Colleges to Look At Suggestions - Biology major

[Anonymous]

Many small colleges have great bio programs and you get a lot of time with faculty. I went to Beloit (which gives a ton of aid) and was a bio minor and many of my friends were majors. I’d say they’re split, now, between field research (went on to get MS degrees) and being medical doctors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many small colleges have great bio programs and you get a lot of time with faculty. I went to Beloit (which gives a ton of aid) and was a bio minor and many of my friends were majors. I’d say they’re split, now, between field research (went on to get MS degrees) and being medical doctors.

+1. While I agree that large research universities are amazing for biology programs given their plentiful resources and faculty, I could also argue for the merits of small schools. I know a bio major at Randolph-Macon College who is thriving in their biology program by developing personal relationships with faculty.

[Anonymous]

I personally don't think you should pick a school because of what your 11th grader thinks they want to major in. It can change so much in college, and even if you are pre-med, you do not have to be a science major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many small colleges have great bio programs and you get a lot of time with faculty. I went to Beloit (which gives a ton of aid) and was a bio minor and many of my friends were majors. I’d say they’re split, now, between field research (went on to get MS degrees) and being medical doctors.

Wow, my DS recently graduated from Beloit with a bio minor and a major in another science, also with many friends who were bio majors, some of whom are now in med school. DS received very generous merit aid such that the cost was similar to going in state. Beloit has an amazing new science building. Due to the small size of the college, my DS had amazing research opportunities, wonderful relationships with his professors and got a great education. He’s applying now for grad school. When he was deciding between Beloit and a big research university, the grad students he talked with at the university told him to go to Beloit for undergrad because he’d get to know his professors better and have opportunities at Beloit that only grad students would get at the big research university.

[Anonymous]

Pitt is awesome in the medical arts/pre-med and has tons of nearby internship opportunities. They’re also giving lots of merit money to highly qualified out-of-staters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly and this is from my mom who is a fed researcher in biology. Don’t be a biology major. Unless pre med. it’s a hard long road and you need a PhD to do research. Super competitor and very little money and stability on the other side.

There are things you can do with it if you think outside the box. VC for biotech firms for example. If child enjoys it, the should major in it, and they'll find something to do with it if they're creative enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many small colleges have great bio programs and you get a lot of time with faculty. I went to Beloit (which gives a ton of aid) and was a bio minor and many of my friends were majors. I’d say they’re split, now, between field research (went on to get MS degrees) and being medical doctors.

Wow, my DS recently graduated from Beloit with a bio minor and a major in another science, also with many friends who were bio majors, some of whom are now in med school. DS received very generous merit aid such that the cost was similar to going in state. Beloit has an amazing new science building. Due to the small size of the college, my DS had amazing research opportunities, wonderful relationships with his professors and got a great education. He’s applying now for grad school. When he was deciding between Beloit and a big research university, the grad students he talked with at the university told him to go to Beloit for undergrad because he’d get to know his professors better and have opportunities at Beloit that only grad students would get at the big research university.

How funny! I graduated a while ago, and am very jealous of the people who got to learn in the new science building.

It really is such a great school.

[Anonymous]

If your daughter is interested in majoring in a lab science (e.g., chemistry or biology) then she needs to start doing research in a lab ASAP, preferably as a freshman (if not before). This can be hard to do at big state schools where faculty are less engaged with undergrads. It's impossible to do at small liberal arts colleges without research faculty. Look for a school in the middle--big enough for real research opportunities, but which emphasizes undergrad education.

Signed, organic chemistry PhD who mentored plenty of premeds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your daughter is interested in majoring in a lab science (e.g., chemistry or biology) then she needs to start doing research in a lab ASAP, preferably as a freshman (if not before). This can be hard to do at big state schools where faculty are less engaged with undergrads. It's impossible to do at small liberal arts colleges without research faculty. Look for a school in the middle--big enough for real research opportunities, but which emphasizes undergrad education.

