DS is now a senior in HS. He wants to eventually (after undergrad) go into BME/Neuro area and as such is planning on EE as undergrad with some electives or minor related to BME/Neuro.
We’re from TX/Hou and his dream school is Rice. Obviously UT Austin, TAMU are other great options but I think he’ll do well and prefers smaller school that gives more flexibility in choosing / changing plans and provides better support/resources vs UT or TAMU.
He got 1520 in SAT and 34 ACT; he has taken (and will continue) many AP classes and has scored on avg 4.5 in his AP finals. IMO, his EC is not too strong, prolly average I guess.
IMO, Rice may be a reach but honestly I’m not too sure. If it matters my elder son is an undergrad junior at Rice.
Anyhoo, the question is what other schools should he apply to? With UT/TAMU possible, I think any large OOS public school may not add too much value so we’re really focusing on OOS private schools but let me know if our thinking is wrong, we’re open minded about it.
So, what should this list be? We’re from India, if it matters, but kids born here. Native Texan as they say!
Also, he’ll not be applying to ivy/ivy like and will mostly limit his total app count to about 7. For OOS - thinking more along the lines of WPI, RPI, RIT, URoch, CWRU, JHU, UCSD, USC, CalPolySLO, Duke, GaTech - anything that has a good engg and proximity to medical research to explore BME… I know JHU, Duke are way up there…
Rice loves sibling groups, so I do think it will help him that his brother is there. On the other hand, being local to an elite school often makes it more difficult just because of the sheer number of local applicants. The ED advantage at Rice seems to be growing, so that would probably be the best strategy if it’s his true first choice.
Case Western and URochester would be excellent OOS private options where he would have a good shot at merit aid. Both are great for biomedical stuff and have the same flexibility and smaller-school advantages that Rice has. I’m not sure why a UC OOS would win over UT in-state, in the elite-public-U category. Pitt could be a good addition to the safety category. (Maybe more low-match than safety… but admissions are rolling so if you apply early and get in early, it’s a safety! He’d get Honors College and likely some merit, and it’s another strong biomedical school.)
I know biomed eng is one of the most competitive majors to apply to at GA Tech - should be considered a reach OOS - and of course Duke and JHU are reaches too. I’d play the ED card at Rice - that combined with the sib-bump and showing lots of interest should give him a good shot - and back that up with UT/TAMU/UH a very early rolling application to Pitt, and EA to GT; and then have RD apps for Rochester, CWRU, JHU, Duke etc. (maybe add Stevens to the RIT/WPI category) ready to go if Rice doesn’t come through. CWRU also has EDII if that were to emerge as a strong second choice; it’s a worthy EDII option if he likes the school, which he could for many of the same reasons he likes Rice.
Maybe also consider Tufts for the reach list? Tufts has EDII as well.
What does Naviance say about his Rice chances with his grades and scores from his high school? We are from Houston, and Naviance was right on the money for my daughter’s chances. Being a sibling should add a bit to the Naviance chances. Rice will be very familiar with your son’s high school and its rigor. Rice took more of its class ED this year than in years past. SMU has engineering and would be a safe bet for him, and he would likely get some merit $ also.
TY all! @sam JHU would be great, I’ll be pushing him to at least apply there!
@aquapt - he will be ED at Rice and I hope the sibling thing works. So the question is, if he does not get into Rice, is there anything OOS where he will still have a good shot and is better than UT (which I assume is in the bag for him). Thanks for your insights! Good points about sequencing Rice ED, and then other EA, ED2 (Tufts, Case, RPI, RIT, Lehigh, Bucknell all offer ED2).
Also, we have been sufficiently “scared” about a BME undergrad degree that he will actually major in something traditional (in his case EE) but want a school that is strong in BME space and has minor or extra credits or research opps or whatever in BME related area. Besides GT, Duke, JHU - I don’t know which other good engg school is also strong in BME area. And, allows flexibility in allowing students in changing their minds (my son’s decisions are not set in stone yet), hence our focus on smaller, private type schools.
@Houston1021 - thanks for Naviance reco, and confirming about Rice sibling, that helps! We’re hopeful he’ll get into Rice. Within Texas, his next choice after Rice is UT then TAMU, so will probably not apply elsewhere instate.
WashU for BME major/minor close to Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the medical school.
The Engineering school is good, but in comparison to some of the options you have, not as highly ranked. Although all of the construction is now devoted to improving the Engineering facilities.