'26 College List

[hallow pecan]

Location/Region: I am currently living in Louisiana, but I would like to go northeast or northwest to escape the heat. I am also interested in schools in Europe, preferably the UK and Ireland, but I will look into others if they are recommended to me.

Major: I want to study biology with a focus on micro and marine biology.

GPA/Test Scores: My weighted GPA is 4.25, and I have taken the ACT twice and got a 27 and 29. My superscore is a 30. I am going to take the ACT again to at least get my score to a 32.

Other Interests: I would like to play soccer, whether it is recreational or competitive.

Size: I'm fine with whatever size.

Schools You're Currently Looking At: Maine Maritime Academy, University of Oregon, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego, Lehigh, Villanova, William and Mary, Dickinson College, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, University of Edinburgh, and University of St. Andrews.

Thank You!

[shrewd iron]

I don't think genetic engineering is a widely available undergraduate degree. If a school doesn't offer it would you want to do biological engineering? Or just microbiology/genetics?

[winter wraith]

I feel like if you want to pursue genetics/genetic technology and stuff all you really need is biology right

[shrewd iron]

It also looks to me you listed a lot of liberal arts colleges that don't have undergrad engineering degrees

[shrewd iron]

yes biology or genetics. if you want a super tech-y experience computational biology is basically the involvement of modeling, processing, analyzing genetic data

[winter wraith]

What is genetic engineering other than like CRISPR type stuff, I can’t imagine anything in genetics that would require an engineering degree/background and like physics classes and wtv

[shrewd iron]

tbf i think genetic engineering might not be literal engineering but like the figurative of just like editing genes

[winter wraith]

Yeah exactly

[shrewd iron]

ok mb i got confused lol

[winter wraith]

Duke might be competitive but I have to imagine Duke would be good for your interests

Good sports + great biology and research

UNC too?

not as prestigious but ODU (Old Dominion University) in virginia is known for marine biology, ODU and W&M are the two main programs in my state that offer that

i think UVA offers some marine stuff too, UVA and VCU are both solid for med/bio/genetics lab work undergrad and grad

[hallow pecan]

I haven't really thought too much about it, but either biological engineering or microbiology could be interesting and are around my preferred subject.

[dreamy sage]

yale

[winter wraith]

I did some stuff in a wet lab at VCU in high school through some research programs of theirs, if you’re near a city you can def look for similar programs at your local university and get a better feel for like

whether you like bio/genetics stuff or not

I def liked it

[hallow pecan]

I'll look into something like that for LSU and some of my other local schools.

[shrewd iron]

oh right Duke does have a marine lab: https://nicholas.duke.edu/marinelab

[hallow pecan]

Would Duke be out of reach for my test scores and GPA though? I do have family that graduated from there though if that helps.

[shrewd iron]

like parents?

true I forgot about the test scores and such. it probably is out of scope for you but you can still try

[hallow pecan]

No, Grandparents, but I think they know some teachers and stuff. I don't know much about being a legacy, so I just mentioned that in case it could help. I didn't realize it had to be parents.

[shrewd iron]

how interested are you in computation, mathematical modeling, physics, building devices, etc. because if not very I wouldn't apply for an engineering degree but instead do any other biological/environmental science

[shrewd iron]

it's usually parents that have the most direct effect but i still didn't get to stanford even tho my mom went there lol. so it also depends on the school to what extent it helps

[hallow pecan]

I think for genetic engineering, apparently the main classes needed are some sort of biology, chemistry, and mathematics. I don't know if I would be interested in those kinds of engineering.

[winter wraith]

Genetic engineering is really a subset of like molecular biology, when you edit DNA and RNA it’s all molecular/chemical so

You definitely need to take biology and chemistry classes but it’s not like engineering it’s just foundation + some more advanced stuff

and math is kinda required for most STEM majors but I can’t imagine it’s anything past like calculus

[hallow pecan]

Ok, thats kinda what i was thinking.

[shrewd iron]

ok. that just sounds like a genetics or biotechnology degree.

i wouldn't apply for biological or biomedical or environmental engineering tho bcuz the trainings and requirements r different than what @winter wraith described

[winter wraith]

BME is more like building devices and stuff right

for medical applications

[hallow pecan]

Do yall know of any schools like this in europe, too?

[shrewd iron]

kinda

[winter wraith]

you might need to dig around a bit more but i will say like

current funding cuts aside the U.S. is a generally better place to be STEM research wise

i guess like oxford/cambridge come to mind but those are hard

in the UK i think st andrew’s and edinburgh take more intls

idrk though

[hallow pecan]

thank you!

[gleaming juniper]

Nothing's out of reach if you are a legacy

Legacy status matters unfortunately

I've heard from a former admissions officer, it's good for the school's finances

[shrewd iron]

I might look at clemson https://www.clemson.edu/degrees/genetics

and then can search this list for global universities https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/molecular-biology-genetics

this list for domestic: https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges-with-genetics/

The important thing for you is making sure your list is balanced I feel like you'll want more schools in the 20-50% acceptance rate range

[hallow pecan]

alright thank you so much for your help

[marble phoenix]

London universities tend to take more intl students

They are ~60% intl