<p>Harvey Mudd enrolled 40% women in last year’s freshman class, has a full tuition scholarship program for top students who are also traditionally underrepresented groups in science and engineering, including women and ethnic minorities. The vibe is inclusive and cooperative. Part of a consortium, there is a lot going on besides the technical coursework, and kids take 1/3 of credits in humanities and social sciences. Look elsewhere if your D wants Div. 1 athletics, though. HMC offers a general engineering degree. Students can focus on topics in areas of interest, and their chem department is top notch too. They don’t have specific major in BME. Rice might be a closer fit in that regard. Some HMC grads get jobs with biotech companies, do clinic projects with medical device makers, etc., or go on for graduate degrees in BME. </p>
<p>My impression about Duke: although Duke has a highly ranked UG BME program, it seems pretty segregated socially. </p>
<p>CMU is not as high on the list of top undergrad BME programs.</p>
<p>BTW Mudd has a new (female) president, Maria Klawe, who was formerly Dean of Engineering at Princeton. Which brings up a good point–with all of your D’s potential schools, don’t just look at the student demographics. Check out the administration and faculty for the number of women and African Americans. Yes, you want to avoid bias, but, beyond that, think of the positive value of role models and mentors, which can be a tremendous source of support where you’re the first or the only (fill in the URM) student. </p>
<p>Finally, anyone bashing geek girls should take a look at this link about the “Revenge of the Nerdette”: They’re not afraid to be feminine AND they can solve a Rubik’s Cube twice as fast as you! </p>
<p>[Geek</a> Girls: Revenge of the Nerdettes | Newsweek Culture | Newsweek.com](<a href=“http://www.newsweek.com:80/id/140457]Geek”>Geek Girls: Revenge of the Nerdettes - Newsweek)</p>