<p>I was accepted to USC's Viterbi School of Engineering for biomedical engineering, but I was also accepted to Fordham University. At Fordham, I could participate in the 3-2 Engineering Collaborative Program with Columbia University. This means that I would be able to earn two bachelors degrees in five years - one from Fordham and one from Columbia, the latter being an engineering degree. I would be given guaranteed admission to Columbia with a 3.3 GPA and taking required courses at Fordham for three years. Both USC and Fordham have given me enough money that money is not part of the equation anymore. I love both Los Angeles and New York for very different reasons. </p>
<p>In my college experience I hope to be able to go to a graduate school at a high ranking university, possibly Stanford. I am just looking for opinions as to which school to attend. Location does not affect me much but I hope to be given good opportunities for undergrad research, and I want to attend a school that will help me get a good job after school. USC definitely has a large alumni network and good research opportunities but Columbia is Ivy League and the name could help me get into a grad school if I have the research, resume, and GPA to support it, but the same goes for USC. </p>
<p>Thanks for your time to give me your opinions!</p>
<p>Unless you really want Columbia on your resume, I’d pick USC. Why? 3+2 = 5. Well, not only because USC would take you only 4 for just the bachelor’s, but if you’re down for an extra year - and you should look into this, don’t just take my word for it - you might be able to progressive degree into a master’s in BME. And a bachelor’s and a master’s is always better than two bachelor’s. </p>
<p>[USC</a> - Viterbi School of Engineering - Progressive Degree Program](<a href=“http://viterbi.usc.edu/students/undergrad/pdp/]USC”>http://viterbi.usc.edu/students/undergrad/pdp/)</p>
<p>Hello - I can probably help as a current senior in Biomedical Engineering!</p>
<p>First of all, USC has amazing opportunities for undergrad research. My friends and I all found labs to work in (as early as freshman year) after reaching out to a few professors, and some have already been published and presented at conferences. The USC and Viterbi career centers are also great. After having multiple internships (and having lots of offers to turn down) I’m very confident that I’ll get a job in my field after school.</p>
<p>You’re right that both USC and Colombia will qualify you for great grad schools. I have friends who got into Stanford, Harvard, UC San Diego, Berkeley, and more out of USC, at both the Masters and Ph. D. level (or medical school for some), so really that’s a toss up.</p>
<p>I’ve actually chosen to stay at USC for the progressive degree program as Lencias mentioned, so I’ll have finished a BS and an MS in BME in 5 years (and I’ll have saved lots on tuition!). Some people even do both in 4!</p>
<p>Another consideration over the 3-2 program, regardless of whether you choose PDP or not, is the front end of your college career: at USC you get to start engineering and can work in engineering labs your first semester. Why wait 3 years? You’ll also have a pretty constant stream of engineering classes all four years, instead of doing it all in 2.</p>
<p>Hope that helps! Congrats on having a tough decision to make!</p>
<p>Steve
Viterbi Class of 2013</p>
<p>@Lencias</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help! I looked into the Progressive Degree Program and it looks very interesting!! Thank you for telling me about it!</p>
<p>@Viterbi</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice as a student. It was definitely helpful to hear what you had to say especially about research and opportunities. Also, it was good to know that a lot of your friends are getting into good graduate schools. Congratulations to them and congratulations on all of your accomplishments!</p>
<p>I think that I am now leaning more towards USC after hearing this</p>
<p>ViterbiStudent, thanks for taking the time to post, have an admitted freshman choosing between a couple schools… Your answers are always informative and relevant to the decision, even when someone else is asking a question that seems on the surface, not to be related to our situation.</p>
<p>Happy to help! I know it’s a tough decision and I really appreciated the advice and perspective from these boards when I was going through this process, so I like to do the same for others</p>
<p>-Steve</p>