<p>WOW -
As a family who has experienced numerous deeply challenging moments from the Mortgage Meltdown/Housing Bubble and Market Reaction (between an income that is now only 1/6th of its previous level and no longer being able to afford the big, view home we sunk a bunch of cash into fixing up) </p>
<p>Plus experiencing ALL the embarrassment and worry that came along with that experience - we have found our son's necessity to attend a college simply because we are no longer credit worthy to back his ambition up with a 'parent plus loan' vs a University that fits his aspirations is the most painful part of all that for sure.</p>
<p>Yes, The Evergreen Sate College offer's a truly worthy and provocative education and should prove to a 'College That Changes Lives' for him. and yet, because they do Not offer any engineering and nothing that can be directly transitioned to a BioMedical Engineering degree w/o significant 'translation', it does not feel like what is best for our son is being provided for him.</p>
<p>He will be able to attend there with only $4,100 in student loans VS The highly ranked U of Utah's BioMedical Engineering program (within the Honor's College) and $17,000 in loans (both 1st year numbers)</p>
<p>Cost was not the difference maker because we are willing to invest in his passion...Our credit standing was in the way and for that, I truly regret how our circumstances has forced limits on our son's ambitions. Bummer. Sure could use a HUG.</p>
<p>I know it really sucks that your son wasn’t able to attend where he really wants to go, but don’t lose all hope yet. Your son can major in fields that are related to biomedical engineering, and then do a master’s degree in BME after he finishes school. Evergreen State seems to have biology, biochemistry, mathematics, physiology, and physics majors/departments. Your son can take classes in these areas (even using a catalog from Utah’s BME program as a guide, to try to make his course of study as close as possible to what he’ll need) and maybe can take engineering classes over the summer, or do an REU in engineering with the appropriate prerequisites.</p>
<ol>
<li> Go to community college, then transfer to UW or WSU biomedical engineering.</li>
<li> Go to ESU, then transfer to UW or WSU biomedical engineering, if ESU offers sufficient courses to prepare for biomedical engineering at UW or WSU.</li>
<li> Apply to WSU and see if admission with sufficient financial aid comes back. According to [Application</a> for admission & scholarships - Washington State University - WSU](<a href=“Apply | Admissions | Washington State University”>Apply | Admissions | Washington State University) , WSU applications are still open.</li>
</ol>
<p>Regarding Utah, $17,000 in loans per year is $68,000 for four years, which is generally considered a heavy loan burden for a new college graduate.</p>
<p>as far as the earlier recommendation of the Associate’s, Bachelor’s two step approach, it actually ended up being more affordable to send him to TESC than keeping him home at the local Community College - plus, he benefits from being immersed into an academic community…</p>
<p>Yes, he will be able to transition, but this career path does not feel as direct as he had hoped - he understands budget and credit and frankly, is Very enthusiastic about attending TESC so time will tell - never the less, reality hit me tonight and it matters that you guys have contributed to my feeling better - thanks much </p>
<p>PS - Evergreen does offer a fairly close match for the BME prerequisites. He can even transfer in two years from there IF he chooses to if her were to take just a little summer session…</p>
<p>Well, that doesn’t sound too bad if he can choose transferable math/physics/chemistry/biology courses at ESC that will prepare him to transfer to UW or WSU or other school in biomedical engineering. Lots of students do the two stage method of community college followed by finishing the degree at a four year university; if ESC is cheaper than a community college and offers the needed courses, that would be perfectly fine.</p>
<p>Perhaps he can try to find out from UW or WSU if there is an articulation list for ESC courses so that he knows which courses to take at ESC to transfer to UW or WSU in biomedical engineering.</p>
<p>we will fully research this - the plan at this point is to get a well rounded and provocative 4 yr education (confirming his program selection fits his wish to transition to a graduate BME opportunity at UW or ?</p>
<p>I’m sorry that things did not work out as you originally hoped, but you should take a moment to feel tremendous pride in your son and in yourself. You are working hard to make good choices with the resources available. And although ESC is not the perfect fit academically, I am impressed that he has a positive attitude, and even excitement about the school that makes sense financially to attend. This attitude and I’m sure gratitude in being able to get to a good college with the family financial issues, is the sign of a well-raised young man who has the right values in life. Sometimes life isn’t perfect and sometimes it doesn’t follow the straight path we expect. I have no doubt he will reach his goals and become a success in life, even if he has to take an unexpected route to fulfill his passion.</p>
<p>The $17,000 a year is not worth it. I would look even further for other schools and opportunities. Plus, what about grad school? Often, grad school offers good grants and TA jobs and such. SO…if he completes a compatible undergrad degree, then he could do a master’s in his field. But honestly, I would keep looking on the colleges. Maybe defer going there by a year and do community college in the meantime. You get the idea.</p>
<p>I’ve just graduated with a BME degree few days ago from Duke.
