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How good is this school for biological sciences? molecular bio/genetics? Any grads of this college on here? Is the undergrad education good enough to be competive for spots in grad school at UNC at Chapel Hill or Duke? What are your experiences?
Thanks!
Your best bet is to contact the School of Sciences at College of Charleston and ask them for stats on where there graduates go....see how many Biology students go on to grad school at schools like Duke and UNC, and contact the grad schools at Duke and UNC as well...
College of Charleston is a well known party school and even if you carried a 4.0 and rocked your GRE I honestly think that you would have a hard time gaining acceptance to grad school at UNC or dook, particularly for biological sciences. If you are a South Carolina resident I would strongly suggest that you transfer to/graduate from Clemson if you want to go to UNC or dook.
No one gives a rats ass about whether you went to a party school or not. Its about the person, not the school. And while you'll need a decent GPA and GRE to get in, the number one key to getting in to grad school is going to be doing productive undergraduate research in a lab. There are plenty of opportunities for that at College of Charleston, and nearby at Medical College of SC. And there are also plenty of opportunities for summer research for undergraduates at most major research universities as well (and if you've got your heart set on grad school at Duke or UNC, find one there and head there for the summer, no better grad school recommendation than knowing the person who's applying).
I'd recommend doing a lot of lab work and getting to know your professors really well (for some strong letters of recommendation). Although graduate schools look at a variety of things, undergraduate reputation does matter. C of C does not have a strong reputation, so it is realistic to say you may get passed by for a graduate from a stronger college (Clemson would be one in SC).
I am in a graduate program now, and I know that undergraduate reputation does matter.
However, if you get a great GPA (you'd have to be at a 4.0 or close) and a great GRE score on top of working in a lab, you would have a better shot than someone who did not plan ahead. I'd also recommend looking into the honors college at C of C. It will make it seem like you went above and beyond the minimum requirement, and may make your undergraduate degree more competitive.
All graduate schools are different. These are just my opinions.
No one gives a rats ass about whether you went to a party school or not. Its about the person, not the school. And while you'll need a decent GPA and GRE to get in, the number one key to getting in to grad school is going to be doing productive undergraduate research in a lab.
Believe whatever you like but if I'm looking at 2 apps with similar GPAs, similar GMAT scores and good lab experience (and you wouldn't be applying if you didn't have all of the above) then I'm taking the kid who went to a challenging school.
C of C does not have a strong reputation, so it is realistic to say you may get passed by for a graduate from a stronger college (Clemson would be one in SC).
Believe whatever you like but if I'm looking at 2 apps with similar GPAs, similar GMAT scores and good lab experience (and you wouldn't be applying if you didn't have all of the above) then I'm taking the kid who went to a challenging school.
If you don't have a clue of what you are talking about, don't spout off. I'm not talking about business schools or law school or medical school, I'm talking about PhD programs in biology (which is what the original poster seemed to be referring to). If a program gets in two apps with similar GPAs, similar GREs (GMAT is for MBA programs), good lab experience and great letters of recommedation, both kids will get flown in for an interview. And if both kids are as good in person as they seem on paper, both will get in. Going to school at a top tier research university has alot of advantages in the number of opportunities to do undergraduate research, but there are plenty of opportunities at small colleges as well. Especially since you can go to a major research university to do work in the summer. I know numerous kids at Duke who went to Podunk U and did great work and learned how to do follow your nose science. And seen several kids who could regurgitate information like there was no tomorrow, aced their GREs and had stratospheric grades at ivy league schools, but couldn't think their way out of a paper bag. The first group were impressive in interviews and got in, many in the second group did not. Again, for grad programs in biology, its more about the person than the pedigree. So I'd still tell the original poster to pick a school that is a good fit for them (financially and intellectually), and not worry that going to school X vs school Y is going to hold them back from getting into grad school.
No one said that kids from small schools don't have a chance of getting into grad school but kids from crappy schools face an uphill battle. PhD programs receive hundreds of apps for each student they admit and all things equal the kid from the better school wins out. That isn't to say that small school are bad. I know numerous grad students who went to good liberal arts schools (Davidson, Wellesley, Swarthmore, etc.) and then supplemented their education by working summers in federal, private and university-based research labs.
Clemson is no academic powerhouse like the University of Florida but among state schools in SC it is a decent choice for biological sciences and certainly better than CoC.
You are right, they are not the academic powerhouse. Clemson is the 30th public school while UF is the 13th.
Among 375 universities, UF ranked No. 2, just below Harvard. That means more national merit scholars went to Florida than to colleges like Yale, Stanford or the University of Michigan.
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but among state schools in SC it is a decent choice for biological sciences and certainly better than CoC.
