I was fortunate enough to get accepted into these great colleges, but I’m having a hard time deciding where to go. I live in North Carolina, but due to scholarships and financial aid, all four colleges will cost about the same (<5,000). I want to go to med school or attend an MD/Ph.D. program. Knowing these programs are selective I want a major to fall back on. These are the majors and their respective college:
UVA: Biochemistry, might transfer into biomedical eng
UNC: Biomedical engineering program
RPI: Biomedical engineering at college of eng
Wake Forest: Biophysics
The only special thing I’ve received is a likely for the Chancellor’s Science Scholars Program (CSS) at Chapel Hill. The CSS mentors me for to help me get into an MD/Ph.D. program and it gives me a stipend for summer research as well as other perks like an annual scholarship.
I am leaning towards UNC if I do get the CSS scholarship if I don’t, I’m thinking of UVA.
Your input is greatly appreciated.
Med school requires a high GPA and sometimes it can be difficult to achieve that in an engineering program. People do it all the time, but there it is. On the other hand, engineering is an excellent Plan B.
The other thing is that UNC, Wake Forest, and UVa all have medical schools at which you could potentially do biomedical research and shadow doctors. RPI doesn’t, although with a biomedical engineering program I am sure there are some professors doing BME research there.
The CSS looks like an excellent program - however, do note that the goal of the CSS program is to mentor students to go into research careers. The PhD is the main focus; they do mentor students who want the MD/PhD only because that’s another path into a research career. It’s still an excellent opportunity and if you get into that program, I would say it would give UNC an edge.
Otherwise, I think it probably doesn’t matter. You could choose any of the four, although I would give the edge to the three comprehensive universities over RPI.
Thanks for your reply Juillet! That’s something to consider. I also forgot to mention I like the atmosphere of UVA and the history embedded in the buildings. Also, UVA seems like it has smarter students overall.
I’m crossing out RPI and Wake Forest now because college athletics is something I want to see, and those schools don’t offer much in that region.
Gotta love when someone pulls out the USNWR undergrad rankings in specific subjects.
Does anyone have any information on the bme program at chapel hill?
RPI is underrated, etc. For example, its undergraduate major in physics is always considered in the top 5 or higher in the country. Having said that, unless you are a real science nerd, and not particularly interested in social science or humanities, it would not be a good place for you. I know lots of nerds who went there and ate it up like there was no tomorrow. But I also know someone with a liberal arts bent who went there to study economics and compsci. He felt so constricted by the science nerd culture he transferred to Duke at the end of his first year and never looked back.
unless you’re into hockey (RPI is Div I)
GRAD PROGRAMS: they look at the ranking of the university where you studied, the major and therefore weight the GPA you received, MCATs etc. If you were an English major at Podunk U with a 4.0 and a BME major at any of the above with a 3.5, you’d have a higher academic rating than your peer at Podunk.
If you decide Med School is not for you after 3 years, you have a degree in the medical field to do lots of great things with (and assume that’s your strategy).
A BME major who wants to design the next heart implant medical device would be a far better applicant to Med School than lots of other majors. And if not accepted, have far more related options open to them.
Need to think broadly as an 18 year old about to embark on the next education rung of the ladder!
Nice spot to be in. Good Luck!
Update: I’ve gotten the CSS Program
Yes, but UVa is still only 1-2 grand after work study.
Are both colleges well known in the US? My views are skewed since I live in NC.