<p>^ Maybe. However, regardless of post-graduation plans, the OP presumably wants a good liberal education with a biology focus, right? If so, then PhD production is just about the only objective indicator we have for how well the faculty motivates and prepares students for advanced study (though it may well be subject to confounding factors). Besides, there’s a lot of overlap between pre-med courses and PhD prep for biology. </p>
<p>Now and then we do see claims for “strong pre-med programs” at this or that college. What are the objective indicators of that? Med school admission rates? Probably not. You’d have to tease out the effects of student self-selection and college weed-out policies.</p>
<p>Really, though, you’re probably best off just browsing the online course catalogs. Then investigate class sizes by looking at the online course registration data (if it’s available). Look up the percentage of bio/life science majors in Section J of each school’s Common Data Set (usually posted on line). Investigate research opportunities. Visit schools, talk to students, sit in on classes, check out the labs and equipment. Review the faculty bios.</p>
<p>What you may find is that among the schools I’ve listed (especially in the first group), the differences in personal “fit” are more significant than the relative department strengths. For a high need student, the aid differences may well trump both.</p>