Hello,
I just finished my sophomore year of high school, and I am beginning the college search process. I would like to major in biochemistry/biophysics in college. I am so confused on how to know what programs are strong in preparing me for PhD/med school. Anyone have any schools that have strong programs with a lot of undergrad research opportunities?
I prefer small schools and I live in the northeast, so I would like to stay in that region. I have Ivy-like ‘stats’, but I am also looking into colleges that I can possibly get merit money for that also have strong programs.
Finances aside, you would probably like Amherst, Hamilton, Colgate, Williams and Bowdoin (five well-funded need-based-aid schools). For a significant merit scholarship, you would need to search more broadly.
Earlham’s got good bio and merit aid. Oberlin has need-based and merit aid, though the merit’s not as good, and a few alumni have won Nobel prizes in the sciences. Oberlin’s in Ohio and Earlham’s in eastern Indiana, so they both sort of qualify as NE.
URochester’s strong in bio and high in research production. They have merit, though I don’t know how good it is compared to what you’re looking for. Brandeis as well, although they don’t have the same research output.
Many many schools will prepare you for PhD or MD if you use the opportunities available.
I really don’t need any specific amount of money. The reason why I want merit aid is because my parents can’t qualify for financial aid but (they say they are not ‘poor enough’ and if I cannot get into an ‘elite’ school I want to do my parents a favor by getting a good scholarship. But do most colleges give merit aid to kids who have really high scores?
My PSAT was 1330, but that was without any test prep. I just started test prep now and it’s going very well, and expecting huge increase in scores.
You can access the “Net Price Calculators” through the individual websites of colleges of interest.
As often defined, “elite” schools do not commonly offer merit scholarships, though there are exceptions.
Saint Lawrence and URochester are two nice (but different) schools in the Northeast that do offer substantial merit awards to highly qualified students.
Look through the course offerings and student achievements at Amherst, Hamilton, Williams and Bowdoin. Students from these schools have presented posters at Biophysical Society meetings and have distinguished themselves in other ways as well. Uncommon science majors, such as chemical physics, may also be available at some from this group. Overall, these schools would match your expressed interests, though you certainly could find others that would as well.
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I really don’t need any specific amount of money. The reason why I want merit aid is because my parents can’t qualify for financial aid but (they say they are not ‘poor enough’ and if I cannot get into an ‘elite’ school I want to do my parents a favor by getting a good scholarship.
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Ok…but you still need to ask your parents if they’ll pay $65k per YEAR if you get into a top school. They may say, “we can’t afford THAT much!!” So…you need to talk to them.
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But do most colleges give merit aid to kids who have really high scores?
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I wouldn’t say “most schools”…at least not most schools that you’ve heard of and would want to attend. And many schools have competitive merit…meaning that they may have 5000 top applicants but only 25 awards to give out.
You need to apply to a couple of schools that will give you ASSURED merit for stats. Those can be your back up schools.