I'm a high school junior. I want to major in biomedical or biochemical engineering (premed). I've got down to five choices, in order of current preference:

1. Case Western Reserve University
2. University of Miami
3. Columbia University
4. Wake Forest University
5. Duke University

Do you guys have any thoughts/tips about these schools or how to get financial aid for them?

Out of those, I'd go with Columbia. Or Berkley or Stanford.

Few questions -

1) Whats your GPA? SAT/ACT? and other relevant data?
2) Whats your course work/load?
3) Outside of school what activities have you participated in?
4) Why Biology? Are you ready to be a premed student? Do you know what that entails?
5) Are you aware of the level of competition to get in and present at these schools?

Rhoto said:

Out of those, I'd go with Columbia. Or Berkley or Stanford.

Few questions -

1) Whats your GPA? SAT/ACT? and other relevant data?
2) Whats your course work/load?
3) Outside of school what activities have you participated in?
4) Why Biology? Are you ready to be a premed student? Do you know what that entails?
5) Are you aware of the level of competition to get in and present at these schools?

Click to expand...

1. Currently, I have a cumulative GPA of 4.3. By the end of senior year, it'll be 4.5 (best case scenario, 4.7). I've taken AP BC Calc test (5), AP US History (4), and AP Physics C Mechanics section only (4). Planning to take European History and Chem this year. Haven't taken the SAT or the ACT yet, but plan to take the SAT in early June. Not sure when to take the ACT. Got a 205 this year in the PSAT. I blame a lack of sleep. Dad says I'm a dumbass.
2. Taking 3 AP classes this year with 3 regular classes.
3. Kinda fvcked on this part. Track freshman year. Debate team sophomore year. Talent show junior year. I'm about to try out for the school volleyball team (at only 178 cm, 5'10", I might not make it over the taller guys)
4. Not Biology. Biomedical or biochemical engineering. A school that offered one of these courses said that 99% of the grads with one of these diplomas (forgot which) got into med school. I think I'm ready. I know I'll need to bump up my studying in college but I see myself as a hard worker. From talking to people, I think undergrad school will be somewhat challenging, but mostly easy. Med school will probably be 4 years of hell, but I think it'll be worth the job.
5. As for the competition, I don't know if being aware will do me too much good. I got e-mails from all of them, even though that probably means next to nothing.
Columbia is a good school (I obviously think so; I put it there) but Case and Miami have really solid engineering programs. It seems like you dismissed them a bit too hastily. Plus, Case has grad programs with the Cleveland Clinic,#1 in the world in heart treatment, and I want to be a cardiologist.
Anyway, for anyone who's on his way to college, in college, or has went to college, any tips for financial aid? Any stuff you did that you think helped you out? Anything you didn't do that you wish you did? Any help is appreciated.

If you go to junior college and make straight A's, you can then transfer wherever you want, rack up half the debt, and after you graduate no one will ever know or care. Student loans are not free money. They seemed like it when I was your age, but now I am old enough to know that you really do have to pay it back. A big debt will also force you into sh!ttier jobs after graduation, ones that you would otherwise decline if not for the big payments coming due soon. They only give you six months after graduation before the first bill comes.

I would've done biomedical engineering if I knew about it as an undergrad. A lot of my graduate courses for electrical engineering ended up being biomed eng out of interest. If you're interested in BME, I think Boston U has a great program and a concurrent med school program.

Figure out why you want to be an BME AND a doctor. The careers are totally different, linked only by medicine. Do you wanna be a liason between the two groups? Do you want to be a research kind of MD? Do you just enjoy math and engineering? Because if you picture yourself doing patient care only and don't really care about engineering, you don't need the BME degree and there are degrees out there that'll make road into med school easier.

Engineering is non stop math modeling and you'll be doing math most other majors won't even touch - lot of multivariable calculus and linear algebra, plus algorithms and sht like that.

Biochem can get you into med school, but it's usually the typical pharm school major.

Get one of those Princeton University guides that gives you an insider's look at all major US schools. Best thing that helped me way back then. The lifestyle and the city around it are just as important as the prestige

And your GPA is good, try to raise it though and max out AP's in your senior year if you can handle it. The extra grade point helps. Study for the SAT now and take it June. Take it again in your senior year if you're not satisfied

And all those schools are good schools. Our president graduated from Columbia

And as far as financial aid, if your goal is to get into med school, you don't have anything to worry about because you'll be paying off all your debt with an automatic 6 figure income 10+ years from now

You have solid academic credentials man. +1

Biology/Biochem/Bioengineer all fall into the same field (imo) - in the sense they're the primer for Medical School. Do you want to be a doctor? Or do you want the money/prestige/fulfill the dreams of your parents?

Don't get me wrong, medicine is an excellent profession and the pace at which the technology is progressing is both scary and exciting. Just make sure you're taking the plunge for the right reasons.

Personally, I'd goto a state school or JC -> transfer for your undergraduate work. Save your money and energy for graduate studies.

And don't assume your Upper Divison undergraduate work will be easy, of the schools you listed, my bet is that said programs are incredibly demanding. Add your social life and outside events, time becomes a premium.

I also wasn't dismissing the other schools, I was just looking at things realistically. The Bay Area is the VC capital of the world. Its the home of Silicon Valley. This is prime real-estate for bio-tech, and we have some exceptional schools out here.

Kaiser pays starting orthopedic surgeons roughly $650,000 a year starting, so don't worry too much about debt - if you're sure you want to be a doctor.

for the record...
biology = biology
biochem = biotech = primarily pharmaceuticals
biomedical engineering = the guys who came up with the math that make things like MRI's, x-rays, pacemakers, artificial joints, gene mapping, etc, possible, and who work at companies like Medtronic instead of hospitals. It's not primer for med school unless you're good at math, enjoy engineering or wanna torture yourself. There are way easier ways to get into med school than spend 2 years practicing linear algebra and learning a gang of technical sht doctors don't ever use

Thanks for all the advice, guys. Bible Belt, thanks for telling me that I'll only have 6 months after graduation to pay student loans. I don't know how I'll pay on a resident's paycheck, but maybe that'll get easier. Rhoto, I honestly just can't think of what else to do for a living. My parents have been pushing me to be a doctor since I can remember (foreigners). Still, a heart surgeon gets paid in the neighborhood of 700 grand a year, and if I can do that (fingers crossed), why not? While I hear my classmates say they're not sure what they want to get into, I might as well start strongly into something early. Plus, with all of the advancements in genetics, I believe the average lifespan may reach 200 years in my lifetime. So at least BME is an exciting field right now if I can't become a surgeon. Rushing Dude, I took introductory multivariable and linear algebra classes at a state college earlier this year. Multivariable, imo, was really fun, but linear algebra was the most boring math I've ever had. Anyway, thanks everyone for your help.