<p>I think i want to go into biomedical engineering. That being said I was accepted at Penn's m&t program - the joint program between wharton and engineering school.</p>
<p>I am considering m&t but i would be paying full sticker price around 180000 for 4yrs of study. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I have gotten an attractive offer from Georgia Tech (tuition, room, board, books, personal expenses, etc), yet I am still having difficulty choosing.</p>
<p>Any info/advice would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Tech all the way. Ivy envy aside, Penn is not worth $180k more than Ga Tech, especially for engineering! While BME is Penn's strongest engineering program, the two schools are essentially ranked the same in that specialty, and Tech's engineering program and resources are far stronger overall. Don't forget that Tech's BME is affiliated with Emory and its medical school, so you aren't losing anything in terms of research opportunities and facilities.</p>
<p>The Wharton dual admit is a nice bonus, but I don't see it being worth the extra cost at all. It's not like Tech's biz program is chopped liver if you are inclined to take courses there. And the reality is that an engineer is usually better off obtaining a part-time MBA later on, after a few years of experience (and your employer will usually pay for it). Pocket the difference, go to Tech, and you'll have plenty of funds later to pursue further education.</p>
<p>Penn obviously!!
M&T is one of the best undergrad programs in the US..its super selective nd obviously prestigious to hav been accepted..
Georgia Tech accepts like 2 out of 3 ppl..so as long as ur not terrible u r in georgia tech!
a georgia tech degree isnt particularly hard 2 gt..a wharton degree is!!
the college degree u gt is always gonna matter..!</p>
<p>No, the college degree you get will NOT always matter, and is of minimal importance after your first job or two. Performance on the job will determine where your career path goes after that. Beyond that, the diploma is just a nice wall decoration. </p>
<p>GT has a high acceptance rate b/c its applicant pool is self-selective, not b/c it is an inferior school. And you are crazy if you think a Tech degree "isn't particularly hard 2 gt", Mr. buy a vowel, as it is an extremely challenging curriculum, even for the smartest students there.</p>
<p>Even though there is a huge difference in cost, if you truly want to go into biomedical engineering, you should not hesitate to go to Penn!!!</p>
<p>Penn has a very strong BME program, one of the best in the country. M&T is extremely selective and prestigious. So, even if you pay more for the education, it will be worth it. First off, Penn would likely be a better overall experience than Georgia Tech and second of all, the Penn degree would give you lots of opportunities in BME.</p>
<p>BME is a hot field right now and I can imagine there is a lot of competition, so coming out of Penn BME would definitely put you way up there. Go to Penn.</p>
<p>art ..its my opinion..u don hav 2 insult..
in india..every person who wants 2 do engineering applies 2 georgia tech(applicant pool is selective only to the degree tht an applicant wants 2 do engineering!)..almost every1 gts in..nd evn nt so bright ones DO pass out successfully with a degree frm thr..
here..more ppl reject tech thn tech rejecting ppl..
also..it matters wich coll ur frm..not just frm perspective of jobs..bt i no a lotta ppl who r associated nd looked up2 because of their college(such as ivy league etc.) certainly thy command mre respect...</p>
<p>Gtech... biomed is great, you have atlanta as well, along with a free college tuition. sports and social life are better at tech then Penn as well. Of course you are missing the "ivy league" experience, however, in this case Penn's Biomed and GTech's Biomed rank pretty much the same.</p>
<p>US News undergrad BME rankings (not sure if this year or last, but whatever). I'm not saying that one should decide solely on rankings by any means, but for those that think that Tech's BME program isn't comparable to Penn's, they are incorrect.</p>
<p>BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS (Top 20)</p>
<h1>1 Johns Hopkins University</h1>
<h1>2 Duke University</h1>
<h1>3 University of California-San Diego</h1>
<p>#4 Georgia Institute of Technology</p>
<h1>4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology</h1>
<h1>6 Case Western Reserve University</h1>
<p>#7 University of Pennsylvania</p>
<h1>8 Boston University</h1>
<h1>8 Northwestern University</h1>
<h1>8 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>
<h1>11 Rice University</h1>
<h1>11 University of Washington</h1>
<h1>13 University of California-Berkeley</h1>
<h1>14 Tulane University</h1>
<h1>14 University of Wisconsin-Madison</h1>
<h1>14 Vanderbilt University</h1>
<h1>17 Stanford University</h1>
<h1>18 University of Virginia</h1>
<h1>19 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute</h1>
<h1>19 Washington University-St Louis</h1>
<p>To the OP:</p>
<p>I think nobody here can really give you a definitive answer because it really depends on your sensitivity to cost. For example, if you come from a family of multi-millionaires, then cost is probably not going to be a problem, and so I would say that you should take Penn. Whether you should then take Georgia Tech therefore depends on how sensitive you are to paying more money, which is obviously something only you can know.</p>
