Good undergraduate colleges for Biology (B Student)?

<p>High school senior here. Question is short and sweet. What are good colleges for biological sciences? I want to specialize in microbiology specifically and at the moment I'm taking Biology AP in high school (currently have an 80 so far for the semester but I'm trying to bring it up to a high B/A) to get a head start. I'd just like to know if anyone would like to recommend/suggest a college that fares well in the biology department and is suitable for a B student like me. No small, liberal arts private schools please. I don't have that type of money to pay for a private school! :/</p>

<p>So far on my list is Temple University. It's fairly close to me so that's a plus and from what I've seen they have a decent Biology program. Not sure about other schools though. Would anyone remotely even recommend Rutgers? I'm in-state (New Jersey) and it might just be relatively real easy for me to get into there. Other than that, any other schools guys?</p>

<p>Rutgers is an excellent school for bio majors. You should also consider Rowan, a state school close to you with a medical school research facility. Temple is fine but it might cost more because you are OOS. In addition, TCNJ is also very good, more selective though.</p>

<p>What is your GPA and SAT/ACT?</p>

<p>Not the best GPA, it’s a 3.1 (so B). My current SAT is a 1540 (from the June one last year) but I’ve retaken the last one on Saturday (Nov 8) and I feel like I did much better than a 1540. I feel like I have a good chance though because I’ve went from academic classes in freshman to all honors/AP in Junior/Senior year (kind of slacked off sophomore year but I’ve made up for it Junior year, hence the low GPA) and I’m doing pretty alright in all of them thus far (B’s, C’s), so that’s an improvement aspect that hopefully the college will factor into significantly. Plus I do plenty of extracurricular’s.</p>

<p>I’ve looked into Rowan and they definitely seem to be doing much better than before. Yet, some people in my school think it’s a “stupid school”, which I find kind of stupid. How bad is their rep? I’ve got friends who really want to go there and some that are applying there as a safety.</p>

<p>Not sure about UG Rowan, but they have a good med school. What is your goal in Bio Science? If it is Med School, Rutgers and TCNJ(a reach for you) are excellent feeder schools to med schools.</p>

<p>You haven’t told us what you can afford yet, but here are some schools in Jersey that you have a good chance at gaining admission with a 1540: Centenary, Fairleigh Dickinson Metro, St. Peter’s, C of St. Elizabeth, FDU Florham, and Montclair State. Match schools would be Rider, Rutgers Camden and Newark. Tougher would be Seton Hall, Drew, Monmouth, Stockton, NJIT, Rowan, Ramapo. I’d say Rutgers NB is out of reach, but you could try.</p>

<p>Your cost of attendance is going to be determined by how much money your family makes, and it can be fairly closely approximated by using the Net Price Calculator on the Financial Aid page of any university in which you’re interested. You plug in some financial info from your parents and it produces an EFC, the expected financial contribution the college will want from your parents and you each year. </p>

<p>I know a couple people who’ve gotten into Rutgers with lower SAT scores than mines and similar GPA/extracurricular’s which is why I’m taking a crack, along with EOF (my sisters helping me get into it. she recently just got her masters from Rutgers but I’m pretty sure that means nothing in the actual admissions process).</p>

<p>When it comes to affording, anything within the 21k-27k region. Gonna be applying for a lot of scholarships and doing a lot of scholarships essays over thanksgiving break along with financial aid so hopefully I can get into college without paying much. For now the biggest concern for me is just getting in and weeding out some schools to consider.</p>

<p>@artloversplus - As said in the OP, I want to specialize in microbiology. That could change but as it stands it’s microbiology.</p>

<p>Outside scholarships are usually one-time deals good for one year. Do not count on them. </p>

<p>Run the net price calculators, OP. Your grades are not going to earn you merit, so you’re going to have to look at need-based aid and low-price schools. The npcs will tell you how much your parents will be expected to pay at each school. You’ll need your parents’ financial information to do this, so get them involved now.</p>