Biology/Zoology School Choices?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi! I'm completely new to the board, and I could really use some advice. After hours searching on college board, I'm overwhelmed by the choices out there. Here are her basic facts:</p>

<ul>
<li>My daughter is interested in majoring in zoology or biology with the goal of obtaining her PhD eventually and working in something related to animal/ species conservation or research. She's passionate about endangered species and the environment.<br></li>
</ul>

<p>*She's an IB Diploma Candidate and takes all IB/AP/ Honors courses. </p>

<ul>
<li>Her GPA is 3.6 (unweighted) </li>
<li>ACT 28/ SAT 1700 (but she's only taken each test once)</li>
</ul>

<p>My husband, a postdoctoral fellow at a National Academy lab, says as Ivies are not in her future, she should attend a reputable state research institute. He has suggestions, but his field is developmental genetics. He believes how much she researches in college and who she researches with is more important than the school name--as long as the school has a record as a strong research school. </p>

<p>What I've noticed so far is there has just overwhelmed me, and I keep going back to the list of state schools he gave me:</p>

<p>UC Berkeley/ LA/ San Diego
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Washington
Oregon State University
University of Utah
University of Maryland</p>

<p>Who should I add/ take off and are there any other schools, besides state schools, I should consider? </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Wisconsin-Madison. </p>

<p>Great in the bio sciences, big zoology dept, one of the first genetics dept’s, lots of research opportunities for undergraduates:</p>

<p>[Center</a> for Biology Education - Undergraduate Research Opportunities](<a href=“http://cbe.wisc.edu/research/]Center”>http://cbe.wisc.edu/research/)</p>

<p>[Undergraduate</a> Research Scholars](<a href=“http://www.lssaa.wisc.edu/urs/]Undergraduate”>http://www.lssaa.wisc.edu/urs/)</p>

3

<p>Futurebiomom, your husband is absolutely correct- how your daughter performs in undergrad will be judged by the research she does. There is a bit of subtlety here that you might want to pay attention to. Some schools, like my alma mater UW Madison, have a culture that encourages undergrads to get into labs early. I remember taking a course that introduced me to the research in several departments during the first semester of college. I also had classes where famous researchers would give single lectures about there work. Undergrad lab jobs were easy to come by and almost always, included their own project.</p>

<p>In contrast, my sister recently attended CU in Boulder and had a very different experience. At CU, undergrad lab jobs were reserved for those individuals with work study hours (a form of financial aid) and this meant that students from well off families had little chance to get a lab job, much less a good one. She described lab jobs in labs that paid the students out of the general funds felt that they needed to get something tangible out of the students ie. dishwashing, autoclaving, preparing buffers, rather than a research project. Maybe this is because the medical campus of CU is located an hour away and so there is less biological science research in the area, maybe it’s because CU does a lousy job of supporting its research, maybe it’s observer bias by a jaded little sister.</p>

4

<p>Do you have a zoo within a couple hours drive for you? Our zoo hosts Career Day where they talk about careers, typical hours, job advancement, pay, etc. They also give out a hand out listing colleges with good programs. My daughter knows a woman at the zoo and she said a really good background in biology and psychology is best.</p>

<p>I’ll plug the U of Minnesota:
tiger research at the UMN: [Projects</a> | Collaborative Laboratory for Asian Wildlife Studies (CLAWS) | CFANS | University of Minnesota.](<a href=“http://claws.umn.edu/projects/index.html]Projects”>http://claws.umn.edu/projects/index.html)
Lion Research Center: [About</a> Us | Lion Research Center | University of Minnesota](<a href=“http://www.cbs.umn.edu/eeb/lionresearch/who/]About”>http://www.cbs.umn.edu/eeb/lionresearch/who/)</p>

<p>There are also majors in conservation biology and wildlife
[Fisheries</a> and Wildlife Major : Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology : College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences : University of Minnesota](<a href=“http://fwcb.cfans.umn.edu/undergraduate/major/index.htm]Fisheries”>http://fwcb.cfans.umn.edu/undergraduate/major/index.htm)</p>

