Hello! I would appreciate some help on deciding which school would be better for me. I am considering to become a biology or a biochemistry major, and my goal is to go on to graduate school to eventually get a Ph.D. in genetics or microbiology and then work as a researcher. I would love to know which school would better prepare me for my career.
uva
How so?
UVA, it’s the higher ranked school by miles. WVU not carry the same weight when applying to grad school.
Which can you afford?
UVA- have about 16000 in loans after 4 years
WVU- basically a free ride
Is it $16k all in, meaning nothing more out of pocket? If that’s the case go UVA.
in your post you only mention the academic aspects of both schools, if thats what you’re basing the decision on, UVa 100%
I’ve heard that WVU students aren’t the nicest and can get kind of cliquey… Also not nearly as much prestige or intellectualism as UVA.
If it’s 16K loans total at the end of 4 years (not “per year”), go to UVA.
They’re really not in the same category and WVU’s honors college isn’t even that great.
UVA really is a big deal in academia, alongside UC Berkeley, UCLA, UMichigan, and UNC Chapel Hill.
UVA will give you a much more prestigious title rather than WVU which is rarely known, all based on the superficial level, you will most likely get the same education at either
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I highly disagree with this. Do you really think the research opportunities and teaching will be the same at the two institutions?
@Janizary I think the teaching at both schools will be the same for biology/biochem, fields that neither are particularly exceptionally known for, the research opportunities would be where I would change my stance in that UVA would provide more opportunities
@India1234 I still disagree. The schools are academically are on different levels. UVA would obviously have the better faculty. Unless you’ve been a student at both, I think its safe to assume that UVA would have better teaching as well to justify the difference in ranking.
UVA crushes WVU. It’s an embarrassing destruction. WVU isn’t very good at all lol.
@LBad96 On 03-13-2016 at 10:39 am you wrote…
@TheAtl**** don’t worry, we’re done here. No more bashing or disparaging of schools from this moment forward from me. I admit I should have been a lot more articulate with my opinions on a lot of threads. But I truly do feel bad. And I hate that I’ve made a complete fool of myself. But I’ll fix it.
Care to expand on why WVU “isn’t very good at all lol” ?
@STEM2017 have a look at the acceptance rate, retention rate, and admitted student stats. It isn’t very good.
I’ve never been to West Virginia University, In fact, I know very little about the place, but here goes…
Achievements:
WVU recipients of prestigious scholarships include 24 Rhodes Scholars, 22 Truman Scholars, 40 Goldwater Scholars, two British Marshall Scholars, four Morris K. Udall Scholars, five USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team Members (and 11 academic team honorees), 12 Boren Scholars, 25 Gilman Scholars, three Department of Homeland Security Scholars, 43 Fulbright Scholars, 22 Critical Language Scholars and one Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholar.
WVU had four Fulbright Scholars in 2015.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has honored 19 WVU faculty as West Virginia Professors of the Year.
WVU is one of only about a dozen schools in the country that are land-grant, doctoral research universities with a comprehensive medical school.
WVU has made the most progress of any of the nation’s flagship universities in providing access for low-income and underrepresented minority students, according to a report from The Education Trust.
WVU is one of only three institutions that offer a joint petroleum and natural gas engineering ABET-accredited major.
WVU has the largest forensic science and crime scene training complex in the country (three crime scene houses and a forensic garage).
The College of Creative Arts offers one of only three puppetry degree programs in the country.
The School of Medicine was the first in the country to rotate students through a clinical addiction program, which is now a requirement for all American medical students.
The School of Nursing’s online doctor of nursing practice program is one of the only such programs in the country that is accredited.
The Academic STARS program has a 91% success rate of retaining African American students.
The University is supporting veterans through veterans-only classes, partial tuition waivers, a special payment plan, a veteran’s advocate, and student organizations for veterans.
Research:
WVU faculty generate over $127 million annually in sponsored contracts and research grants.
The FBI named WVU its national leader for biometrics research. The partnership identifies WVU as the academic arm of the FBI’s Biometric Center of Excellence.
The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute—the world’s first institute devoted to the study of human memory—is at WVU.
Forest scientists at WVU have successfully cloned the American chestnut, a species that was almost eradicated by a fungus during the early 1900s.
WVU is ranked as a Research University (Highest Research Activity)—R1—in the 2015 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
Rankings:
A number of programs were ranked in U.S. News and World Report’s 2017 edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools, including:
Aeronautics/aeronautical/astronautical, 42 (tie)
Audiology, 53 (tie)
Chemical engineering, 88 (tie)
Civil engineering, 81 (tie)
Clinical psychology, 57 (tie)
Education, 99 (tie)
Electrical/electronic/communications engineering, 123 (tie)
Engineering, 105 (tie)
Fine arts, 98 (tie)
Industrial/manufacturing/systems engineering, 66 (tie)
Law, 97 (tie)
Mechanical engineering, 109 (tie)
Medicine (primary care), 70
Medicine (research), 86
Occupational therapy, 126 (tie)
Pharmacy, 36(t)
Physical therapy, 79 (tie)
Public affairs, 115 (tie)
Social work, 103 (tie)
Speech-language pathology, 92 (tie)
Seems like a “very good” school for plenty of people.
^Those are graduate rankings. It’s an okay school with some strong programs, but overall it’s not in the same category as UVA.
You can check data relevant to undergrads on college data, such as: admitted student GPA, average SAT, average ACT, % students in top 10%, % students who were valedictorian or salutatorian, % students who broke 700 on either CR or M, retention rate, graduation rate, class size, student/faculty ratio.
@MYOS1634 Thank you, I understand what I posted, its directly from their website. I also understand that UVA is in a different category. I was making a point that WVU is indeed a very good school for some. LBad96 likes to jump in to threads and declare that one school is good and one school is not good with nothing other than the latest US News rankings.