<p>Looking to go premed with a major in bio or biochem</p>
<p>With regard to academics, which school is the best.</p>
<p>Brandeis has a great pre-med program and facilities</p>
<p>yea, i agree with milkmagan. Brandeis is excellent for pre-med and the classes are challenging. The facilities at Brandeis are really good.</p>
<p>Frankly, its hard to compare those three schools--they are very different. Brandeis is a small, private research university with strong programs throughout--but particularly strong in some sciences--including biology and biomedical research. It is considered a bit below the most elite research institutions, but not by much. It is comparable, e.g., to Tufts. Its location is also similar to Tufts--just 9 miles from the center of Boston. It has a very strong record in medical school placement. It has a large Jewish population (@50% but it is nonsectarian and is not a religious school) and a bit of a studious, intellectual aire. Sports are not important (Div 3-UAA includes powerhouses like U Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, etc).</p>
<p>Colgate is an excellent small college--a bit below the most elite colleges like Amhearst And Williams but, also, not by much. It is not, however, a research university like Brandeis--even though they are similar in size. Compared to Brandeis, Colgate is in the middle of nowhere--although some might prefer that (it is a question of taste). Do well at Colgate and you will get into medical school--but you won't get the kind of research experience that you could have at a place like Brandeis. Sports are somewhat important (Div 1aa--Patriot league) and it has somewhat of a white, preppy-type of feeling.</p>
<p>William & Mary is a middle size public university in the South, located in a small, touristy city. Pretty, but not an ideal college town because, once you've seen colonial Williamsburg--there's not a lot to do. Probably the second best school in Virginia (behind UVA--perhaps slightly ahead of Virginia Tech). Do well and you will also get into medical school--but the student body at W&M is very different that either Brandeis or Colgate. Most students are from Virginia. While not as "Southern" as, say, Washington & Lee, it nonetheless is a Southern school with everything that connotes--both good and bad. I'm not being judgmental--just stating a fact.</p>
<p>If you are interested in these three schools--you must visit them and see where you feel comfortable. I doubt that many students would be equally comfortable at all three.</p>
<p>Colgate is actually a great place to get actual hands on research experience. They place a lot of emphasis on undergraduate research across all fields, and with the new $50 million Ho Science Center that opened this year, it's going to get even better. Since there are only 3-5 graduate students per year (in the Masters of Arts in Teaching program), all the undergraduates get the spots graduate students typically take at bigger universities in assisting with research.You can get paid to stay over the summer and do your own or assist in professors research, and there's a semester study abroad to the National Institute of Health where you spend 30 hours per week in lab as part of your courses. A lot students go on to the NIH after graduation or straight to med school. Many seniors do independent research projects as part of their majors as well (it's required in some departments, but I'm not sure about bio/chem).</p>
<p>Colgate is superb and lydia08 is on the money with her statements.
Brandeis is similar to Colgate in terms of research (but it has a significant grad population), but much more like Tufts, generally speaking.</p>
<p>W/ regards to academics all three are excellent. Pre-med is pre-med, so instead of focusing on academics base you decision on where you think you'll be happiest the next 4 yrs. Then you'll thrive and garner a higher GPA to assure the med school acceptance. The three schools are so different so it shouldn't be difficult to choose-- which one fits your personality best?</p>
<p>I would agree that these schools are generally close enough academically to each other and so different in most other aspects that it would seem misconstrued to focus on any perceived academic differences in comparison to campus fit, culture, location, environment differences.</p>
<p>Brandeis is already very strong in the sciences (SO MANY people are pre-med), and the new $154-million-dollar science center is due to be completed at the end of 2008.</p>
<p>W&M reports approx 80% acceptance rate to med schools. (UVirginia approx 50-60%). Has higher SAT scores and lower admit rate than UVirginia.Very similar to Colgate in terms of focus on undergrad students. Do you like to ski or go to the beach? Both are very good schools.</p>
<p>Based on your intended area of study, Colgate & Brandeis are the top two to consider. A visit to each campus should quickly resolve your dilemma.</p>
<p>Acceptance rates can be deceiving: A college that more carefully "weed out" their pre-med students should have a higher acceptance rate!</p>
<p>i am also between brandeis and colgate. both gave me similar finaid packages; now its just a matter of visiting them and choosing the one i like best. i too am going to go premed at either of these two institutions.</p>