<p>Is University of Iowa considered a good school? According to its Wikipedia, it is considered a "public ivy" in the midwest. I am considering to make my major in Biology, but I'm not sure if Iowa would be the best place. I have also considered going to Penn State and University of Washington. I know these schools are better in terms of Biology, but how bad or good is University of Iowa in this area? Additionally, I am planning to only go to University of Iowa for an undergradute degree perhaps.</p>
<p>Are you just making your college list now, or have you been accepted and need to decide which one to attend this fall?</p>
<p>Would any of these be in-state for you, and if so which one?</p>
<p>How are you determining which one is better for Biology, and which sub-specialties of Biology are interesting for you?</p>
<p>I’m just planning the list now. University of Iowa would be in-state, and I determined which ones are better at Biology based on the list of best Biology schools that is provided by USNews Today: [Best</a> Biological Science Programs | Top Science Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/biological-sciences-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/biological-sciences-rankings)</p>
<p>Molecular Biology to be specific.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone seriously considers Iowa to be a “Public Ivy” in terms of its overall quality, at least not in comparison to other schools about which there is general agreement to consider them as “Public Ivys”, e.g., Michigan, Berkeley. There also are other Big 10 universities that are not considered “Public Ivys” that would rank ahead it in overall quality, e.g., Ohio State. Among universities, it probably ranks somewhere around #75. You can get a solid preparation for graduate school in biology at Iowa, however. Considerable research is conducted at Iowa and a good student would have little difficulty finding undergrad research opportunities. In biology, its strongest areas probably are neurobiology and genetics, and possibly, biochemistry and microbiology (the undergrad micro program is in the med school). Of the other schools you mentioned for biology, Washington is better, Penn State not so much.</p>
<p>Iowa is a better than average state flagship but it is not an elite institution. If you like Iowa, I do not see much value in paying full OOS tuition at Penn State or Washington. I would think Iowa is comparable to Ohio State.</p>
<p>Your in-state public options in the biological sciences would be ISU or UofI depending on your specific long-term goals. Sit down with the course catalogues, and read through what each of those universities offers. Remember that at ISU many of the most interesting biology courses will be hidden inside some of the departments in the Ag. school, so search using key words like “genetics” and “molecular”, not just “biology”.</p>
<p>It also is perfectly OK for you to ask these departments about internship, career, and grad school placement . How easy is it for the students to find school year and summer internships on campus and off?</p>
<p>There is no reason for you to pay OOS tuition and fees for the universities on your list. If you do well in an undergrad program at ISU or UofI you can pursue your graduate studies elsewhere.</p>
<p>On CC, posters often ask if one school is better than another as if there is a single, unified experience that everyone has at each school. Obviously, your experience and your educational opportunities at any campus will vary according to the choices you make. Each year, Yahoo has a ranking of the “Happiest Countries in the World” - Denmark is always #1 and the U.S. is around #10. So if you move to Denmark, will you be happier? It all depends - there are unhappy people there too; perhaps their proportion is just marginally smaller than here.</p>
<p>You can have an experience comparable to Michigan, Penn State or Washington at Iowa - there’s no doubt about that. An experience at an Ivy or its equivalent or a selective LAC will be a different experience than at Iowa, but given that your choices are all large public flagship universities, those differences may not appeal to you.</p>
<p>What about job employment? I’m sure I could probably get a very similar experience at Iowa when compared to other universities such as Washington and Penn State, but whould it be better for me in the long term if I obtained a degree from one of the other schools? Plus, how different is Michigan perhaps? Would Michigan or UNC-CH help me any better in getting a job after my entire education?</p>
<p>EDIT: One more question. Would it be better to just go to University of Iowa’s honor program instead? How much of a difference would that make in terms of overall education, job posibilities, and my chancers of getting into a stronger graduate school?</p>