<p>I am applying for biomedical engineering program in some top schools and I want some guidance/clarifications on a couple of things before I make my decision</p>
<li><p>Can you rank UCLA, UCSD and UCI for the biomedical engineering?..and here’s the thing… I am an Computer Science engineer and with practically no biology background/experience. Having said that, I am open to taking pre-requisite courses to fill up my deficiencies. </p></li>
<li><p>I have a GRE score of 760 (600 in verbal and 760 in quantitative). What would be my acceptance chances into these schools, taking my GRE scores into consideration?</p></li>
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<p>Please guide me whether or not to make an attempt in these schools or should I completely forget to apply?</p>
<p>I am applying for fall - 2009. Any little advice would mean a lot to me!</p>
<p>Your GRE score should get you through the Graduates Division fine. However, it is your lack of bio/medical background that is going to be a problem. Because the department professors who are looking at your statement of purpose/writing sample/CV is going to ask:</p>
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<li>Why is this person interested in switching fields? Is her reason a valid academic/societal consideration?</li>
<li>Why should we fund/partially fund someone when she has to spend much more time doing foundational work before going into research?</li>
<li>If this person has no experience, how does she know she's going to succeed in this field?</li>
<li>Does this person have a specific interest in what I'm doing, does she have an understanding what my field entails, will she be a right fit for collaboration in my research, or will she need too much guidance from me?</li>
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<p>I think you will have to successfully navigate these questions yourself before you application can be successful.</p>
<p>UCSD is one of the best if not the best places for biomedical engineering (Johns Hopkins is another top one I can think of off the top of my head). I only know that UCLA's department was just established less than 10 years ago so it's very new and probably not ranked high at this moment, though I'm pretty sure it has excellent faculty. Not too knowledgeable about UCI.</p>
<p>Honestly, you're probably not a competitive applicant at UCSD simply due to your background. Your best bet is to contact people at the universities you're applying to and explain your situation.</p>
<p>hey thanks a lot for all your suggestions. I have been contemplating over it for some while and looks like it that I'd be less likely to get through the admission. </p>
<p>Well, can anybody tell me if Cal Lutheran University for Computer Science masters is a good idea? I am looking for some decent schools for my masters program, that are closer to my home.....so can anyone suggest me some more schools around Los Angeles (UCLA, USC, UCI and CSUN are already in my list. I want one more, and I am done with the shortlistings!!)</p>
<p>UC Santa Barbara has a BMSE (Biomolecular science and engineering) program that would be perfect for you. I know several people who were computer science, physics and/or engineering majors in undergrad and are now getting their Ph.D. in this program.</p>
<p>I think you should check out the Mathematical, Computational, and Systems Biology (MCSB) program at UCI. They take students from many disciplines... you enter this program, then take some broad range classes (about systems biology, math, programming, etc...), but get your degree in the discipline that your thesis advisor is from... so you can get a degree in Biomedical Engineering </p>
<p>hey jayashree-- actually, I think you would make an AWESOME candidate for any kind of biological science program. Here's why: computational biology is becoming huge--it is huge--and the use of computational/mathematical skills in biology can be so helpful but no one knows how to do it. I know a guy, an electrical engineer, who got into an immunology program and is tearing it up. Biology is not that hard to learn--a lot of memorization. DNA, proteins, etc. There are just a lot of things to learn but the basics are mostly straightforward. </p>
<p>If you are interested in biology at all, look into (as someone else mentioned) systems biology programs--they are all over, you just have to find them (here's one program at UT Austin that I know about Computational</a> Biology and Bioinformatics, UT). Also if you take a few biology courses, you will be extremely competitive (given your skills) in any biology (or subspecialty such as genetics) program. You just gotta play up your skills and demonstrate that you have a plan for how to apply those skills to biology (which is where spending some time learning about cutting edge of biological research would be helpful to you). Think about it--you could be huge--no joke.</p>