I was just accepted off the waitlist at Middlebury College and am having trouble deciding. Middlebury and Georgia Tech are literally opposites of each other, but there are things that I like about both schools. I like the aspect of small class sizes and getting to know your professors at Middlebury. However, I’m very interested in the sciences and can pursue biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech. But, I’m not 100% sure if I want to be an engineer and will probably have to transfer if I don’t like it. I know GT’s engineering program is very rigorous and my GPA will probably be lower if I go to GT versus Middlebury, but with an engineering degree I’ll have more job opportunities. Middlebury is more well know for their language school, international studies, and environmental science… all of which I don’t really plan to pursue. Middlebury does have biology, biochem/molecular bio, and neurocience majors, but I’m not sure if they are up to par with the education I could receive at GT.
Any thoughts on Middlebury’s science programs and opportunities or Georgia Tech’s bme program would be greatly appreciated.
Can’t comment on Middlebury so hopefully you posted this there. My D just finished her freshman year at tech. She came in as a BME major. She took the first year of classes, but knew fairly early on that she was going to change. In talking to students who were/are in the BME program she heard several themes. Companies are not really looking for bachelor’s level BME candidates so finding a job may not be as easy as desired. The joke among students is that BME stands for “business major eventually”. She went through the entire year before changing her major because she wanted to have a clear idea on what she wanted. She is now a computational media major because she desired the creativity along with the tech. If you stay with Georgia Tech, look closely at the other majors to make sure there is an option for you because they don’t have that many. Her science and math classes were large, but manageable because of the small size of recitation. Her other classes were not large. She had ample opportunities to get to know her professors and for the most part they were excellent.
I also can’t comment on Middlebury. My son just finished his second year at GT. He came in as a BME major. However the first semester he took the BME introduction class and after talking to upperclassmen BME students he figured out that there isn’t much demand for a BS in BME. A lot of jobs for people with just a BS in BME are sales type jobs. It is much better to get an engineering degree in something else and then if you want you can come back and get a Masters in BME. He is now an Electrical Engineering major. One thing to look at is does Middlebury have a lot of students doing research and co-ops? He is doing both and a lot of other students at GT are too.
@student9875 : I would ask/investigate more about middlebury…because a lot of LAC’s are not “known” for their education in the sciences, but when studied, often do it much better than many research universities (they integrate more inquiry based learning in the classroom and labs than normal, especially at the intro. level). Now an advantage of the research U’s is typically what you can do beyond the classroom. Regardless, do not underestimate LAC’s in terms of quality of science education. Also, I do not understand why you would need to transfer from Tech if you don’t want engineering. GT offers many other options in the natural and physical sciences. Also, Ivan Allen honestly is pretty cool if you find yourself not interested in science. But anyway, you can check out commentary about LAC’s and science and full fledged articles like this:http://www.cic.edu/News-and-Publications/Independent-Newsletter/Spring-2014/Pages/presidents-desk.aspx
These are interesting conversations in light of the fact that science education at 4 year institutions is currently under heavy pressure to improve. By virtue of the structure and size of LAC’s, they seem to be steps ahead in the areas where the improvements are suggested.
Middlebury is a very highly ranked liberal arts college, top five in the nation. The city is also very small, in Vermont, although Boston is accessible, its not like you will have time to get there often. Read here about a three /two program as most liberal arts colleges offer that, in engineering. This means you get the liberal arts degree from Middlebury and an engineering degree from the second institution, in five years typically.
http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/options/preprof/engineering
Another option for MIddlebury that can lead to an engineering career: You could major in physics and computer science and still get into a master program in materials science and engineering or EE or mech E, later. With that, I do think GT has some good science majors for sure and a lot more research on campus and is ranked in top ten in many many fields. Middlebury will help you find internships outside of Vermont. Vermont is a smaller state with one high tech area, Burlington, which is north of Middlebury, that was dominated by IBM which has sold off the semiconductor plant to Global Foundries. Its a beautiful state, with fabulous cross country skiing, downhill skiing and hiking in the Green Mountains. GT is in a vibrant high tech city, Atlanta, which is great for young people, and a lot of internships locally and all across the country. GT has a fantastic study abroad program in many countries and truly a fun place too. Its a difficult decision, between Middlebury and GT. Two great choices.
cost is no issue?
You do not have to transfer if you decide not to major in engineering at Tech.