<p>Just out of curiosity...how many ED and RD put biology as their major for Stanford?</p>
<p>I did, seeing as how Stanford bioscience is ranked #1 in the nation.</p>
<p>wow. really? i knew that Stanford's science department was strong but i didn't know it was #1.</p>
<p>Stanford's biology program is incredibly strong. This is where Paul Berg taught, [and to my knowledge still teaches] one of the founders of modern moleculer biology. Stanford continues to spearhead bio-tech. If you ever have heard of a "gene chip" or a "genomics chip" -- that was invented here too. I preferred MIT's Course7 because it focuses [almost] purely on the molecular aspect [which is what I like the most]; whereas Stanford's biology is strong in more diverse areas. That's prolly why it gets rated so high. In any case, Stanford bio is definitely tops.</p>
<p>I did too.</p>
<p>i did also.</p>
<p>SDFried - How is Stanford when it comes to biomedical science?</p>
<p>The program gets a lot of bright students and has a great faculty. I looked at it very critically when I was touring colleges, and Stanford was my second choice college.</p>
<p>Stanford bio students have a really hard time getting research. First of all, Stanford doesn't let you declare your major until really late [I think it's second term of sophomore year], so you can't even be a "biology major" until year two and they don't let you into a lab unless you are a biology major. Second of all, Stanford has a more bio students than there are lab spots. They don't like to say it, but as this thread shows, a ton of Stanford students are interested in bio [that and computer engineering are the two most common majors I believe]. Thirdly, Stanford has a med-school, and med students are more qualified to do research than undergrads. All these factors combined, and you can see why research isn't exactly ready to grab you up as soon as you get on campus.</p>
<p>Although research aside, your profs will be great, your fellow students will be great, and in general the program is a unique experience. If you're not too concerned about getting into a lab, Stanford bio might very well be the best out there.</p>
<p>For me OTOH, research was really important. That's why MIT's program fit me a lot better.</p>