Deciding between (both OOS):
CU Boulder (Mollecular, Cell & Developmental Bio) - no merit, total COA $62k/year
Oregon State (Microbio / Mol Bio) - 15k schol, total COA $44k
Seeking input w.r.t. the following:
Respective bio departments/colleges of science
Undergrad research opportunities - what are the odds undergrads get to be in a lab with a mentor (paid or not)?
Campus life, campus spirit
Dorms and dining
Thank you! We’re not wealthy, but let’s just say if it turns out CU is a significantly better choice, the extra 18k/year is doable. If you only know about one but not the other, your feedback is still very welcome. For undergrad, what matters more - college ranking/standing, or what work you get to do (plans to do grad studies after).
This makes a lot of sense given your major. Make sure that you budget for graduate school. At least in our experience the price of undergraduate education seems to vary quite a bit between different very good universities. For graduate work just picking the academically appropriate graduate program seems to be close to fully constrained.
Is there a chance that you might be premed? Medical school is very expensive. Master’s degrees can be expensive but for a much shorter period of time. PhD’s are usually fully funded. However, even PhD students can be better off if they get some parental help (both to make living for 6 or 7 years on a modest stipend more doable, and also to allow IRA contributions since avoiding a 6 or 7 year delay in funding retirement savings will eventually matter).
Do you have any in-state options?
Both these universities are very good. One daughter was accepted to CU Boulder out of high school but we were concerned about the distance from us (we live in the northeast). She considered Oregon State for graduate school, but this was due to its very good DVM program.
Thanks! No, not pre-med - plan to do research, so grad school for sure. MS, then PhD.
In state options: We’re in WA state, so the only really good university is UW. Unfortunately didn’t get in the Seattle campus; Bothell campus is good when it comes to instruction/academics, but it’s 7 minutes from home and won’t give a good university experience.
My daughter was also admitted to both Boulder and Oregon State for Biology. She’s now eliminated Boulder (not because of their bio program, though) and is currently deciding between Pitt, UMN-TC, and Oregon State. We just went to the Oregon State admitted student day last Friday and were really impressed. My daughter wasn’t seriously considering OSU before the “Orange & Black” day, but she is now. Please come back here with updates. I’d love to know what you decide! Good luck to you.
That’s exactly what happened with us. OSU was lurking in the background as a possibility, and my kid was clear about OSU over UO if it came to Oregon, but after O&B day: 1. We were extremely impressed with the program 2. Very underwhelmed with the food and dorm (of course cafeteria food and school dorms are no resorts, but found it bad even for the low expectations) and 3. didn’t get much idea of the vibe/campus spirit as it was shut down for spring break. HOWEVER, I spoke to a few parents and forums, and short story, there are better dorms and food options, really good campus spirit, and a very close knit community (which came through even in the parent groups compared to other parent groups). We committed to OSU last week - thank you to each of you, and the best to your daughter if she hasn’t already decided!
Congrats!! Our daughter also committed to OSU last night for BioHealth. We are so relieved to have the decision made and very excited for what’s to come. Go Beavers!!!
