

Question for Sam Altman: Which College should I go to? - spontaneousfire

I had a question about college. I was accepted to both Columbia Engineering and Rice-Baylor&#x27;s BSMD program. My main interest is in understanding new ideas in biotechnology and healthcare. My worry about RB is that, located in Houston, I am more isolated from the SV and Boston ecosystems, which will make it difficult to work with startups and larger companies to learn about the space, as well as its comparatively less known Computer Science department. Any thoughts?
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gordonzhu
If medical school is something you're interested in (I think this is a safe
assumption), I would choose Rice-Baylor's BSMD program.

The reason is that many pre-med students (whether they will admit it or not)
took a watered-down course load and chose easy majors so that they could
maintain a high GPA, study for the MCAT, and do a bunch of bullshit to impress
medical schools. In a lot of ways, that ruined their college experience.
Always wondering how things you do will affect med school admissions is a
terrible way to go through college. It narrows your options and is the
opposite of freedom.

Now let's say that you choose Rice-Baylor instead. You don't have to optimize
for med school admissions because you're already in. Now you can take hard
classes and do any major without fear of having a competitive GPA for med
school. You can do internships that have nothing to do with medicine.
Basically, you can do all the things a pre-med student (or you at Columbia)
would not do.

This is the freedom option. It's the option I would choose if I were in your
position. Also Rice and Baylor are great schools. You can't lose here.

With your freedom, spend your summers in Silicon Valley. If you got into BSMD
I assume you're pretty smart. It will not be hard to convince people to hire
you.

I know this is a big decision, if you want to chat more, email me at
gordonmzhu[at]gmail[dot]com.

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spontaneousfire
This was an amazing response! Thanks! My interest in healthcare is clear to
me. I've read more books than any normal teenager probably should about
healthcare industrial organization, policy, and new companies in
biotechnology. But I'm unsure whether the way to best engage with healthcare
and biotech is through being a physician. My interest is more in industry,
being on the forefront of synthetic biology and digital health, as opposed to
clinically practicing. I want to spend my time in the valley when possible, I
just don't know whether I will be able to get positions at growing companies
from Rice (Is it well-known/respected in the valley?). Related, computer
science is something I've become very interested in, in the context of how
software is aiding both biotechnology and healthcare organization (digital
health, telemedecine, surgical robotics, etc.). Rice's CS is nowhere near as
respected as Columbia's--does that matter through the lens of industry
internships/work experience?

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dluan
Read these:

[http://www.paulgraham.com/before.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/before.html)

[http://www.paulgraham.com/mit.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/mit.html)

[http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html)

For the lazy:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii1jcLg-
eIQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii1jcLg-eIQ)

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brudgers
[I am not Sam Altman]

Living in Manhattan is likely to be a distinctly different experience from
living anywhere else. The Rice Baylor BSMD program offers a unique experience
of a different sort due to the program's extreme selectivity.

Neither is as tightly integrated with Silicon Valley or Boston startup culture
as California Schools.

In the end, nobody is going to have a better insight about your best option
than you...and if you find yourself at one or the other and realize it's not
for you, then go someplace else. It's ok to make a mistake. It's even better
if you own it. The best thing is if you learn from it.

Good luck.

~~~
spontaneousfire
Haha, yeah, idk, I saw someone post a question with "To Sam Altman" and he
responded, so I thought I'd try it.

I am very conflicted about the decision, I've oscillated too many times.

Honestly I am very interested in startups in biotechnology--but if I can do
that from RBMS, then I don't think there is much contest between the two. I
just don't know whether internships and startup jobs at interesting, breakout
companies are available from Rice. I talked to previous individuals in the
program who told me it was difficult. That is what makes me hesitant.

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jklein11
Why did you post a question posed to a specific person on a public forum?

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wooderson
Aren't you already past the deadlines to make your enrollment deposits?

