I need help deciding between Umich and UIUC primarily but I also got into three other really good schools: UNC-CH, Case Western, and Purdue. I plan to major in Biomedical Engineering (BME) on a pre-med track. I think cost may be a factor especially since my parents will have to pay for my siblings MIT tuition. My parents and I will have to pay over 70k plus for Umich, but the rest have varying prices probably over 60k for all except for Purdue. I also don’t know if there is much of a difference in prestige these schools especially for engineering. Please help me decide between my top two choices and the three others if you think they are worth looking into. I’m grateful for any response :).
Couple of comments -
BME is a rough road for a pre med. It’s difficult to maintain a high GPA and you don’t get any bonus points for having a hard major in med school applications.
Purdue has a secondary admission process for declaring your major and while straight forward for most, BME is the most difficult because they cap the number of students. Even if you meet the GPA threshold, there isn’t a guarantee you will be accepted into the major. I don’t know if any of the other schools on your list do the same, but I’d do a deep dive. While I love Purdue in many ways, I don’t think they have the same supports for pre-meds as some of the other schools on your list.
Are any of these schools instate for you? Are they all affordable for your family? Med school will be very very expensive so you will need to consider those future costs as well.
If money is no object, my favorites from your list for a pre-med are Michigan and Case.
@Knowsstuff - Do you have an input for this student on BME at Michigan for a pre-med?
6 Likes
Thank you for your response. Unfortunately none of these schools are instate for me. I’ve discussed with my family and they said that they could contribute to a solid portion of my tuition each year so all of the schools on the list are somewhat affordable (will be able to make ends meet). I do also have concerns that BME may be too hard to maintain my GPA so I may end up switching my major or just not going the med route at all.
A bit more straight forward. Congrats on all your great choices. First thing I warn people is Michigan is a very difficult school even for the best students. BME for pre med is going to be tough. At Michigan as a freshman you take all your classes with the others from different fields. Physics with physics majors. Chemistry with Chem majors and engineers and so on.
It’s a great program but many for BME do a dual undergraduate /masters 5 year program to be employable. So keep that in mind.
2 Likes
So you have cost concerns.
It seems the answer is made.
Purdue - as its low 40s. What is the CWRU price ? UNC meets need for all. Did you get a lower price there due to need aid ??
Michigan, as an example, is $76k tuition, room and board for years 1-2. But in years 3-4 it’s $81k. They jack it up for upper division. And who knows about inflation. Abd without books, travel, Friday night pizzas etc. you are underestimating the costs - unless you got aid.
Pre med - you want to do well so you need to be happy - but the name won’t matter - and these are all very solid names anyway.
And if you end up not in med school, biomedical is one of the lower paying engineering disciplines. But again these are all great schools.
So not all are direct admit and perhaps that should play a part. Purdue, as an example, is not.
But given the major, med school desires, and brother at MIT, can you even afford Purdue or do you need less expensive ? There are less expensive schools and they will be just as good for med school. And little difference for careers.
When you say my parents and I….do you have a stash of money to pay ?? And med school is another $400k plus most likely. You can only borrow $5509 the first year - than goodness - it’s a way to keep yourself from going too deep in debt.
Best of luck.
2 Likes
I don’t necessarily have a big cost concerns it would just be nice to save a bit more money if I do end up going to med school. I also did get a pretty nice 33k/y scholarship at Case Western. I got zero aid from the rest of the schools. I do have several other schools other than the 5 that I just listed but I think these 5 reflect the effort that I put in during my 4 years of high school so I don’t want to settle for anything less.
Thank you for the great advice! I will look into the 5 years program. I’m also considering changing my major to data science if I do choose to go to Umich. I think that I will still be able to do pre-med if I do this major and will have a solid back up plan if it doesn’t work out. Go Blue!
I do not recommend BME for premed. I say this as somebody with family members graduating from UNC: biology and BME.
2 Likes
I’m considering switching my major or just not going to med school at all. Have to decide soon though :(.
1 Like
You do not need to decide about medical school soon, while still in HS.
Biology path (premed) and BME are different. But….you can always decide to go to medical school years after you graduate.
Data science is a good option.
3 Likes
I guess but I think it’s still better to have a plan before I choose a major.
Plans often change, majors change.
4 Likes
To me “somewhat affordable” sounds a bit like “somewhat pregnant” (or perhaps “somewhat not pregnant”).
Do you know specifically how much your parents can contribute without taking on debt? How much debt are you going to need to take on to get your bachelor’s degree?
You are comparing five universities that for engineering range from “excellent” to “excellent”. If Purdue is the least expensive and the one that you can handle with no debt at all, personally I might choose Purdue.
There isn’t. The schools that you are considering are all excellent.
