<p>First of all, you should really base how you think about schools from the standpoint of reaches, semi-reaches, good fits, likelies, and safeties. I would group the schools you've mentioned in the following way (I got your stats from a "What are My Chances Thread?" you posted). Ideally, you want to have a range of reaches, semi-reaches/good fits, and likelies/safeties on your list. </p>
<p>Reaches
Columbia University
Duke University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Pennsylvania
Washington University - St. Louis</p>
<p>I would recommend you drop one to three of these schools, unless they all happen to be your top picks for where you'd like to go. I would personally say drop Washington University - St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania. WashU I don't really think of as a pre-med school (I know several people who go there, and they're all business majors). That being said, it is quite solid for engineering. Penn, on the other hand, doesn't have the most impressive of engineering programs, while it's pre-med is certainly strong. It's a tough decision, but seeing as Columbia, Duke and Johns Hopkins are strong in both engineering and biology/pre-med, while Penn and WashU are less strong in half of what you're looking for, drop those two.</p>
<p>Semi-Reaches
Carnegie Mellon University
Cornell University
Emory University
Tufts University
University of Notre Dame</p>
<p>If you drop only one reach, I would say that you should drop at least two of these (if you drop a couple of reaches; however, you could think more about dropping just one). Here, although I know you say "solely on the basis of the biology department," I really think you should consider the environment of the school you'd like to attend. There's a HUGE variation on this portion of your list: Carnegie Mellon is obviously very tech-centered (but with an interesting theatre component to it) & urban, Cornell is huge & rural, Emory & Tufts are both small universities with more of a Liberal Arts flavor (although the liberal arts thing might not come through so much in the engineering programs), and University of Notre Dame is Roman Catholic (no co-ed housing, stricter campus rules with drinking and whatnot). If I were you, I'd keep Carnegie Mellon for sure and then pick two more. If you want bigger schools go with Notre Dame and Cornell, if you want smaller & more Liberal Art-like schools choose Tufts and Emory, or if you want the opportunity to shoot for both, pick one out of each of those two groups (Notre Dame/Cornell and Tufts/Emory). </p>
<p>Good Fits
Boston College
New York University
University of Michigan (OOS)
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (OOS)
University of Virginia (OOS)</p>
<p>As this list stands right now you have two trends going on: city schools that don't have engineering programs (BC & NYU) and huge, top state universities (UMich, UNC-CH, UVA). First off, I would say drop New York University. Not only does NYU lack an engineering program, but its also regarded more for the performing/visual arts, business, and journalism than for biology. Boston College is a tougher one to decide... it might not have engineering, but it does have a strong pre-med program. If you don't care about whether or not you're pursue an engineering major, keep it; however, if BME is your top choice of major, I would recommend scratching BC from your list. That leaves the state schools. Keep both UMich and UVA: they're strong for both of the characteristics you're looking for (pre-med and engineering). I would personally scratch UNC-CH: it lacks a engineering program as well as majors in biochemistry and biophysics.</p>
<p>Likelies
Lehigh University</p>
<p>Keep it. You should have at least one school on your list that isn't a total safety, but you'll probably get into, and Lehigh's engineering/pre-med programs are both respectable.</p>
<p>Safeties
Penn State University
Rutgers University</p>
<p>Choose one of these two. If you live in NJ, keep Rutgers, and if you live in PA, keep Penn State. If neither of these fit your case, I would pick Penn State, but that's a pretty arbitrary decision.</p>
<p>So, to summarize, if you take my advice (which is entirely up to you), this is what you'll be left with...
[ul]
[<em>]Columbia University... REACH.
[</em>]Duke University... REACH.
[<em>]Johns Hopkins University... REACH.
[</em>]Carnegie Mellon University... SEMI-REACH.
[<em>]Two of the following Four: Tufts University, Emory University, Cornell University, University of Notre Dame... SEMI-REACHES.
[</em>]Boston College... GOOD FIT.
[<em>]University of Michigan - Ann Arbor... GOOD FIT.
[</em>]University of Virginia... GOOD FIT.
[<em>]Lehigh University... LIKELY.
[</em>]Rutgers University or Penn State University... SAFETY.[/ul]</p>