name and in fact is solid for bioengineering, its general engineering offerings in terms of research and academics are not really up to par with the other schools. I think if you want a super rigorous experience cal tech and MIT are prob the way to go. If you want a very rigorous but also more well-rounded experience Penn is the place to go. If you are 150% set on bioengineering then JHU is also a very attractive choice. I think another plus of MIT, Penn and JHU is that all three are either affiliated with or have world renowned, research-powerhouse hospitals and medical schools very close or right on their campuses. So this is a big plus for doing research. Also Penn has invested hugely in nanotech. http://www.nano.upenn.edu/

Try to think of it also in terms of personal fit, environment, social life etc this is quite important the the schools are quite different in this way.

5
  1. Are you at all interested in pursuing something outside the STEM fields? If so, I say eliminate MIT right now. Bear in mind, even if you do major in STEM, MIT means you'll be around a constant party of STEM nerds. For some this is paradise, for others... not so much.
  2. JHU and MIT are considered more work-intensive and strenuous environments, stereotypically.
  3. "curriculum arguably less strong" - I'd say don't consider this. If you are 100% on BMED engineering then, yes, JHU and MIT have the clear edge, but if you may change you major I wouldn't decide based off of this. Especially for undergrad.

Try to eliminate some of those schools, think about any you dislike.

I am a molecular biology major who was accepted to all the schools you listed other than Caltech and Rice (to which I did not apply). I chose Yale for its strength in broad disciplines and personally preferable social scene. If you want to talk more about how I came to my decision, feel free to PM me!