Female engineers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of engineering? If aerospace look at Purdue and Ga Tech. UVA too My DC has a female astronaut as head of department at UVA.

OP here: Biomedical. My daughter has spoken to a few UVA grads. The consensus seems to be that it's a great program, heavy on theoretical, preparing most for consulting or straight entry to med school or grad school. Any thoughts?

UVA is heavy on the theoretical in all its engineering programs it seems. Places like u of maryland prepare you for industry.
U of md has many applied classes and graduate school work thatvis applied (rotorcraft, space vehicles, fluid flow in a wind tunnel).
Places like uva and Princeton are more theory - which means a lot of math just for maths sake if that makes sense.
Does she like that? I preferred applied engineering so I chose the big state school over uva (was probably a mistake though).

I had an engineering friend at u of md who had perfect grades in undergrad who went to Princeton for grad school in aero engineering and he left after a semester because he hated the theoretical program. He didn't like the lack of structure - no one guided him he was just supposed to figure stuff out and invent a new theory on his own and he wasn't up for it. He came back to college park

It just depends how you are wired and what you like.

Medical school is not a bad route. Or she could go to another engineering graduate school program.

I think she prefers the applied versus theoretical. Ideally she'd like the option to work in biotech straight out of undergrad, but has hopes to eventually go to grad school. At this point, she does not have aspirations for med school. Things may change of course. She does like math, but is eager to build, do, solve problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, my daughter is interested in biomedical! Question for the Hopkins grad, a friend of ours was an adjunct there and basically discouraged us from applying. He said it is so uber-competitive and she would hate her college experience. What was it like for you?

Hopkins person here. Love working there but your friend is right although BME has a great projects/design class.

I have a question for the Hopkins grad. We toured there recently and the students left this huge impression that the school is chill and so fun and what are you going to do with all of your free time? They spoke of these great internships people were doing and how they're going and doing all of this fun stuff (playing the oboe or whatever, video games).

They spoke about this 'beach' where everyone goes out and hangs out and socializes in the warm sun and plays volleyball.

Only if was 85 degrees out and a Saturday at noon and only 3 people were outside? I've never seen only 3 people out at a college.

So what's the real truth ? I call bulls$$t on all of it . I've heard that for starters people are hyper competitive about the internships to get 'the best ones'
And are all the students in the library 24/7 or what?

Hopkins takes none of their own into med school either I've heard.

Good grief, I've never heard someone say "chill" and "Hopkins" in the same sentence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of engineering? If aerospace look at Purdue and Ga Tech. UVA too My DC has a female astronaut as head of department at UVA.

OP here: Biomedical. My daughter has spoken to a few UVA grads. The consensus seems to be that it's a great program, heavy on theoretical, preparing most for consulting or straight entry to med school or grad school. Any thoughts?

Also, has she looked into Hopkins? Columbia?

Georgetown has biomedical engineering but basically you go to Georgetown and study liberal arts and then you head to Columbia for the engineering .
As engineering programs can be brutal the might not be a bad idea.

I've heard great things about duke for biomedical

OP here: she's looked at a few programs that are 3+2 or 4+2 years where you attend a great SLAC then transfer to an engineering program at a university. I think it doesn't appeal because of the lengthened course for a BA/BS. Is there anyone out there who has done this type of program? Can you share your experience?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at University of Connecticut. Good engineering programs--did my graduate work there in the mid-90s. Few women, but never had any issues. They have a strong biomed program as well, although I was EE.

UConn was not on our radar, but will definitely check it out. Thank you!

They are very involved with the medical school(s) and research--so hands on. I can put you in touch with the head of the dept if you'd like, but I'm sure you can also google it and have it pop up. You'll have no problem with setting up something.

I'm going back end of April for an award, several alums will presumably be there getting them--part of the program is to see senior projects/judging. Might be a good time to take your daughter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of engineering? If aerospace look at Purdue and Ga Tech. UVA too My DC has a female astronaut as head of department at UVA.

OP here: Biomedical. My daughter has spoken to a few UVA grads. The consensus seems to be that it's a great program, heavy on theoretical, preparing most for consulting or straight entry to med school or grad school. Any thoughts?

Also, has she looked into Hopkins? Columbia?

Georgetown has biomedical engineering but basically you go to Georgetown and study liberal arts and then you head to Columbia for the engineering .
As engineering programs can be brutal the might not be a bad idea.

I've heard great things about duke for biomedical

OP here: she's looked at a few programs that are 3+2 or 4+2 years where you attend a great SLAC then transfer to an engineering program at a university. I think it doesn't appeal because of the lengthened course for a BA/BS. Is there anyone out there who has done this type of program? Can you share your experience?

