Hi. I am starting to research what colleges might interest me so that I can start to visit them, but it’s a bit difficult to tell which ones would be good for what I’m interested in. Maybe some of you can help!
My long-term goal is to get an MD/PhD and be either a medical geneticist or molecular pathologist. Or maybe even another specialty, I don’t know! At this point, all I know is that the areas of genetics and cellular/molecular biology interest me and I want to do research in those areas as well as teach and possibly see patients.
Sooo… back to my question. What universities would allow me to start getting involved in research as an undergrad, specifically in molecular bio, genetics, biochem, or biology? Which schools have good degrees in those areas? Thanks for any advice!
I’m a current freshman/rising sophomore, so I only technically have one semester of grades on my transcript, but I had a 4.0 last semester and will have one again this semester. I’m #1 in my class, but so is everyone else with a 4.0 at this point because my school doesn’t allow freshmen to take honors or APs. I was valedictorian of my middle school (I know that is irrelevant to colleges, but I’m just mentioning it to show what kind of student I am since I guess that would help people who are responding.) I’m really not sure what kind of area, size if school, etc I want to be in yet, that’s where I think visiting some schools would help. I’m mostly just wondering if there are certain univeristies with especially strong molecular biology programs or programs to help undergrads get involved in research.
I’m planning on taking the most challenging courses available and (obviously) getting the best grades I can during the rest of my high school career. I’m attending a UCSD summer program this summer and plan to do some sort of program or internship next summer as well. I scored an 1180 (out of 1400) on the PSAT 8/9. I’m not super happy with that score, but I think I could have scored a lot higher if I’d reviewed the math (most of it was material I haven’t covered since 7th grade), and I plan on studying over the summer for the PSAT next year. I’m also involved in MESA (an engineering club associated with the UCs), mock trial (our team ended up not being able to compete this year, though, because our only pretrial attorney quit at the last minute), academic decathlon, and ASB, and next year I’ll probably join HOSA (a medical club), golf, and maybe swim. I might also join a club called Link Crew (helps new freshman get aquainted with high school) and a club that tesches elementary school kids science my Junior and Senior years (which is when I would be allowed to join those clubs.)
After reading all the posters on this site, though, I’m a little worried that I’m not doing enough/taking hard enough classes/etc. My school doesn’t offer too many AP classes, and my counselor said I couldn’t self-study any AP classes, so I won’t be able to do many of those. I’d love to intern in someone’s lab or something, but I live in a rural/economically disadvantaged area so there aren’t many opportunities for that sort of thing. I also forgot to mention that I may end up being on a FIRST Robotics team that my school may form, in which case I might have to cut back on some of the other clubs.
Start with your state flagship, then spread out from there. Get an idea from your parents what your annual budget for four years might be. Consider pursuing schools that offer good merit based scholarships, because you will want to get through undergraduate school with as little debt as possible.
@purpleusa Rutgers University in New Brunswick NJ has an EXCELLENT molecular biology program where most U degrade do research. I’m involved in a high school program with them and I have to say, they are all professional and they have a large budget. They even have a building dedicated to it. Its called the Waksman Institute of Molecular Biology. Check it out on their website.
That being said, many state flag ships have pretty good molecular biology programs. Since there is a high population, I would recommend also applying for honors as thst will give you more attention.
You should note that depending on the size of the university, many schools will give preference to lab positions for the grad students. Make sure you look for schools where you can start doing research as a freshman. It generally takes 2-3 years to build up enough time in a lab to get published. If you are applying for MD/PhD they will want to see that you are interested in research.
There are many many many universities that have strong mol bio programs. Best of luck
For ideas you could read through this sampling of ~100 colleges that would be strong for biology:
http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/lists/list/colleges-to-consider-if-you-want-to-study-biology/117/
http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/lists/list/the-experts-choice-colleges-with-great-pre-med-programs/199/
Consider as well, however, that other potentially excellent schools will be omitted in these types of samplings.
Since it appears you’re in California, check out the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara. An elite honors program where undergrads can do grad-level work/research starting in their freshman year. They have a Chemistry/Biochemistry program.
My daughter is in a PhD program in a cellular biology field - she went to Northeastern University in Boston where she worked in science labs and did research at Harvard for 4 years.