What colleges should I be looking at?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So here's the breakdown:
I want to study biology undergrad and then zoology/large canine grad. I'm really into science, so I want to do lots of research and maybe study abroad a semester or two in south africa or another country. </p>

<p>I need some new college ideas! I've tried researching, but I keep finding the same ones over and over again. I know I must be forgetting some good ones along the way. So suggest some new ones for me please! I am totally open to foreign universities as well.</p>

<p>Ones I'm thinking of already:
Harvey Mudd
Mcgill
UC Berkeley</p>

<p>My stats:
High school: Small Private, super competitive high school. All classes are honors level.
Rank: School does not disclose rankings. period.
GPA: 3.4, goes up by .02 every year...
ACT: Composite 35</p>

<p>ECS:
Freshman:
High School paper reporter (class and E.C.)
J.V. soccer</p>

<p>Soph:
Paper Editor, Film columnist (won 3rd place from IWPA on review, and honorable mention for same review in another contest)
J.V. soccer
Science Team Envirothon participant (team got 3rd place regionally)
Tea Club
Field Museums's I Dig Brazil Program</p>

<p>Junior year:
Paper Editor, Film Columnist, Review Page editor
J.V. Soccer
Science Team Envirothon Co-captain, Sci-Oly j.v. participant (we got 5th)
Linnaeun Society (science club)
Tea Club
Research assistant in Uchicago's Paleontology Building</p>

<p>Senior Year: (planned)
Paper Editor in Chief, Film Columnist
J.V. Soccer
Science Team Envirothon co-captain, Sci-oly Varsity
Tea Club
Uchicago Research Assistant in Paleontology building </p>

<p>Volunteer:
At least 200 hours at Local Animal Shelter</p>

<p>Classes:
Freshman-Bio, English, Gym, Spanish 2, Beg. Journalism, Intro to Comp sci, Band, Geometry</p>

<p>Soph-Chem, English, Gym, Spanish 3, Adv.Journalism, Advanced Algebra, Early World History</p>

<p>Junior-AT (harder than AP) Physics B, Gym, Adv.Journo, AP Art History, Modern World History, Intensive French, Trigonometry-Statistics and Discrete Math Topics, English Electives, </p>

<p>Senior(planned)- AP Calc AB, French 3 Advanced, Adv.Journo, Us History, AP Stats, English Electives, AP Biology, also a UChicago Class: Intro to Paleontology</p>

<p>:) Thanks! Oh, and it would be really awesome if you say whether or not you'd think it would be a reach/safety/etc!</p>

2

<p>You sound like a labbie - if you are, you should speak with the GCs, they are a pretty cool group of people who know the system inside and out.</p>

<p>Also, check out the usual LAC’s on the east coast and Macalester/Oberlin/Carlton/Pomona/Reed/Claremont-McKenna/Pepperdine/Grinnell/St. Olaf/Scripps/Occidental/Kalamazoo/Vassar/Pitzer.</p>

<p>If you are a labbie, the adcoms at these schools all know about UHigh and you will definitely get a fair chance at them all.</p>

3

<p>I am indeed a labbie! I know the GCs are wonderful, I just wanted to get a glimpse at additional ideas. :)</p>

4

<p>lol…I did three years with Wayne Brasler. Your journalism experience should help a bit with colleges since it’s so highly rated.</p>

<p>Davidson and Bard are also good choices. Both schools are helmed by UChicago grads, too.</p>

5

<p>Most of the top universities and LACs in the US have strong bio depts - although only large universities will offer classes in zoology. </p>

<p>Also, with a 3.4, even from a very competitive school, your options are significantly limited, even with a 35 composite ACT. Berkeley and Harvey Mudd are high reaches - highly unlikely even. It’s also strange to see them on the same list. Harvey Mudd is a small liberal arts college (and a tech school at that!), whereas Berkeley is the classic huge public university. They have absolutely nothing in common (except good bio?)</p>

<p>What exactly are you looking for in your educational experience beyond strong bio and a future graduate degree in zoology?</p>

<p>1) what can you afford?
2) what kind of school is the best fit for you? (LAC, tech, large public, medium private)
3) geographic constraints (urban/suburban/small college town, part of the country, distance from home, weather)
4) culture: artsy, granola, rah-rah, intellectual, quirky, preppy, techie, etc…
5) deal-breakers: single sex? religious? </p>