UConn PP here. Wesleyan has a great program for this. Swing by UConn and Weselyan on the same trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of engineering? If aerospace look at Purdue and Ga Tech. UVA too My DC has a female astronaut as head of department at UVA.

OP here: Biomedical. My daughter has spoken to a few UVA grads. The consensus seems to be that it's a great program, heavy on theoretical, preparing most for consulting or straight entry to med school or grad school. Any thoughts?

UVA is heavy on the theoretical in all its engineering programs it seems. Places like u of maryland prepare you for industry.
U of md has many applied classes and graduate school work thatvis applied (rotorcraft, space vehicles, fluid flow in a wind tunnel).
Places like uva and Princeton are more theory - which means a lot of math just for maths sake if that makes sense.
Does she like that? I preferred applied engineering so I chose the big state school over uva (was probably a mistake though).

I had an engineering friend at u of md who had perfect grades in undergrad who went to Princeton for grad school in aero engineering and he left after a semester because he hated the theoretical program. He didn't like the lack of structure - no one guided him he was just supposed to figure stuff out and invent a new theory on his own and he wasn't up for it. He came back to college park

It just depends how you are wired and what you like.

Medical school is not a bad route. Or she could go to another engineering graduate school program.

I think she prefers the applied versus theoretical. Ideally she'd like the option to work in biotech straight out of undergrad, but has hopes to eventually go to grad school. At this point, she does not have aspirations for med school. Things may change of course. She does like math, but is eager to build, do, solve problems.

Look at Duke then. And maybe some of the smaller female oriented schools people have recommended. And big state schools thatvhave biomedical.

Georgia Tech is a different kind of place. First off it's all tech and there are a lot of guys there. Secondly there are a lot of foreign guys there. At the big state schools that doesn't settle in until grad school really.

I liked my grad program with all of the foreign students but you do have to take that into consideration. My Indian friends largely did not get to stay in the US and I have no idea where the Korean guys are. So, your social group might be a bit transient if that makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, my daughter is interested in biomedical! Question for the Hopkins grad, a friend of ours was an adjunct there and basically discouraged us from applying. He said it is so uber-competitive and she would hate her college experience. What was it like for you?

Hopkins person here. Love working there but your friend is right although BME has a great projects/design class.

I have a question for the Hopkins grad. We toured there recently and the students left this huge impression that the school is chill and so fun and what are you going to do with all of your free time? They spoke of these great internships people were doing and how they're going and doing all of this fun stuff (playing the oboe or whatever, video games).

They spoke about this 'beach' where everyone goes out and hangs out and socializes in the warm sun and plays volleyball.

Only if was 85 degrees out and a Saturday at noon and only 3 people were outside? I've never seen only 3 people out at a college.

So what's the real truth ? I call bulls$$t on all of it . I've heard that for starters people are hyper competitive about the internships to get 'the best ones'
And are all the students in the library 24/7 or what?

I am one of the Hopkins grads above (Civil Eng. major). My 20 year reunion is coming up, so I'm sure things change. There were certainly plenty of folks at Hopkins who came to study and never saw the light of day. But there are also plenty of folks that are more "normal" and looking for a typical college experience.

I met my DH on the "beach" - and we got engaged there years later as well - and we were both active at Hopkins. We were also both Greek, but it wasn't a big commitment since there were not houses for us. I spent most of my time studying with other students in my major - we rotated apartments to study. I found the work got easier as I got older - the freshman "weeder" classes were brutal. I never did an internship, but others did, and it didn't seem competitive, at least in my major. My DH was an IR major, and he worked on the Hill during the summer for his congresswoman back home.

Looking at other college experiences, you have to "work" harder at Hopkins to have a social life, but it can be done. I'm guessing it's a bit easier now, given all the amenities that have been added over the years.

Hopkins takes none of their own into med school either I've heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, my daughter is interested in biomedical! Question for the Hopkins grad, a friend of ours was an adjunct there and basically discouraged us from applying. He said it is so uber-competitive and she would hate her college experience. What was it like for you?

Hopkins person here. Love working there but your friend is right although BME has a great projects/design class.

I have a question for the Hopkins grad. We toured there recently and the students left this huge impression that the school is chill and so fun and what are you going to do with all of your free time? They spoke of these great internships people were doing and how they're going and doing all of this fun stuff (playing the oboe or whatever, video games).

They spoke about this 'beach' where everyone goes out and hangs out and socializes in the warm sun and plays volleyball.

Only if was 85 degrees out and a Saturday at noon and only 3 people were outside? I've never seen only 3 people out at a college.

So what's the real truth ? I call bulls$$t on all of it . I've heard that for starters people are hyper competitive about the internships to get 'the best ones'
And are all the students in the library 24/7 or what?

