Pitt, Rice, UD, Case, GA Tech, IIT, Rose

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I applied to eight different schools to major in biomedical engineering, and I was wondering which one would be the best for me. Since I know that each applicant is different, I guess I should tell you a little more about myself. I'm a generally shy person, although my friends will tell you that they can't shut me up! I'm not looking for partying, because I get easily distracted even without partying, and I don't drink/smoke. I like smaller schools, but at the same time, I want the opportunities and connections that a large school offers.</p>

<p>Most people would describe me as mostly academic. I have a 3.95 GPA, several ECs, and a lot of volunteer hours. I'm not sure whether I would like bioE, so it's important for the school to offer other majors in case I decide to switch.</p>

<p>That being said, here are the schools:</p>

<p>UPitt (accepted, w/ 10,000 scholarship)
UD (doesn't offer bioE, but has chemE and med. program)
Cooper Union (see above)
Case Western
Georgia Tech (accepted, w/ chance for full ride)
Illinois Inst. of Tech (accepted, with 16,600 scholarship & chance for full ride)
Rice University
Rose-Hulman (accepted)</p>

<p>I'd like to know any info you have to offer about these schools. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>All the schools that u have are good,but i would prefer georgia tech,cooper union and iit.the best schools for engineering are the tech schools themselves coz they r specialied for that.since u talked of Bio medical,i would urge u to consider chemical engineering coz its more broader than any engineering i know around.It is one of the most rewarding majors i know about and u cant go wrong with that.And for ChemE,Georgia tech,rose hulman ,iit and pittsburgh r good.Am a chem eng major so i know what u r saying.</p>

3

<p>I disagree with the above poster, specifically with IIT. I don't think IIT's reputation is nearly as good as the other schools. Also you said you may not end up doing bioE a tech school may not be the best option. In any event, I think you can cross UPitt off because it is big, a party school, and not incredible academically- doesn't fit your bill. Also cross UD off- it is pretty big, not great academically, and doesn't even have the major you want. Since you said you want the opportunities/connections a large school would offer, I'd say to get rid of Cooper Union (<1000 students) and Rose Hulman (<2000) students. Both are good academically though if you're ok with the sizes. That leaves you with Case Western, Georgia Tech, and Rice- all incredibly good schools that sound like places you'd like.</p>

4

<p>I would recommend Rose Hulman first, I think you sound like someone who would fit in well there. I think IIT has a solid reputation, but I'm orginally from Chicago so maybe I'm biased. Do you want to live in a small town or a big city? Because the setting of IIT and Cooper Union are in the city while Rose Hulman is in a fairly small city.</p>

<p>Case Western has a great reputation for Biomed as well. And the others you mentioned are all good. I think the kind of scholarship offer / total cost should be a huge factor.</p>

5

<p>Ga Tech... but, I'm from Atlanta, so I'm probably being biased. However, they are world-renowned for their engineering program.</p>

6

<p>Are you from a city, small town, the east, midwest, south, where? It can make a difference. Considerations:</p>

<p>Rose Hulman: small, very nice campus, excellent (one of the best) for actually teaching students to be engineers, but in small city in heart of midwest with nothing else nearby.</p>

<p>Cooper Union: though it gives full scholarships for tuition, its room & board (about $14-15,000 a year) almost wipes that out and you have to like NYC.</p>

<p>IIT: good school, ugly campus in very iffy neighborhood, although Chicago action areas not far away and accessible by train.</p>

<p>Gtech: good but intense academics, has rep for "weeding" out people and for students that either love it or hate it but few in between, also rep for "ugly" campus and iffy neighborhood but I tend to disagree as campus is actually nice and Atlanta is a fun city (and if you ever have a chance to just drive around Georgia you will be amazed at how beautiful a state it is).</p>

<p>Rice: good academics, nice campus, but a northerner in Houston may not feel the fit, just depends on the person.</p>