<p>Their field station is up north at Lake Itasca (aka the headwaters of the Mississippi)
[Itasca</a> Biological Station and Labs | University of Minnesota](<a href=“http://www.cbs.umn.edu/itasca/]Itasca”>Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories | College of Biological Sciences)</p>

5

<p>Don’t know where you are or how far your D would want to travel fr. home but another consideration would be NC State University. </p>

<p>NCSU has a large Life Sci. dept. and very good Environamental Resources dept. that includes wildlife/fisheries/marine and coastal resources. There’s lots of research going on there and they have a vet school…more animal research.</p>

6

<p>

That depends on multiple factors:
– State of residence
– How much you can/will pay
– Other limiting factors
--------Public or private?
--------Small (<2000 students), medium (2000-10,000), and/or large (10,000+)?
--------Rural, suburban, and/or urban?
--------Are special factors (e.g. disabilities support or strong LGBT community) needed?
--------Should certain extracurriculars be available (e.g. fencing or Model UN)?</p>

<p>It is absolutely NOT necessary to major in zoology as an undergrad. In fact, I would discourage it. A general biology degree, perhaps with a concentration in ecology/evolution, would be perfectly suitable for graduate studies in zoology, which she’d need to pursue for this field.</p>

<p>The only schools worth avoiding are those which typically have few or no organismal courses (MIT, CMU, Hopkins, Brandeis, and others do this). As long as a decent number of courses in organismal biology or ecology are offered, she’ll be fine. Remember that only 12 or 13 courses will be in her major, and many of those (genetics, ecology/evolution, microbiology, invertebrate/vertebrate zoology, developmental biology) will be standard courses that are much the same everywhere. She therefore has a tremendously wide range of schools open to her. </p>

<p>I would certainly not rule out liberal arts colleges. Some of them, like Hope, have tremendously strong research track records and are excellent springboards to graduate school.</p>

7

<p>Does anyone have any feedback on the program at Juniata College?
[Juniata</a> College - Environmental Science and Studies Department - POEs (Majors)](<a href=“http://www.juniata.edu/departments/environmental/poes.html]Juniata”>http://www.juniata.edu/departments/environmental/poes.html)</p>

8

<p>Here’s another vote ofr North Carolina State University (even though the campus design is said to be “severe concrete.” LOL.</p>

<p>I’d also consider the Lyman Briggs School at Michigan State University. For LACS, look at Allegheny College, College of Wooster, Ohio Weslyean University.</p>

9

<p>Thank you for the information so far!!! </p>

<p>You’ve given me schools I’d never considered!! Our state of residence is Texas, but she really doesn’t want to go instate–we’re truly from the West, and she’s never felt at home here. Besides, our in state tuition is so high, the out-of-state tuition in many places is comparable. If you ask her, she’s fond of mountains and/or oceans–and the West. </p>

<p>I didn’t realize all the research facilities at Boulder were so far away; I wonder if it would help her chances at research at all that she’s been volunteering/ interning at UT Southwestern Medical Center. I know at Utah they said they could get her in a lab freshman year with her background in genetic techniques. </p>

<p>As for other factors, I know my daughter, who has always gone to small, private/ charter prep schools, usually with a strong arts background, likes liberal arts schools. However, my husband is completely against the idea. He really believes she needs a large school with good research opportunities to excel and snag a good graduate position. He’s made me nervous to look at liberal arts schools–and I don’t have any true knowledge or facts to back up the idea that a liberal arts school would be okay. </p>

<p>She’s not into sports, but she is a ballet dancer and would like to dance in college, so a good dance program is a factor. </p>

<p>I was told not to be influenced by cost at this stage, so I’ll look at any kind of school! </p>

<p>Thank you for the reinforcement regarding a straight biology degree, warblersrule86. My husband and I have been telling her this, but as we are her parents, she doesn’t believe us!</p>

<p>We do have two zoos within an hour’s drive. I’ll see what I can find. Thanks for the heads up :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Any other ideas out there? :)</p>

10

<p>How about Univ of Wyoming. I know it may not be as highly ranked as some other schools suggested but it does seem to offer some of what she wants as far as academics and it is in the mountains.</p>

