<p>I am a High School Senior interested in studying biomedical/ bioengineering in collefe. I applied to UW as a pre-engineering major because direct admission to the bioE program has been suspended until what would be my Sophomore year. What are the chances of being accepted into the bioE program as a transfer? </p>
<p>I also applied to CU-Boulder, among other schools. While CU doesn't have a undergrad major specific to bioengineering, they have biomedical options for mechanical as well as chemical enigeering.</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me how the two schools compare? Engineering-wise, campus-wise, etc.</p>
<p>@infoseeker32 I don’t anything about CU-Boulder but I have heard that the campus is very very beautiful. I am positive that they get lot more sunshine than Seattle. Personally, I prefer pacific northwest. UW campus and surrounding areas are also very beautiful.</p>
<p>I am very familiar with BIOENG, EE and CS departments at UW. Know nothing about other branches of engineering. All these departments have brand new state of the art facilities thanks to generous donors like Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft). Dean of Engineering at UW is a well known bioengineering researcher with many connections to industry.</p>
<p>From all rankings I have seen so far, it is clear that UW is several notches above CU-Boulder for engineering in general.</p>
<p>would it be worth it to attend UW as a pre-engineering major and bank on being accepted into the bioE program Sophomore year? I don’t want to screw myself over and not get into the major I want</p>
<p>infoseekere32, That is a difficult question to answer. How confident are you in your ability to do well in freshman year? </p>
<p>Here are my biased opinions based on which I will offer some advice.</p>
<p>Bioengineering is a highly interdisciplinary field. With just an undergraduate degree you become jack of all trades. In order to get a good job interesting job you need at least a masters degree. If your goal is to get an advanced degree then it doesn’t really matter that much whether you do EE, ME or CE at undergraduate level. If you take sufficient number of courses from BIOE then that should be sufficient. </p>
<p>If you don’t mind Seattle weather and you are planning to do graduate studies then go to UW. It is a no brainer. Talk to one of the advisors at UW BIOE. </p>
<p>If you have no interest in doing graduate studies then it is going to be difficult landing a good job. One way to improve your chances is by doing summer internships at companies where you want to eventually work full time. I think Seattle has a number of biotech/medical device companies offering such opportunities and it should be easier to get a summer job if you are at UW.</p>
<p>You might want to start a similar thread under CU-BO and solicit input from people who are more familiar with that institute.</p>
<p>I visited both schools before finally deciding to go to UW. I have nothing bad to say about CU-Boulder. It’s a great campus with a great location. At the time I even enjoyed CU campus better than UW (but they’re both top-notch). One thing about CU is it doesn’t have the best reputation. Washington does, as far as public schools go. Also their sports kinda suck too if that matters to you.</p>
<p>I do not know much about bioengineering or biomedical but if the UW medical school is one of the best in the country.</p>
<p>As for going to Grad school or not, I’m not sure yet, but it’s definitely something I’ll be keeping in mind.</p>
<p>Since AllrounderDad brought up the weather in Seattle, I might as well ask you about it spaceneedle. What is the weather like? I hear it is quite rainy and gray during the winter, which I’m kinda used to being from the midwest.</p>
<p>We have been living in the Seattle area for over 20 years. I have also lived in Ohio and California. Rainfall here is mostly light drizzle and quite manageable but it feels like we have many more rainy days than anywhere else. What bothers people are the gray skies and short days in winter. Spring in Seattle is very beautiful with Azaleas and Rhododendron blooming everywhere and summer days are the best.</p>
<p>Well it all depends on if you like drizzly, cloudy weather. Because it is like that quite often during the winter. Days are also noticeably shorter, it gets dark so damn early sometimes. However, the reputation that Seattle has with rain is not completely deserved in my opinion. You can check the numbers, Seattle is not near as rainy as many other major cities in the US. Also, this winter has been pretty mild with el nino. We’ve just had a record warm january with many days of no rain at all. of course, this is just a cycle so i’m sure we’ll return to normal winters next year.</p>
<p>Wow how convenient! I was actually accepted to both schools this week and both are my top choices and trying to determine on which one to pick as well, so this thread will help.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>I actually live in Colorado and have visited the campus. There are many pros/cons to the CU. To prevent from listing off information you might already know, I would like to know if you’re an OOS to both CU and UW. </p>
<p>CU is definitely a beautiful school, and UWs academics and surroundings truly make this a tough choice.</p>
<p>Spaceneedle and AllrounderDad thanks for the weather info! While Cu would be a lot sunnier, I feel I could take the shorter, grayer days if need be. I’m quite used to short, snowy gray days!</p>
<p>Secrecy, yes I am an OOS ( that means out of state student right?) to both UW and CU. I’ve visited CU and absolutely loved the campus and city of Boulder. But I’ve heard great things about Seattle and UW as well. What do you plan on majoring in?</p>
<p>I’m actually majoring in business and east asian languages as it stands right now.</p>
<p>CU is amazing and Boulder is gorgeous. There are a couple problems people have with the school, however. </p>
<p>One is the type of people that are at CU. The reputation of the school is a party school; this is not to say that the academics are a joke, however, because CU’s programs are amazing. With any college you’re gonna get the boneheads that only want to party/drink ect… You will meet a lot of hippies(not saying this is a bad thing, but there’s a lot of them lol), idiots, and partiers at CU, but you’ll also meet amazing people. CU is all about surrounding yourself with the right type of people. </p>
<p>Also the weather is very chilly, but reading your earlier posts you’re probably used to it since you live it the midwest I assume. It gets very cold and snowy in the winter, which can be really awesome if you ski/snowboard because the mountains are just a couple hours away! </p>
<p>If you think you can surround yourself with the right people/deal with the weather, I think CU is a good school.</p>
<p>As of now I can’t compare it to UW because I am actually not visiting there until later this month, but I thought I could offer my input on Boulder since I live in Colorado, and a lot of people have already talked about UW here.</p>
<p>infoseeker, the one thing it doesn’t do much in Seattle is snow. not that it never happens, but not often. And certainly nothing like in Colorado. so if you like the snowy days that you’re used to, Colorado may be a better environment. Also it gets much colder in Colorado than Seattle.</p>
<p>Secrecy, I’ve heard those same concerns about CU, but I’m confident in my abilities to surround myself with the right people. </p>
<p>Spaceneedle, It doesn’t matter if there is snow where I am or not. Skiing is fun, but I don’t do it so sparingly it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I live without it. But, either, way I don’t plan on making a decision solely on weather haha. I know both Boulder and Seattle are great cities, and ones with phenomenol resources for whatever I choose to pursue. I’ver certainly got a tough decision ahead of me, especially hwen you factor in all the other schools I’ve applied to.</p>
<p>The cost for UW and CU are about the same for OOS students, so I don’t think that should be a problem.</p>
<p>The main thing will be value. How will you make where you go to college worth your money. I know its a tough decision, but I’m sure you’ll do amazing wherever you go. Good luck!</p>