Two issues come to mind right away. As others have said, engineering is a tough major if you want to both complete the required premed classes and maintain a premed-worthy GPA. You are likely to need or at least want to choose between engineering and premed at some point.
Also, medical school is expensive. If medical school is a realistic option, you really should try to get your bachelor’s degree with no debt at all. Even better would be to get a bachelor’s degree with a significant amount of money left in a college fund or left in your parent’s ability to pay.
If you graduate with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, and if you start work right away as an engineer, then you will not need $ for medical school and a small debt might just be manageable. There might however be an argument for at least keeping enough money in the bank to support a master’s degree in case you decide to go that route.
Did you apply to any in-state public universities? If so, were you admitted and are they still a possibility?
Premed classes are going to be very tough at any university in the US ranked in the top 150. Engineering classes are going to be tough at any ABET accredited university. Based on your acceptances is it clear that you put in a strong effort in high school and did very well. However, the main point of your having done this well is NOT where you go to university. Rather, the main point is that you are prepared to take on these very tough classes in university.
If you look at the students at any strong MD program in the US you will find that they came from a very wide range of undergraduate universities. If you walk into an engineering company and ask engineers where they got their degrees, if they are willing to talk to you then you will find that while most attended a university relatively close to wherever you are, otherwise they came from a very wide range of universities. What they will have in common in both cases is that they arrived at some university ready to work hard and ready to do well in very tough classes.
6 Likes
If you aren’t set on BME and think you may need to change majors, Case would be great because of their flexibility. Another ding for Purdue though as Data Science is in a different college.
I second the poster who said Data Science is a good choice for pre med!
2 Likes
Are you interested in direct patient care? Or are you interested in indirect patient care?
You really won’t know until you shadow.
1 Like
Thank you for your very detailed response! My parents can definitely contribute the full price without debt but it’s more of a responsibility thing since I want to pay for some of my tuition. I think that data science would be better for me than BME, since it’s probably easier for me to maintain my GPA and additionally I think I will be able to find higher paying jobs with a data science degree rather than BME. I was admitted into 2 other instate universities University of Kansas and Kansas state. I also got into a few med related programs at two other schools the SLU medical scholars program and the USF Honors medical program. I’m just so confused with so many options. I know I’m prepared for college level courses but obviously there will be a threshold and maintaining my GPA will definitely be harder in college. Thanks again for a great response.
I think that if I were gonna go to purdue I would definitely switch my focus towards engineering. I also believe that Data Science at Umich is actually in the College of Engineering so it may be easier to do data science there idk.
1 Like
It depends on how you look at it.
Your hard work got you great offers.
You brought up med school, your brother’s MIT, and my parents and I have to pay. That makes me think money matters.
I get what you are saying and I can appreciate it.
But choose the ‘right’ school for the right reason. If you can easily afford it, then I worked hard in hs is fine - of course so did those kids who chose the others based on cost - which got them that cost.
But if any on your list are going to require loans or in the case of UM, significant loans - then they are not the right school.
Because you potentially have med school - and more loans - or if not, you have to pay back the loans. Loans are strangling. They take away your ability to make choices in life. Yes, a small amount is ok but if it’s large, then you put yourself in a tough predicament no matter where you go - because most companies pay by location, not by school.
So biomedical pays $71k last year at Purdue vs $79k for all engineering. Ohio State -$71k. UConn $71k. A few hundred less than Purdue. All for biomedical engineering.
Know who has all the same salaries - or within 3-5% likely impacted by location. Not all share major. Arizona, Arizona State, Alabama, UConn, Purdue, Ohio State
I get it. You read in US News these are the top schools. You read on the CC. These are the top schools.
I have zero issue with someone attending anywhere they can afford.
But as I’m showing you with real life data, the where doesn’t matter. These schools are all ABET accredited. The Michigan kid will work with the UConn kid who will work with the Arizona kid. And all will make on average, and location dependent, $71k-ish. Yep Ohio Stare, Purdue, UConn and the others for biomedical.
There will be kids at all these schools and many more that will blow you away academically or be as strong.
If you can afford $85k a year and Michigan is your top choice, then no issue. That’s not accounting for an ROI - just a U.S. News rank. And it’s fine.
Has your family given you a budget ? Start there. Will loans be required ? These are the things you need to know before picking any school.
Good luck.
2 Likes
Are you motivated, driven, excited about taking care of people? That’s what medicine is, and it could get pretty gross (among other things).
If you don’t know, that’s fine. That is what shadowing will help with.
2 Likes
Thank you for another great response! Yeah I definitely need to take into account the reality of things. My parents already have to pay for my sister at MIT so I don’t think it would be financially smart to go in the med route unless I get significant scholarships or go to an in state program. I also now believe that BME although a very interesting major and topic may not be as well payed or appreciated as other engineering fields. I think the best option is to pivot to another major and then decide on a school that matches that criteria.