Of the six schools which one is better for bio/chem?
It doesn’t matter. Pick the school based on the GE requirements. If you have taken AP classes, try to use these to fulfill any of the GE required classes on the schools list. Muir is known be have least and most flexible of requirements and Revelle with the most structured.
I would look at emphasis/culture and campus location. Muir is great for location IMHO. Roosevelt may be closer to chem/bio classes, but not appreciably so.
So the benefits are mainly location or food choice related?
I love the vegan restaurant at Muir, but, no, as @gumbymom stated, there are different GE requirements for the different colleges, which in turn will attract a certain demographic of student and establish a certain culture. That is important. Maybe most important. Those are the people you will be living with.
But in the end, you really can’t go wrong. It is not something to stress over.
@cheesiestpotato1 The only difference between the colleges are their GE requirements and on-campus housing locations. You can eat at any of the dinning halls… I try to rotate them as much as possible to keep some variety going. But yeah, there’s no dramatic difference between any of them. I’m sure you’ll end up loving whichever college you get into!
Keep in mind that if you ever move off campus or if you get put into overflow housing in a different college, then the location of your college (or the dining halls that happen to be in your college) will be entirely meaningless. You can also eat at any dining hall and may eat at the dining hall that’s closest to your class when you’re out and about. The GE requirements are going to be what affects you, no matter where you live.
^What everyone said about GEs being the most important factor is pretty correct.
@Gumbymom is also correct that Muir has the easiest GEs; I think after Revelle removed its hated Area of Focus, though, ERC now has the most GE requirements.
From what I’ve heard, Revelle’s HUM program is notoriously difficult, as is ERC’s MMW series. A lot of people gripe about DOC at Marshall, but it doesn’t appear as bad. Muir’s MCWP and Warren’s WWP are difficult but not lengthy, and Sixth’s CAT is apparently annoying.
To answer the question, there is no college that is better than the others for biology or chemistry. I know a lot of Revelle kids are science majors (something like 70%), but then again, a lot of UCSD students in general are science majors.
Also, while each college has its own strengths, don’t discount the freshman dorm experience. Marshall’s dorms, for example, are somewhat far from their markets, which makes late night snacking more difficult. The Fleets in Revelle have pretty small rooms. Overall, though, each college has a great sense of community and you’l be able to find friends and enjoy.
EDIT: If you find that one college’s GEs seem to overlap well with your preferred major’s lower-division courses, that one might work out well.