Honest opinions - CWRU vs OSU for biomedical engineering

Compare College Acceptances
,
1

DD25 has narrowed down to BME engineering programs at Ohio State University (Honors) and Case Western Reserve University. Other acceptances are Notre Dame, Purdue, UW Madison, UIUC, UPitt. Waitlisted at her top choice - UMich.

Cost of attendance at OSU - $20K per year for instate after Morrill Scholarship
CWRU will be around $50K after merit scholarships.

Please share any information or experiences you may have on these programs and schools in terms of quality of education, faculty-student ratio, research opportunities for undergraduates, impact of NIH funding cuts, passing of Ohio Senate Bill 1 and chances of getting into a reputable Master’s program for biomedical engineering after graduation.

Leading towards CWRU for research experience.
Long term career goal is to do research after grad school. Other pluses - small class sizes, better ranked and academically oriented, diverse students.

OSU COA is attractive, she doesn’t care for it otherwise. You are admitted into preprogram and have to apply for admission into the BME program after first year.

Is OSU worth considering or CWRU worth paying additional $30k per year? Both options are debt free.

2

So if you can afford CWRU, and she likes it - it’s great.

It’s a lower paying engineering field - and where you go should matter little.

Case BME in 2024 is showing 45% working, 47% continuing to study, 4.5% haven’t yet found jobs (not sure of the snapshot time) - they don’t show average salaries but by bands - and a quarter report $70-75K - with a near even spread above $75K and below $70K. 17 total showed salaries.

OSU shows a $71,450 average with an $80K 75th percentile. They show 282 reporting with 204 reporting salaries.

U Mich reports a $73,437 average amongst 47 respondents.

Just for other data points - UCONN = $70,845, UMN $71,000.

I would contend that where you go, including UM, doesn’t matter.

I would also contend that this statement - doesn’t preclude any school.

Leading towards CWRU for research experience.

One can do research anywhere - my son’s large southern flagship had lots of opportunities sent out the entire time and his college gf did research every year. You simply had to ask.

Case is a great school - and if you can afford it and what comes afterward, then there’s no issue. If you can’t, then OSU is great or you can find a smaller and cheaper alternative.

You note both are debt free so the question becomes will the next level require debt if you go to CWRU and are you ok with it?

To me, you should go to Case based on preference - if the money works out - because you didn’t like OSU and you like a smaller school. Given they report salaries from few biomedical grads, you might dig deeper to ensure the program itself is robust enough. Clearly OSU program is much larger.

Best of luck.

1 Like
3

Thank you! Good point about similar salaries no matter where you go for undergraduate. DD wants to do Masters first and then work.

Both schools should provide research but wondering if Case will provide better and more research opportunities with its partnerships with Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and VA Clinic nearby. And does OSU’s size mean less research opportunities? And it’s not clear how public vs private schools will be impacted by the NiH funding cuts.

4

You can ask. Don’t assume because something is there that they are accessing.

Ask - of all schools.

It seems like she prefers Case. If you can afford a Masters, then great.

And yes we don’t know about NIH and other funding cuts. Yesterday between Cornell and Northwestern it was $1.7 billion.

I would focus on:

  1. Affordability - if all are affordable and you make it seem like they are. And affordability includes your retirement, quality of life and grad school.

  2. Then choose what I want.

I would question Case - why are so few reporting salaries. Is the program tiny?

There’s a mom on here of a Ga Tech grad - can’t find a gig - biomedical. Is she emblematic of all or just an unfortunate case??

No one can predict the future - but if you are unhappy, it’s not good.

I wouldn’t make assumptions like you are though - of location and or size - well you can make them but I would test them out with the schools.

Or perhaps have the student speak with an engineering ambassador in the major at each - and get real insights.

But even if you found OSU’s program better after that - if she doesn’t like the sprawling campus, etc and would be unhappy - that’s not good either.

But I wouldn’t assume you could do research at Case or not OSU or that you can at Case because Cleveland Clinic is there.

Those are nice advertising points for the school - but are they necessarily true.

I might want to know?

Also, you noted OSU is not direct admit - and that matters too. How hard is it to get into BME?

It sounds like if both were the same price, it’s CWRU all the way.

Only you can decide if Case is worth the extra $120K?? It’s your money.

You might also ask what is required to maintain the scholarship - is there a gpa? it doesn’t appear so for need aid but not sure about merit.

Best of luck to you.

1 Like
5

I’m for OSU. The scholarship gives you in-state tuition. Also, graduation from an honors program is a tangible accomplishment you can put on a resume. That looks REALLY good when you start applying for jobs. Plus…let’s face it, OSU has football!

1 Like
6

Among the two you mentioned, I think different kids would go different ways, but Case does have the pros you mentioned. I note it is also a good option for many things, which is good to know as many kids change their mind about engineering once they get started. So I think if you can comfortably afford it, it would definitely be a good choice.

Incidentally, that was a list with a lot of great options originally! Not that I have a problem with narrowing it down to a final two, and obviously I don’t know what they all cost. But also obviously, your kid was considered a very desirable student, and as a result had lots of offers to consider. And I guess my point is IF you can afford it, I think it would be nice for this kid not to end up at a college that she didn’t care for generally.

And again, for some kids, Ohio State would be very exciting. But it sounds to me like not so much for her.

2 Likes
7

And the best marching band.

Your daughter can reach her goals at either of these colleges. If you can financially support either choice, I’d leave the choice up to her.

Congratulations on some great acceptances.

1 Like
8

Adding. Your daughter needs to be at her college for four years. It doesn’t sound like tOSU is her thing.

CWRU is an excellent choice.

I would suggest you let your daughter think about this…but set a deadline by which you want her to make a decision. Like April 29…just in case there is a computer glitch…ask me how I know!!

3 Likes
9

I think that they are both excellent options.

I would not be too concerned about this. My thinking is that engineering is not easy, and just going into engineering implies that the student is going to need to show that they can do it. If engineering does not work out, there are lots of other options and any very good university will provide other options.

Both are affordable for you. Both a very good schools. They are somewhat different, for example in size. The student is the person who is going to be finding their way to class, doing homework, doing more homework, and generally has to put in the effort for a full four years. Their preference matters. Also, I had one daughter attend a relatively small university and have become a big fan of smaller schools.

If your daughter would prefer Case, and given that it is affordable and very good, I would go with Case.

3 Likes
10

Appreciate all the responses!
We are letting her make the decision, but she wants to weigh the ROI of both options before committing. So proud of her!

1 Like