<p>For us to help you, you need to know at least a little bit about what kind of educational experience you want for the next four years.</p>

6

<p>^ Ditto most of that.</p>

<p>As for where your GPA gets you … I would think a 3.4 (maybe even from the University of Chicago Lab School) would just about shut you out of Ivies, top ~10 LACs, and most other top 11 to top 20 USNWR national LAC or national university lists. But maybe not (if you have a consistent upward trend and other good things going for you.)</p>

<p>Do check out Cornell (for strength in zoology, and because it’s generally the least selective of the Ivies … though it would still be a reach.)</p>

<p>

Some LACs do offer courses in zoology.</p>

<p>Examples
Bates College: BIO114 “Extreme Physiology”, BIO 112 “Marine Invertebrates”, AN/BI 248 “The Primates”, BIO 337 “Animal Physiology” ([Course</a> Offerings | Biology | Bates College](<a href=“Course Offerings | Biology | Bates College”>Course Offerings | Biology | Bates College))</p>

<p>Colorado College: Biology 106 “Biology of Animals”, 332 “Animal Behavior”, 366 “Comparative Animal Physiology”, 367 “Animal Ecology”, 410 “Ornithology”, 412 Entomology, 421 Conservation Biology ([The</a> Block Plan / Biology](<a href=“http://www.coloradocollege.edu/academics/dept/biology/prospective-students/the-block-plan.dot]The”>http://www.coloradocollege.edu/academics/dept/biology/prospective-students/the-block-plan.dot))</p>

<p>Macalester College: BIOL 342 “Animal Behavior/Ecology”, BIOL 361 “Animal Diversity”, BIOL 363 “Ornithology”, BIOL 365 “Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy” ([Course</a> Descriptions - Biology - Macalester College](<a href=“http://www.macalester.edu/academics/biology/courses/]Course”>Course Descriptions - Biology - Macalester College))</p>

<p>These 3 LACs are just outside the USNWR top 20. You may be overlooking these and similar peer schools (such as Oberlin or Kenyon), which should be realistic match or low reach schools for you.</p>

7

<p>Case Western, Rose Hulman, Reed</p>

8

<p>1) what can you afford?
Not much. I really need good financial aid.<br>
2) what kind of school is the best fit for you? (LAC, tech, large public, medium private)
I really want a small college… Preferably private.
3) geographic constraints (urban/suburban/small college town, part of the country, distance from home, weather)
Any place is fine so long as it’s not in Illinois/Indiana.
4) culture: artsy, granola, rah-rah, intellectual, quirky, preppy, techie, etc…
Granola ahaha? What is that? Anyways, I guess intellectual/nerdy.
5) deal-breakers: single sex? religious?
It has to have some nature. I don’t care if it’s a city with trees, or even has a zoo nearby, but there has to be some kind of animal/nature/gardens/etc.</p>

9

<p>Check out Carleton, Grinnell, Colorado College, and Kenyon.
If you’re not ruling out larger schools, then also consider Cornell. Have a look at Wisconsin and UC Boulder, too, although they might wind up being more expensive than selective private schools for an OOS student with need.</p>

<p>I’m assuming you’d be majoring in biology, as most of these schools have zoology courses but not a major called “Zoology”.</p>

10

<p>With a 3.4, Carleton, Grinnell, and Harvey Mudd are high reaches. Take a look at the Common Data Set for each school (section C) to check out how you compare to admitted students. Take a look at some of the schools in the 20-60 range on the USNWR rankings for matches and safeties.</p>

11

<p>My D goes to a similarly rigorous, grade-deflated Illinois high school, and kids with GPAs in the mid-3s get into very prestigious colleges like Carleton, Grinnell, and Harvey Mudd regularly. Adcoms at those schools know the rigor with which courses at those schools are taught and know from experience that A-/B+ students coming from them are very well-prepared for college.</p>

