Guys i need help i am debating NEU and BU for bioengineering/biomedical engineering on a pre-med track!!! Either i ed2 to BU for BME but i read they have grade deflation and BME is not good with premed at BU OR NEU for bioengineering with co-ops and stuff. Like i know BU is top in the country for BME but is it worth it if i am going to get a bad GPA for med school???
I’ll put it out there. Why do you need to ED2 to either of these colleges?
Remember, you can fulfill the course requirements for medical school applicants at just about every four year college in this country (arts conservatories excluded).
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I would not ED2. Problem solved!
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Getting a low GPA is not going to cut it for med school. You’ll need at least a cumulative GPA of 3.7 to be competitive. Difficulty of major doesn’t factor in so much.
Go where you can get the highest GPA. You might consider another major entirely.
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It is ? I’m not a fan of rank but just looked at three lists and it’s not on a single one.
Choose a school - BU, NU or otherwise where you’d enjoy the vibe, environment, and more….where you can have success academically and socially.
Your scores, grades, shadow opportunities, diversity and more will impact your med school. Not BU, NU, or elsewhere. Your major may depending on how you tackle it.
ED a place you 100% want to be and can 100% afford. Otherwise don’t. And don’t forget to budget not just for college but med school as well.
Good luck.
Perhaps the OP is looking at this list…regardless…I want to hear a compelling reason for applying ED2.
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/biomedical-rankings
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I vote for strongly considering this as well.
Engineering is usually a very difficult track, and lots of people end up dropping out.
Pre-med is also a very difficult track, and lots of people end up dropping out.
What is the logic behind doing both?
I note sometimes people want a Plan B, which is fine, but it doesn’t make much sense to have your Plan B to be as hard and time consuming as your Plan A. That seems like a good way to maximize your chances of needing a Plan C . . . .
And in these cases, I don’t think you actually need to know your Plan B so much as to make sure you are at a college where engineering or pre-med doesn’t work out, there are going to be many solid Plan Bs available.
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That’s the graduate schools list.
Regardless, I agree with the advice that OP should not feel compelled to apply ED2 to either school.
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Your post has stress written all over it. This is a journey, not a sprint.
Do you have an affordable acceptance right now?
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Probably based on the idea that if one gets a 3.0 GPA (no chance of medical school), getting a job with an engineering degree is more likely than with a biology degree that is more commonly chosen by pre-med students.
But biomedical engineering may not have as good job prospects at the bachelor’s degree level as some other kinds of engineering.
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Unless you’re going to get fin aid that brings cost of attendance down to close to or below that of your in-state flagship U, you’re going about this the wrong way.
As a premed, your flagship state U is probably your best bet. In fact, in most cases, unless your parents are low income/low assets, and you would qualify for a lot of aid, your flagship state U is probably your best bet no matter what you want to go into.
Med school is very expensive. You’ll probably have to borrow 400K or more for it. The last thing you want is to borrow for undergrad, or spend a penny on it that you don’t have to. The same stats from your flagship state U would be viewed exactly the same as from BU or NEU.
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Perhaps. But BU isn’t tops and it’s a grad school, not undergrad list you provided. I put the undergrad list below - also not tops.
Nonetheless, the point really is no one should apply to schools purely based on rank without ensuring it’s the right fit.
And no one should ED based on a rank and nothing else. OP listed two schools. Are each affordable and is one of them a clear favorite ?
This is the undergrad equivalent of what you posted. BU is somewhere between 13-32 (they don’t rank the others) and Northeastern isn’t listed at all.
OP stated BU is TOPS in the country. It may be - just as U of Memphis may be, depending on the kid because that’s a personal thing.
But if they are going by published rankings, I can’t find BU anywhere. So if he’s applying to a school for that reason alone, it seems a very off base strategy.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-biological-biomedical
I already corrected my error but thank you.
I stand by my original question. Why ED2 to either of these colleges?
Niche also has biomedical engineering ranking. For sure it is clear that BU is ranked higher than NEU on that one metric. (BU is 38 on the list and NEU doesn’t appear in top 150)
Add the necessary niche prefix to this link, or just do a google search of it since CC won’t let me post it
colleges/search/best-colleges-with-bioengineering-and-biomedical-engineering/
But as others have said, ranking can be a very challenging way to choose schools since the value and meaning of the rankings is so subjective.
I think ED is always a risky choice if you have any financial barriers to entry.
Which is your more important goal? Are you dead set on med school and the biomed degree is just a means to that end or are you genuinely interested in biomedical engineering on its own?
My instate school is Rutgers and i have a heavy emphasis on doing engineering undergrad bc of my family and the planB from med school, but i really like the Boston area, so that’s another thing
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I actually think it’s a little too early to consider BME as a plan B, unless you can truly see yourself in BME.
Find a school (Rutgers is fine), take the premed requirements, shadowing, volunteering etc …and decide if med school is for you.
BME combined with premed is tough. Would you regret BME as a major if you really want med school? What is your goal here? BME or med school?
I feel like any school that appears the top 50 of any given subject matter can be considered being a “top” school. Hell, for some subjects (I.e. those represented in all 4000+ schools I think being in the top 200 is meaningful)
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For a pre-med, the ranking of the program and college are not as important as…
- Being able to take the required courses for medical school applicants.
- Potential for decent health careers advising.
- Access to shadowing and volunteer opportunities (although these can be done during college vacations and in the summers).
- Potential to maintain a high GPA and sGPA.
- And I’ll add costs. Keeping loan debt to a minimum to zero is a decent plan as medical schools will be $100,000 a year or more and are funded with loans, loans and more loans…and/or the bank of mom and dad.
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