<p>im a senior in higschool and while im not totally positive on what i want to do as far as a career goes, i know that biology and biochem type things were always what ive found most interesting and done best at so im leaning toward a biology major. my problem is i dont really know what colleges have good biology programs that i would stand a chance of getting into </p>
<p>GPA: 3.7
ranked 72 of 350 (top 25%) at a pretty competitive school</p>
<p>ive taken the sat once so far and plan on taking it one more time hopefully bringing up my writing and verbal a little
SAT math: 750
SAT verbal: 680
SAT writing: 590</p>
<p>ive taken mostly all honors classes in school and took AP US history last year and got a 5 on the exam. This year I'm taking AP Calc and AP Bio and am doing fairly well in both so far.</p>
<p>The big problem is that ive got almost zero school related extra curriculars/ community service. While i have held some jobs for most of my highschool career i dont think thats going to be enough to for me to get into any really competitive schools.
Also, I'm from NY so SUNY schools are a possibilty and im looking at mostly schools in the northeast. Socially in a school id like to have a place with on campus housing and at least a moderate party scene.</p>
<p>I know I might not be as good a catch for a college as most of the people on this board but am i wrong in thinking my test scores and GPA should be able to get me into a fairly selective/respected school? Any help at all is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>A 1430 CR+M is nothing to sneeze at. Hopefully you can bring up the writing score. I think you can do better than any of the SUNYs. If SUNY is your destiny because of financial considerations, and with your interest in bio, you might be a good candidate for the NYS College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse U or the School of Agriculture at Cornell. Both have discounted tuition for NYS residents. These are both good biology programs and you do not have to become a forest ranger or farmer. They provide a great education in biology for anybody.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the focus of above two schools is a little off-center as far as bio is concerned. You'd have to deal with the association between those schools and certain careers. It would be better to attend a straight biology department if you can.</p>
<p>The lower Ivies might be good reaches for you: Cornell, Columbia, U Penn, Dartmouth, Brown. Also, the elite LACs like Swarthmore, Haverford, Williams, Amherst. Johns Hopkins is noted for biological sciences.</p>
<p>Schools that roughly match your profile (matches and safeties) and are good in biology include:
U Pittsburgh
U Rochester
Tufts
Case Western
Boston U
NYU
Penn State
Boston C
Bowdoin
Wesleyan
Villanova
Vassar
Middlebury
Bates
Lafayette
Holy Cross
Hamilton
Colgate
Gettysburg
Bucknell
Colby</p>
<p>If biochem is your main interest, then consider:
Brown, Bowdoin, Swarthmore, Cornell, Columbia, U Penn, U Rochester</p>
<p>To me "Party School" implies a lack of serious academics. Wisconsin students try to be the best at both. That's the difference. Of course some are better at it then others and a fair amount don't make it back for the second year but that's OK.</p>
<p>bump
any help appreciated running out of time!
im thinking of applying to cornell, bu, northeastern, wisconson madison, suny binghamton and suny stoneybroook
the problem is i think theres a huge gap going from the privates i plan on applying too which are all matches but definatly closer to the reach side and the sunys which (not knocking them or anything) i really dont want to go to and think id basically definatly be accepted</p>
<p>im expecting to be denied by cornell and maybe BU but i wouldnt be too surprised if northeastern and wisconson madison turned me down too cause they are getting pretty competitive from what i understand. I would love to find a school that falls somewhere between NE and SUNY lol help!</p>
<p>Northeastern is roughly as selective as the SUNYs. You might consider U of Rochester and Syracuse. They have good biology programs. In selectivity, they lie somewhere between Cornell and Northeastern.</p>