If I’m not mistaken, Haverford is within relatively comfortable walking distance of Bryn Mawr, and it’s supposedly quite a pretty journey. I’m not sure if the same can be said of Smith’s relationship to any of the 5 colleges. (yes, that is reeeaaallly nitpicking…)
I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but these are the full consortia for the respective schools:
Five Colleges:
Amherst
Smith
Mount Holyoke
Hampshire
UMass
Quaker Consortium:
Penn
Swarthmore
Haverford
BMC
As you can see, both will offer considerable academic depth, breadth and quality. You’ll want to read up on the specifics – for instance, I have read that it’s more practical/easier for a BMC student to take classes at Haverford than it is to do so at Penn or Swat. Certainly in terms of distance/logistics, that makes sense. But you at least would have the ability to take classes at all of the schools at either consortium, which is pretty cool.
As others have said, both will be fine at Bio. If you have a specific area in mind, you could look at course catalogs to see which school caters more to it though, again, I imagine the other schools in these consortia would supplement any areas of relative weakness.
Note the curricular differences between BMC and Smith and the grad requirements.
Obviously, note the differences in environment, social mores/vibe, and run NPC for cost difference. If both seem pretty even on cost and academics, use those other fit variables to make the decision.