<p>Hey! I'm really conflicted right now between the programs at these two schools. I received likely letters to both the M&T program at Penn and to the Egleston Scholar Program at Columbia SEAS. I'm a first generation college student so I'm "up in the air" with college decisions at the moment. At M&T I plan to major in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Economics. At Columbia, I'll be majoring in Chemical Engineering (I don't think Columbia offers a double major in different college sections, but please weight on that if you can!).</p>
<p>My ultimate goal is to get involved in a health career, whether it be through the pharmaceutical industry or clinical medicine. Of course, this conflict in vision (medicine v. industry) manifests into a conflict in college selection. Where do you think my interests would best lie between these two universities' programs? Which would be better for medical school? Which is better for industry? Any other opinions on workload, social life, internships, research and more are IMMENSELY welcomed! Thanks! :D</p>
<p>M&T is a great program and comes with a lot of work. You need to make sure you work out a good work/life balance so you can keep on top of your studies and maintain a social life. My daughter is a friend with someone that is in this program.</p>
<p>You may look into the Health and Societies (HSOC) major at Penn. There are fair amount of folks entering this program.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help! I’ll definitely look into that! But, I think that major is within the College of Arts and Sciences. I don’t think that’d work with the M&T Program under Wharton and Penn Engineering. </p>
<p>~BUMP~</p>
<p>Just an FYI: at Wharton, you don’t major in Economics (in M&T or otherwise). While “Economics” is in the name of the Wharton undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Science in Economics) for historical and other reasons (it’s been called that since shortly after Wharton’s founding in 1881), the Economics major is really only available in the College. In fact, Wharton does not have “majors,” but instead has “concentrations” that require a minimum of four courses in a subject (as opposed to the 10 or so required in the College for a major). And Wharton concentrations are in business fields such as Finance, Management, Marketing, etc. </p>
<p>I read that on the website about those 20 concentrations that M&T offers, but I wasn’t really sure what that had meant. So thanks 45Percenter! </p>
<p>~BUMP~
Comparisons between the programs at Columbia and UPenn are awesome! :D</p>
<p>M&T grads tend to be business focused. A decent part of the appeal is when private equity firms and such go recruiting at Penn, they say “oh alright you survived taking 7 classes a semester you can probably take anything we throw at you”. A decent amount of them go into tech businesses and startups but I don’t know anyone who’s going into the medical industry tbh. I mean, you graduate M&T and you can go do whatever the heck you want, and a Wharton degree is a super good start for going into industry, but you’re going to be taking a bunch of classes that don’t really have anything to do with what you want to if you do end up choosing healthcare. It’s going to be a lot harder to pull that 3.5 for medschool if you’re dual degreeing too. </p>
<p>Workload, M&T will probably harder.
Social life, probably equalish.
Internships, probably Columbia because it’s closer to most of the NY medical stuff you’d want to be working in. M&T is gong to be a more balanced education and have better relations with finance firms though.
Research, probably equalish. Penn’s CBE is pretty good but so is Columbia engineering.</p>
<p>Basically if you’re positive you’re doing medical stuff, go Columbia. If you’re more open to other stuff, do M&T.</p>
<p>
You have this backwards. NO top school beats Penn for undergraduate closeness and convenience to world-class medical and health care internships and research opportunities. Penn’s top-ranked medical school is on the very same campus as its undergrads, as are its top-ranked Vet School (which does a lot of research relevant to human medicine), its top-ranked Nursing School, its top-ranked Dental School, and SEVERAL top-ranked hospitals and medical research facilities (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, The Wistar Institute, and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center). No other top school offers such a broad, comprehensive, and world-class medical research complex on the same campus as undergrads (certainly not Columbia), and Penn goes out of its way to make research opportunities available to undergrads through its Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF), which maintains a comprehensive listing of research positions available specifically to undergrads. </p>
<p>@45 Percenter:</p>
<p>So are you thinking that Penn M&T is better than Columbia? The package I have from Columbia right now as an Egleston Scholar (top 1% of admitted engineering students) is: (quoted)
A $10,000 stipend for academic and research endeavors;
Guaranteed research opportunities during the school year and summer;
A team of advisors and a faculty mentor to help each Egleston realize her or his academic and professional goals;
A first-year research and leadership seminar, establishing the foundation of a four-year honors community.
(+ an exemption from mandatory work for financial aid package)</p>
<p>Also, should I consider changing CBE into just BE or maybe drop down to Biomedical Sciences for a BAS instead of the BSE? The Penn website reports that most students who go into professionals schools (medicine, law, etc.) choose the BAS instead of the BSE route.</p>
<p>^ No, that’s a choice you’re going to have to make based on personal preference and fit. I was just responding to the assertion that Columbia would be better for internships “because it’s closer to most of the NY medical stuff you’d want to be working in.” For undergraduate closeness and convenience to world-class medical research and clinical facilities, NO school beats Penn (including Columbia).</p>
<p>Truthfully, EITHER of these would be a phenomenal choice, and would get you to where you ultimately want to go (assuming that you continue to work hard in college 
). I’d recommend that you choose the school at which you’d feel most comfortable overall, and at which you feel that you’d be HAPPIEST and would best thrive academically and socially, taking into account the campuses and campus life, cities, etc. In other words, go with your gut. :)</p>