Hello! I need some advice on deciding between colleges - partially dependent on their engineering program.
I have been accepted at Notre Dame, Boston University, University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado School of Mines, and was waitlisted at Vanderbilt, Georgetown, and Boston College.
I want to major in engineering, but attend medical school afterward. This is partially because I am not sure if I want to go to med school or not. If I decide against medical school I will go to graduate school for engineering. As for an undergraduate engineering degree, the two that are most interesting to me are Chemical and Environmental.
I am struggling with deciding which one will be the best option; my mind is clouded by rankings. I really loved the fit of Notre Dame, but Boston University, CU Boulder, and Vanderbilt all have amazing engineering programs that rank higher than ND. Does it really matter where I go for undergraduate engineering? Especially with the “name brand” pull of Notre Dame?
All thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
No, it doesn’t matter where you go for undergraduate engineering as long as it is ABET accredited.
So I would first think about Net Cost.
If you want to go pre-med then think about:
The cheapest reasonable college so you/your parents can use the money for med school
The college needs to prepare you for MCATs but still allow you to get a good GPA
Access to volunteering opportunities (e.g., near a hospital)
Success in graduates getting into med school
Options if you don’t go to med school
Look at the Eng curriculums for each of the schools…where would you fit in the pre-med classes? Engineers already have Calc/Chem/Physics in the curriculum…where would you fit in Bio and Org Chem ?
Do they have an engineering/pre med track laid out?
Notre Dame may have a famous name, but it is not any more well known for engineering than any of the others you mention.
I would really consider net cost as my first method of eliminating any of these.
You can do this although you’ve taken a challenging route to med school if that is the direction you wish to take. Engineers are often quite happy with a 3.2 GPA where that would make it difficult to be considered for most med schools. Chem E would get you the Chemistry, including OChem, you need for applying to med schools. Engineering math and physics is overkill for premeds. You will also be taking a number of courses that have nothing to do with medicine such as thermodynamics, fluids, heat transfer, separation, and several more. These courses are more physics based than chemistry. You will need to find time in your schedule for your biology courses including Anatomy and Physiology. Those are not what one would consider easy gen eds.
As for which school for engineering, I think @bopper covers that pretty well. Good luck.