<p>Hello experts, I would like to major in Biomedical science/engineering and I am already selected in NC state as I did an early App. I also got an offer to apply for the Honors program at NCState.</p>
<p>I plan to apply to UNC shortly, and I am in a dilemma which one would be better option.
My longer term interests are to to go for medicine if I get through MCAT, else pursue career in BioMedical engineering may be do an MS or MBA.</p>
<p>The BME course in NC State is a joint program with UNC Chapel Hill (UNC/NCSU</a> Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering - Home), and hence wondering if it would make a difference if I do from either. I live in Chapel Hill very lose to UNC and would prefer to go to school closer to home.</p>
<p>Now the Biomedical engg in NCState is accredited program while one in UNC is not, while UNC ranks 5th in best public universities and 47th in best universities in world. But NC State lags quite a bit in ranking in US and is not even in top 100 in the world ranking.</p>
<p>Really appreciate all inputs to help me make a decision.
Thanks</p>
<p>While bioengineer is usually not the easiest route to medschool, if you’re gong to go that way go through an accredited program. Med school acceptance is in very large part the function of your mcat and GPA. It’s regularly advised to go not to the best undergrad program you can, but the undergrad program you can do the best in. If you can get a higher GPA at NCSU then that’s your better route. You also need to look very carefully at the bioengineer degree requirements, and the pre-med requirements. Keep in mind med schools do not allow AP credit for some courses. They frown on requirements being taken during the summer. Will you be able to fit all your courses in, with the honors requirement? I know with my sons engineering curriculum this would have been impossible. </p>
<p>UNC is a great school. The lack of ABET accreditation should concern you in the off chance that you decide against med school and want to use that degree. I’d research these implications. Also, if going to med school do you feel you could get just as high grades at UNC as you could at NCSU? Being close to home has benefits but honestly, once you’re settled in with this busy schedule you wouldn’t see family any more or less at either school (or you shouldn’t). College is a time for independence, for students and parents. ;)</p>
<p>UNC. NC State is a good safety school if you don’t get into UNC, but UNC is the better school. You should be focused on your degree. While NC State would allow you to take courses at UNC, you’re degree would be from the lesser university.</p>
<p>Ask this in the premed forum. You’re going to be advised to go where you can get the highest GPA vs the higher ranked school. NCSU is not a Podunk directional U where the OP can’t get a good education. The disparity isn’t what you perceive, and for med school entrance this is the common strategy. High GPA trumps applying from a higher ranked school. Now, if the OP weren’t interested in med school this is a completely different conversation</p>
<p>blueiguana’s advice is on target. Informative’s is, well, not very informed.</p>
<p>As I’m sure the OP knows but many offering help may not, NCSU “is” engineering in the UNC system. Offerings at Chapel Hill include Biomed, as mentioned, and that jointly with NC State, and that’s pretty much it. The only reason the program is not solely at NCSU is related to the UNC Medical School’s presence in Chapel Hill rather than Raleigh.</p>
<p>As far as being the “lesser” school - NC State’s engineering strength needs little defense. It locally is consistently tied with Duke in overall US News engineering rankings and ahead of better known targets like Rice, Vanderbilt, Yale, Brown, Wash U, etc. It offers great depth and breadth with the Centennial Campus attached at the hip, home base for dozens of private companies and public/government agencies, the place where Red Hat got its start (and still has a presence). Great opportunities for internships (and jobs) without ever leaving campus. Even student selectively for engineering at NCSU has changed - now at the same level as general undergrad at UNC CH.</p>
<p>Having defended NC State, I’d still agree the OP should go wherever he feels he’d better thrive, where he feels more at home. I’m skeptical that distance matters here, NC State is < 1/2 hour by bus or car from UNC CH. But there is a measurable difference in culture. Both schools have rabid, devoted fan bases. If engineering and not med school is potentially in the cards, I’d strongly consider NC State over CH. For med school alone, I’d go with best social fit.</p>
<p>For engineering, NCSU >> UNC. This is a fact that people in science and engineering all know, but may not be evident by those who over-use USNWR rankings.</p>
<p>If you want to go into engineering, NCSU is the best bet between those two.</p>
<p>For medical school… well… if you REALLY want to go to medical school, engineering may not be the best path… not because of the education. You will get a GREAT education and preparation via engineering. Unfortunately, medical school admissions is pathologically numbers-driven… oh, they may give lip-service to making considerations for the difficulty of the major, but in practice it is barely a blip.</p>
<p>I don’t think you need to worry about the relative ranking of UNC and NCSU… in the “real” world outside CC, people don’t hyperanalyze minor differences in rankings.</p>
<p>Outside of North Carolina, the differences between UNC and NCSU are not “minor”. I’ll give you that in North Carolina, the two schools are considered similar.</p>
<p>It will not be easier to get a higher gpa in biomedical engineering at NCSU than at UNC. It will be difficult at both universities. NC State’s Engineering school is well known and well respected outside of North Carolina. I have a child at both UNC and NC State. Both love their schools. </p>
<p>If you are going the pre-med route, be sure to look at pre-med advising at both schools. UNC’s pre-med advising does not have a pre-med committee. [Welcome</a> | hpac.dasa.ncsu.edu](<a href=“http://hpac.dasa.ncsu.edu/]Welcome”>http://hpac.dasa.ncsu.edu/) NC State’s pre-med advising has a committee and it looks like they offer more guidance through the application process than UNC offers. [Welcome</a> | hpac.dasa.ncsu.edu](<a href=“http://hpac.dasa.ncsu.edu/]Welcome”>http://hpac.dasa.ncsu.edu/) I think you should visit the biomedical departments and pre-med advising departments at both schools to get a feel for which one would be a better fit and most helpful for your future plans.</p>
<p>I would say when looking at med school go to the place where you can have a higher GPA and stand out also tour both and see which one you feel comfortable in and enjoy the most and make your decision based on that. What is the point of going to a University that you will get a higher GPA but be miserable at!</p>