Undergraduate Chemistry/Biochemistry

1190
Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:31:54 +0000

I’d second Smartalic34’s recommendation and add, among other LACs, Carleton, Harvey Mudd, Swarthmore, Pomona, Haverford, Bowdoin, Reed, and Oberlin. Don’t underestimate their small sizes.
Carleton, for example, turns out more physical science PhD’s based on student body size than any of the Ivys and more female PhD’s, even in absolute numbers, than much larger research institutions such as Princeton, Hopkins, and Dartmouth.

If you’re interested in research powerhouses, Berkeley still reigns supreme. Northwestern and Cornell offer not only top chemistry departments, but uniquely strong supporting nanotechnology sections that set them aside as cutting the cutting edge. CalTech, MIT, HYPS, Chicago and Columbia all have excellent programs as do, on the state level, Wisconsin-Illinois-UNC.

If you really see yourself as pre-med first and a basic scientist second, I believe that all of the above schools (and many not listed) will serve you well and would suggest you focus less on strength of major and more on the multitude of other factors in play in choosing a college.