<p>I'm interested in biology, physics, and Gerontology. I was going to major in Biomedical Engineering, but I have been reading that is a narrow major for an undergrad. Some other majors I have seen people recommend are Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Physics.</p>
<p>I would like to eventually do research work on aging and how to create nanostructures that can help heal the deleterious effects of metabolism. What would be best for me to major in as an undergraduate.</p>
<p>I'm currently taking some courses at a community college and would like to transfer in the spring or possibly Fall 2011.</p>
<p>My parents are moving to Tampa and say I should attend USF. From what I've read USF isn't a good engineering school, but is it very important where you get your undergraduate degree? I currently live in PA and was thinking about transferring to Pitt. I'm open to a few different schools, but would prefer ones in Pennsylvania and Florida that are affordable.</p>
<p>Pitt is excellent in anything medical (gerontology), biological, bioengineering, and nanotech…and excellent for undergrad research. Definitely is better than anything in Florida, and better than anything in PA outside of Penn in Philly.</p>
<p>I was going to go with USF becuase my family is going to move to Tampa and it is very cheap for an in state resident. </p>
<p>If Pitt is much better and can give me a lot more opportunities than I guess that should be my #1 choice. </p>
<p>Would you say undergraduate school is pretty important for possible research as an undergraduate and for graduate school.</p>
<p>If there is a big financial difference, than that should certainly play into any decision. Pitt is pretty generous with merit aid (30% of students receive some), so you might want to at least apply and see what you get. The irony is that while Pitt will be more expensive if you are a Florida resident, if your statistics are good, you may be more desirable for them to award aid to due to a desire for them to recruit geographic diversity.</p>
<p>If you are motivated enough, you’ll be successful wherever you end up, and the place your degree comes from is somewhat down the list of things of importance that most graduate admission committees look at. The things that will matter most for grad school is your research experience (preferably you’d get some authorship on a publication), letters of recommendation, gpa and coursework, and GREs. You want to be able to show a demonstrable interest in doing research, and an be able to convey an understanding of the research you’ve done during your interviews (i.e. that you weren’t just doing things you were told to do, but understand why you were doing them). If you are interested in doing research in the fields you mentioned above, and the difference in cost is an issue, Pitt may be a better place to target for grad school, since grad school in the sciences will be free and pay a stipend wherever you go, so it does make sense to save money now.</p>
<p>Just an FYI, Pitt is in the top 5 in NIH funding, which essentially means it is the fifth largest biomedical research center in the United States. It’s a great place to get research experience in a whole variety of bioscience areas, including bioengineering, and its medical center’s primary clinical and research facilities (which are in top of US News hospital rankings) are right on the undergrad campus, making it easy to access for undergrads. But as with any step in your career, the most important will be the most recent, so it will matter more where you did you grad school than undergrad at the end of your training.</p>
<p>I hear Rice is very good at nanotechnology, or at least it’s been really involved in its research</p>
<p>Yea, Rice is really good at both biomedical engineering and nanotechnology, so that should be something you should consider. It has a really good engineering school and ranks quite high in both.</p>
<p>Also try some well known engineering schools, since you seem to want to go towards that route like Georgia Tech or U of M.</p>
<p>Thanks for the answer. </p>
<p>I currently live in PA, so getting the in-state tuition fee for Pitt is nice. Conversely, schools like Georgia Tech, University of Michigan, and Rice seem to be a higher ranked or better for nanotech, but would charge me out-of-state fees. I would also have to establish a year of residency to get the cheaper in-state tuition fee. Also wgmcp101 saying Pitt gives a lot of merit is another positive for Pitt. </p>
<p>I think I’ve narrowed it down to Pitt and Georgia Tech, but I still have a couple questions. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>For tuition and room and board going off of collegesearch, Pitt would be roughly $24,200 for a year, while GT would be $35,700 the first year and subsequent years would be $17,500. Wgmcp101 said Pitt gives a lot of merit, but I’m not sure where to find that info for either Pitt or GT. Would paying more money to go to GT give me better chances of getting a job after I get my B.S. and would it help me get into graduate school? </p></li>
<li><p>From what I’ve read GT is a very tough engineering school. I will definitely work hard, but would graduating with honors from Pitt look better than just graduating for GT? </p></li>
<li><p>Since GT is known for nanotech, is it crucial to do undergraduate research with a nanotech professor there, or would I be fine doing undergraduate research (hopefully in nanotech) at Pitt?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Pitt was [ranked</a> #2](<a href=“University Times | University of Pittsburgh | University of Pittsburgh”>University Times » Pitt ranked 2nd for nanoscale research), behind Penn, for microscale- and nanoscale research by Small Times magazine, circa [2006</a> issue<a href=“the%20latest%20I%20could%20find”>/url</a>. Small Times is the authority on micro and nanotechnology, so I wouldn’t by any stretch assume Georgia Tech has a bigger name in this field than Pitt, in fact, it seems Pitt is more highly regarded in nanotechnology. {Update, Pitt was ranked ahead of Georgia Tech in nanotechnology in 2007, as well as what appears to be [url=<a href=“http://www.electroiq.com/index/display/nanotech-article-display/256495/articles/small-times/volume-6/issue-3/features/cover-story/gateway-to-greatness.html]this”>http://www.electroiq.com/index/display/nanotech-article-display/256495/articles/small-times/volume-6/issue-3/features/cover-story/gateway-to-greatness.html]this</a> more recent ranking](<a href=“http://www.nanotech.upenn.edu/news_images/Small_Times_Mag_MayJune_06_Top10.pdf]2006”>http://www.nanotech.upenn.edu/news_images/Small_Times_Mag_MayJune_06_Top10.pdf).}</p>
<p>That said, Georgia Tech vs Pitt won’t make any difference for grad school, honors or not.</p>
<p>Awesome info. thank you. </p>
<p>I think I’m going with pit since I live in PA, they are great with nanotech, and you say they give a lot of merit. </p>
<p>Do you know of any websites that are good for comparing schools or viewing rank? Also how can I find out about scholarship info for schools?</p>
<p>Well, they give merit, but you know, it is not guaranteed. I’m not downplaying Georgia Tech, it is a great engineering school, better regarded than Pitt overall in engineering, but Pitt is strong in nanotech obviously. </p>
<p>As far as scholarships, you just need to search around their websites. Pitt will automatically consider you for academic scholarships, as long as you complete the necessary essays, but it helps if you show interest in the school. Pitt has rolling admissions, but there is a scholarship deadline, and you’ll need to make sure you are in before then.</p>
<p>btw, found 2009 Small Times, Pitt was ranked 7th in their overall micro/nano research category and 6th in overall micro/nano Commercialization. Georgia Tech was ranked 5th in Peer Micro Research and 5th in Peer Micro Commercialization so Georgia Tech seems to have garnered strength in Micro technologies, although it it is not ranked in the nano or general/overall categories.</p>
<p>UCSD underrated overall, great rank for bio and bioengineering and awesome place to live</p>
<p>I don’t know much about this whole process so sorry if I’m asking stupid questions. </p>
<p>I’ve read about academic scholarships and outside scholarships and money. Can a student have several scholarships or “streams” of money towards their college fees.</p>
<p>yes, you can apply for whatever number of outside scholarships that you can get your hands on.</p>
<p>One more question for anybody who might know. How is Pitt compared the university of Maryland in terms of engineering, nanotech, merit, or any other things you think should be noted?</p>
<p>IUPUI world be an amazing school for your major.</p>