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

Colleges and Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
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

I’m sure by now you have visited these schools. I’m surprised you haven’t been able to eliminate some of these great colleges (congrats, by the way).

You know Caltech and MIT have a Core, which includes many humanities. Some of these will include scientific writing, sci-FI lit, etc. Caltech and Rice have residential Houses, which I like. MIT has dorms, but once again, you are selecting dorms where you feel you will fit in. Same with their fRats.

I can only speak about MIT and Caltech, but kids are definitely involved in ECs.

3

Weather is a reasonably important consideration. I realized this after my kid joined Caltech. You do not want to have depressing cold weather on top of the heavy course-load. Bright and sunny LA weather helps to lift up your spirits and also keep you healthy. Caltech kids do participate in research activities.

4

As someone who got into both MIT and Caltech last year, and got to know both schools very well, I can say that students at both these schools find/make time for their ECs, and both schools ease you into the difficult load (P/F for part of freshman year).