Hello,
I’ve been accepted to UCLA, UCSD, and Georgia Tech majoring in Biomedical Engineering (or Biogengineering) at all three. I am having a tough time deciding where to go. I am from the San Francisco Bay Area so going to Georgia would be a big change for me. Gerogia Tech has the highest ranked Biomed Undergrad program in the country. UCSD is a close 3rd and UCLA is further down. From university feel prespective, I would chose UCLA for sure. I like their campus and the vibe I got there. At the same time, their program is not as strong. I’m having a difficult time trying to decide between the three. I also got waitlisted for Bioengineering at UC Berkeley, and plan to accept my spot on the waitlist if that sways this decision.
My main question is: If I decide to go to UCLA, will that affect my ability to get a job, because my gut feeling is to go with UCLA
Thank you so much
UCLA bioengineering is not even close to being on the same level as the other two schools. You might change your major, which would be a reason to go. But if you plan on staying in that major, keep some of the following in mind.
UCLA BioE got ABET accreditation in 2013, UCSD has two accredited BioE majors and four total in the department.
UCLA BioE was founded in 2002, UCSD BioE was founded in 1966.
UCLA’s BioE industry board has 7 companies, UCSD’s has 18 including giants like Intrexon and NuVasive.
The area surrounding UCSD has literally hundreds of biotech companies (second largest cluster in the nation behind Boston).
On their own, these things don’t mean too much. But the UCSD brand (and likely the GT brand, but I can’t speak to this) carries more weight within bioengineering. Seminal research occurred at that campus, some of it by professors who are still teaching; the alumni network within this industry will be much larger. My first ever bioengineering class at UCSD was co-taught by a Nobel laureate and a Presidential Medal winner (the late Roger Tsien, Shu Chien). The second one was taught by a guy who was in national news for building a biosensor into a temporary tattoo (Todd Coleman). The third was taught by a guy who quite literally wrote the book on systems biology (Bernhard Palssøn). The connections and scope of research here are not comparable to those at UCLA bioengineering. With regard to GT, I think out of state tuition isn’t worth it when you have in-state UCSD BioE as an option.