Cornell Vs. Case Western for Pre-MSTP

[Genius_04]

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Hello,

I am a 20 year old male, permenant resident of the United States, My only college education is that I finished 3years of a Foreign Medical School; the equivalent courses of the first two years of a US medical school, did really well ( I am the top of my class of 1000+ students). Well, I am transferring to an Undergraduate College in the United States, so that Later on I could apply to one of the top ten medical schools in the United States, to a MSTP program, MD/Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering perhaps.

I got accepted to two universities, Cornell Chemical and Bio-molecular Engineering (Cornell doesn't have a Bio-medical Engineering Major) and Case Western Reserve University Bio-medical Engineering (rated by Usnews fourth best after JHU, Duke, UCSD and before MIT). My dilemma is to choose Ivy League over Major (I personally prefer Bio-medical Engineering over Bio-molecular Engineering, but I could also Live happily with Bio-molecular Engineering), or Major over Ivy League to do my pre-medical degree. I hope anyone could give me any Insight on what to choose.

Thank you

 

[Neuronix]

I would choose Cornell simply because the CWRU undergrads I've talked to hate CWRU and the Cornell undergrads tend to like Cornell. Cornell I think has the reputation advantage, but I don't think that's much of an advantage or that it will be that helpful when you apply. Although, at both schools students complain about the competitiveness of their fellow students.

Either one will certainly give you ample oppertunity to get the classes, advice, and research experience you need. You can't go wrong by choosing one of the other. I wouldn't be concerned too much about the differences in majors, since they're probably (though I don't know this for sure) similar in content.

 

[magpie]

Go for Case. Ithaca can be a pretty bleak place to live much of the year. Cleveland isn't New York, or even Chicago, but it is a big city with a lot to do. Plus it has the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

Seriously, both schools are very good; Cornell enjoys a higher reputation overall, though BME is better at CWRU. One other consideration would be the number of graduates from a school that go on to MD/PhD programs. A preprofessional advisor told me that Cornell sends an average of 10 students a year to MSTPs, while CWRU sends substantially fewer, maybe 1 or 2. The reasons for this are undoubtedly many, and I will not be foolish enough to speculate on them. (I'll let someone else do that and get flamed.)

 

[surge]

Originally posted by Genius_04
Hello,

I am a 20 year old male, permenant resident of the United States, My only college education is that I finished 3years of a Foreign Medical School; the equivalent courses of the first two years of a US medical school, did really well ( I am the top of my class of 1000+ students). Well, I am transferring to an Undergraduate College in the United States, so that Later on I could apply to one of the top ten medical schools in the United States, to a MSTP program, MD/Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering perhaps.

As far as te choice of schools goes, it truly doesn't matter. Simply go to the school you like better, because, in the end, it's all going to come down to your own performance (and I consider myself very qualified to state that).

But I do have another question, though. Have you checked with AMCAS about your plans. I'm not sure of the details, so it may not be anything to worry about, but isn't there a clause about applying to medical school after matriculating to some other medical school before? Perhaps it doesn't apply to foreign medical schools. Make sure, though.

Good luck.

 

[noy]

As for major - find out if Cornell will have a program running while you are there (I'm sure they are developing one, no univ. would be caught dead without bioengineering in 5 years), perhaps you can 'ride the wave' and get into such a program as it comes into official existence.

If there are profs and courses related to biochem eng. in the chem eng dep, then you can take the classes, do some research, and get an equivalent experience, while having a useful degree that could translate to a job in case you need it (currently biomed engineers dont get good jobs with just a BS background). MSTP programs will not care if you have a chem eng or biomed eng degree.

It sounds like the financial aspects are not important to you - if there is a difference between the scholarship packages and that can swing it, I make it #1, but thats just me.

The other big factor - look & feel of the campus and area - have you been to visit both? Asked yourself 'can I spend 4 years here', some say cleveland is a crappy city, but ithaca, while nice, does suffer from very wintery weather.

If you are perm. resident, how will your support base be? Where can you visit your family more frequently? What about flights/work/etc? 4 years is a good chunk of your life, and you should be mature enough to look at these aspects if you managed to finish 3 years of foreign MD.

Although I am slightly confused - you finished 3 years of medical school at 20? Did you graduate college at 17? It all seems a little young...

These are questions to ask yourself, no need to give everyone your personal info :>

 

[ninebillion]

Although I am slightly confused - you finished 3 years of medical school at 20? Did you graduate college at 17? It all seems a little young...

Actually, the way it works in many foreign countries (Asian countries, England, etc.) is that students enter MBBS programs right after high school. The MBBS is equivalent to an MD degree, and it stands for something like "Medical Bachelors, Bachelor of Science." I think the actual schooling may be longer than for an MD, though, but I'm not quite positive.

 

[Genius_04]

Well, your right Ninebillion, we enter medical school after Advanced Secondary School "A" Levels, the US equivalent of AP's in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Physics, for which I got transfer credit for. Something like the basic course requirements to apply for Medical School in the U.S.

M.B.,B.S. stands for Medical Bachelor, Bachelor of Surgery, it a six year program (3 academic and 3 clinical) followed by a year of internship to obtain your license.

Condidering the financial aspect Cornell and CWRU is even, Since my parents are off the Continent of North America it doesn't make that much of a difference in Fares. And it doesn't really make that much of a difference of the kind of city or weather I live in, as long as the University has a good Library with a properly running air condition.

 

[noy]

Sounds like a toss up, then... My personal opinion is Cornell, only if they have plans to get a biomed dept. going within the next few years.

Then again, I am somewhat partial to the East Coast :>

 

[psyuk]

^i agree. but i'd pick cornell. the us med schools love cornell pre-meds because they are "battle-tested" and perform well in med schools. =) i'm sure you will have no problem becoming no. 1 there as well.

 

[wgu]

On the issue of majors, I would agree with noy. Even though there isn't a BME major at Cornell you can still do BME related research while getting core curriculum via ChemE. I'm getting a ChemE major / Bio minor while doing research with a BME PI and some of my ChemE classes are relevant.

I would look at the research at Cornell since ChemE faculty are usually small. I think they have a lot of biomaterials and drug delivery- I don't know if you're into that area or not.