USC Trustee vs. JHU BME vs. Cal Regents

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

Hi everyone!

Decision day is coming up (ahhhhh) and I’m really indecisive and I would love some advice on what to choose. I’m stuck between JHU BME, Berkeley Regents, and USC Trustee. Honestly I can imagine myself adapting to each one of these schools, and this is such a big decision that I don’t want to make the wrong one.

Johns Hopkins (BME)
pros: BME #1 (I like the program at JHU the best out of the 3), really nice campus, open curriculum (I hope to explore some other topics, and possibly double major/minor), spacious dorms
cons: location, far from home (I live in Northern CA), 25k more per year than Berkeley or USC

Berkeley Regents (Chem E)
pros: lots of people/diversity, regents scholarship, close to bay area (lots of opportunities in industry here), close to home, cheaper than JHU (about same price as USC)
cons: the city (the city of Berkeley isn’t my favorite but its alright), major (although Berkeley Chem E is really great, I would probably try to transfer to bioE or just do Chem E with a bio emphasis)

USC Trustee (bioengineering)
pros: Trustee scholarship/Viterbi fellow/undergrad honors program (research money, distinguished speakers, etc), easy to double major/minor, cheaper than JHU (about same price as Berkeley),
cons: location (LA is okay)

After undergrad, I plan to go to either grad school or medical school (although I’m not sure yet). Any help/insight would be appreciated! Thank you so much!

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JHU. Had a friend with these choices Took JHU and has been nothing but pleased with the opportunities.

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Since you are planning to attend grad school, maybe med school, and you feel almost equally about your 3 great choices, why would you pay about $100K more for JHU. It’s a terrific school, but honestly, all three are terrific. I’d say be careful about Cal because I hear it may be difficult to try to change majors and get out in 4 years. USC is your strongest candidate due to the Trustee honor & $$ and the perks of private university–easy registration for classes, easy changing majors, happy well taken care of students. None of those choices would be a mistake, except I am very strongly advising you to save money for med school. :slight_smile:

4

The huge Michelson Center is on the horizon at SC. This complex is state of the art and will be another draw for scientists and opportunities for undergraduate research.

I agree with madbean. Save funds for the years ahead.