Signed, organic chemistry PhD who mentored plenty of premeds

http://nsse.indiana.edu/2017_institutional_report/pdf/HIPTables/HIP.pdf

Percent of seniors at "Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus" (the classification for LACs) who did research with faculty: 48%
Percent of seniors at "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest research activity" who did research with faculty: 26%

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/Doct%20Rates%20Rankings%20by%20Broad%20Disc%20Field-Summary%20to%202015.pdf

LACs in the top 30 for producing life science PhDs: Reed, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Carleton, Haverford, Harvey Mudd, Pomona (former all in the top 10), Earlham, Allegheny, College of the Atlantic, Bowdoin, Bard, Kalamazoo, Mount Holyoke

LACs in the top 30 for producing physical science PhDs: Harvey Mudd, Reed, Carleton, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Haverford (former all in the top 10), College of Wooster, Lawrence, Allegheny, Wabash, Williams, Bryn Mawr, Kalamazoo, Whitman, Franklin & Marshall, Knox, Juniata, Centre

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly and this is from my mom who is a fed researcher in biology. Don’t be a biology major. Unless pre med. it’s a hard long road and you need a PhD to do research. Super competitor and very little money and stability on the other side.

NP here. What about Chem? My DD wants to major in Chem. I suspect it will be the same. She says she wants to get a PhD but I suspect that's because she likes the idea/prestige of the PhD.

Job market for chemists is very different than biology due to high number of industry positions. But it depends on the area of chemistry and also what she wants to do with her career.

I have a PhD in physics (from a top 5 program), and it is a mixed bag in terms of how it has helped my career since I opted not to pursue academic research. Overall, though, I had a uniquely great graduate experience (few people get the opportunities I got through sheer dumb luck), so I don't really regret. It's also given me a lot of career flexibility, but that's pretty unusual. PhDs can actually be career-limiting if you're interests are outside of academic research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your daughter is interested in majoring in a lab science (e.g., chemistry or biology) then she needs to start doing research in a lab ASAP, preferably as a freshman (if not before). This can be hard to do at big state schools where faculty are less engaged with undergrads. It's impossible to do at small liberal arts colleges without research faculty. Look for a school in the middle--big enough for real research opportunities, but which emphasizes undergrad education.

Signed, organic chemistry PhD who mentored plenty of premeds

http://nsse.indiana.edu/2017_institutional_report/pdf/HIPTables/HIP.pdf

Percent of seniors at "Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus" (the classification for LACs) who did research with faculty: 48%
Percent of seniors at "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest research activity" who did research with faculty: 26%

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/Doct%20Rates%20Rankings%20by%20Broad%20Disc%20Field-Summary%20to%202015.pdf

LACs in the top 30 for producing life science PhDs: Reed, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Carleton, Haverford, Harvey Mudd, Pomona (former all in the top 10), Earlham, Allegheny, College of the Atlantic, Bowdoin, Bard, Kalamazoo, Mount Holyoke

LACs in the top 30 for producing physical science PhDs: Harvey Mudd, Reed, Carleton, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Haverford (former all in the top 10), College of Wooster, Lawrence, Allegheny, Wabash, Williams, Bryn Mawr, Kalamazoo, Whitman, Franklin & Marshall, Knox, Juniata, Centre

Cite whatever statistics you'd like. It doesn't change my recommendation. If you want to major in a lab science like chem or bio, you will have a huge leg up in grad school admissions, med school admissions or job opportunities if you have spent significant time in a lab doing research. You will do even better if you have several publications in peer reviewed journals. These opportunities don't exist ar non-research universities. Those students usually get any research experience they can by doing a single NSF REU (National Science Foundation Research Experience For Undergraduates) or the equivalent the summer between their junior and senior year. This isn't enough. Those students don't have the publications or connections to get into top grad programs. They don't have enough experience to know what sort of research they ultimately want to study. My guess is most of them go to med school (though publications really help with that admission too) or move into other fields. I don't recall a single student from any of those LAC schools in my grad program.

