Amherst v Wellesley v Cornell CAS

<p>For a bio/biochem major? From my understanding, they're all about equal in terms of prestige, prospects for grad school, stuff like that. If anyone could speak for the independent research opportunites at any of these places (from experience?) it would be very helpful. Also, any other advice? "Feel" of each school?</p>

<p>Most would consider Amherst more selective and prestigious than Wellesley but at least there you are comparing two small LACs. Both are very different in feel from Cornell CAS. Surely you have some preference as to whether you want a school as small as Amherst or one many times larger like Cornell. I think the depth of research opportunities at Cornell has to exceed the other two.</p>

<p>As for “feel” of the school, I’ve visited both Amherst and Cornell. In terms of size, Cornell is much bigger than Amherst. Amherst is a liberal arts school. I can’t say for you which one you’d like better. The main difference is the size of the school and whether you prefer a large school like Cornell or a small-scale school like Amherst.</p>

<p>Sit down in front of the Cornell website, and investigate all of the bio/biochem programs. These aren’t just in CAS. There also are programs in Ag & Life Sciences, Human Ecology, and even way up the hill in the Vet School. Overall, the breadth of offerings at Cornell has the other two institutions on your list beaten for bio/biochem.</p>

<p>Wellesley is absolutely a top institution, do doubt about that. The Alumnae network is unbeatable. And MIT is just down the road, so you can cross-register for classes there if you want to. Someone else would have to advise you on Amherst, as I’m not very familiar with it. Choose one of these two over Cornell if your aid package is better and/or you want a smaller college experience.</p>

<p>Truly, there isn’t a bad one in this bunch. Congratulations! If you want to you can flip a couple coins and it will still all be good.</p>

<p>Re “feel”: Wellesley is the most convenient to a big city if that is important to you.</p>

<p>Thanks for your advice guys. I think my main issue is deciding between a little liberal arts college and a big research uni. I’m something of an introvert and initially figured that it would be easier to meet people at the small colleges but now I’m not so sure. Maybe the greater variety of people at Cornell would be better? I don’t know, hopefully it will become apparent when I visit. Have to remind myself that this shouldn’t be a stressful process; I am so lucky to have the opportunity of choosing between all of these great places, and I can’t reallly go wrong! Thanks again for your advice.</p>