<p>Pitt: good school, nice campus, and despite what some might think based on visins of outdated "steel town" images Pittsburgh is a very nice city.</p>

<p>Case: good school, but you sort of need to be from Cleveland to really like Cleveland.</p>

<p>UD: I do not know what you are referring to.</p>

7

<p>thank you all for your informative posts!</p>

<p>actually, the location of a school isn't a big factor for me. ideally, a college would be located in a suburbian environment (close enough to the necessities, but not overcrowded and dirty), but since most of the colleges on my list are either in big cities or small towns, then i guess it's not a choice. however, i can safely say that i don't like NYC. my motivation for going to cooper would be the full tuition scholarship given to all accepted applicants. (and my parents both graduated from cooper).</p>

<p>i guess the intent of this post was to get a feel for the colleges before i visit this month. i was pleasantly surprised by Rose. i LOVE the environment there, but since their bioE program is fairly new, it's not very strong. i looked at the curriculum, and i'd prefer a more rigid curric like that of GA Tech. also, i heard that IIT wasn't that academically strong. i visited Chicago this past summer, and i have to say that chicago is my favorite city. it's clean, culturally diverse, and architecturally beautiful.</p>

<p>i think in the end, it comes down to GA tech, Pitt, and Rose. like dr. reynolds said, it depends greatly on the financial package they are able to offer me. i doubt i will get any finaid (my efc is incredibly high), but i'm hoping that i can get some scholarships based on my academic achievements and merit.</p>

8

<p>If you have the opportunity to pursue the scholarship opportunity to IIT, last year, in February they brought the kids out for a visit weekend. They reimbursed 1/2 the airfare, fed, and entertained both you and your parents. The students stayed on campus and the parents were shuttled to their hotels in the evening after the activities. Not only did they get to look over everything, they had an opportunity to get to know some of the other kids that were hosting them. They have fun, approved, theme type activities in the evening that actually were really clever. (you know they've been doing this for years!) One mother of a really quiet, brilliant kid, (who really hadn't had a lot of fun at his hs)told me her son never goes for party games/ activities (they're stupid)We couldn't wait to hear how it went. Well, the next morning we asked him how it was and he said, " It was a lot of fun" I thought his mom would pass out! That was the highlight for me!! They had alumni panels talking about their experiences, and current students spoke. An engineering student from our area (we didn't know him previously) is there, doing swimming and has just blossomed there. His mom can't say enough good things about the school, including the ease of traveling there with the transportation system and all. The swim coach takes a lot of interest in the kids and works with them around their schedule. The kids are really happy in the program, and have all improved in their sport evidently. Actually the side benefitof the visit is getting to compare notes with other parents,and about other schools.(One mother didn't like the English classes available) Some were renting cars from Chicago (after the weekend) and driving to some other places. (if we had known we could have carpooled!) Anyway--the weekend was fabulous. IIT also owns a law school and you can get into law school from high school. The law school integrates well with the tech background, evidently, as some kids were going on to be patent attorneys. I'm not sure how the other ratings go for the school but they offer a lot of merit scholarships to go there. The scholarship kids come to the programs, sit with you at dinner, and take you around campus. They talk about actually using the free tutoring services, and on a regular basis. Talking with the other parents--we all liked the kids that were there. They are probably more down to earth than at some places. Some perhaps had gotten into more prestigious, expensive colleges, but with little aid. These were kids who didn't plan on or couldn't afford $45,000 a year schools , even if they had gotten in. These were kids that did have financial limitations, or they were kids where money really did mean something to them. They and their parents were really interested in the employment possibilities, and getting experience/internships. Most all seem to get pretty good jobs when they graduate. As a parent, I liked those kind of kids for a peer group. The kids (at least the ones we met) really liked the school, and appreciated the opportunity to go to a private school on scholarship. A lot of the kids told me on the weekends they just took the El (a pass is included with tuition) and walked around Chicago for entertainment. There's a lot of good qualities at IIT. I'm hoping my younger one will apply there also!</p>