<p>While looking for undergraduate schools with a biology/biochem related major and going to graduate/medical school, does the ranking/prestige of the school matter more or the ranking/prestige of the school's biology/biochem matter more? </p>
<p>Some say that you get to do a lot of research as a undergraduate so it does matter, while others say that the most they'll let you do is pipet liquids for them as an undergraduate.</p>
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<p>Heres my college list:
UCs
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Stanford University
Pomona College<br>
Johns Hopkins University<br>
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Washington, Seattle
California Institute of Technology</p>
<p>Am I being too ambitious and not having enough safeties?
My plan is to get go to a UC to save money for graduate school unless I'm accepted into a really good private, so I didn't put as many lower privates or out-of-state publics.</p>
<p>My Quick Stats:
Going to be a Senior next year
3.92 UW GPA
4.43 W GPA
2270 SAT
I took the hardest classes possible at my school, and I'm in the top 10 for W GPA in my school, but its really competitive so the GPA differ by the hundredths of a digit.
My ECs aren't that hot. I'm officers for a few clubs, but not VP or P for any of them. Main points: I've raised 1k with two other friends for refugees, toured in Europe with my orchestra (not a school orchestra) for two weeks, and went to China to volunteer by helping out autistic children and inmates' children for two weeks.</p>
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<p>Thanks for helping me out~</p>
<p>It looks like some of the UCs will be safeties for you - as you know Cal and UCLA are the toughest to get into, but the others will probably think you’re a darn good candidate. </p>
<p>Since you’re interested in research, you might look into Northeastern University in Boston. With your stats you might get a nice merit grant from Northeastern, especially since you’re also a Californian, and NEU is trying to build up its regional diversity. The reason I bring up Northeastern is that they have a co-op program which would offer you full time paid internships in chemistry/bio chem. So you’d actually graduate with solid lab experience, possibly at a world-class lab. (My daughter worked at a Harvard research lab while a student at NEU.) It’s a great way to develop a solid resume with some great contacts for your letters of recommendation. </p>
<p>As for medical school, what matters THE MOST are your grades and MCAT scores. Not so much the department/school. So you’d still be at a disadvantage if you go to a ‘prestige school’ but have lower grades/MCAT scores than someone from a lesser known school. So pick a university where you think you can thrive - socially and academically - and one which you think will offer the most interesting research opportunities.</p>
<p>Drexel also has a coop program. I don’t know anything about the research there, except they seem to be growing and have plans to expand even more.</p>
<p>You need to investigate, but University of the Sciences has graduate research programs. I don’t know about undergrads.</p>
<p>Again, investigate honors colleges at your state schools. Their students often get special privileges and preferential treatment.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for undergraduate research opportunities, don’t forget to consider the U of Rochester. They aren’t that much of a “lower private” esp since they have a really high percentage of undergrads in research.</p>
<p>Look into University of Pittsburgh - lots of research opportunities for undergrads and merit aid for oos. App is super simple. Possible full tuition or 10K with your stats I think. Highly rated in biomedE - lots of NIH funding, stem cell and tissue research going on.</p>
<p>Remember, you don’t have to do research during the school year at your school. S didn’t - he was an athlete and didn’t have time. All his research experience was over the summer - and you can go anywhere in the country for it.</p>
<p>For research opportunities - and the gold standard on pre-med advising - see Amherst’s website. [Amherst</a> College Guide for Premedical Students](<a href=“http://www3.amherst.edu/~sageorge/guide2.html]Amherst”>Amherst College Guide for Premedical Students) It includes a long list of research opportunities for pre-meds including places like NIH, etc…</p>
<p>And as others have said, it’s about GPA and MCAT, not the name of your school. DO NOT go deeply into debt as an undergrad because med school is wicked costly. The average indebtedness at private medical schools is over $200,000 and at the publics is $140,000. You will also work for several years after you graduate as a poorly paid resident, so that debt (and the accumulating interest) hangs around for a very long time.</p>
<p>In expanding your list, consider more LACs, like Pomona, but possibly a bit less selective. Look at the midwestern LACs for example. Excellent educationally but because of the location, they are less well known. The small class sizes tend to result in a less competitive pre-med culture, closer faculty relationships make for good committee letters, and you don’t need graduate classes and/or cutting edge research as you might if you were going for a PhD in your area of academic interest.</p>