<p>I have been accepted to Wash U and Rice for biomedical engineering, but I don't know which is more preferable. In terms of strength of medical program, Wash U would be the definite winner, but Rice is located in Houston, one of the largest cities in US. Any opinions? Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>Similar to the wustl vs. northwestern thread, I believe that washu has one of the better BME programs in the country. I don’t know anything about Rice’s BME program, but my guess would be that it’s not quite as good. And sure, Houston is very big, but St. Louis isn’t exactly small. So unless population of the metro area is a very important factor for you, then I don’t think the size of the city will be the determining factor.</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply. However, the fact that Rice’s BME is ranked #6 while Wash U is ranked #17 is really worrying me. Which is more important if I am going to apply for medical school, strength of BME or strength of medical program?</p>
<p>Both great schools! you shouldn’t really be bothered about rankings. BME at WashU is top notch! St louis has a lot to offer, and WashU’s in the better part of St Louis,called Clayton which is basically a wealthy neighborhood with gorgeous houses! Forest park, one of the best parks on the nation, is just adjacent to WashU. Also, I believe Washu has one of the best advising committees in the nation and on the whole, has an edge over Rice.</p>
<p>While I can’t find any numbers for undergraduate BME rankings, I find it difficult to believe that the gap between the two is that large in Rice’s favor. Even if it is, however, I am nearly certain that washu’s pre med is better than Rice’s. graduate school rankings don’t really matter for undergraduate rankings.</p>
<p>Premed is not an easy path at any school. I am a premed student at Washu and I have a friend who is taking premed program at Rice. Knowing that my friend’s personality and working style, I can tell the stress level of my friend’s is higher than mine. Of course, I am stressed as well. However, as I said, it is pretty common for premed student and my stress level is still managable and I am getting help from many people at WashU. I am working hard with my friends giving and getting help from each other. At Rice, they seem to be more competitive rather than cooperative. Some people like competitive environment better while some like cooperative environmnet better. So if you like cooperative environment better, come to WashU. Otherwise, Rice may be a better fit for you.</p>
<p>Kkcool- as a physician, I doubt medical schools really care which BME program you chose. The two key factors they look at are GPA and MCAT scores. Now if you wanted to pursue further studies in BME, then I would ask someone in the field about the two schools. Academically. Rice and WUSTL are both top notch.</p>