When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Well Attended Biology Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 107,165 general biology students received their degree, making the major the 5th most popular in the country. In 2019-2020, general biology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $28,334 and had an average of $23,818 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Biology Major” ranking looked at 1,753 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general biology. To top this list, a school must have a successful general biology program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Well Attended Biology Major” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Most Well Attended Biology Major
The colleges and universities below are the best for biology students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of South Florida - Main Campus. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Biology Major. USF Tampa is a public institution located in Tampa, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,339 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Out of the 1,753 schools in the Most Well Attended Biology Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #2 spot on the list. ASU - Tempe is a public institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 955 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Out of the 1,753 schools in the Most Well Attended Biology Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Florida International University landed the #3 spot on the list. FIU is a large public school situated in Miami, Florida. It awarded 952 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Out of the 1,753 schools in the Most Well Attended Biology Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Central Florida landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Orlando, Florida, and it awarded 897 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A&M University - College Station. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Biology Major. Texas A&M College Station is located in College Station, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 853 ’s biology degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Rutgers University - New Brunswick did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking, coming in at #6. Located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, this large public school handed out 751 diplomas to qualified ’s biology students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #7, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major list. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s biology degrees to 749 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
The University of Texas at Austin landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking. The University of Texas at Austin is a large school located in Austin, Texas that handed out 680 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking, coming in at #9. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s biology degrees to 624 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #10, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major list. Chapel Hill, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s biology degrees to 614 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking, coming in at #11. UT Rio Grande Valley is located in Edinburg, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 587 ’s biology degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Florida landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking. University of Florida is a public institution located in Gainesville, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 563 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of Maryland - College Park ranked #13 on this year’s Most Well Attended Biology Major list. College Park, Maryland is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s biology degrees to 560 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #14, Florida Atlantic University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major list. This large school is located in Boca Raton, Florida, and it awarded 562 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of Georgia came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking. Athens, Georgia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s biology degrees to 557 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #16, Houston Community College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major list. Houston Community College is a large school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 549 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
Stony Brook University ranked #17 on this year’s Most Well Attended Biology Major list. Located in Stony Brook, New York, this large public school handed out 555 diplomas to qualified ’s biology students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.
University of California - Los Angeles came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking. UCLA is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 532 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a large public school situated in Columbus, Ohio. It awarded 495 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
With a ranking of #20, Northern Arizona University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major list. Flagstaff, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s biology degrees to 493 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Michigan State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking, coming in at #21. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s biology degrees to 484 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #22, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major list. UCSD is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 469 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school awarded 466 degrees to qualified ’s biology students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #24, University of Houston did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major list. UH is a large public school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 452 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
With a ranking of #25, University of North Texas did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Biology Major list. UNT is a large public school situated in Denton, Texas. It awarded 437 ’s biology degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
*Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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