<p>I disagree that the OP should focus on urban colleges or those near zoos. Zookeeping is a dead-end career with low pay and poor job prospects and usually requires no more than an associate’s degree. It is not a route I recommend to those with a good grasp of the sciences. </p>
<p>If the OP is serious about zoology, I recommend selecting a college strong in zoology or organismal biology and aiming for a good PhD program. With a PhD in hand, one is qualified for research or curator positions at zoos as well as a variety of other things in other fields. For example, one of my best friends just finished her PhD in mammalogy and is now working for the CDC as a bat expert. For this route, many, many colleges are viable options, and they provide plenty of relevant research opportunities. </p>
<p>Most public flagships or land-grant colleges have good programs (e.g. Auburn, Arizona, Michigan State, Oklahoma, OSU, NC State, UF, Wisconsin, UGA, etc.). </p>
<p>Good zoology programs are a bit harder to find among private universities, and Cornell shines here. Ecology programs provide good preparation for graduate school, and they’re easier to find, but check to make sure they offer a wide range of courses. (Many colleges have “ecology & evolution” tracks that offer very little in the way of ecology or macrobiology.) With the exception of MIT, Hopkins, Brandeis, CMU, and a few other colleges, however, most universities have decent ecology programs.</p>
<p>Among LACs, Ohio Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Colgate, Allegheny, Wesleyan, the College of the Atlantic, Denison, Whitman, Eckerd, Juniata, Middlebury, Oberlin, Conn College, Swarthmore, Davidson, and Warren Wilson especially come to mind, but there are MANY others (such as Rhodes, per lynx’s suggestion) that would be excellent options.</p>
<p>I recommend that you first figure out exactly what it is you want in a college.
[ul][<em>]How big of a college do you want?
[</em>]What can you afford?
[<em>]Urban, suburban, or rural?
[</em>]Which region(s) of the country?
[li]Athletics? Greek life? Particular clubs/organizations? Religious affiliation?[/ul][/li]Once you’ve figured that out, you can draw up a tentative list and then (and only then!) start narrowing down based on biology programs.</p>