<p>The number one connection with all of my schools (minus safety 2) is being in a city with great opportunity for biological-research, internships, and the bio/medical industries.</p>
<p>I'm looking at LMU right now, since I'd get no money from UCLA, and I'm not competitive for USC. I got the chance to visit it this summer, and it's ok, but I want to know if I could take advantage of the LA area for lots of research.</p>
<p>I haven't seen much regarding this. Obviously for the entertainment industry, it's top notch, but all the opportunities seem to be limited to USC and UCLA grad students >_<</p>
<p>You don’t even necessarily have to be in a city to get research opportunities. Having a medical school or major medical center nearby should provide more than enough opportunities for bio research.</p>
<p>Amgen, one of the top Biotech companies in the World, is headquartered in Thousand Oaks (less than 30 miles from downtown LA). I also think Baxter has a pretty sizeable facility in Thousand Oaks.</p>
<p>Yes, Southern California (including LA) joins Boston and Research Triangle as having the highest concentrations of biotech and pharmaceutical companies in the world. However, there is a point that I would like to make- working in a lab is easier when the lab is on the campus you attend classes at. Biomedical research requires a lot of ‘hands on’ time and if you want to make signficant progress on a project, you would find yourself needing to stop by almost every day, even if its just to start some cultures or pass cells. This would be much more difficult to do if you had to make a special trip during the middle of the day off site to do it. </p>
<p>You should check out ucla a bit more closely if you are deadset on LA. It is a great university and has some absolutely tip top labs (nearly every lab includes undergrads)</p>
<p>Seattle
San Francisco/Santa Clara area
San Diego
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
New York
Baltimore
North Carolina research tri cities
Boston/cambridge</p>
<p>These are pretty much where I’ve seen are the best cities for life science/chemistry majors. </p>
<p>But I guess I shouldn’t be talking specifically about internships during the school year. But rather during the summer, or if I decide to wait a bit before I go and get a masters/ph.D, and work in that industry with a B.S. for a bit, is that a viable option?</p>
<p>It is fairly well impossible to get a job as a tech in industry without lab experience during college. I knew a couple of biological science majors in my department who had never made time for a lab job in college and they suffered a tremendous amount of rejection when they applied for jobs after graduation. In contrast, I applied to a dozen biotech firms out of college and had my choice between three jobs.</p>
<p>You will also not be accepted into a graduate program without some significant research experience. During recruitment weekends at graduate schools, you need to communicate why your research interests and background would be a good fit for the department and whose lab you would want to work in. </p>
<p>You certainly could apply for summer research programs many biological science students do, but they also almost uniformly work in a lab during the school year (check out the application requirements for these programs, they require some type of lab experience). I don’t mean to dissuade or intimidate you. Working in a lab was easily the best part of college for me and the three undergrads who work in my current lab seem very happy with it. When I talk to other graduate students and postdocs, everybody looks back on their undergrad labs with fondness. It gives you a chance to apply your understanding of biology and test predictions about the nature of the world.</p>