I am one of the Hopkins grads above (Civil Eng. major). My 20 year reunion is coming up, so I'm sure things change. There were certainly plenty of folks at Hopkins who came to study and never saw the light of day. But there are also plenty of folks that are more "normal" and looking for a typical college experience.

I met my DH on the "beach" - and we got engaged there years later as well - and we were both active at Hopkins. We were also both Greek, but it wasn't a big commitment since there were not houses for us. I spent most of my time studying with other students in my major - we rotated apartments to study. I found the work got easier as I got older - the freshman "weeder" classes were brutal. I never did an internship, but others did, and it didn't seem competitive, at least in my major. My DH was an IR major, and he worked on the Hill during the summer for his congresswoman back home.

Looking at other college experiences, you have to "work" harder at Hopkins to have a social life, but it can be done. I'm guessing it's a bit easier now, given all the amenities that have been added over the years.

Hopkins takes none of their own into med school either I've heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Duke '00 EE grad. There were only about 6 women in EE out of 60 in our year, but biomedical had a much higher percentage of women (and was/is an excellent program).

I didn't have any problems with professors or other students - generally good camaraderie all around. At least for EE I felt that the program was heavily theoretical and not practical and didn't prepare me especially well for the workplace. I interned at a telecom company in Raleigh as a senior with a bunch of recent grads from NC State and felt like they all had better practical preparation while in school to be able to work as an engineer straight out of school. Most of my classmates went on to consulting or investment banking or continued towards their masters, etc.

Wow, thank you. This is very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at University of Connecticut. Good engineering programs--did my graduate work there in the mid-90s. Few women, but never had any issues. They have a strong biomed program as well, although I was EE.

UConn was not on our radar, but will definitely check it out. Thank you!

They are very involved with the medical school(s) and research--so hands on. I can put you in touch with the head of the dept if you'd like, but I'm sure you can also google it and have it pop up. You'll have no problem with setting up something.

I'm going back end of April for an award, several alums will presumably be there getting them--part of the program is to see senior projects/judging. Might be a good time to take your daughter?

Good to know. I learned from some boards about the advantage of having a medical center affiliated with the engineering school for biomedical. I know that seems obvious, but not to me. Thanks for the advice. We will google it and reach out.

[Anonymous]

My sister is a civil enginner out of Duke. She does traffic work. As one of very few women in the program, she got many opportunities and chances to shine. Her professors were wonderful; she still keeps in touch with a few today.

Several of her friends were biomedical engineers. One woman is now in IT and another man is a preacher! I've lost track of the rest of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, my daughter is interested in biomedical! Question for the Hopkins grad, a friend of ours was an adjunct there and basically discouraged us from applying. He said it is so uber-competitive and she would hate her college experience. What was it like for you?

Hopkins person here. Love working there but your friend is right although BME has a great projects/design class.

I have a question for the Hopkins grad. We toured there recently and the students left this huge impression that the school is chill and so fun and what are you going to do with all of your free time? They spoke of these great internships people were doing and how they're going and doing all of this fun stuff (playing the oboe or whatever, video games).

They spoke about this 'beach' where everyone goes out and hangs out and socializes in the warm sun and plays volleyball.

Only if was 85 degrees out and a Saturday at noon and only 3 people were outside? I've never seen only 3 people out at a college.

So what's the real truth ? I call bulls$$t on all of it . I've heard that for starters people are hyper competitive about the internships to get 'the best ones'
And are all the students in the library 24/7 or what?

Hopkins takes none of their own into med school either I've heard.

85 degreees in Baltimore? Sounds nasty. Of course they were inside. Also, maybe they tend to gather more on campus after classes, not on weekends. Or was it right before finals? I wouldn't make any judgements based upon what you saw for an hour one day.

[Anonymous]

Look at Smith College. They have engineering but not sure if it's the type you want. Loved my time there and they have a lifelong professional network and placement services.

[Anonymous]

If Harvey Mudd looks like a good fit, also check out Caltech. They are big on applied research and bio-engineering. Their bio department typically has a much higher female-male ratio than the rest of the school, and the looking at the current faculty page it appears that women are well represented.

Very small school, with a lot of opportunities for undergrad research and participation in graduate school projects. The core classes are very engineering-heavy, of course, but there are actually a lot of very active extracurricular clubs for music, arts, etc.

[Anonymous]

I'm an engineer from Notre Dame and would absolutely recommend it for girls considering engineering. It's a small school and generally the faculty and fellow students are very supportive.
And they've improved a lot since I was there, too: https://engineering.nd.edu/news-publications/pressreleases/notre-dame-keeps-women-in-engineering

They don't have a full-up biomedical engineering degree, though, instead offering concentrations within mechanical engineering and chemical engineering. And they don't have a med school.