Let me tell you that your son will not lose anything. BME should not be an undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>A typical BME curriculum offers very little in terms of real world applicable skills. It is a comprehensive degree that allows you to dabble in a little bit of everything. You gain shallow understandings of everything ranging from mechanics, signal processing, biochemistry to material sciences. However, the mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and the biochemists are more suited for each specific task. Any of the above majors can easily be used as a gateway into a specialized research based graduate degree in BME.</p>
<p>BME can only show employers that you have survived the engineering curriculum, but offer no real applicable skills. Out of all the BME seniors in my class, I do not know of anyone taking a job that involves actual BME research work in the private industry. Most have gone into finances, consulting or BME support related work partly due to the strength of the program and the reputation of the school. (Yes, I have taken a job) And to add BME graduates are not competitive applying to ECE or ME jobs.</p>
<p>And no, your son does not have a passion for BME. At this point in his life, I doubt that he even has an understanding of BME. As I would like to call it, BME is basically the Liberal Studies of a liberal arts degree. Dabble in everything, good at nothing. It is not a bad discipline, but should be reserved for graduate school.</p>
<p>thank you Zonlicht
his Passion is to design and build NeuroProsthetics - this has been an inspiration since 7th grade…the LAC opportunity won out for now - we shall see if his passion maintains - chances are yes since it has survived about a third of his life to date…</p>
<p>it was valuable seeing your perspective…good luck and enjoy!</p>
<p>In that case, just study Neuroscience or even Biology. Try to find some undergraduate neuroscience research under a professor and apply to BME graduate school.</p>
<p>But he should take the physics and math courses suitable for physics and engineering majors, not the versions for biology majors, if he focuses on biology, if he wants the best preparation for graduate study in engineering.</p>
<p>Biomedical engineering is much more interdisciplinary than the more traditional engineering fields, such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or civil engineering. BME graduate programs tend to welcome students from a wide variety of scientific and engineering backgrounds. Your son might consider majoring in physics at Evergreen State and supplementing his major courses with courses in biology, chemistry, and mathematics. He should take advantage of any opportunity to get involved in research during summers. A broad and strong background in these sciences could make him an attractive candidate for a BME graduate program. PhD programs in BME often offer teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or fellowships to enable students to fund their graduate educations.</p>
<p>After writing the preceding post, I looked at the Evergreen State website. Apparently they do not have traditional majors, such as physics, chemistry, and biology. Instead they have programs that mix several of these subjects. I was not able to figure out which program would provide the most appropriate background for graduate work in BME. One would need strong coursework in physical sciences as well as courses in biology. Maybe that exists at Evergreen. If not, a transfer might be necessary.</p>
<p>mom2ck sent me a pm to this thread…here is contact info for the scholarship person at uab…last i checked all instate merit was finished, but they still had oos merit available until may 1… It would definitely be worth checking to see if there is any still available. with top oos merit he would get 15K per year against total cost of attendance 20-25K. so would leave 10 per year or 40K over 4 years. you could get it lower as they allow alot for food, which you really dont need…as there are kitchens in each dorm room/apt.</p>
<p>Heather L. McKnight
Coordinator of Undergraduate Scholarships
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
(205) 934-8132
(205) 934-8941 Fax
<a href=“mailto:hlm@uab.edu”>hlm@uab.edu</a></p>
<p>if you would like more info on the bme program at uab just let me know, but call heather today!!</p>
<p>To be eligible for academic scholarships at UAB, students must be admitted by May 1. New freshmen are automatically considered for all university-wide academic scholarships upon admission to UAB. All scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis as funds are available, and are renewable for four years. The last scores that we will consider for scholarship purposes are the December ACT and SAT test scores from your senior year in high school.
Blazer Elite Scholarship
$15,000
Based on academic achievement (28-36 ACT and at least 3.0 GPA)
Blazer Gold Scholarship
$10,000
Based on academic achievement (26-27 ACT and at least 3.0 GPA)
Blazer Pride Scholarship
$5,000
Based on academic achievement (24-25 ACT and at least 3.0 GPA)
Students receiving UAB merit-based scholarships are required to live on campus for their first year of enrollment. (Don’t roll your eyes. Have you seen UAB student housing? Nice. Very.) For more information, review the Freshman Scholarship Residency Policy.</p>
<p>To view equivalent SAT test scores (critical reading + math only), please refer to the ACT-SAT Concordance.</p>
<p>[UAB</a> - Undergraduate Programs](<a href=“Error 404 | Not Found”>Error 404 | Not Found)
Yhey do have an honors program in bme also, and a 5th year track to get masters</p>
<p>I think it’s worth it to contact UAB to see if they’re still awarding merit. When an instate friend called to find out if her D could get more money (for housing), she was told they only have OOS merit available right now. </p>
<p>If UAB won’t work, then check out UAH. UAH is still awarding large merit. UAB doesn’t have Bio-med, but it does have a very fine engineering dept and he could go there at least for 2 years and get the lower-division stuff. Or he could do what others do who want Bio-medE at schools that don’t have it - he can major in ChemE with extra Bio classes or major in MechE with extra Bio classes.</p>
<p>I know that UAH doesn’t hold to deadlines, UAB may not either if they have money to give away.</p>
<p>thank you all for your sharing - it is communities like this where we all share so willingly that make up a support network…for decisions like this, it take more speciallization that our circle of close friends - glad to have the CC community chiming in…</p>
<p>Evergreen is strong in life sciences, physics and math - they simply do not connect them into a specific engineering major. by selecting the right courses, our son will be learning from each of these areas via an interdisciplinary approach that Evergreen is known for.</p>
<p>We will have him on a ‘pre-med-like’ track and pepper in internship. research and personally designed projects and he should be good. Either way, He will have a wonderful foundation for spring-boarding his career via BME graduate opportunities.</p>
<p>Also, I am curious what is next after the Duke BME degree?</p>
</p>