<p>Hi, I'm a rising senior and I'm planning on majoring in bioengineering or biology in general. What good colleges are out there for such a major? I'm interested in doing med school later on. I really want to go to a college that isn't too big (think UC's) and not too small. Any advice?</p>
<p>3.88 weighted GPA
2110 SAT
9 AP classes total by senior year
760 math 2c
740 bio
720 chem
volunteering at hospital 200+ hrs
Eagle scout
band 4 years</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm not a really a high performing student, nor am I an abysmal failure. So what colleges would fit me? (and have a chance at) I've already looked into Harvey Mudd College.</p>
<p>All the UCs have more than 2,000 students. Are you sure a student body with 2,000 students is a good fit for you? That is a tiny school right there. I’m sure your looking for LACs aren’t you. They may fit the size criteria.</p>
<p>Most of the top LACs do not offer engineering majors unless it’s part of the 3/2 program. On the other hand, almost all of them have strong biology departments with lots of research opportunities, and assuming you fulfill the prereqs, you can get an engineering MA afterwards.</p>
<p>On the other hand, perhaps you don’t really want a LAC if you are worried about a school being ‘too small.’ Most of the top LACs are under 2,500 students (and some, like Haverford, are very small). One way around this is a LAC that is part of a consortium or at least in a less geographically isolated area.</p>
<p>Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. Allegheny College ¶ Ohio Wesleyan University, and the College of Wooster (OH) and Hobart & Smith College (NY) are also strong in the sciences.</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins (@4400 undergraduates) might be a reach but is within the realm of possibility. Tufts also. Brandeis is strong in these fields as well and is probably a match for you.</p>
<p>Engineering programs at LACs: Swarthmore, Bucknell, Smith, Wellesley, and Sweet Briar (the last three are womans’s colleges). Smaller NUs with engineering: Lehigh, and Rice.</p>
<p>Rice.
But your stats are like my d’s and, well, your GPA is a .1 higher. You could try.
She doesn’t have much to put down for EC’s because she was hanging around the house reading all the time. Rice cares about EC’s.</p>
<p>Also, money matters. Rice is really expensive. My d doesn’t qualify for any need-based financial aid. If you would qualify, then definitely look at it. We are trading on her, I’m hoping, National Merit finalist award–which is in-state tuition at 3 decent universities. She says she wants biochemistry.</p>
<p>Re-think your perspective on big state u’s, if you want my opinion. You can find a niche for yourself. Esp as the higher you go in biology courses, the more people fall by the wayside and the classes get much smaller. You also have more variety of courses to choose from at a big state u.</p>
<p>Rice is certainly getting more expensive, schoolmarm, but it’s still substantially cheaper than many other schools of its caliber assuming you receive no aid.</p>
<p>Maybe so, Dorian Mode, but my d is not going into substantial debt over any college. Esp when there is no need to. Isn’t Rice something like $36,000? With no awards likely? She’ll just have to take her chances with a state u.</p>
<p>Just looked up the cost of Rice out of curiosity. $44,000. Hopkins is $49,000.</p>
<p>I don’t see much difference between those costs.</p>
<p>I just wanted to point that out for the (possible) benefit of anyone reading. I can certainly understand where you’re coming from, but are you absolutely certain you won’t receive aid? Sometimes people are surprised. I, unfortunately, did not have any luck in that department.</p>