I am a rising senior and trying to complete my college list. I plan to major in Bioinformatics, as it combines my two favorite disciplines: CS and Bio. I was trying to look into top Bioinformatics major colleges, but I was only able to find a few on USNWR and most of it was hidden behind a paywall. I was wondering if anyone else had any anecdotal or statistical data that showed which schools in the US are the best for Bioinformatics and other related majors.
Bioinformatics, although a viable way to encompass your interests, is a bit of an obscure and specific term. Although your undergraduate education is more intricate than high school, colleges won't often offer bachelors degrees in hyperspecific topics or fields. Although I'm not here to offer you empiricism about which schools are the best choices according to your interests, I'm here to give you a less quantitative piece of advice that I think will remain valuable. Fulfilling a degree in bioinformatics shouldn't be reserved for your undergraduate years. It sounds like the type of career you'd want to fulfill through a graduate program. And luckily, grad schools are far more specific with the degrees they offer. Hell, I've seen someone get their Ph.D. in veganism ethics, a very narrow and specific study. So I'm sure finding a program that fits you best after you receive your bachelors will be way easier than it is now. If you've been researching undergraduate colleges for bioinformatics, then you might've had trouble finding institutions that fulfill your interests. I can understand why, as well as how frustrating that can be. But rest assured that your interest, if you continue to want to pursue it in the future, can be adequately made possible once you're applying to schools for your masters degree. Maybe you might even want to explore universities with undergraduate and graduate campuses that have those masters degrees for a better chance of admission. But in the end, you've got a great (and interesting) combination of passions, so spend your undergraduate life exploring whether bioinformatics is right for you.
Ah okay, thank you!
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