questioning the head of the engineering department??

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>i am very interested in going to Tulane, but because of the major cuts to the engineering program post-katrina, my dad doesn't think it's such a good idea to go there. i want to major in BME, and also want to prove to my dad that Tulane is a worthy school for this major. </p>

<p>My dad wants me to attend more engineering-focused schools--GA tech, Case Western Reserve, ect. but my issue is that if i decide that engineering isn't for me, it might be hard to switch majors and will not be in an environment where i will be able to freely explore other majors, because English, psychology and other such humanities majors at those schools are not as strong as their engineering programs. i enjoy the versatility that Tulane offers and how balanced the school is in a lot of different areas of study.</p>

<p>I was thinking then that a really good idea would be to ask the head or one of the higher ups in the engineering program at Tulane about the engineering program. Primarily, i would ask about some of the opportunities that Tulane's engineering department offered, and also ask what direction Tulane's engineering program is going in, and it's plans for the future of engineering. </p>

<p>i would also like to ask some alumni and current students what they think about Tulane's engineering program, and i would like to see the jobs some alumni bme's have gotten.</p>

<p>is this a good idea, or do you think it won't do me much good? how should i approach asking questions, and what SPECIFIC questions should i ask? how can i get in touch with students, alumni, and department heads? do you think they will give me honest answers, or do you think they will just try to talk up the program? is there another way to find this information other than asking?</p>

<p>also, if i tell the school that i did this, or if i say that i did this on my application, will it show them that i am very interested in Tulane/would it look good on my application?</p>

2

<p>It is perfectly fine to reach out to Dean Altiero [Tulane</a> University - Dean Administrative Positions](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/sse/about/dean-adminpositions.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/sse/about/dean-adminpositions.cfm) Read up on the department, <a href=“http://tulane.edu/sse/[/url]”>http://tulane.edu/sse/&lt;/a&gt; their plans and have some questions that you would like answered ( better, IMO for you to come up with the questions as it might lead to a better discussion). I met with several of the faculty at graduation, but don’t want to rely on my failing memory to advise you. They are in the process of building new facilities next door. You might want to inquire about that.</p>

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<p>Tulane may have cut the EE, CE and ME majors, but the BME and ChemE programs are very strong. jym’s son just graduated with a ChemE degree and had 3 offers quickly (isn’t that right, jym?). The BME program is considered at least as strong.</p>

<p>Getting back to the other points of your post, I actually think your reasoning is spot on. If you are not 100% sure engineering is for you (and how could you be at this point in your life? That is the whole idea of having until junior year to declare a major), then a school like Tulane can be an ideal choice. You are perfectly correct that Tulane makes it very easy to decide, if for example you do find after a semester or even a year that BME just wasn’t your thing, to switch to another science major or to history or sociology or dance or… well you get the idea. The first year would not even have been a loss of time since you would have been fulfilling distribution requirements anyway.</p>

<p>I would recommend you do two things (at least). One is, like jym says, to contact Dean Altiero if you have broad-based questions about the whole School of Science and Engineering. But maybe more to the direct point you could contact Don Gaver, the Chair of the BME department. Between the two you should be able to get the information about how recent graduates have placed in the job market and at grad/med schools. But you can also look at this page (as you probably already have) [Tulane</a> University - Department of Biomedical Engineering - Faculty](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/sse/bme/faculty/index.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/sse/bme/faculty/index.cfm) and look over the research being done by the faculty. If something catches your interest, contact that professor and ask about the potential for working in their lab as an undergrad.</p>

<p>This accomplishes a couple of things. First, I think you and your Dad will become very comfortable with the quality of the department and the work/outcomes that exist. Second, you will also see how tremendously undergraduate friendly the department is. It is a hard major, for sure, but they do all they can to help you succeed as long as you put in the time and effort.</p>

<p>I am sure Dr. Gaver would also be happy to provide you with contacts to current students and recent grads to correspond with directly. Oh, and as far as your approach, don’t be nervous or timid. Just ask what you want. Truly, no dumb questions, they know you are in high school and therefore most likely have a limited basis from which to base your questions. I am sure they have heard them many times before. But everyone that has talked with these people in the past has told me they are exceedingly approachable and helpful, and I have certainly found that with Dean Altiero. I have never had occasion to contact Dr. Gaver, but again others that have say he is very nice and helpful.</p>

