Best for Biochem or Biology major?

College Search & Selection
21

<p>These are just a few I would consider:
UC Berkeley (hell of a bio program, very competitive though....EXTREMELY hard to get into if out-of-state)</p>

<p>UCLA (almost same as Berkeley, but if you like warm weather beaches etc, you might like it. A bit less known than Berkeley though)</p>

<p>UCSD (up-and-coming science school. Great school, but its still not considered as good as UCLA and UCB even though it is a great program.)</p>

<p>Rice University (not as well known because it's a smaller school, but fantastic bio program. Plus, its located in Houston right next to the largest medical center in the country. People are also very friendly from what i've heard. Considered the "JHU" of the South.)</p>

<p>Duke University: ("ivy league" of the South. Supposed to be a "work-hard, play-hard" school and it has great post-undergrad med school results.)</p>

<p>JHU: (the mother of all pre-med schools imo. Not the hardest to get into, but probably one of the most competitive. Students there say the "cutthroat" rumors are untrue though.)</p>

<p>Brown: (very laid back, has the PLME (BS/MD) program.)</p>

<p>Harvard: (obviously very prestigious and great program; no explanation necessary)</p>

<p>MIT/Caltech: (hardest programs ever. EVER. If you graduate at the top of your class in these schools, you'll go anywhere. But I would seriously not advise going to these schools for pre-med since pre-meds need good GPA to get into a good med school. But I have a lot of respect for people who are up for the challenge.)</p>

<p>Columbia: (very rigorous Core Curriculum. You'll leave with a lot of "culture" I suppose. Still, it has a great bio program and its pre-meds go far. Location is awesome too (NYC). I've heard students aren't really tight-knit though.)</p>

<p>Dartmouth: (very underrated Bio program. Classes are hard and students do really well on MCATs. People are also very friendly and its supposed to be a party school (along with UPenn and Duke)...especially if you like secluded and rural areas.)</p>

<p>UPENN (heard really good things about this school. Supposed to have some of the best bio professors. Prusiner came from there (the guy found out about prion proteins in BSE). Heard students are really snooty though...campus is beautiful and its in philly)</p>

<p>Cornell (almost same as Caltech and MIT. Probably easiest ivy to get into but hardest to stay in. Students there say its fun, but it is damn hard by anyone's standards and it has grade deflation as well.)</p>

<p>These are the schools that I've researched a bit. Here's a few others I would consider (mind you, I might leave some out, especially LACs since I'm altogether unfamiliar with them): Northwestern, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, SUNY Stony Brook, UCI, UCSB, UCD, Amherst, Colgate, HMudd, Swarthmore, Vanderbilt)</p>

<p>Honestly, the list is endless. Just research while you can.</p>

22

<p>Wow thanks for the great in depth analyses of the schools ^_^ Very Helpful...</p>

23

<p>J-h-u :)</p>

<p>Duke</p>

24

<p>As was said, most colleges with solid science departments will have quite respectable Biology Departments. However, a more informative element would be the quality of its labs and equipment. Find out whether a school's facilities are ample and contemporary before applying for admission. Once on campus, you may not be happy to find a small, over-used, under-equipped and out-dated science building/offices and labs.</p>

<p>Some strong programs with newer facilities include;</p>

<p>Michigan State University (Briggs School of Biology)
Colorado State University
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Virginia Tech</p>

<p>and many others, as you will discover.</p>

25

<p>I think if you start to look at some of the liberal arts colleges, you might find programs where undergrads get to do some research directly with professors. You know, skip the whole graduate TAs teaching undergrads and the flip side of that which is professors have grads doing the research. If you want to get handson, that might be the better route. I think Wesleyan's known for strong science with research opportunities - although it's not in a big city, it's not rural, either. Anyone else know about specific schools?</p>

26

<p>john hopkins, ucsd, wisconsin, berkeley are all good bets</p>

27

<p>The thing is that I don't know much about liberal arts colleges. I have done some research and most of the colleges are really strong in the english department (according to SATs), which I'm terribly horrible in. But the good side to it is that the professors are always there whenever help is needed. I also heard that it's a lot harder to get into those prominent LACs. Right now I'm really considering JHU and UCSD...</p>

28

<p>Is Washington State University good for biology?</p>

29

<p>MIT, Yale, Caltech are the best choices for undergraduate biology, if you're really serious about the science and research aspect. They have the most research on a per-student basis. Princeton and Harvey Mudd are also great for undergrad bio.</p>

<p>In terms of research quality, according to the Thomson Corporation (the group that measures research impact), between 1999 and late 2003 the institutions with the highest number of citations per research paper in biology & biochemistry were Harvard, Yale and the UCSF Medical School. Of these three, Yale has the smallest undergrad program (UCSF doesn't have any undergrads) and is the only one that has its research institutes located adjacent to the main campus. If you take a place like Cornell, it's medical school is literally 300 miles from the undergraduate campus!</p>

30

<p>The U. of Washington Seattle is very strong in biology (well, the medical school is anyways). I don't know about Washington State.</p>

31

<p>any decent college has a good bio department, just go where you want to</p>

32

<p>PosterX, the strength of the UW biology program is in the GRADUATE SCHOOL.</p>

<p>Sonoma, both UW and Washington State University have fine Biology Deparments. If you prefer to be in the Pacific Northwest, also take a look at Western Washington University in Bellingham, a public college with small classes and a good rep in the natural sciences with regard to natural resources/wildlife.</p>