<p>I disagree with the above poster. I have doubts about Berkeley’s undergrad program because it’s such a huge school although the faculty is great. (I’ve heard people who got their doctorate at Berkeley say it wasn’t a great place to go for undergrad.)</p>
<p>I know a couple of U. Chicago graduates of the undergrad program in molecular biology. One was offered a faculty position at MIT. Another one recently graduated from MIT and will probably get a faculty position at a top 5 school. (They are in the late 20’s so they are relatively recent graduates.)</p>
<p>I don’t know what you want to know exactly. Penn and Cornell are both ivy leagues, so in terms of prestige of those schools as a whole it might be better. However, Chicago’s classes have a reputation for being as rigorous as anywhere. I’ve never really heard anything about UPenn and biology. In fact, I’ve never heard much about it except Wharton. One of my friends went to UPenn and he said he didn’t like it because everyone was pre-professional focused. He became a lawyer, but he didn’t like the fact that people weren’t really passionate about learning for its own sake or going out and changing the world.</p>
<p>I didn’t go to University of Chicago, but to me, it really has an intellectual, erudite, studious vibe–like going in an old bookstore. </p>
<p>Cornell has a charming campus and would be a good choice. If I were you I would say Cornell or UChicago, then UPenn, and lastly Berkeley. If you have preferences for region and the feel of the campus, that might enter into your decision too but I don’t know what you’re looking for.</p>