Hey everyone,
So I am facing a tough dilemma. I accepted to both UNC and NCSU’s Biomedical Engineering Program (I’m in-state). If I go to UNC, I plan on doing a double major in Biostatistics and Biomedical Engineering. For UNC, I was offered a $5,000 Summer Study Abroad Fellowship through Excel@Carolina. For State, I was offered admission to their Summer Start program, and was invited to apply to their Honors and Scholars programs, even though I haven’t heard back from them yet.
I expect to qualify for equal amounts of aid from both schools, and even if not, the difference shouldn’t be enough to be an issue.
NC State has a better engineering program as a whole, and I really am in love with their Centennial Campus, and I like the overall STEM focus/feel at NC State. I also feel like I might achieve a better GPA there, which would work in my favor for medical/graduate school since I’m planning to go into either. Also, I prefer Raleigh to Chapel Hill, and I like that I have the option to live off campus freshman year at State.
Chapel Hill has the prestige factor, along with an overall stronger student body, which I like. UNC also has Gillings for Biostatistics, something State doesn’t offer but I’m really interested in. The UNC campus is gorgeous, and is a bit smaller than State. Also, even if their Biomedical Engineering program isn’t the very best, I am planning to get a masters/PhD in engineering no matter where I go, so I could attend UNC for undergrad then State (or anywhere else with a better BME program) for grad school. UNC also assured me the Study Abroad fellowship, whereas I might not get anything from State.
Both school’s are great options and I have no idea how I’m going to turn down either. I’m tempted to choose UNC simply due to their high(er) retention rate and rankings, but NC State’s engineering and pre-health programs are also too great to turn down. Thoughts?
How do the degree requirements compare at the schools? Will you have to fulfill more Liberal Arts requirements at UNC than NCSU? Does that matter to you? My feeling is that the student population at UNC is more liberal politically than NCSU at least when I attended in the 80s. You’ll probably find more elitist students at UNC and a more down-to-earth population at NCSU. Does any of this matter?
I think the liberal arts requirements are roughly the same, except UNC’s liberal arts courses would be more rigorous than State’s, which is a pro for State. I know I will find both liberal and conservative, down-to-earth and elitist kids at both schools so I can’t really base my decision on that. Thanks @Dolemite
Isn’t the biomedical engineering program actually a joint program between UNC and NCSU? I guess you get your degree officially from whichever school you enroll? Could be the best of both worlds…
You can’t go wrong with your choice either way.
I would pick UNC simply because you’re going to get a great BME education either way, UNC campus is nice, UNC has a higher reputation both in the US and abroad, and the Study Abroad fellowship could be a great opportunity.
I would like to pose a question to the rest of the members out of curiosity, is OP correct in assuming that he will have different or improved graduate school opportunities by attending the more highly ranked UNC?
No…his assumption is flat out wrong. First, the world of education does not come down to UNC vs NC State or pick whatever schools you wish to compare. The nation’s top graduate and professional schools in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine are filled with people from all around the world who have attended universities that nobody has heard of or even in their own countries would consider “prestigious”. This notion that the world obsesses over where a person went to school is nonsense. Now, UNC is a great place to get an education so the OP cannot go wrong by going there but not for this myth that somehow his/her chances at graduate/professional school will increase. NC State graduates who want to attend graduate and professional school have no problems doing so and for people who think it has something to do with grade inflation…that is nonsense. The great equalizer are those standardized test scores such as the GRE and MCAT just as is the case with the SAT and ACT. Plenty of people from NC State go onto the “elite” universities for graduate and professional schools such as Harvard , Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, and Duke and they do so because they achieve the necessary test scores just like anybody else. In the same way universities do not rely on high school reputation for undergraduate admissions, what makes you suddenly think that for graduate/professional school they will rely on reputation rather than those test scores? Plenty of NC State people score higher on those tests than their UNC counterparts. You can just use Google to see the variety of undergraduate schools represented in Stanford’s graduate engineering programs or at Duke law school.
You are fortunate to have two great choices. You seem to be asking the right questions. You just have to trust yourself to answer those questions honestly.
@chancethisanon and @westwoodwizard I’m sorry, but where in my post did I say that I believe my chances for getting into graduate school would be higher if I went to UNC? I believe you misread, since I never really thought so or took that into consideration. I did say that UNC’s BME program isn’t the best, so I could supplement my degree with a graduate degree. I never said I couldn’t do that at State.