11

<p>

Take a look at where current grad students did their undergrad. At Oklahoma, you have students from Macalester, Wabash, Colby, William & Mary (small uni), Colgate, Juniata, and a couple others. At Miami U, you have students from Canisius College and the College of Mount St. Joseph. At Hawaii, you have Middlebury and Eckerd. At Oregon State, Holy Cross and Wooster.</p>

<p>Another measure is the Goldwater scholarship – a prestigious research award given to juniors/seniors in math/science/engineering fields. LACs this year included the College of the Atlantic, Barnard, Wellesley, Oberlin, Conn College, Amherst, Bryn Mawr, Rollins, Grinnell, Lewis & Clark, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Davidson, Wesleyan, Calvin, Macalester, Muhlenberg, Pomona, Union, Vassar, Middlebury, Hobart & William Smith, Williams, Juniata, Willamette, Lafayette, Wooster, Franklin & Marshall, St. Olaf, and Ripon. </p>

<p>The LAC I’m most familiar with, Davidson, has an ecological preserve and an extremely well-known herpetologist on staff. Students do research in reptilian and avian biology during both the year and summer, and the department has close ties with Duke’s marine lab. Some LACs, such as Reed and Wooster, require a senior thesis of all students, so every student graduates with a significant piece of research under his/her belt.</p>

<p>It’s true that one needs to be a little more careful when selecting liberal arts colleges. Many have no zoology professors at all, and others don’t have many research opportunities. There are many that have both, however, and I would not rule them out.</p>

<p>As far as research opportunities go, there are many, many out there - often funded and unclaimed. This can be done during the summer and needn’t be at a student’s home college. The REU program, for example, covers all costs, pays a stipend, and lets a student complete an independently designed research project.</p>

<p>[US</a> NSF - REU - Search for an REU Site](<a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm]US”>Search for an REU Site | NSF - National Science Foundation)</p>

12

<p>Zoology ----> University of New Hampshire.</p>

13

<p>If she has any interest in marine biology, my vote goes instead for the University of NC at Wilmington.</p>

14

<p>I strongly disagree with your husband about LACs. For instance, read this article about science at Oberlin:
[A</a> Scientific Culture / Oberlin Alumni Magazine / Winter 2009-10](<a href=“http://oberlin.edu/alummag/spring2010/features/scientific.html]A”>http://oberlin.edu/alummag/spring2010/features/scientific.html)</p>

15

<p>Another vote for UW Madison. #1 school for biosciences research and fantastic new facilities all over the science departments. And a great overall school and environment.</p>

16

<p>Take Berkeley and UCLA off the list and add UC Davis. Your daughter’s stats don’t fit UCB and UCLA. Plus, UC Davis has a well-know vet program so I bet the biology there is great.</p>

17

<p>hey this is my first time on the site…i’m 24 and finishing my associtate of science and looking to transfer somewhere to continue my bach. in bio…any and all suggestions of schools and programs would be awesome!! i want to go to grad school for zoology with focus on animal behavior and conservation…thank you so much!!</p>

18

<p>Just go through those already mentioned. Plenty of good ones.</p>

19

<p>Futurebiomom, who advised you not to consider cost at this stage? I absolutely would, unless you feel certain you can afford any cost of attendance.</p>

<p>It is wise and helpful to investigate whether or not you would likely get any kind of need-based aid (do this by going to the Financial Aid threads on the FA forum, and reading the advice). Many people erroneously believe that they will surely qualify for FA, when in fact, they will not.</p>

<p>When I woke up to that reality during my D’s junior year, it really helped–I was able to help her find schools that we could actually afford. If I’d not considered cost, I’m sure we would have had a list that would not have had many–or any–financial safeties.</p>

<p>If you will have a ceiling on what you can pay, I encourage you to figure it out sooner, rather than later. OOS schools can have a cost of attendance in the high 30s/year --or even into the mid 40s… privates start at the mid-40s and go up (way up) from there. </p>

<p>Just my 2 cents!</p>

20

<p>Friend whose D is interested in same has been looking at NC State, Clemson, and two other schools I can’t recall (one in VT and one in MT).</p>