<p>Also Loyola New Orleans is a gem. Across the street from Tulane in uptown N’awlins. Gorgeous campus. Jesuit. Big time into social justice. Fabulous faculty.</p>
<p>Many southern schools are rather preppy. So if that is not you then you might want to be careful about that. They are strong academically, but can be cloying and cliquey socially. Fraternities and Sororities etc. Not naming names…but its not hard to figure which ones they are. </p>
<p>Also determine your financial needs…do you need merit money? grant money? What are your stats and gpa? Some lower tier schools might throw money at you…but the challenge is that most their students will be average to above average, but not a ton of kids 1400 north on the SAT. Do you want to be a big fish in a small pond? </p>
<p>Conversely if you go to a place which is uber selective (Duke, Davidson etc.) you might end up in the middle of the pack or worse and struggling. There is no one right answer. It varies from student to student depending on personality, financial needs and their objectives. </p>
<p>Visiting campus is very helpful…but MOST helpful when students are there. Less so in summer when its just the tour groups.</p>
<p>The only schools I would keep on your list:</p>
<ul>
<li>Furman University</li>
<li>Catawba College</li>
<li>Davidson College</li>
<li>Guilford College</li>
<li>Elon University</li>
<li>Wake Forest University</li>
</ul>
<p>Also take a look at New College of Florida, College of Charleston, UNC-Asheville</p>
<p>Could anyone comment on the different campuses of UNC? Academically, are they on an equal footing? If you wanted to major in micro or molecular biology, is one better than the others?</p>
<p>RE: “Could anyone comment on the different campuses of UNC? Academically, are they on an equal footing?”</p>
<p>Are you speaking of the UNC system as a whole? If so, then they are not at all on equal footing nor viewed equally by those outside of the system. UNC-Chapel Hill is considered the best. UNC-Pembroke is one of the weaker ones (though not a bad school, just weaker in relationship to the others). There are others in between including UNC Asheville, UNC Wilmington and UNC Charlotte, both of which are ‘good’.</p>
<p>The UNC system has a place for everyone. You have to take some time to really research as not only are they difference academically, but different in terms of the feel of the campus of each and locale (beach towns, to mountains to city life to college towns). That diversity is what makes being an NC resident a great thing come time for college.</p>
<p>T</p>
<p>I can’t speak to all the North Carolina state colleges but I do know that unlike the other campuses, Asheville is a traditional liberal arts college. It takes the teaching of undergraduates very seriously and has a very specific 4 year interdisciplinary curriculum. There are only a handfull of graduate students on campus so all teaching is done by faculty.</p>
<p>
UNC Chapel Hill and NC State are a distinct cut above the other UNC schools and are the primary universities worth consideration for biology. UNC Asheville is an anomaly in the UNC system, like NC School of the Arts, and is excellent for the liberal arts. I would be hesitant to recommend it to someone interested in microbio/molecular bio, however.</p>
<p>ECU has developed a good reputation for biomedical science and may be worth a look.</p>