<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I am very interested in research, particularly Microbiology/Immunology/Bacteriology. I know this is the path I plan to take, and then earn a PhD in the relative field and/or be part of an MD/PhD program. I know this is the field I am interested in as I have already conducted several research projects at university institutions in Microbiology/Immunology. However, I have had a lot of difficulty with selecting a list of undergrad schools that would best fit this specific interest. The small environment and low faculty:student ratio of LACs is very appealing, but the diversity in research at a large university is also appealing.</p>
<p>I just have a few very important questions: What is considered a 'better' school for research in specific fields of biology? Are there any LACs/small schools that you can name which have this diversity? Will graduate/medical schools think you are more qualified if you come from a larger university with better known professors? </p>
<p>What would you recommend given my interest in this specific field of biology? </p>
<p>Schools I am looking at (note these are mostly my reach schools and also some match schools): Carleton College, Davidson College, Johns Hopkins University, UCLA, UChicago, URochester, St. Olaf College, Whitman College, Bucknell University, Bowdoin College, Northwestern Univerisity, Rice University, Stanford University, Williams College, Brown University, Duke University</p>
<p>Thank you very much and I greatly appreciate your time and help!</p>
<p>Grinnell is a small LAC (1600 students) with a huge endowment that allows it to provide research opportunities and facilities to students similar to much larger universities. I don’t know if Grinnell has much in the way of Microbiology/Immunology/Bacteriology, but you should look into it.</p>
<p>“Will graduate/medical schools think you are more qualified if you come from a larger university with better known professors?”</p>
<p>Medical schools care about your gpa, your MCAT, your letters of rec (what they say about you, not who sent them - especially true if you get a committee letter), your essays and your personal experiences (and at state schools, whether you are a resident of that state or not). The name of the school isn’t even one of the top 5 factors that go into deciding whether to admit you.</p>
<p>And at a LAC you are more likely to have closer personal relationships with more of the faculty than at a large research institution. You tend to take more than one class from the same person in your major, and because classes are small and there are no grad students, the prof gets to know you pretty well. When you do research, you are working directly with the prof too. It makes it much easier to ask for and get letters of recommendation that are specific and meaningful - even if the prof’s name isn’t well known. </p>
<p>Of course, if you have very specific research or academic interests, then you are right that it will be harder to find a fit at a LAC. The variety of research is going to be narrower, just because there are fewer faculty in any given dept.</p>