Princeton vs. UChicago

traviata
Wed, 24 May 2017 07:29:22 +0000

Which of these schools would allow me the best opportunities (research, close relationship with professors, relevant electives) for eventual acceptance to top PH.D. programs in biophysics or systems biology?

At UChicago I was interested in the Applied and Computational Math major, Biological Sciences major, Physics major, Beckman Scholars Program, and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics.

At Princeton I was interested in the ORFE major, Molecular Biology Major, Physics Major, Integrated Science Curriculum, Quantitative Biology certificate, Biophysics certificate, and the Lewis Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics.

To give a brief description of me, I love learning for the sake of learning and have a wide array of academic interests which include physics, math, biology, chemistry, computer science, philosophy, comparative literature, foreign languages, and economics. I am generally introverted but also very passionate for whatever I’m doing.

I have a 1560 SAT, will be taking subject tests in US History, Bio M, and Math II later. I have a 4.0 GPA and will have taken the most advanced courses at my school. I will have taken 13 AP classes by the time that I graduate and have extensive extracurricular activities. I am not a URM. I’m debating which of these two schools I should apply early to.

Is either of these schools “better” and is the difference significant enough to affect graduate school admissions for someone who is motivated and will seek out opportunities regardless of where they attend?