Searching for MS BME Programs

[dgreenheck]

I'm interested in going on to a masters program in Biomedical engineering. My main interest is in biomedical instrumentation. I like both electrical design and programming, so finding a program where I could utilize both of those skills would definitely be ideal. Designing things like pacemakers and EEG's, or medical imaging are both fields I would be interested in pursuing.

School: University of Wisconsin - Madison

Graduation Date: Fall 2012

GPA: 3.35

GRE: Taking in the fall

Major: Applied Mathematics, Engineering and Physics (Degree I think only UW offers. Essentially, it's an engineering degree with a lot of math and physics. My engineering focus is EE).

Certificate: Computer Science

Research Experience: 3 years as lab assistant in a quantum computing lab (Never published. Helped out with building electronics for experiments and programming.)

Work Experience: 8 years of systems programming. Currently the project manager, coordinating the transition to our new systems. Not sure if this is relevant when applying to a graduate program...

Questions:

• With my background, GPA, and assuming I do very well on the GRE (my ACT score was 34, I've always done well on standardized tests), what are schools I could realistically get into? I'm under the impression that my GPA isn't good enough to bother applying to top-tier schools. Is this a fair assumption?
  
• What are some good online resources for finding schools that are a good match? (I'll be seeing my school advising services soon, but I still would like to do research on my own) So far I've been having a hard time finding quality information. I see US News released their 2013 Graduate School book for $10. Would this be a good buy?
  
• Would it be worth searching for a BME-related research position for the fall? I feel that not having any BME research experience is hurting me the most.
  
• What aspect of the application does the admissions office put the most weight on?
  
  Here's a little more info about the type of school I would like to go to:
  • Big city
    
  • Tuition cost is not a factor in my search
    
  • Prefer location in either the midwest or northeast, but would be willing to go elsewhere if necessary.
    

  An answer to any of these questions (or any information at all) would be really appreciated! I'm just trying to gather as much information as possible before I make my decisions. Thank you!

[ghanada]

To save you the US News subscription, this was posted in the forums earlier this year:

1. John Hopkins

2. GA Tech

3. Duke

4. UCSD

5. MIT, Stanford

7. Rice, UMichigan, UWashington

10. Case Western, Berkeley, UPenn

13. BU, UT Austin

14. Washington University in St. Louis

15. Columbia, Cornell, U of Pittsburgh

19. Northwestern, Vanderbilt

21. Caltech, UC Davis

For your questions:

1) Try and keep your Quant GRE 780+. Your GPA is a little low, but not terrible. And since you are applying for Masters and not PhD, your GPA doesn't need to be quite as high. It is really hard to predict chances, so the best advice is to apply to a MIX of lots of places--probably some top 10, a lot in the 10-30 range, and maybe a few lower tier.

2) The best way to find good matches is to just go through potential advisers' webpages and read about their research and publications. Assuming you are going to do a thesis finding an adviser that is doing the work you want to do makes the most sense. You can also go through the curriculum of the schools you are interested in and see if the courses sound like a good fit for you.

3) Getting a BME RA would help a bit, but it probably won't do much since you won't really have enough time in there to get a lot of experience, publications, or a letter of rec. If you can pull any of these off in the short amount of time, than go for it.

4) I am less familiar with Masters, but generally there isn't 1 particular aspect that is more heavily weighted. There are a variety of factors. From my own experience with PhD apps I can say that GPA matters a lot, GRE just needs to be competitive (it shouldn't make or break you either way), research experience matters a lot, publications help but aren't necessary, LORs are definitely important, and a good SOP is important.

You should probably not just limit your search to BME. Check EE programs as well since there are lots of EE people doing biomedical applications. I particularly do neuroengineering with EEG myself so if you want specific names, PM me and I can recommend people.