battleidiot

Bump!!!

Trying to narrow my choices down to these two schools... Case Western Reserve University (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD) Pros: Fully funded, 25K/year, excellent research match, good funding, top 10 BME program, more industry opportunities, strong hospital Cons: Lower overall prestige/not name-brand, weather (heard it can get really cold) Washington University in St. Louis (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD) Pros: Fully funded, 28K/year, good research match, excellent funding, top 10 overall program, strong medical school, hospital Cons: Lower BME ranking/younger department, weather (heard it can get really hot) I have found professors I would like to work with in both schools. I have observed the BME faculty at WashU in general seem stronger (alma matter) but the ones at Case seem more well established (in terms of lab size). Each program is roughly the same size in terms of faculty and students with Case being a little bit bigger. but Case has an older program as well with est. 1968 while WashU's program was est. 1997. Case does a direct match while WashU is on rotation for at least 1 year. I'd prefer the cold over the heat and it seems Cleveland is cheaper to live in than St. Louis (but they also give less money) but at this point, these are but minor concerns.

Also WashU has a stronger Medical school but weaker hospital (Barnes-Jewish) Conversely, Case has a weaker Medical school but stronger hospital (Cleveland Clinic) WashU is stronger overall in Medicine/Biology but I'm leaning more towards Case because of research interests. I am just concerned that the latter will hurt me because I've talked to several people, and not a lot of them know about Case! DX

Trying to narrow my choices down to these two schools... Case Western Reserve University (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD) Pros: Fully funded, 25K/year, excellent research match, good funding, top 10 BME program, more industry opportunities Cons: Lower overall prestige/not name-brand, weather (heard it can get really cold) Washington University in St. Louis (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD) Pros: Fully funded, 28K/year, good research match, excellent funding, top 10 overall program, strong medical school Cons: Lower BME ranking/younger department, weather (heard it can get really hot) I have found professors I would like to work with in both schools. The ones at WashU seem stronger/better funded but the ones at Case are more aligned to my research interests. Each program is roughly the same size in terms of faculty and students with Case being a little bit bigger. but Case has an older program as well with est. 1968 while WashU's program was est. 1993. Case does a direct match while WashU is on rotation for at least 1 year. I'd prefer the cold over the heat and it seems Cleveland is cheaper to live in than St. Louis but at this point, these are but minor concerns.

I'm in a similar boat but just because I feel like i underestimated my applications this year because I applied for graduate school last year but was not accepted to many schools that I would like to attend. But then again, I have a higher GRE score, a better recommendation and essay so I didn't know what to expect.. I should be thankful for the many acceptances that I already do have though and I am deciding between 2 schools currently.

DStory, thank you for your input. Does anyone know anything about Case, Cleveland, or their BME department or faculty in general?

What do people think about Case Western Reserve University? Has anyone have experience with the city or school, particularly with it's BME department/faculty as I know it is not a well-known school. (outside of their BME and Nursing program and Cleveland Clinic from what I've gathered)

I heard the humidity is what gets you. What do you do for fun there? I will most likely have a car should I choose to go.

Here are the pros and cons for each school in order of their current preference. I want to focus on Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials research but am flexible at this point. (most schools require lab rotations anyways) I graduated last spring from UCSD and will be attending graduate school late summer or fall of this year. 1. Washington University in St. Louis (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD) Pros -fully funded, 28K/year, liked the campus, found a professor that fits my interest, great med school, low cost of living Cons -BME not as highly ranked, location, weather (too hot?), academic rigor, might get boring? 2. University of Wisconsin, Madison (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD) Pros -fully funded, 21K/year, lot of professors that fit my research interests. Cons -location, weather (too cold?), was unable to visit the campus due to scheduling conflicts. 3. University of California, Los Angeles (Program: ACCESS Biomedical Science, PhD) Pros -fully funded, 30K/year, location, weather, close to home (Norcal) Cons -Rather be in engineering, professors don't seem as caring, rigid job outlook, high cost of living 4. Duke University (Program: Biomedical Engineering, MS) Pros -High prestige and ranking, fits my research interests, close to girlfriend (East Coast) Cons -High cost (>40,000 year), I visited and each professor told me to go somewhere else that is funded 5. Case Western Reserve University (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD) -Not actually accepted, just got an email from a professor regarding an open position in his lab, don't know what to think at this point...

Here are the pros and cons for each school in order of their current preference. I want to focus on Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials research but am flexible at this point. (most schools require lab rotations anyways) I graduated last spring from UCSD and will be attending graduate school late summer or fall of this year. 1. Washington University in St. Louis (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD) Pros -fully funded, 28K/year, liked the campus, found a professor that fits my interest, great med school, low cost of living Cons -BME not as highly ranked, location, weather (too hot?), academic rigor, might get boring? 2. University of Wisconsin, Madison (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD) Pros -fully funded, 21K/year, lot of professors that fit my research interests. Cons -location, weather (too cold?), was unable to visit the campus due to scheduling conflicts. 3. University of California, Los Angeles (Program: ACCESS Biomedical Science, PhD) Pros -fully funded, 30K/year, location, weather, close to home (Norcal) Cons -Rather be in engineering, professors don't seem as caring, rigid job outlook, high cost of living 4. Duke University (Program: Biomedical Engineering, MS) Pros -High prestige and ranking, fits my research interests, close to girlfriend (East Coast) Cons -High cost (>40,000 year), I visited and each professor told me to go somewhere else that is funded

Although I have yet to visit the majority of schools, I think it will ultimately come down to UCLA vs. Duke. Here's a quick run-down of the pros and cons of each school. UCLA +Funded Ph.D program in Life Sciences (ACCESS), Close to home, but not too close (NorCal), Research experience is in life science despite having an engineering degree (easier coursework, perhaps?) -Not exactly aligned with my research interests but I'm pretty flexible at this point and UCLA has many resources/faculty. Respective program not as highly ranked as Duke's Duke +Dream school, the lab I worked in at my undergrad is from Duke and I've heard good things. Research and faculty is outstanding in my primary area of interest. +Strong program in Biomedical Engineering and faculty in Tissue Engineering +Close to girlfriend (SC, East Coast) -Accepted to M.S. Program, at least $80,000 for 1.5 to 2 years, -new environment, further away from home. Overview I contacted professors at Duke about funding opportunities for Master's students and my intention of eventually pursuing a PhD. I was at UCLA this weekend for their recruitment/interview event and I really like the campus and the faculty/grad students that I spoke with. Since UCLA has an immense faculty, I don't think I would have trouble placing into a laboratory that fits my interests. If I do choose to attend Duke, I would keep the option of obtaining a terminal-degree Master's (non thesis or more engineering oriented). I was wondering what kind of employment opportunities, particularly in industry, would be available to me and how this compares with PhD's in the same field. Let me know what you think. I feel that UCLA is the most practical choice, especially for PhD, but it has been very difficult to convince myself to pass up Duke.

Undergrad: University of California, San Diego, Bioengineering (3.5 GPA) GRE: 161 Q, 162 V, 5.0 A/W Applying to Ph.D. programs in BME with emphasis in Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials (also applying to Ph.D programs in BMSci with interview at Emory ) Cornell Duke (M.S.) UW Seattle (M.S.) Case WashU UMich UWisc UMinn UTexas UVa PurdueU Interviews: PurdueU Accepted: WashU Waitlist: UWisc Rejected: probably everything else at this point...

yes Purdue has a PhD program in Biomedical Engineering (separate from Bioengineering which is in the MechE department) I am interviewing with one of the professors this week.