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<p>Before I will give my opinion about BME, I would like to ask you a question: Do you have any problems with money in financing your education at Tulane? Tulane is very expensive but is also generous in giving scholarship and merit aids money. But, in order to get those two (scholarship and merit aids money), you have to have high GPA and/or in honors programs, etc. If you rely on your parents money then if you for some reasons will not be able to finish the BME programs then it is such a waste. The reason I have asked that question is because my S has been accepted at JHU (Johns Hopkins Univ…Ranking #1 in BME and it is above Ivy League such Yale, Duke, etc). However, JHU is kind of stingy in giving away the scholarship, merits aid, etc. Therefore, my S chose Tulane. Now go back to BME at Tulane, it is very highly competitive and you must have the passions, certain intelligent to do the programs. BME requires you to take higher math, physics, chem, etc…My S who is sophomore has told me that some of their classmates have dropped the BME because they have not been able to achieve the required GPA. The required GPA to pursue Master level of BME is 3.4 (undergraduate GPA). So, if any students has low undergraduate GPA only 3.1 or 3.2 then it is difficult to be accepted at Graduate School majoring BME. Remember also, in order to get better job in BME, you need to have at least Master level (undergraduate degree is not enough). BME at Tulane is fabulous as they have six tracks (you can find that the tracks are in their website) and lots of research. If for some reasons, you kind of hesitate in doing research or dont have the passions. Then it is kind of tough to do BME. Another thing to remember also, after getting undergraduate degree in BME, do you want to do Medical School or what?..lots of students got confused as they want to do BME and Medical School…personally, I believe if you purely want to be medical doctor then you dont need BME…just major in Biology, pre-med then take MCAT it should be enough. My S wants to be research scientist and he does not want to do medical school. So, he has chosen BME all the way till he will get his Phd. Speaking of Case Western Reserve Univ (CWRU), they dont give much money either for freshman. My friend’s S was accepted at CWRU but did not go there because not enough financial help eventhough he was offered scholarship. Lastly, before taking up BME, you have to ask yourself: are you good at Math, Chem, Physics, (hard core sciences) or not…then again BME requires you to take those classes and should earn GPA at least 3.4 unweighted. Now, after you have graduated from Tulane with BME, your future to do/or to apply graduate school at Top School is very bright and/or your chance to be accepted is much better as Tulane has been well known as Research School and a member of AAU…AAU is very prestigous group and has only members of 52 universities. Not all good schools can be members of AAU…(here is their website: <a href=“http://www.aau.edu/[/url]”>http://www.aau.edu/&lt;/a&gt;)… That is my two cents, good luck and may the FORCE be with you.</p>

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<p>Yes, FC you are correct. My s graduated with a Chem E in May and about a year ago had 3 job offers. He is very happy where he is.</p>

<p>Also, to the OP- read this <a href=“http://tulane.edu/sse/bme/newsandevents/newsletters.cfm[/url]”>http://tulane.edu/sse/bme/newsandevents/newsletters.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>BMEPREMEDgirl: I dont know why that a lot of people think that the route going to Medical School is better if having undergraduate degree in BME. As far as I know, you can have undergraduate major in history, math, business, cooking school and getting high score in MCAT then you will be accepted at Medical School…of course, you have to take lots of dificiencies classes like biology, chem, etc before they will allow you to take medical school classes. Personally, I believe if you seriously wanna be medical doctor, all you have to do is majoring in Pre-Med or Biology or perhaps Chemistry…then taking MCAT review classes to get high score in MCAT. THEN you are good to go to med school. BME on the other hand is related to medical field but still you have to score high in MCAT to be accepted; but BME is hard-labor major (a combination of engineering electrical and mechanical and pure science Math-Physics, Biology, etc) since you have to maintain high GPA to stay in that major…So, if your goal is to be medical doctor, why waste all the energy taking BME as undergraduate?..here is a little hint for you: if you graduate from BME, you will graduate with more than 120 credit hours while other majors only require 120 credit hours.</p>

