Hello,
I am choosing between attending UC Berkeley and Yale-NUS in Singapore. In UCB, I got admitted into the bio-engineering program whereas I was admitted into the life-science program at Yale. As an international student, finances are definitely a fundamental factor in my decision but my parents have insisted that they would be willing to pay for all four years if I go to UCB (UCs don’t give any financial aid to international students). I am interested in bio-engineering/pre-med but the difficulty in choosing a college lies in the fact that UC Berkeley has a phenomenal bio-engineering program whereas the latter has a great life-science major that can lead into admission into Duke-NUS, a medical school in Singapore. I feel as though I will be able to thrive in a liberal arts college like Yale NUS but my fear is that I may find that medicine is not a career path for me and since bio-engineering is not offered there; basically, the two colleges will provide two distinctive career paths, although the opportunities in UC Berkeley are much more vast. If I were to choose Yale-NUS, complete the life-science course, which integrates a degree of engineering into the program, would it be possible to attend a graduate school in the US for bio-engineering?
Thanks for your advice!
“I am interested in bio-engineering/pre-med”
Most US med schools do not admit international students. The few that do generally require that the full four years of tuition is paid before the student enrolls. If your parents don’t have US $300,000 or so to pay for med school here if you would be one of the approximately 1% of international applicants who are admitted four years from now, then stop thinking about going to med school here. Go to med school in your home country or another country where you are better guaranteed admission, and come here for a medical residency after you graduate.
“If I were to choose Yale-NUS, complete the life-science course, which integrates a degree of engineering into the program, would it be possible to attend a graduate school in the US for bio-engineering?”
yes it is possible.
I advise you to attend UCB, since it has the program you are really interested in.
@happymomof1 As I noted in the post, I am interested in attending medical school in SINGAPORE, not the US: I am well aware of the fact that admission into US medical schools as an international is close to impossible. My point was that UCB has more options of pursuing either bio-engineering or pre-med (bio-engineering can be counted as pre-med) whereas I feel as though Yale-NUS is more “restricted” to solely pre-med as it lacks an engineering department.
Go for UCB. If you find that bioengineering and pre-med aren’t exactly your forte, you have a variety of options at a fine university.
I would actually love to go to UCB but my main concern lies in finances. My parents have insisted to pay the annual $57,000 tuition but I know for sure that doing so will be a significant strain in their income; income is around $80,000 so trying to pay the entire tuition is almost debilitating. On the other hand, Yale-NUS has a great financial aid packet so I’m at a loss at what to do.
You just spelled it out. 57k is more than a strain on an 80k income. It’s not possible.
So bearing in mind the finances, I am leaning towards Yale-NUS. Do you think that despite majoring in the life sciences, I will still be able to enter graduate school in the US for bio-engineering?
Often when people move from another math or science major into engineering for grad school they find that they need to take a few undergrad courses at the new university in order to pick up the background needed. This isn’t unusual at all.
If you still are interested in bio-engineering as you get to the end of your undergrad degree program, you can get some help from your faculty advisor on choosing elective coursework that will put you in the best position for grad school admissions.
With the financial situation you describe, Yale-NUS seems a no-brainer, and the college may accept your taking a couple introductory engineering classes at another college nearby?
Yea i think so. My interviewer did state that Yale-NUS has an extremely close partnership with NUS and it isn’t heard of to hear students from Yale partake in classes and student clubs or use the facilities in NUS.
Because you will need grad school in that field you can’t put your parents in that financial position with good conscience, imo. Go to Yale-NUS you will have many opportunities, even some you don’t see yet. People do change and refined where their interests lie as they are exposed to more opportunities.
Alright. Thanks a ton for easing the decision process everyone! 