<p>So I got into these two schools...but I can't decide which one I want to attend. Does anyone have any stats or info on these two schools to help me decide? (more specifically-washu bme and uchicago biochem)</p>
<p>I'd personally go with U Chicago, unless you're pre-med (then WUStL would be better). The programs are about equal in quality (WUStL's BME is 14th, Chicago's biochem is ~15 or so), but WUStL's programs are largely geared toward pre-meds (like Duke or JHU). Chicago provides a liberal arts education and a very strong science program. Plus, with Chicago's biochem program, you can earn your bachelor and masters degrees in 4 years! :)</p>
<p>They're totally different cultures. I visited Wash U and hated it. It's definitely got a Big Ten feel to it. UC hands down has a better education in terms of how much you'll learn and how well you'll analyze things, but in terms of stats/name recognition for biochem, I dunno, because I know science isn't UC's strongest subject (they're more of a humanities/economics school). I think you should forget about Wash U and go to UChicago if for no other reason than how amazing the city of Chicago is. St. Louis has little more than a big arch. Chicago has resources, internships, free shows, and cheap amazing ethnic food. It's the best place to spend your college years.</p>
<p>I dont think WashU really compares to chicago (except as a preprofessional choice because chicago doesnt do that). Maybe their USNEWS rankings or whatever do, but everyone here can tell you why those are complete crap (for instance, WashU spent a fortune on advertising to get students to apply so that they could increase their selectivity and POOF their ratings shot up)</p>
<p>Warbler - what is the four year program?</p>
<p>Science not strong? What about physics? I applied there because of their outstanding reputation for physics!</p>
<p>Chicago is very strong in science, however, it is not typically considered an "applied" science or math school. If theory is your interest, Chicago is your place.</p>
<p>Chicago has a LOT of applied (in terms of research) science going on :)</p>
<p>The math is very theoretical but the science departments all offer whatever you want to get out of them</p>
<p>ohnoes- You can major in biochemistry or chemistry. In addition to getting a B.S. in these fields, a few students (usually with a lot of AP credit) can earn a M.S. in chemistry in four years. </p>
<p>See the [url=<a href="http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/programs/bchm.shtml%5Dbiochemistry%5B/url">http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/programs/bchm.shtml]biochemistry[/url</a>] or [url=<a href="http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/programs/chem.shtml%5Dchemistry%5B/url">http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/programs/chem.shtml]chemistry[/url</a>] pages for more information. </p>
<p>A couple departments do this at Chicago; (bio)chemistry, geography, linguistics, the romance languages, etc.</p>
<p>As someone generally aware of colleges but not affiliated with either of the two institutions in question, I would be far more impressed with somebody from UChicago than WashU.</p>
<p>St. Louis is also a pathetic, disgusting and frightening city. And I've heard that if social life is a concern, it's not much better at Wash. U.</p>
<p>But academically-speaking, Chicago is better hands-down. WUSTL may be ranked higher, but nobody who knows anything about colleges thinks that it's better. Also, you'll get a liberal arts education at Chicago that only Columbia can rival.</p>
<p>Amen to that. Long live the Western-civilization Core. I mean you can build it yourself at most any other school, as I'm doing, but it's not the same.</p>
<p>I consider a UChicago education to be just as good (if not better) than my own. WashU makes me laugh. Pompously.</p>
<p>Just to throw it in there. Maybe it will help others. But I must decide between Cornell and UChicago for physics. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>chicago.</p>
<p>they just discovered what makes liquid splash...how cool is that.</p>
<p>"St. Louis is also a pathetic, disgusting and frightening city."</p>
<p>--That is not entirely true. Certain parts of St. Louis are bad, but not all of it. There are nice places in St. Louis. However, St. Louis does not compare to cities such as Atlanta or Chicago.</p>
<p>It says something about a city when its population has been declining for (at least) the last ten years. It declined 12% from 1990-2000, putting it in the same company as Detroit and Cleveland as major cities to have actually declined in population. And I don't think either of those are particularly nice.
I also assure you that St. Louis' nightlife and culture (save its local music scene) is nowhere near that of Chicago.</p>
<p>I stand by my initial condemnation of St. Louis.</p>
<p>I cannot comment directly on Wash U, but we all know it is an excellent school. That said, in the sciences, one of Chicago's strengths is the opportunities for undergrad lab experience and research. Because the med school and hospital are right next door, there are plenty of lab jobs, plenty of labs to get volunteer bench experience, and even a few opportunities for first years to get paid for doing bench work. My D is doing that now.</p>
<p>One other neat thing is early opportunity to mix with grad students. For instance, she's taking a course this spring that is a seminar like course (reading and reviewing the assigned research literature - journal club) with both first years and grad students. A very interesting mix. A lotta schools advertise seminars for first years. Not many mix those seminars with grad students.</p>
<p>What kind of money/paid research? I got slightly more from Cornell in a scholarship dealing with this. Can Chicago compete financially and research wise with Cornell. (ie. Do they offer a lot of good jobs/research in my field of physics right off the bat?)</p>
<p><i cannot="" comment="" directly="" on="" wash="" u,="" but="" we="" all="" know="" it="" is="" an="" excellent="" school.="" that="" said,="" in="" the="" sciences,="" one="" of="" chicago's="" strengths="" opportunities="" for="" undergrad="" lab="" experience="" and="" research.=""></i></p><i cannot="" comment="" directly="" on="" wash="" u,="" but="" we="" all="" know="" it="" is="" an="" excellent="" school.="" that="" said,="" in="" the="" sciences,="" one="" of="" chicago's="" strengths="" opportunities="" for="" undergrad="" lab="" experience="" and="" research.="">
<p>My son came home from a scholar's weekend at WASHU excited about the access there as well.</p>
</i>
<p>jerew, </p>
<p>Some schools, as part of their undergrad recruiting, have formal programs of paid research experience for star undergrads, kind of a form of merit aid, I suspect. I don't think Chicago has this. </p>
<p>You can get an idea of what they do have by finding the College Research Opportunities Program (CROP) website. Keep in mind that the best spots probably never get listed.</p>