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<p>Okla - It all depends on what your goals are in becoming an MD. Some people envision a career in the kind of research where having a BME degree and an MD makes the most sense, or they want to keep their options open as far as what their career path will be. In other words, they don’t know for sure if a career in straight BME is their future or if it is med school? What if they do major in history and then don’t do so well on the MCATs or change their mind about med school. So taking the “path of least resistance” isn’t always the best way to go.</p>

<p>For some people it is about getting to an end whatever the means. For others the journey is at least as important. It isn’t one size fits all.</p>

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<p>fallenchemist: Yes, the name of the game is high score in MCAT in order to be accepted at Med School. However, if someone has major in history and can not get high score of MCAT. Then they can always go back and continue to graduate studies in History. But, for those who have BME degree in undergraduate, it is not walking in the park into Med School since they too have to have high score in MCAT to go to med school for purely becoming medical doctor or MD-PHD for research. But, then again BME is a hard labor major where you will take more than 120 credit hours to graduate. So, IF I were to go to med school to get pure MD or MD-PHD for research then I would major in Biology, Math or Chem or Pre Med rather than BME. Anyhow, MCAT is not easy as it is like taking CPA exam and requires lots of time for preparation to get high score and if you are majoring BME with lots of research it is kind of tough to do so.</p>

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<p>Here is a little info for those who are interested in pursuing med school: taken from Cell and Molecular Biology (Tulane Univ): Cell and Molecular Biology majors have an excellent rate of acceptance into medical programs. In 2004, 52 majors applied and 33 were accepted (64%). In addition to medical school, CMB majors also apply to veterinary, dental and optometry programs. The PreHealth Advisor can provide guidance to students regarding the requirements for medical school and other health professions, and can assist the student with interviewing skills and other aspects of the application process…I hope this will help you guys in deciding to go into med school.</p>

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<p>

My point is if they decided on a history major or something similar just because they thought they could get a higher GPA and a higher MCAT (and neither is a sure thing. If someone’s strength really isn’t writing papers, then getting a degree in a number of liberal arts areas is not the way to go) and it doesn’t work out, then where are they? Going to graduate school in a field they were not all that excited about in the first place?</p>

<p>To each their own, but I disagree with the idea of picking your major just to “mark time” while you prepare for the MCAT. If one really likes the field they choose as their major, then presumably they will do better in those courses. And even if their GPA suffers slightly due to the harder course work, med schools absolutely recognize that a BME degree is harder than a history degree on average. I am also not aware of any evidence that biology majors and history majors do better on the MCAT because their courses are less demanding. It is a tempting assumption, but I would definitely need to see proof before accepting it as true.</p>

<p>My advice is do what makes you most interested as your major. The rest will work itself out, if you stay focused on your goals.</p>

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<p>Fallenchemist: I dont know how you will slice and dice it but here is some facts for you: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>I saw a TV program on PBS as there was a guy who had a college degree in Music. He could not get a better job and went back to school. He took MCAT and passed with flying color, high score, etc. He finally was able to go to Med School and finished the Med School. He told the TV viewers that no matter what your undergraduate
is, you can switch it to Med School.</p></li>
<li><p>I have a friend of mine and his Son finished Phd in BME from Vandy (Vanderbilt Univ-Tenn). And he tried to switch it to get MD from Vandy but the school rejected and told him: you already got a PHD in BME and therefore the school would not let him take the MD from same school. So, finally he took MCAT and was accepted at Med School in
Univ of Kansas.</p></li>
<li><p>My HMO doctor is a graduate of univ. of Austin in Mechanical Engineering (undergraduate). Then for some reasons he could not find a better job, he went back to school and took MCAT and other dificiencies classes. Finally, he was accepted at Baylor Medical School.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So, basically I believe that anyone can go to Med School from any undergraduate major, there is no restrictionwhatsoever. You can find out and see for yourself that any med schools will accept anyone without restriction. If anyone is lacking some required courses, they just have to take them all and score high on MCAT. Then they will be OK
to go to Med School.</p>

<p>But my advise is for anyone who wants to go to Med School by going to BME as undergraduate, it is very tough unless they want to do MD-PHD research scientist.</p>

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<p>I have no idea what any of those examples have to do with the OP or the discussion in general. Of course any major can get into med school. Where did I say otherwise? I simply said that getting a degree in a major that one does not really enjoy just because they think it is easier is a bad idea, IMO.</p>

