<p>I do have one concern. I may plan on doing graduate studies in biomedical engineering. Will majoring in something like aerospace or mechanical in UMD hurt my opportunities to pursue advanced studies in biomed.</p>
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<p>Bioengineering or Biomedical engineering is a large field, from molecular biology, regenerative medicine, biomechanics to mathematical simulation, biofluidics, medical instruments, etc. I don’t know what research area you would like to pursue, but for admission to top graduate programs, the most important factor is research experience and publication (besides a decent GPA). Some ME professors have BioE related research projects; if you can seek out this kind of research opportunities, majoring in ME shouldn’t harm your chance to study BioE in graduate school (though I don’t think that aerospace engineering is going to be much help for BioE graduate programs). Actually, many BioE professors prefer students with Bachelor degrees in fields like physics, EE, ME, or biochem to bioE undergraduates. </p>
<p>I also agree with other posters that UMCP is the better choice here.</p>
<p>You might want to go in as Engineering Undecided. You’ll get great advising at either UMD or UMich to help you answer these questions and Freshman year in any Engineering concentration is pretty much the same.</p>
<p>When my son and I visited U Del, the mechanical engineering professor who addressed the parents described mechanical engineering as the “liberal arts” of engineering. He also said that U Del’s new bioeng program grew out of the mech eng department. Just something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>UMD is the winner</p>