Yes I definitely agree. I will most likely be majoring in something like biomedical engineering, which is considered, from what I’m understanding, more of an engineering related major than a biological science related one.
I think you are also correct about the GPAs at Harvard vs UNC because I think Harvard has GPA inflation.
I have an updated list of colleges I am thinking about:
Brown (smaller school = less competition for teacher recs, great education = preparation for MCAT, lots of resources and opportunities for ECs, GPA inflation = high avg. GPA, expensive)
Duke (basically the same as brown, a little bit bigger, renowned bio and engineering programs. expensive)
Rhodes College (small liberal arts = less competition for teacher recs, less rigorous = higher GPA, located in memphis so many EC opportunities at St. Judes Childrens hospital, maybe not as good for MCAT prep, less expensive but still costly)
Drexel University (small research school = less comp., lots of research available even during summer before freshman year, less rigorous = high GPA and possibly scholarships but very expensive)
UNC (large school = high competition for teacher recs and EC, GPA possibly low from hard competition, lots of EC opportunities, many people majoring in bio/chem trying to apply for med school.)
Vanderbilt (smaller research university = less comp., hard to maintain high GPA, huge medical center w/ many EC opportunities, expensive)
What do you guys think about these schools?