<p>My brother works for Boeing in Cali and he says that at least on the west coast, a Purdue engineering degree is seen as being about on par as with private schools. Would a biochemistry degree have about the same weight? I have a choice between U of M Ann Arbor, Purdue (with a big scholarship), and maybe some ivies (doubtful but you never know). Would a BS in biochem from Purdue give me a lot of options in the work force or grad school? How “good” would such a degree be?</p>
<p>P.S. I was considering putting this in the college majors section but I think this is the right forum for the topic; it’s more about the college choice than the major itself.</p>
<p>Does it really have that good of a reputation? Around here it’s just considered another school that’s a bit cheaper than IU, other than the crazy engineering. Maybe I should put this in the parents section but if an employer an a choice between a Purdue grad and a U of M grad, all other things being equal, which would they probably choose?</p>
<p>Purdue definitely has a great biochemical engineering reputation, and yes, Purdue offers a huge job opportunity after graduation (and even before graduation). With a good scholarship, I would say attend Purdue, rather than spend thousands more at Michigan. (Most Ivies are not that famed in engineering/biochemical engineering). If your uncertain about your major though, Michigan is highly ranked in other majors, but Purdue does not offer a safety net if you fail/decide to change your major. Purdue is mostly an engineering town so… if thats what you want. Go for it.</p>
<p>^ I agree with j89. Purdue has a fantastic science/engineering reputation. I think it would be tough to turn down the scholarship, if biochemistry/engineering is what you want to pursue.</p>
<p>That’s the thing though. My degree would be in biochemistry, not biochemical engineering. I was accepted to the college of science and not the college of engineering. Would employers/grad schools notice that or would it not matter?</p>
<p>I do really like Purdue and it’s very hard to turn down the scholarship; I just want to make sure that the saved tuition is worth turning down a more “name brand” university like U of M.</p>
<p>I went on a visit yesterday and in spite of the freezing wind that cracked my hands I liked the school. I have a question about one of the things they said though. At the info sessions that I attended they made a big deal out of the ability/relative ease of doing research with professors as early as freshman year. Is this really that rare or was it just a sales pitch by the admissions people?</p>
<p>Sorry, I misunderstood your question…
Why didn’t you apply to the engineering school at purdue? If you got into Michigan, you definitely could’ve gotten into the engineering school (if thats what you wanted). As for Biochemistry, things are slightly different. Michigan has a a great Biochemistry department whereas Purdue… is slightly lower but still great. If you can get into an Ivy for Biochemistry, definitely go to the Ivy, but other than that… I believe it is in your own decision whether to go to Purdue or Michigan. Personally, I would attend Purdue if it is a “big scholarship” and maybe if you want, you can transfer into the engineering college (Purdue is all about engineering). You can definitely challenge yourself at Purdue. In the end, though, it all comes down to after graduation. When graduating from Purdue with a biochem degree, you will most likely get a job… from then on, its how you apply your education into your job that gets you into higher paying careers. If graduating from Michigan with a biochem, its most likely the same, though your opportunities may be wider and hold more merit. Yet, saving thousands of dollars seems more “wise” than attempting to get a little more opportunity by attending Michigan.</p>
<p>The following is the Gourman Report for undergraduate biology ranking:</p>
<p>Biology rankings from Gourman Report
Caltech
MIT
Yale
Harvard
Wisconsin
UC San Diego
UC Berkeley
U Colorado
Columbia
Stanford
U Washington
U Chicago
Duke
Wash U St Louis
UCLA U Michigan
Cornell
U Penn Purdue
Indiana U
UNC Chapel Hill
U Utah
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
Princeton
UC Irvine
Notre Dame
UC Santa Barbara
UVA
Brown
U Illinois Urbana Champaign
U Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
U Oregon
SUNY Stony Brook
U Rochester
Tufts
U Minnesota
SUNY Buffalo
U Texas Austin
Florida State
Michigan State
USC
U Connecticut
UC Riverside
Rice
Iowa State
SUNY Albany
Case Western
Boston U
Ohio State
NYU
U Iowa
Penn State
Emory
Brandeis
U Kansas
Rutgers New Brunswick
Tulane
US Air Force Academy
U Missouri Columbia</p>
<p>As you can see, Purdue is not that far behind in biology, but I’m still unsure about biochemistry in itself (though im sure its around the same)</p>
<p>Here’s the Gourman report for biochemistry if you think it’s a good benchmark to go by.</p>
<p>Biochem from Gourman
Harvard
MIT
UC Berkeley
Wisconsin
Yale
UCLA
Cornell
UC San Diego
U Chicago
U Illinois
Columbia
U Michigan
U Penn
UC Davis
Brandeis
Northwestern
Princeton
U Iowa
Michigan State
Rice
Case Western Purdue West Lafayette
Oregon State
NYU
U Oregon
Rutgers New Brunswick
SUNY Stony Brook
U Texas Austin
Iowa State
UC Riverside
Penn State University park
USC</p>
<p>The names in front of it seem pretty respectable. I’d never heard of U Iowa being that good though. And is Michigan State really that much better? I always thought Purdue was. I could try to transfer into Engineering but I’d be kind of nervous doing so. They seem to have twice as much work as the college of science people do. I’d have to wonder if it would still be manageable if I proceeded with my plan to minor in languages.</p>
<p>Also, would it make a noticeable difference if I was in the university’s honors program or is that just seen as fluffly notation on a diploma?</p>
<p>Well… if you don’t want to do that much work, go to Purdue college of science, cause LSA/COE at UofM is at the caliber level of Purdue’s engineering college. And the honors program at Purdue is not that important… I would say a little better than fluff though.</p>