<p>confused between USC and BU,which has a better biology program for undergrad??? also waitlisted at Emory. Help</p>
<p>Hey these are rankings which were on this site:
Biology rankings from Gourman Report
Caltech
MIT
Yale
Harvard
Wisconsin
UC San Diego
UC Berkeley
U Colorado
Columbia
Stanford
U Washington
U Chicago
Duke
Wash U St Louis
UCLA
U Michigan
Cornell
U Penn
Purdue
Indiana U
UNC Chapel Hill
U Utah
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
Princeton
UC Irvine
Notre Dame
UC Santa Barbara
UVA
Brown
U Illinois Urbana Champaign
U Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
U Oregon
SUNY Stony Brook
U Rochester
Tufts
U Minnesota
SUNY Buffalo
U Texas Austin
Florida State
Michigan State
USC
U Connecticut
UC Riverside
Rice
Iowa State
SUNY Albany
Case Western
Boston U
Ohio State
NYU
U Iowa
Penn State
Emory
Brandeis
U Kansas
Rutgers New Brunswick
Tulane
US Air Force Academy
U Missouri Columbia</p>
<p>So tired of this report, which is very old and had terrible methodology to begin with. Not to sound at all snarky Ketaneha, but your question is just all wrong. Any highly rated school, by which I mean top 100 in USNWR (which is not an endoresment of rankings, which are crap, but simply a convenience), is going to have a far more than adequate undergraduate biology program. You question makes perfect sense for graduate school, where you are focusing on nothing but that subject in addition to which you are looking for the best 1-1 mentors possible. But at the undergrad level this is a very minor consideration. Both programs along with dozens and dozens of others will provide you with an excellent education in biology and other subjects, should you choose to study hard.</p>
<p>Just decide which place suits you better as an overall “fit”. They are pretty different places, so research them, visit if you can, and go where you feel you will be happiest both academically and socially. You are moving to this place for at least 4 years, so these are the important considerations.</p>
<p>Ket,
This is my opinion…
SC is ranked #26th in the nation overall. BU is not ranked in the top 50. Their biology program is ranked higher than BU’s. Both are in cities.</p>
<p>At SC…</p>
<p>Much smaller classes 1/9 ratio
Beautiful campus with flowers, fountains, courtyards, palms, tropical plants and flowering trees
Tradition
Close to the beaches, hiking at Griffith Park, outdoor activities all year
Classes taught by professors, not TAs (TAs do teach discussion classes)
International students have large presence to expand cultural knowledge
Huge number of majors, 150, if you change majors
Great job center for seniors
Los Angeles is one of the most diverse cities in the world
Close interaction with supportive alumni–The Trojan Family is global
No slogging through snow and slush
With great schools of fine arts, theatre, music and cinema classmates are some of the most creative in the nation
Visions & Voices Program right on campus
Research opportunities available for undergraduates
Much more selective student body
Many new buildings with state of the art labs, etc.
More global outlook, especially to the Pacific Rim
Faculty have won Nobel Prize, Turing Award, Pulitzer Prize, Pritzker Architecture Prize, Academy Awards, Golden Globes and Grammy Awards.
Research funding is roughly about $430 million annually and growing
Site of TWO NSF centers
Last year SC was 7th in the nation for fundraising, despite the uncertain economy
Wonderful tradition of community service-60% of student participate
About 80 different religious groups available</p>
<p>Check out the campus photos on Facebook USC Class of 2014</p>