<p>However … the kicker here is financial aid. If the OP’s parents’ financial situation will qualify for them for a lot of need-based aid, then these schools are certainly in the “low reach” category, and the OP should apply if they otherwise find the schools to be good fits. However, if it is unlikely that there will be need-based aid, the OP needs to focus on lower-prestige schools where his or her stats would be considerably above the norm, in order to get a good merit award. It’s still worth applying to the the reach schools - after all, somebody wins the lottery every week - but I’d recommend constructing a college list of solid matches known to have good merit aid - and as always, at least one financial safety, a place where you’d be happy to go and could afford given the most pessimistic financial aid scenario.</p>

12

<p>Hmmm, University of Alabama - Huntsville (about 6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduates) may give you a full ride, if cost is that much of a concern:
[UAHuntsville</a> - Welcome](<a href=“http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/welcome]UAHuntsville”>http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/welcome)</p>

<p>Some other smaller lower cost schools include University of Minnesota - Morris and Truman State University.</p>

<p>What is wrong with looking at in-state publics, since they may provide safety candidates?</p>

<p>But you need to check the course catalogs to see if they have sufficient offerings in your area(s) of interest.</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>Because the OP lives in Illinois, and our in-state publics cannot at this time be considered low-cost.</p>

14

<p>How is in-state financial aid in Illinois?</p>

15

<p>Next to nonexistent. The only need-based aid (other than federal) are MAP grants, which go up to $4,000 and something, and there is not enough funding of those to cover all those who qualify. Some of the non-flagships may have some merit aid, I’m not sure. Couple that with the high and climbing sticker prices, and the schools are unaffordable for lower-middle-income families. In our case, sending her to an OOS bargain school is at least $6,000 cheaper per year than the in-state would have been, even had we been at the front of the line for the MAP. And even if you get the MAP one year, there’s no guarantee about years 2-4.</p>

16

<p>Private Universities
If your GPA is fine within the context of your high school, aim high. Cornell is hands down the best. Zoology at Duke is sadly limited to primatology and marine biology these days, but organismal biology is still stronger there than at most places. Emory, Penn, Dartmouth, and WUStL are arguably the other good options among top universities.</p>

<p>Honestly, though, any top university except those that focus entirely on molecular biology (i.e. MIT, Johns Hopkins, CMU) would be fine. </p>

<p>St. Louis U would be well worth a look. It has a great program in biology with very good offerings in organismal biology due to the presence of the zoo and the botanic gardens, both of which are world-class. You’d have a decent shot at a scholarship, I think. </p>

<p>Liberal Arts Colleges
M’s Mom is right. Organismal biology is pretty rare at LACs, and even those that offer it frequently focus on plants (e.g. Conn College and Denison). Zoology is rather uncommon. Course catalogues are rarely updated routinely, and they’re often not indicative of regular offerings - a course in vertebrate zoology offered once every few years isn’t very helpful. </p>

<p>Of course, one can make the argument that one doesn’t need a lot of organismal offerings at the undergraduate level. After all, much of the coursework you need for graduate school in zoology is generic and can be taken at many, many colleges (i.e. organic chemistry, ecology, genetics, evolutionary biology, statistics, animal physiology, etc.). I’d say that’s a perfectly fair assessment, and I will provide suggestions below with the caveat that I have known many zoologists who graduated from college with very limited backgrounds in zoology.</p>

<p>My favorites for organismal bio:

[ul][<em>]College of the Atlantic
[</em>]Eckerd
[<em>]Juniata
[</em>]Ohio Wesleyan
[li]Warren Wilson[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Other decent options:

[ul][<em>]Allegheny
[</em>]Bowdoin
[<em>]Colgate
[</em>]Davidson
[<em>]Oberlin
[</em>]Swarthmore
[li]Wesleyan[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Public Universities
Checking out public universities with good merit aid offerings might be a good idea for you, I think. Some colleges like UGA and Clemson offer OOS tuition waivers and would be excellent options given your academic interests. Your GPA may be a problem, though…I’m not sure how much they’ll take your school into account. NC State has an excellent zoology program, and it has been extremely active in the reintroduction of Red Wolves in eastern NC – I’ve met several students who’ve worked on the project. At around $27K for tuition + room/board, it’s a bit expensive if no financial aid is available, however, and I am not sure how much financial or merit aid would be available to an OOS student.</p>

17

<p>Thanks guys! I’ve heard a lot of new names and will be further researching them. :slight_smile: Of course, any additional thoughts are always welcome!</p>