<p>You’re right. The difference isn’t that big, and I apologize for that statement. However, I do want to present some considerations:</p>
<p>1) A significant larger proportion of Pomona students pursue neuroscience than Penn students pursue BBB. This makes for a more prominent community of students and faculty. Sure, the absolute numbers may be similar if not larger at UPenn, but because of Pomona’s collaborative and tighter-knit atmosphere the community feel is arguably better.
2) BBB has a strong neuroscience component, but it is not a neuroscience major. The specific degrees you can get with neuroscience/neurobiology are minors or concentrations.
3) Pomona’s neuroscience has a very strong study abroad program with UCL, ranked second in the world for neuroscience research.
4) Pomona’s neuroscience is a highly respected model that is used in consideration of the neuroscience majors at top schools (<a href=“http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~bok_cen/sfn/2010/PDFs/Pomona-Parfitt.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~bok_cen/sfn/2010/PDFs/Pomona-Parfitt.pdf</a>). Just 3 years after the making the PowerPoint, the major has become even more intense, needing 16 required classes, and the number of classes offered and faculty have increased. The point of this has nothing to do with BBB, but rather that Pomona neuroscience has been renowned for its depth and track.
5) UPenn’s distribution requirements are much more intense than Pomona’s core requirements, giving Pomona students the opportunity to dabble into other areas or to get an extremely focused neuroscience degree.
6) Despite it having less research opportunities on the basis of it being a LAC, Pomona has a ridiculous amount of money per student which it actively uses to fund student opportunities and internships. Research is huge at Pomona- about 15% of the student body participates each year through Pomona’s summer research program, and because there are no graduates, it’s easy to find research even in the first semester of freshmen year. Neuroscience facilities are top notch at Pomona- the technology, labs, and equipment are really nice.
7) Neuroscience is big at Pitzer and CMC as well, meaning more research and classes to choose from. Harvey Mudd offers mathematical biology and neural networks as well.</p>