USC or UIUC or BU or UCR

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Help me, guys. I hope I can make a wise choice.</p>

<p>I study bioinformatics in college, have some background in biology as well as computer science, but both not so strong.</p>

<p>I have got several offers, but it is hard to choose, and I am trying to make a wise choice as soon as possible.</p>

<p>here are the programs:</p>

<p>Molecular and Computational Biology(<a href="http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/biosci/mcb/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/biosci/mcb/&lt;/a&gt;) at USC
Biophysics and Computational Biology at the University of Illinois(UIUC)(<a href="http://www.life.uiuc.edu/biophysics/)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.life.uiuc.edu/biophysics/)&lt;/a>,
Bioinformatics at Boston University( <a href="http://www.bu.edu/bioinformatics/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bu.edu/bioinformatics/&lt;/a&gt;)
and GGB (<a href="http://www.genetics.ucr.edu/)at%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.genetics.ucr.edu/)at&lt;/a> UCR. </p>

<p>I think BU and UIUC have better and more faculties than USC, but USC is in a very good place, so I may find a job in industry easier after I graduate. But the stipend for me is the lowest in USC, although I don't think money is very important. As for boinformatics, USC has a better reputation than BU and UCR, because of one great person who is about to retire. UIUC's research is mainly in biophysics, which I have never learnt before.</p>

<p>So , please help me guys. If you were me, which university will you choose. You can say anything you want, and I will be very grateful!</p>

2

<p>One thing to consider is that most of the large biotech companies are located in southern california (all within driving distance of USC). For example, Amgen is in Thousand Oaks, CA (just outside of LA), and San Diego is a hot bed for biotech companies. Going to school in southern california would probably be helpful for landing a job at any of these companies.</p>

3

<p>East coast in general and Boston in particular have tons of biotech companies. Recruiting for these companies is usually national rather than regional. UIUC would probably be a notch better in terms of education you receive but it is in the middle of nowhere.</p>

<p>Prestige/quality of program: UIUC > BU=USC > UCR
Overall (considering quality of life aspects, etc.) BU>USC>UIUC>UCR</p>

4

<p>Thank you so much guys.</p>

<p>Basically I am thinking about BU and USC.</p>

<p>BU has more faculities coming from different apartments. like biology, biochemistry, bioengineer, chemistry and so on.</p>

<p>USC has much less faculities. Mostly assistant professors.</p>

<p>I think bioinformatics in BU is better than USC. But overall ,USC is much better than BU. My parents want me to go to USC. Because they know USC ranks 27, but BU ranks about 80.</p>

<p>If I want to go to industry, which one I shoule go?</p>

5

<p>The ranking you cited is undergrad ranking. For grad school, look at graduate ranking; if it's not available, consult with people in the knows. Boston is the #1 biotech center in the US but California has #2 and #3 in SF and SD. I don't know anything about BU; USC is not really known for bio or biotech either--in California, Cal/Stanford/UCSD are the best for bio-related fields. So if you can't get expert opinion, look through course offerrings and faculty research areas to see which one aligns with your interest the most. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>We can't forget proximity to irvine. I would pick USC, but i dont know much about this, preference is based on name and location (60 min from irvine, 90 min, maybe more, from san diego)</p>