The students who did the best in grad school were those with tons of research experience from places like Carnegie Mellon or Case Western. Mid sized schools with research faculty. Look there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your daughter is interested in majoring in a lab science (e.g., chemistry or biology) then she needs to start doing research in a lab ASAP, preferably as a freshman (if not before). This can be hard to do at big state schools where faculty are less engaged with undergrads. It's impossible to do at small liberal arts colleges without research faculty. Look for a school in the middle--big enough for real research opportunities, but which emphasizes undergrad education.

Signed, organic chemistry PhD who mentored plenty of premeds

http://nsse.indiana.edu/2017_institutional_report/pdf/HIPTables/HIP.pdf

Percent of seniors at "Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus" (the classification for LACs) who did research with faculty: 48%
Percent of seniors at "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest research activity" who did research with faculty: 26%

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/Doct%20Rates%20Rankings%20by%20Broad%20Disc%20Field-Summary%20to%202015.pdf

LACs in the top 30 for producing life science PhDs: Reed, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Carleton, Haverford, Harvey Mudd, Pomona (former all in the top 10), Earlham, Allegheny, College of the Atlantic, Bowdoin, Bard, Kalamazoo, Mount Holyoke

LACs in the top 30 for producing physical science PhDs: Harvey Mudd, Reed, Carleton, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Haverford (former all in the top 10), College of Wooster, Lawrence, Allegheny, Wabash, Williams, Bryn Mawr, Kalamazoo, Whitman, Franklin & Marshall, Knox, Juniata, Centre

Cite whatever statistics you'd like. It doesn't change my recommendation. If you want to major in a lab science like chem or bio, you will have a huge leg up in grad school admissions, med school admissions or job opportunities if you have spent significant time in a lab doing research. You will do even better if you have several publications in peer reviewed journals. These opportunities don't exist ar non-research universities. Those students usually get any research experience they can by doing a single NSF REU (National Science Foundation Research Experience For Undergraduates) or the equivalent the summer between their junior and senior year. This isn't enough. Those students don't have the publications or connections to get into top grad programs. They don't have enough experience to know what sort of research they ultimately want to study. My guess is most of them go to med school (though publications really help with that admission too) or move into other fields. I don't recall a single student from any of those LAC schools in my grad program.

The students who did the best in grad school were those with tons of research experience from places like Carnegie Mellon or Case Western. Mid sized schools with research faculty. Look there.

One correction, I did know a grad student from Pomona. It appears that Pomona have research faculty, at least to some extent. Their website also states that students can get research experience stating as freshman. Either way, look for research opportunities. Thats what you need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your daughter is interested in majoring in a lab science (e.g., chemistry or biology) then she needs to start doing research in a lab ASAP, preferably as a freshman (if not before). This can be hard to do at big state schools where faculty are less engaged with undergrads. It's impossible to do at small liberal arts colleges without research faculty. Look for a school in the middle--big enough for real research opportunities, but which emphasizes undergrad education.

Signed, organic chemistry PhD who mentored plenty of premeds

http://nsse.indiana.edu/2017_institutional_report/pdf/HIPTables/HIP.pdf

Percent of seniors at "Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus" (the classification for LACs) who did research with faculty: 48%
Percent of seniors at "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest research activity" who did research with faculty: 26%

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/Doct%20Rates%20Rankings%20by%20Broad%20Disc%20Field-Summary%20to%202015.pdf

LACs in the top 30 for producing life science PhDs: Reed, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Carleton, Haverford, Harvey Mudd, Pomona (former all in the top 10), Earlham, Allegheny, College of the Atlantic, Bowdoin, Bard, Kalamazoo, Mount Holyoke

LACs in the top 30 for producing physical science PhDs: Harvey Mudd, Reed, Carleton, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Haverford (former all in the top 10), College of Wooster, Lawrence, Allegheny, Wabash, Williams, Bryn Mawr, Kalamazoo, Whitman, Franklin & Marshall, Knox, Juniata, Centre