<p>As far as your other examples, getting a Ph.D. in BME and then applying to med school is very different than getting a B.S. and applying, but he did get into a good med school. Still, an irrelevant example. And #3 I have no idea how that applies to anything, except to say that someone getting an engineering degree obviously can get the grades to get into a good med school, reenforcing my point.</p>

<p>There is no sense in discussing this further, it does not help the OP.</p>

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<p>I just got the impression that BMEPREMEDgirl wants to go to Med School after BME. I am just assuming though. Anyhow, I am laying out some stuff about med school if she and others are interested in. Those are just the facts…That’s all…out of curiousity, her name is BMEPREMEDgirl…I am assuming that she wants to do either BME or Premed…and more importantly, BME and Premed are absolutely two different things. Thanks for the nice conversation and may the FORCE be with you too.</p>

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<p>Continuing the digression for one more post, I have a D who is a first year med student (Biology/Spanish double major). During med school orientation week there was a panel of approximately two dozen med students there to answer questions and prepare parents for what it would be like for their med student. The students who were non-science majors addressed the fact that they were at a serious disadvantage compared to their science major peers particularly in the first year. So, while it is possible to go to med school with any given major as long as you meet the minimum prerequisites, the depth of your science background can make a serious difference in your med school experience at least on the front end. </p>

<p>The OP might also be interested to know that Tulane is currently expanding its Computer Science offerings and will soon offer a coordinate major in Computer Science. My point is: Tulane is in the process of expanding into other areas of engineering outside of ChemE and BME, so you might share that with your Dad as well. If you are going to visit campus any time in the near future for an accepted students event, you should definitely bring your parents and schedule a meeting with someone in the Engineering Department who can address everyone’s concerns.</p>

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<p>OP-
Some of your posts are a bit perplexing. It sounds like a BME degree is not your area of interest <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1390069-biomedical-engineering-bad-pre-meds-someone-who-wants-social-life.html#post14830843[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1390069-biomedical-engineering-bad-pre-meds-someone-who-wants-social-life.html#post14830843&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>That you accepted admission, with scholarship, to Case but are on a gap year at your father’s encouragement <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1387754-re-applying-new-college-during-gap-year.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1387754-re-applying-new-college-during-gap-year.html&lt;/a&gt;
and were declined admission to Tulane last year.</p>

<p>You might want to double check if Case will still honor the scholarship they offered last year (thats not always a guarantee for gap year students) and if you are permitted to apply elsewhere after accepting admission to Case.</p>

<p>Can you clarify what your plan is? Are you looking for better scholarship money?</p>

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<p>Good sleuthing jym. But to continue to provide information for her and others that might have similar issues, here is another example of Tulane’s continuing progress in the area. Note this article was dates 2011. I believe the first tour of the completed facility os scheduled for Nov 2, 2012.</p>

<p>[Tulane</a> University - Flower Hall to Blossom on Campus](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/072611_flower_hall.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/072611_flower_hall.cfm)</p>

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<p>LOL, FC. Wasnt “sleuthing”. Just read the other threads and it sounds like the OP is still struggling with a lot of decisions. Its absolutely fine to look into these opportunities, but it would be helpful, IMO, to have a sense of direction before reaching out to the Chairman of the Department. JMO.</p>

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<p>LOL. By "sleuthing I just meant taking the time to read the other info. Now that I have as well, it does occur to me that this is all moot, because it seems highly unlikely the OP will be able to afford Tulane, even if she gets in this time. Unless she tacks on 200-300 points to her SAT score, it seems exceedingly unlikely she will get a merit scholarship offer at all, let alone one that resembles the offer from Case.</p>

<p>Sorry BMEgirl, don’t mean to be a downer, just trying to adjust your expectations to a realistic outcome. At least what I think is likely to be the case.</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone for the advice!!!</p>

