Biology/Zoology School Choices?

[warblersrule]

<p>

@FutureBioMom

As for other factors, I know my daughter, who has always gone to small, private/ charter prep schools, usually with a strong arts background, likes liberal arts schools. However, my husband is completely against the idea. He really believes she needs a large school with good research opportunities to excel and snag a good graduate position. He’s made me nervous to look at liberal arts schools–and I don’t have any true knowledge or facts to back up the idea that a liberal arts school would be okay.

Take a look at where current grad students did their undergrad. At Oklahoma, you have students from Macalester, Wabash, Colby, William & Mary (small uni), Colgate, Juniata, and a couple others. At Miami U, you have students from Canisius College and the College of Mount St. Joseph. At Hawaii, you have Middlebury and Eckerd. At Oregon State, Holy Cross and Wooster.</p>

<p>Another measure is the Goldwater scholarship – a prestigious research award given to juniors/seniors in math/science/engineering fields. LACs this year included the College of the Atlantic, Barnard, Wellesley, Oberlin, Conn College, Amherst, Bryn Mawr, Rollins, Grinnell, Lewis & Clark, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Davidson, Wesleyan, Calvin, Macalester, Muhlenberg, Pomona, Union, Vassar, Middlebury, Hobart & William Smith, Williams, Juniata, Willamette, Lafayette, Wooster, Franklin & Marshall, St. Olaf, and Ripon. </p>

<p>The LAC I’m most familiar with, Davidson, has an ecological preserve and an extremely well-known herpetologist on staff. Students do research in reptilian and avian biology during both the year and summer, and the department has close ties with Duke’s marine lab. Some LACs, such as Reed and Wooster, require a senior thesis of all students, so every student graduates with a significant piece of research under his/her belt.</p>

<p>It’s true that one needs to be a little more careful when selecting liberal arts colleges. Many have no zoology professors at all, and others don’t have many research opportunities. There are many that have both, however, and I would not rule them out.</p>

<p>As far as research opportunities go, there are many, many out there - often funded and unclaimed. This can be done during the summer and needn’t be at a student’s home college. The REU program, for example, covers all costs, pays a stipend, and lets a student complete an independently designed research project.</p>

<p>[US</a> NSF - REU - Search for an REU Site](<a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm]US”>Search for an REU Site | NSF - National Science Foundation)</p>