<p>I applied as Biology/Biological Sciences major to most of the UCs and I was just curious as to other people’s opinion in terms of how they compare to each other specifically in terms of Biology/Life Sciences. So among these UCs: UCLA, UCD, UCSD, UCI, UCSB, UCSC rank them 1-6 and if you can please give a short explanation as to your reasoning or specify which branch/branches of Biology (i.e. Molecular Bio, Developmental Bio, Cell Bio, etc) they’re particularly good for. I’m looking forward to everyone’s input, thanks.</p>
<p>For the branches of Bio you’ve mentioned, you’ll need to go to grad school for a well paying job. After grad school, your undergrad will matter little, your grad school will open the doors for your first few jobs, and your performance and publications from your previous jobs will determine the rest of your career. That said, in no specific order:</p>
<p>The Gourman Report reports that UC San Diego has the best Biology undergrad program of the schools you listed, but that report is over ten years old and doesn’t reveal methodology. Still, UCSD does have a strong engineering department, so I’d guess that bioengineering is best here and biology is quite strong. </p>
<p>UCLA has extremely strong research in most fields of Biology, so it is highly possible to find a cutting edge internship here. I think its strength as a school is quite obvious, and its undergraduate life is great if you can handle the academics. Competition’s stiff, though, make sure you’re up for that.</p>
<p>UCD is best in agriculture and plant sciences, obviously. However, other fields of Biology are strong as well and sciences are definitely well-valued there. If you are interested in medical school, I hear UCD’s med school is pretty involved with the undergrad school.</p>
<p>UCSC’s bioinformatics program is likely excellent due to the Human Genome Project and the facilities left over. I believe they also offer a 5 year B.S./M.S. program in bioinformatics. The chemistry and physics programs are great there, which is important depending on your intended focus.</p>
<p>I’m least familiar with UCSB and UCI. UCI has a med school, but I’m not too sure how much interaction there is with undergrad programs. I believe UCI has the most thorough/rigorous lower division program, requiring six quarters of biology. If you are interested in pharmacology, both UCSB and UCI offer the major.</p>