<p>Son had similar stats and passed on Harvard, Yale and Duke in favor of Rice (bioengineering) and is delighted with his choice. The difference was a great deal of personal attention, extensive undergraduate research opportunities, and a residential college system that drastrically reduces exclusionary practices on the social side. Pay no attention to the “ratings” of biology programs. Biology is entirely too broad for ratings to be a meaningful factor. The quality of undergraduate teaching and the undergraduate living environment are far more important. Look at the course offerings, the percentage and quality of tenured professors who actually teach more than one undergraduate class per year, how the undergraduates rate their own professors, the student-faculty ratio including only faculty who teach undergrads, and the learning opportunities, including undergraduate research, in the specific sectors of biology that interest your son. Spend some time reviewing the interests of the faculty members in the departments that are the most important. The departmental links on the Rice web page (and I assume most others’) offer extensive discussions of the specific areas of greatest interests of the faculty, particularly in the sciences.</p>