Is Chicago a good place for a bio major?

kitkatkatie
Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:10:29 +0000

I’m just another EA admit, but I know a bit of what you’re asking.

AP 5 sequence is NOT the same as the troublesome core bio. Very different. much better.

As far as the programs go, the bio programs are why I accepted chicago. I’ll put it this way: MIT has a single “biology” major (with specializations), CU-Boulder has evolutionary bio and molecular bio. Chicago has seven different degree options. Their bio department is HUGE. It’s actually its own separate college. Chicago has the Argonne lab, too. If you don’t know what that is, I suggest you check it out. It’s amazing. Especially for the bio-oriented. That plus about a hundred other labs in the biophysics/biology/genetics/bioinformatics categories made choosing Chicago a pretty easy decision.

Just look at the course catalog they sent you-- the bio courses are ridiculously good.

With a strong, active department at such a prestigious institution (especially for grad school admissions), how can grad school accept rates be low? Chicago has better placement rates for grad school than med school. The bio program definitely has a place for the non-pre-meds, whereas a lot of its peer institutions are pre-med-dominated.

idk about you, but I’m planning on taking graduate bio ASAP.

btw: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/ecology