<p>Yes, Okla if you read my other posts, yes, financing is a problem and I’m taking a gap year because of it. I’m hoping to raise my SAT and am doing everything I can to make myself marketable as an applicant. Also, though I do want to go to medicine, I made another post (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1390069-biomedical-engineering-bad-pre-meds-someone-who-wants-social-life.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1390069-biomedical-engineering-bad-pre-meds-someone-who-wants-social-life.html&lt;/a&gt;) that talked about how I wanted to use BME as sort of a back up career if I do decide I don’t want to go into medicine. Not only does it sound interesting more interesting than a career in plain old biology, chemistry or history or English, but also , because a B.S. in engineering seems to be more valuable in terms of job prospects than a B.S. in one of the other subjects. I know that it isn’t “BETTER” for applying/getting into med school, and it’s more work, but if I can’t make it to med school, I think it would be a smart second choice vs having a B.S. in bio or chem. Plus, in BME, many of the pre-med prerequisites overlap. </p>

<p>In my other post I explained my personal conflicts with majoring in BME and how hard it is and how it can kill one’s GPA, so I get what you are saying. But like FallenChemist said, I want to “keep my options open”. I could decide not to go to med school altogether and decide I love engineering. I might not. Only time will tell. But if I take u something like History, I fear that the job prospects after I graduate might not be as bright as with BME. This is especially true if I want to work before I apply to med school, which I might do. I know it will be really tough, but if I am able to get through it, hopefully I will benefit in the longrun. Also, I hate to do bio or history for my masters, tbh. </p>

<p>Jym626—haha I noticed you snooping in my other posts! Like I said, I plan on doing BME as of right now, though I worry about some of the repercussions it will have on my GPA, social life and sanity, like I stated in my other post. I only made the other post <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1390069-biomedical-engineering-bad-pre-meds-someone-who-wants-social-life.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1390069-biomedical-engineering-bad-pre-meds-someone-who-wants-social-life.html&lt;/a&gt; to get some second opinions on my worries about BME</p>

<p>Just to clarify about what my overall plan is, I really don’t want to go to Case, and only accepted going there because of the large amount of merit money I received. With the gap year I am now taking, I have a lot of extra time on my hands, so during this time off, I’m trying to see if I can get into other schools that are a tad less or equally as academically competitive to Case, hoping that their similar competitiveness of academics will lead to similar scholarship amounts, especially if I try to raise my SAT. I don’t know if my dad considers Tulane a school that has the academic caliber of Case, so in asking Tulane’s engineering department some questions, I am hoping I can get him on board about re-applying to Tulane and going there if they give me some scholarships. Also, I’m hoping that if I ask some questions and show genuine passion about the program, it will boost my rapport when I talk about it on m application, in the “why Tulane” essay section. </p>

<p>I was WAITLISTED by Tulane last year, and after discussing with a few ppl about re applying, I kinda want to give it a shot. Many people say that Tulane gives a lot of merit aid, and since Case is an equally competitive school, I thought I might have a chance at merit aid. Case gave me 22,500 yet people say they don’t give much, so I wanted to take my chance with Tulane. (and this was after I applied RD, WITH my 1910 gpa). </p>

<p>Case promises to keep my scholarship in full till next year—and it seems that holds true even if I look at other schools</p>

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<p>LOL. I was not “snooping”. I was trying to understand your issues (and the inconsistencies), so that I could provide helpful responses. </p>

<p>I’ll try to answer the questions you are asking here and also those you posed to me in another thread, as its best not to duplicate.</p>

<p>If you are aiming for Tulane’s top automatic merit scholarship , the presidential, its currently at 27K. It is fixed and will not go up with any increases in tuition over the 4 years. Unless your SATs (or ACT if you take it) get up into the 2200ish range, you will not likely be considered for the Presidential. The next one down, the Distinguised scholars, is probably about what you are offered at Case. Don’t know what Case’s COA is or what they offer for NMF (if you are one. Are you?) but if the bottom line is $$ then you need to be aware that Case may be your best bet. If you are unsure if Case is too “nerdy”, as you indicated elsewhere, I’d strongly advise you to visit.</p>

<p>As I posted to you elsewhere, you will need to apply to Tulane EA or SCEA if you want to apply for the DHS scholarship. If yoyu are spending this yer doing community service, you should apply for the CSS, which can be added to the merit scholarships (except DHS).
How are you spending your gap year? Its likely schools may want to see that you are doing volunteer work, or earning income or something.</p>

<p>*** forgot one last q you asked elsewhere. It is premature to discusse FA reconsidersation with Tulane (ie “matching” Case’s) as you need to first be admitted to Tulane and then see what they offer you.</p>