Cite whatever statistics you'd like. It doesn't change my recommendation. If you want to major in a lab science like chem or bio, you will have a huge leg up in grad school admissions, med school admissions or job opportunities if you have spent significant time in a lab doing research. You will do even better if you have several publications in peer reviewed journals. These opportunities don't exist ar non-research universities. Those students usually get any research experience they can by doing a single NSF REU (National Science Foundation Research Experience For Undergraduates) or the equivalent the summer between their junior and senior year. This isn't enough. Those students don't have the publications or connections to get into top grad programs. They don't have enough experience to know what sort of research they ultimately want to study. My guess is most of them go to med school (though publications really help with that admission too) or move into other fields. I don't recall a single student from any of those LAC schools in my grad program.

The students who did the best in grad school were those with tons of research experience from places like Carnegie Mellon or Case Western. Mid sized schools with research faculty. Look there.

Oh, please. I did zero undergraduate research (physics) and was accepted to almost every graduate school I applied to (including a couple of "reaches").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your daughter is interested in majoring in a lab science (e.g., chemistry or biology) then she needs to start doing research in a lab ASAP, preferably as a freshman (if not before). This can be hard to do at big state schools where faculty are less engaged with undergrads. It's impossible to do at small liberal arts colleges without research faculty. Look for a school in the middle--big enough for real research opportunities, but which emphasizes undergrad education.

Signed, organic chemistry PhD who mentored plenty of premeds

http://nsse.indiana.edu/2017_institutional_report/pdf/HIPTables/HIP.pdf

Percent of seniors at "Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus" (the classification for LACs) who did research with faculty: 48%
Percent of seniors at "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest research activity" who did research with faculty: 26%

https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/institutional-research/Doct%20Rates%20Rankings%20by%20Broad%20Disc%20Field-Summary%20to%202015.pdf

LACs in the top 30 for producing life science PhDs: Reed, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Carleton, Haverford, Harvey Mudd, Pomona (former all in the top 10), Earlham, Allegheny, College of the Atlantic, Bowdoin, Bard, Kalamazoo, Mount Holyoke

LACs in the top 30 for producing physical science PhDs: Harvey Mudd, Reed, Carleton, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Haverford (former all in the top 10), College of Wooster, Lawrence, Allegheny, Wabash, Williams, Bryn Mawr, Kalamazoo, Whitman, Franklin & Marshall, Knox, Juniata, Centre

Cite whatever statistics you'd like. It doesn't change my recommendation. If you want to major in a lab science like chem or bio, you will have a huge leg up in grad school admissions, med school admissions or job opportunities if you have spent significant time in a lab doing research. You will do even better if you have several publications in peer reviewed journals. These opportunities don't exist ar non-research universities. Those students usually get any research experience they can by doing a single NSF REU (National Science Foundation Research Experience For Undergraduates) or the equivalent the summer between their junior and senior year. This isn't enough. Those students don't have the publications or connections to get into top grad programs. They don't have enough experience to know what sort of research they ultimately want to study. My guess is most of them go to med school (though publications really help with that admission too) or move into other fields. I don't recall a single student from any of those LAC schools in my grad program.

The students who did the best in grad school were those with tons of research experience from places like Carnegie Mellon or Case Western. Mid sized schools with research faculty. Look there.

You're: (1) confusing percentages with absolute numbers; and (2) extrapolating from a non-representative sample. Not impressive.

[Anonymous]

OP, the trouble with a Biology major in Virginia is it's tempting to send her to VT and think you're making a logical choice, but I think that's a mistake. She's not an engineer, and unless she is absolutely sure she wants to go to vet school, VT is not where she should be. Her lies the problem. You will need to put her in an environment where the health sciences are well represented - - pharmacy, physical therapy, nursing .. and in those places there are other fields of study heavy on biology. You also need the university to have a medical school affiliated with it, a teaching hospital so your student can do research. So ... this brings you to VCU as your best in-state option. This and many applications to out of state publics. Look opposite from where others are looking. Look at states that need population.