If you are a sophomore interested in studying biomedical engineering in college, you’re probably interested in medicine, passionate about engineering, and fascinated by the intersection of the two. Students who study biomedical engineering go into careers in research, they develop new medical devices and discover breakthroughs, they work for famed international corporations and local hospitals. Basically, there is a lot that you can do with a biomedical engineering degree. But how do you get to college graduation?

If you’ve been following our “Deep Dive” series so far, you know that these blogs take a look at notable departments within larger colleges, whether they be top-tier programs within likewise elite universities or hidden gems that produce excellent results within schools that are otherwise average. You might say that we’re doing a thorough investigation of schools that are “famous” for one thing or another — business at Wharton (Penn), computer science at Dartmouth, agricultural science at Texas A&M, public health at UNC — but it’s not everyday that we get to take a closer look at academic tracks that are infamous.

Duke University is a popular private research university in Durham, North Carolina. It is also home to the Pratt School of Engineering. While Duke doesn’t publish a Pratt-specific acceptance rate, it is an elite school that is extremely hard to get into.

Every year, we work with students who are fascinated by, and often fixated on, politics. They want to understand how the political atmosphere we exist in now was created, and what they can do to shape the future. Through political science, students build a foundation in history, politics, economics, and current events that serves them well in applying critical thinking to any moment that we are in, helping to shift culture.

USC has a lot going for it: sunny California weather coupled with amazing programs in business, film and engineering. The University of Southern California, usually just called USC, is a private research university in Los Angeles, CA. USC is also home to the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

History is one of those majors that nearly every university or college offers, and that can be pursued successfully at nearly any of them. What differentiates one program from another is truly the overall caliber of the school and the subject area specialties of the faculty. But once you have your two or three top-choice schools that have strong programs in your precise areas of deepest interest, how do you get in?

Cornell University College of Engineering is a great choice for anyone looking for an Ivy League engineering education. Located in Ithaca, NY, Cornell is known for its impressive engineering programs. This is a blessing and a curse to hopeful engineering applicants. It is a blessing because if you get in, the Engineering school offers a world-class education. It's a curse because it means that it is one of the most competitive programs to get into Cornell. And make no mistake, any program at Cornell is hard to get into.

If you are dreaming of going to school in New York, NYU is likely near the top of your list. New York University, usually just called NYU, is a private research university in the middle of Manhattan. NYU is made up of several smaller schools, including The Tandon School of Engineering. NYU doesn’t publish a separate acceptance rate for Tandon. However, it has been getting more competitive to get into NYU in recent years. The overall acceptance was just 9.2% last year.

Stanford is an iconic California private research university. Located in Stanford, CA, the school is only a couple of CalTrain stops away from the heart of Silicon Valley. It isn’t surprising that Stanford has an extremely popular Engineering program. While Stanford doesn’t make students apply directly into the engineering school (they just ask about academic interests on the application), if you hope to get into Stanford, you need to be a highly competitive applicant. Last year, their acceptance rate was only 3.6%, making them one of the hardest schools to get into in the country. You need to be a top candidate, especially when interested in popular STEM majors, but how? We have a couple of steps you need to take to make sure you are the kind of candidate Stanford is looking for.

Boston University is a school that embraces transfers — over 700 each year. Transfer students are able to start in either the fall or spring semester, and benefit from a robust community specifically geared towards supporting the unique needs of transfer students.