<p>I am a rising freshmen and I have been accepted into VCU, UVA, and GMU. I have no idea where I should go for BME. If I go to UVA, then it is the best public school for BME, my best friends are going there, and they have the best tennis team around. But if I do go there, there is a lot of competition fore grades and internships, UVA doesn't accept IB credit, i'm not guaranteed to get into BME, and the school is expensive. UVA hasn't offered me any financial aid yet!</p>
<p>If i go to VCU, then it is slightly cheaper since it accepts IB credit and I can go straight into BME. It is supposedly easier to be a higher rank and to get a higher GPA. Also, I could go straight into medical school after my 4 years, if i am in the honors program. However, I personally do not like the city atmosphere and the bustling area.</p>
<p>Lastly, I could go to GMU, which would be cheap, since I would be living at home and my parents would be paying for my college. I would go straight into the biomedical program and it would be easy enough for me to get a high GPA. Furthermore, GMU accepts IB credit and it would be easier for me to get internships. However, the down side would be staying at home, staying in the regular highschool routine, and not being with my friends. </p>
<p>I think living at home for college would get old fast (unless someone financially has no other choice). If you only see your parents during summers and breaks, you are more likely to get along well with each other. Also, colleges with larger numbers of commuter students typically result in barriers to creating close lifelong friends.</p>
<p>One of the advantages of UVa is that it is a little isolated from other population centers and many people are from far away. That means that most people stay in Cville on weekends (especially after they dump their high school boyfriends/girlfriends), which creates a better social environment.</p>
<p>What do you mean? Were you accepted to the College of Engineering and Applied Science? Even if you were accepted to A&S, you can easily transfer with a email to Greg Roberts. I don’t think there is a separate application process for any certain type of engineering at UVA. During the fall semester, all engineering students take the same general preparatory classes in math, chemistry, engineering, and maybe classical physics (which usually comes later on.) In the spring semester, you declare which type of engineering you are going into. You then follow the curriculum for that specific type of engineering. </p>
<p>UVA is a much higher ranked school for BME than your other choices. It is also the highest ranked science/engineering program at UVA. If your other two choices are immensely cheaper, which VCU doesn’t seem to be by your wording, then that may outweigh the prestige you get at UVA. If you don’t mind living at home, then GMU could be a good choice, but I think you are going to find that you are at a sincere loss doing so. You can get internships and research positions at any of these schools. You just have to look around and inquire, so I wouldn’t worry about that. Also, don’t worry about GPA. Do your best. No graduate programs expect a student to have a perfect GPA after four years of engineering.</p>
<p>You seem to know what each school is offering in terms of academics, environmental, etc., so you just need to carefully weigh you options. I will add that the guaranteed medical school opportunities at VCU have driven people I know to turn down UVA. Getting into medical school isn’t easy, so if medical school is your dream, VCU could be the best option. If UVA is a lot more debt, you may want to stay away. Unlike a lot of academic graduate programs, medical school is very expensive.</p>
<p>I don’t know how much IB credit would actually apply if UVA accepted it. I’ve taken all the big AP math and sciences, and I am still only getting out of 3 required engineering courses during all eight semesters. I am, however, fulfilling my HSS electives with AP credit so that I can take new interesting math and CS courses.</p>
<p>It is not as easy as this. It depends on if there are spots and other criteria. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Per BME UVa site:
Is there an enrollment cap on the BME Major?
Yes, the major is currently limited to 70 students/year. Admission is based on academic performance and a personal essay. A school-wide application process takes place in the spring of the first year. Students not admitted as rising second years may re-apply the next year. For the past few years, there have been 2-3 spots available for rising third years.</p>
<p>Trust me, go UVA. I know 2 people who went to VCU BME and are unemployed right now. They planned to go to medical school but didn’t get in. Then they looked for a year to find a job in engineering and couldn’t find any that would take them. I know someone graduating this year as a nanomed engineer from UVA and she is going to start at 82k a year. That’s pretty awesome haha</p>
<p>Fermat - After decisions are released the Dean allows a certain amount of switching between SEAS and CLAS. There will be a point at which he will no longer allow this. You were fortunate. It is not always as easy as an email. Also, at UVa SEAS first year students do not declare their majors. All students are required to apply for their major. BME is the most competitive.</p>
<p>Once you start at UVa, I believe it is easy to switch from engineering to Arts and Sciences. Therefore, if someone is unsure, they should probably apply to engineering.</p>
<p>All engineering disciplines require an application, but the only ones that are competitive/have a cap are BME and Systems if I am not mistaken. For the other ones, from what I have heard, the application is more of a formality. If money is not an issue then I definitely advocate not staying at home. College is way more than the academics.</p>