<p>So heres my dilemma
I am a prospective Biology major who had been accepted to Brown, Cornell (CALS) and Amherst. I am considering an MD, MD/Ph.D or just a Ph.D after undergrad, as I am interested in medicine, teaching, and research.
I am from a rather small, rural school (~200 per class), but I have had mainly had classes with the same ~50 people since 7th grade. I enjoy interacting a lot with my teachers and participate a lot in class. I am interested it the liberal arts, but I do plan on some kind of graduate study in Biology.
Right now, I am leaning towards Amherst because of its small size and faculty interaction. I have been offered a special research/scholarship program so I would immediately have a faculty mentor and be funded to do research. While Amherst is small, I like the 5 college system (I feel that I could take the 1 or 2 upper level classes I really want that Amherst doesnt offer at UMass or elsewhere) and the general area (in a town etc). I feel that at Amherst I would be able to get better recommendations from profs who know me and have more involvement/leadership opportunities in extracurriculars. However, Amhersts small size means that it had limited course offerings and limited opportunities to pursue graduate level work as an undergraduate. Also, there are only about 30 Biology majors in each class and I am not sure how an Amherst Biology degree would look to graduate/medical schools/the strength of the program.<br>
Cornell, on the other hand, offers many courses in Biology and I could take some grad classes as an undergrad. Also, there are tracks within the Biology major which is a plus. At Cornell, I also have the Presidential Research Scholars award, which means that I would be funded and encouraged to do research, as at Amherst. However, to my knowledge the classes at Cornell are large, especially those in Biology (upper level Bio classes at Amherst are like 10 and intro is 80 versus 40 and 400+ at Cornell, I think), and the school is bordering on way too large in general for me. I worry that at Cornell I would lack personal attention and be just another number and that because of the class sizes and competitiveness would be discouraged from taking classes that I am interested in that are outside of my comfort zone, strengths or major (Classics classes or Intro Latin for instance). (I guess I feel that the same goes for extracurriculars, that I wont be able to do anything at Cornell unless Im super good at it because of the size). On the other hand, Cornell is closer to my house (100 minutes versus 5.5 hours) and since I am in CALS and a NYS resident, cheaper (I could save some money for med/grad school). Do grad schools look at a CALS degree like a CAS degree? Cornell is tops in Biology, but I do have some social qualms about it, (frats, drinking, competitive environment etc.) and feel that I might fit in better at Amherst socially. I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that Cornell is kind of cold compared to the other schools I am considering.
Perhaps it boils down to if I want to focus on learning specific info or learning how to think.</p>
<p>Finally, my question, would I be crazy to turn down Cornell to go to Amherst, a school where Biology is not necessarily the focus, when I am planning grad work in Biology?
Is there a difference in prestige factor between the schools? (I am already leaning Cornell over Brown, is that a bad decision for the future?)</p>
<p>Do any of you Amherst kids feel that it is too small or limiting or Cornell kids feel that it is too big and cold?
Could any students at either school, especially Biology/pre-med students at Cornell comment on class sizes/personal attention?
Thanks to any and all who read this very long, rambling post and respond!</p>