<p>But what I would say is this. If you take Penn M&T, you should understand that you are highly highly likely to end up working as an engineer in your life anyway, as your Wharton degree will almost certainly become your 'flagship' degree. I believe that few M&T grads actually take jobs as engineers upon graduation, and of those, relatively few will stay in engineering for long. Instead, they usually end up working as investment bankers, strategy consultants, etc. - the usual Wharton mix of jobs. Hence, however strong or weak the Penn engineering program is should probably be only a minor factor of consideration. Honestly, who cares how strong a particular program is if you're probably not going to enter the corresponding field anyway?</p>
<p>Hey I go to Tech right now, so i may be a little prejudiced, but i rellyt hink this is the best school for a BME degree. Yes, M&T is a very good school, but i have friends there, and to tell you the truth, most of the time when we compare our classes I'm doing more work at a faster pace, so you can't really say your getting a better education at M&T. And that ranking above, it is for 2007. Also, almost everyone i talk to at this school (including the BME faculty) say that if you graduate this school with something around a 3.0 your getting a job with a higher starting salary than most other people are getting. Also, while this is a hard school, you can a have a lot of fun. Oh yeah, and the BME classes here are soo cutting edge. I don't think any other school has the type of hands on class. For intro to BME for example, they stick you in a room with whiteboards for walls along with 7 other students and one BME staff member(who usually doesn't interfere much) and give you problems similar to what actual BME majors are trying to solve. Like we just finished a project where we had to evaluate the accuracy of a pulse oximeter (a medical device that read oxygen levels in the blood) and then develop an experiment in which the pulse oximeter might result in error. It really gives you an idea of what kind of stuff you will be doing in the field after you graduate. Also, you have a leg up on the competition b/c you already know how to analyize problems and work efficiently in a group. I relaly reccommend this school</p>
<p>Unless the cost of Penn is negligible to you and your family, choos Georgia Tech. It is educationally a very sound decision. You don't need to pay $180K for a little bit of a status symbol.</p>
<p>The problem is that its not about status. It's about connections.</p>
<p>As taxguy has pointed out, many students make decisions without once giving thought to the uncomfortable reality of paying off massive student loans. (Granted, the thread dealt with arts majors.) A recurring number in that thread was $60,000; your debt estimate is triple that.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech is well-known for its rigor and engineering programs. Given that you want to study BME, Tech is better.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The problem is that its not about status. It's about connections.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Which Georgia Tech most definitely has regarding engineering.</p>
<p>A friend of mine received a job offer from Samsung before he officially graduated with his Masters of Materials Science. Companies know that a degree from Georgia Tech is not a decorative piece of paper.</p>
<p>I know what you mean about connections, but connections don't always do anything for you. A 180K investment in connections may not be a sure thing. And Georgia Tech also provides connections. There will be places where the Georgia candidate will be seen as the insider or better candidate.</p>
<p>LOL Fabrizio.</p>
<p>What do you want to do with your life? Do you want to be an engineer? Or go into medicine? Or are you fairly undecided? If you're absolutely sure you want to be an engineer, go to Georgia Tech. Its engineering is better than Penn's and any connections you could make wouldn't be worth the debt. (Will you actually have debt? You never said this.) Howeverrrrr..if you want to go into medicine, go to Penn. It's probably one of the top 5 schools for pre-med. And if you're undecided, DEFINITELY go to Penn. It's so much stronger overall. And you'll be getting a Wharton education, so you'll be set for life if you decide to do anything with business.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I'm going to Penn next year, so I'm a little biased :)</p>
<p>LakeWashington,</p>
<p>What's funny?</p>
<p>Ok, all the information you need is above. I'll make this very, very short.</p>
<p>GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY</p>
<p>Without considering cost, Penn is obviously the better choice.</p>
<p>The reality is that at the current state, BME is largely a research-type engineering field, meaning that actual jobs in the field are mainly restricted to research positions which generally pays less than "practical" fields like electrical or computer engineering. Recruiting for these non-traditional engineering fields are mainly geared toward graduate-level students, making it difficult for undergrads to find a "top" job in BME. With that said, Georgia Tech will give you not much of any advantage in connections in your field because the market for BME is very difficult in the first place. GA Tech might have more options for other types of engineering fields, but if you're going to graduate with BME, it'll be difficult for you to move to a drastically different field. On the contrary, Penn may give you more options for a BME-related career because like I mentioned, the field is heavily research-oriented and Penn is easily top 3 in terms of the amount of medical research.</p>
<p>In addition, there's a lot more flexibility at Penn in other field, especially in business which cannot be replicated anywhere else. </p>
<p>To summarize, to me, Penn is more advantageous in every case, especially in the flexibility side and possibly even in the the engineering side. You'll have to weigh it against the tuition but the fact that Penn only had a 16% acceptance rate speaks that Penn is valued higher than its tuition for many.</p>