@soosoo948 I apologize, I most definitely misread. I spent too much time on CC yesterday.
I also apologize to @soosoo948 as I read into his comment about “prestige” and its implications that most people on this board get worked about…namely…getting hired by an employer and admissions into graduate/professional school. All that said, I think @soosoo948 answered his own question in the next to last paragraph of his original post. He should choose UNC because for one the BME is a joint degree program so if he rally wants he can commute to State to fill in the engineering gaps. What incentive does he have to choose State? None. UNC is more prestigious, does have the higher quality student body, great campus, powerhouse basketball program, etc. State has none of that and amazingly even after Centennial Campus and a technology driven economy and the Research Triangle Park, here we are…nothing has changed all these years. The State administration, alumni, the Board of Trustees, the state legislature, and the UNC system have failed to make State into a nationally known school. State is not known as an “engineering” school in the way Georgia Tech and MIT area. Instead, State continues to carry the reputation of being a hick farm school where the UNC rejects go.
@soosoo948
i know a family in this exact same situation. she wanted to study Biomedical Engineering and was set on NC State because that’s the engineering school. but she has a mom who asks a lot of questions, and on an NC State visit, they finally told her that for much of her actual Biomedical Engr classwork, she would have to go to the UNC-CH campus. apparently the reason is that UNC-CH has the medical school and NC State does not. that is the reason that Biomedical Engineering is literally the ONLY engineering offered by UNC-CH, and also the ONLY joint engineering program between the two schools. NC State cannot accommodate the Biomedical Engineering BS degree with its current facilities, they need UNC-CH in order to offer this degree, while UNC-CH does not require NC State’s participation.
for this reason she chose UNC-CH to major in Biomedical Engineering, and that is what i would recommend to you as well. because if you are going to have to go to UNC-CH campus anyway for your major, then you might as well just go to school there.
as always, with any advice, trust yet verify. call both programs and press them until you get an answer about this, and see if there answers line up.
@Wien2NC The information about the classwork is not true at least from what is represented officially… Both campuses offer a complete curriculum for the BME program. If the NC State people told the mom that they do not, well then I guess somebody needs to follow up on that. As for the joint program, I doubt it was just so NCSU could offer the BME. A BME program ideally needs to be part of school of engineering which UNC does not have (actually is not allowed to have…it once had one and it was very prestigious prior to consolidation). A BME program should be affiliated with an engineering and medical school. The State of NC chose this messy setup of splitting engineering away from the flagship campus and hence you have this joint degree setup which is not even practical because students will not enjoy commuting for classes…it is not convenient at all.
^^^
You are correct and I stand corrected. From the joint program website FAQ:
"I heard that the undergraduate program is now a joint degree between UNC and NCSU. What does this mean? Will I have to travel to NCSU to take some courses?
Once a student has been admitted to the program (see above), you are a student at both UNC and NCSU with access to all facilities at both campuses. We will continue to offer a complete curriculum on each campus so that students do not have to travel in order to complete their curriculum. However, we encourage students to take advantage of resources on both campuses whenever possible, and any UNC student can also choose to take courses at NCSU at no extra charge."
I would still recommend the OP attend UNC for the Biostatics double major he is interested in, and also for that sweet $5,000 Summer Study Abroad Fellowship award.
And I agree the joint program is kind of a weird setup that is confusing to figure out.
@Wien2NC Also…I did acknowledge and make a point about prestige, rankings, academic perception, etc. As long as the powers to be in North Carolina continue to position NC State as a second rate safety school vis a vis UNC rather than as a co-flagship school for science and technology, why would any UNC student in BME want to take courses at NC State. Those students will just think NC State is inferior and so why bother even if the NCSU logo shows up on their diploma.
i agree 100% westwood … puzzling indeed.
Wow, I never knew State was in such a weak position. It’s sad too since it has the potential. I’m leaning towards UNC now, thanks guys. I still think I might take a class or two at State, since it still has more engineering resources, but committing doesn’t seem like the best idea anymore.
Not unless State gives you a full ride plus support for study abroad and research. The only reason State is able to lure top students is through scholarships. Otherwise, very few people are willing to pick State over UNC if the cost is the same.
yeah if you get a Goodnight scholarship that might change things, but based on the information you have given I think UNC is the choice. mostly b/c it offers the double major you are interested in.