UMich vs. Ivies: Mechanical/Chemical/Biomedical Engineering

<p>I'm thinking of UMich for school, because I live in Michigan. It's a great school, I know. </p>

<p>I was just wondering how it stacks up against schools like JHU, UPenn, Cornell, Columbia, or Duke. </p>

<p>Other Factors: </p>

<p>I want to get a dual degree in (Biomed, maybe..) Engineering and Business Management. </p>

<p>UMich would be considerably cheaper, I'll probably get a decent merit scholarship. </p>

<p>I plan to be a doctor, so I still have to pay for med school...</p>

<p>but, </p>

<p>I hate the fact that I've invested so much time and effort into high school and have worked like a dog for four years to go to the same school that literally 15% of each class every year attends (some of whom take slacker classes senior year, don't really participate in ECs etc.) It makes me really, really angry, actually....</p>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

<p>Depends on your finances. I personally would go to UMich if I were you. Michigan is a world class university. You’ll get a great education. This makes even more sense since you have to pay for med school. You have to ask yourself if a silly grudge against kids who try less is going to influence you to incur a great deal of debt.</p>

<p>My opinion – if Med School is your main interest stay at Michigan. If you are truly looking at combined Business+Engineering then Michigan is the only really balanced choice. </p>

<p>If you were looking for PhD level in specifically Biomed Engineering then JHU and Duke might be better though likely far more expensive choice. For MD/PhD combinations then it’s a tossup with those 2 and Michigan.</p>

<p>For just about any other Engineering Michigan is probably equal or better (sometimes substantially so) than any of the others. Cornell is at least close.</p>

<p>For Business alone, Penn and Michigan are clearly the choices unless you are looking for a very specific program.</p>

<p>You should definitely apply to all the schools you listed above, and see which ones will accept you. But I wouldnt be worried too much if I were in your position, because you already have a nice safety school in your own state. You can always go to UMich for grad school, which makes more sense as the school has superb graduate programs. As for the cost, I dont think there is gonna be a big difference between going out of state for grad school vs for college.</p>

<p>Where to begin. Michigan and Penn would both be great for a dual Biomedical Engineering/Business program. However, Michigan’s CoE and Business schools do not have a set program and it would take 5 years to graduate with degrees in both…assuming you you come into Michigan with a few credits from AP exams. Penn has the Jerome Fisher program that combines a Wharton degree with a degree from Penn’s College of Engineering. From a cost perspective, Michigan is a pretty safe bet, but do not underestimate the generosity of the Ivies. I would apply to Michigan and to some of the other schools you mentioned, particularly Cornell, Duke, Penn and Princeton.</p>

<p>Academically, all those schools are excellent. I would pick based on financial sense and personal fit.</p>

<p>Out of the schools in your list, only cornell is superior to UMich for engineering, but only very slightly. Again, only very, very slightly. All the rest of those schools are slightly inferior to UMich for engineering. All the schools in your list are peer schools, in general. However, if you want to proceed to med school, I think attending JHU would give you the best preparation. But you would rather major in anything premed progrma that’s easier to mainntain a very high GPA. Engieering subjects would drug your GPA down.</p>

<p>RML, according to the latest USNWR rankings, Michigan was #7 for undergraduate Engineering and #8 for graduate Engineering. Cornell was #8 for undergraduate Engineering and #10 for graduate Engineering. If anything, Michigan is the one that is slightly better, but at that level, I would say there is no difference in the quality of those two colleges of Engineering.</p>

<p>^ Thanks for pointing that out, Alexandre. I always thought that Cornell has a superior eng’g education. I wasn’t expecting UMich to perform that strongly, though I already kind of knew it that UMich is a powerhouse for engineering too. Good job to UMich then.</p>