Caltech vs WashU vs Swarthmore vs Cornell (CALS) for Biology

[David_D]

I originally posted here: Cornell vs Caltech for Bio/Premed

But I wanted to create a new thread to add a few updates to my situation.

I plan to major in Biology/Biological sciences

Caltech is now 25k/yr ( a little more expensive than we hoped for, but much cheaper than Cornell which is currently 32k/yr). I also originally considered Swarthmore, WashU and USC as well, but all were over 40k/yr and both were unwilling to lower their price. I emailed repeatedly, but was told that “this is the best that both schools financial aid offices could do”. I got rejected from all my other schools or the financial aid was even more expensive, and all of the offices just ghosted me and did not reply to me.

This has narrowed my choices down to solely Cornell (CALS) and Caltech

Also after visiting Caltech, I really like the school. I had never visited Caltech before hand, but now I realized that weather (although not the biggest factor when selecting schools) is important. The weather there was immaculate, clear skies and not too hot- really nice area as well. However, I know that the whole point of the visit is for them to basically advertise the school.
One thing that I liked about Caltech was how collaborative it was. However, at both schools it seems that students just work and form cliques centered around nationality or geographic origin- making hard for students from other more diverse backgrounds to find people to work with.

I am mainly just scared that Cornell will just be a repeat of my high school, overcompetitive, class sizes too big for introductory classes (my high school graduating class is over 1000), and just too tense of an atmosphere. But on the other hand, Cornell will probably be easier.

But Cornell does allow students to take harder classes, like organic chemistry at Queens College in New York or University of Albany for credit. I have heard that Caltech also has something similar with taking classes at Occidental, but I am not sure to the extent of that program.

At Cornell (CALS), I am leaning towards doing Nutritional Science with a minor in Global Health, but others majors I am considering are Biology and Society and Global Public Health Sciences. I could also major in Environmental Science (my second listed major when I applied) and then take premed requirements.

At Caltech, Bioengineering is too hard + has too many CS requirements. I was really interested in their geology GPS department so I was thinking of majoring in Geobiology and then taking premed requirements, but other majors I am considering are Biology, and Environmental Science + premed requirements.

I am interested in studying Biology in undergrad and then going on to pursue an MD degree later- but idk if it Is better to keep the Ivy name of Cornell, or the abundant research opportunities of Caltech going forward into my lifelong professional career.

[Momofthree24]

Given the breadth of your interests and your dislike for too many CS courses, I’d say Cornell. As long as you can handle the weather.

Both great choices though! Congrats!

[coolguy40]

It depends. How much debt do you plan to take out? If it’s more than $27,000, you shouldn’t go there. Medical school is extremely expensive, and high undergraduate debt can severely limit future options. Also, when choosing a school, take out the “Premed” from the list of criteria. Only a small handful of “Premeds” coming out of high school actually go to medical school. Students find that they have other passions. Go to a school that has plenty of options available just in case you decide against medicine. Chances are, you will. You can’t go wrong going to your in-state school. It doesn’t seem to be on the list, though. It really should be