UNC Chapel Hill vs Baylor for Biology

College Search & Selection
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Hey everyone! I am tying to decide between UNC and Baylor. Any advice would be appreciated!
Intended Major: Biology at UNC and University Scholars concentrating in Biology at Baylor. Both Pre-Med. Maybe a minor in business.

University of North Carolina- Biology major

Pros: closer to home (I am in state), cheaper, name/prestige, UNC Med school opportunities, mostly a STEM school, great school spirit, beautiful campus, about 30 credits will transfer because of dual enrollment and AP, top 5 public school in US.

Cons: no Honors College (but can apply later on), close to home so students from my school will go there, since I am in Pre-Med lots of competition.

Baylor University- University Scholars major concentrating in Biology

Pros: Honors college major (University Scholars) that would help my med school apps, Honors Program, great school spirit, beautiful campus, name/prestige, might be easier than UNC?, connection to Baylor College of Medicine.

Cons: Far from home, more expensive (maybe 5-10k more), Christian environment (even though I don’t mind it i’m a Hindu and would have to take Chapel, etc.), not as many credits will transfer (maybe 10-15), lower rank than UNC.

Both are great schools and I think I would be happy at both! Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance!

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I’d go UNC, it’s a great school even without the honors college and a large school so you’ll meet plenty of people who aren’t from your high school. The pre-med competition is a concern, but the school as a whole is much better and if you decide not to go to med school(like most premeds) UNC will open more doors.

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I concur with@abby423–go to Carolina. Other comments:

(1) There will be lots of competition for pre-Med at either school.

(2) Don’t worry too much about running into kids from your home town, you can lose yourself at UNC if you wish.

(3) Don’t worry about not being in the UNC Honors College; while there are some networking advantages as a member of the Honors College, in reality most of UNC can be considered one big honors college. So don’t be overly concerned about any lack of prestige for not being in UNC’s Honors College.

(4) I wouldn’t consider UNC as a “mostly a STEM school.” There are really strong science departments there, but Carolina is excellent in the humanities also.

(5) Excellent grades, strong recommendations, and possibly undergraduate research is what will help get you into medical school, not whether you are in an honors program.

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