I’m an international student (from the middle east) and have received an offer from both and want to pursue biomedical engineering. Which one would be better in terms of research prospects, internships, etc. Also in what ways are both similar and dissimilar?
Both are great schools with great research opportunities… which part of the Middle East?
As my son is international and from Middle East we picked Penn state for brand recognition in our area, alumni network and as we are visiting the campus. As we speak my kid likes the vibe although is a bit worried with the size…
Just remember you need to decide to get your i20 done
So I’m an Indian living in Abu Dhabi (UAE)…even I’m slightly worried about the size of Penn state, I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to handle the size or if it will get to overwhelming for me. Also how reliable are the rankings? because many sites such as US News have ranked UW higher…
Just going to add that UW Madison is enormous as well. It is also not very diverse in terms of student population. I don’t know anything about Penn State, but when we went on the Madison admitted students engineering tour, all 19 tour guides were white kids from small town Wisconsin. Also be aware that UW Madison has strict progression requirements that freshman must meet in order to continue on in the biomedical engineering program. If you don’t meet them, you have to appeal for an extension or change your major.
I also have an offer from UC Davis as well as NC state. Would you recommend choosing UC Davis over UW? It has a better campus life and a diverse student population according to what I read.
Which of the four universities is considered to be the best academically?(in biomedical engineering and overall)
I know nothing about UC Davis, but have heard great things about NC State as far as Biomedical engineering. I’m not familiar enough with all 4 schools to say which is the best. My daughter turned down Biomedical engineering offers at U of I, Madison, and Purdue because she wanted a program with direct and immediate admission. Sometimes rankings don’t matter as much as outside factors like that. It depends on the person. 
Thank you that was really helpful.
Just want to know… Which university did your daughter end up choosing?
Wisconsin requires a 3.5 technical and 3.0 overall GPA to stay in the biomedical engineering major:
https://www.engr.wisc.edu/academics/student-services/academic-advising/first-year-undergraduate-students/progression-requirements/
Penn State requires a 3.20 GPA to get into the biomedical engineering major:
https://bulletins.psu.edu/undergraduate/colleges/engineering/biomedical-engineering-bs/#howtogetintext
NCSU entry to major minimum requirements are listed, but some majors (presumably including biomedical engineering) may require higher academic performance.
https://www.engr.ncsu.edu/academics/undergrad/coda/
UCD requires a 2.8 GPA to change into biomedical engineering if you were not directly admitted.
https://bme.ucdavis.edu/undergraduate/advising/changing-majors-or-double-majors
Largest US racial/ethnic group (US classifications) and international student percentages from College Navigator:
72%, 10% Wisconsin
69%, 5% NCSU
66%, 12% Penn State
28%, 16% UCD
@crazyceleste well we are from Kuwait and we picked Penn state because of its alumni network (amazing in our region), facilities ( we visited the campus), reputation in our part of the world.
As for size, yes I did note that it’s big but to me everything was walking distance for engineering. I was impressed by the new facilities they’ve invested in.
Also, I know of two Indians in Kuwait heading to Penn state. As I understand there are around 4300 international students on campus.
Good luck with your choice
@crazyceleste In the end she narrowed it down to Boston University and University of Delaware because both had direct admission. BU was a very highly ranked program but unfortunately they didn’t give her any money and $74,000 a year was not possible for our family. She chose Delaware who gave her tons of merit money, the honors college, an engineering fellowship, and a spot on their ice skating team (she’s a competitive skater). People pick schools for all kinds of reasons. I would think as an international student you would definitely want a school that makes you feel comfortable. Don’t worry so much about rankings. As long as the school has ABET accreditation you are fine. Remember too that most people go on to some kind of graduate school in biomedical engineering. Best of luck with your decision. Sounds like you have wonderful options.
Nearly 50% of UW freshmen students are from OOS and few are from small towns in WI. But they might make nice tour guides. https://uwmadison.app.box.com/s/r03iixwi9r9b29xquagc35kcdojyv6h6
@sunnryz @ucbalumnus Thanks, what both of you said and the information you gave really put things into perspective for me.
However, now I just feel more confused.
Wisconsin was my top choice, but now I’m not so sure, since I have no idea how things work in the USA, I might drop marks as it might take me time to adjust, it just seems like too much of a gamble.
I also have an offer from Uni of delaware with good scholarship and honors college, and considering the fact that graduate school has more value, I think I should save up money so I won’t have problems later.
On the other hand, I have NC state and Penn state too which also have requirements to get the major but they seem achievable and the fees is also Comparatively lesser. I think they also have a better academic reputation than delaware.
UC davis though seems like the safest option, it has direct admission and is also in california which seems like a plus point since it has lots of companies and opportunities. However, the fees goes a little towards the higher end so I’m not so sure.
Any further suggestions?
Honestly it sounds like you have some wonderful options. I don’t think you can go wrong. Maybe decide the most important factor for you- is it cost? Campus? Direct Admission? Rankings? Support for international students? Weather? (The weather difference between California, NC, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin is pretty substantial, lol).
Do you have direct admission at UC Davis? Is it affordable for your family without parental loans? Then it’d be my first choice.
Then NCSU and Penn State because their entrance to major requirements are not easy but at least relatively doable. They’d seem the best value.
UWisconsin is wonderful but a 3.5 technical GPA is very, very high - no one can “expect” to reach it, so I’d only pick Wisconsin if you don’t mind majoring in another Engineering field.