Welcome to the club, ClaireBear! I can't really help ya decide on where to go...but, I would choose the school that I would be happiest at, if I was in your position. Prestige may count for a bit, but I've found that if you do well, no matter where you go, and kick some butt on the MCAT, then it really won't matter where you go. This is from talking to people who are currently in medical school.
As for myself, I go to a little school called California State University, Fullerton. I'm happy here.
By the way, I'm feeling a bit lazy today, so my responses down here will refer to specific people, but I won't list your names
😛
Well, my first bio class wasn't general bio, it was Evolution and Biodiversity...think of it as a combination of Evolutionary Biology, Zoology, Botany, and a little bit of Ecology combined into one class...it said in my professor's syllabus that it wasn't a weed out class, but I think that that was a lie, considering how bad the exam scores were for that class...I was so sure that I would get a D but I got a C instead. It was fun (we got to go on field trips for two of the labs, one to a beach, one to a wildlife sanctuary), and the professor was a really cool dude and nice guy (you should see how excited he sounds whenever the topic switches to the environment and environmental issues), but I'm going to have to say that his teaching methods aren't so great for helping the students prepare for his tests...nice guy, horrible teacher.
For Cell Biology (the official name at my school is "Cellular Basis of Life")...two professors currently teach this class at my school, one female, and one male. From how I've been hearing things, most students HATE the male professor, and call him names behind his back (His name is Dr. Koch, pronounced Dr. "Cook"...replace one of the O's with a C and that spells...what some people call him behind his back).
I didn't really understand why there was so much animosity directed at him. Then I started learning...
He treats his COLLEGE students like they're HIGH SCHOOL students.
His test questions are all essay; a C grade is simply answering the question, a B grade is answering and explaining the answer, and an A grade is...much, much, more explaining and details than a B grade (about half a page of explanation and details would do it I guess)
He doesn't give enough time for the students to finish the test
He only gives 3 tests for a semester (not including the final)
He once substituted for the female prof's class, and the entire class hated him by the end of the lecture.
The AVERAGE exam score in his class is 55% (F) AND HE DOESN'T CURVE!
😱 😡
That's gonna be a lot of people failing his class by the end of the semester...
🙁
I've heard so many nasty and horrible things about this prof from so many of his students, some of whom go to my Chemistry class, and some...well, they just rant on and on about him after I let those people know that I will sign up for Cell Bio next semester, and these are people who I don't even know! My friends taking his class right now tell me that if I sign up for Cell Bio, that I should run like the wind from the lecture hall if he shows up on the first day to teach and drop his class before it ruins my GPA (the schedule of classes doesn't list the profs who are going to teach Cell Bio next semester! What a rip).
So I'm gonna see if I can sign up for the female prof's class now...I hear that she's much nicer to her students, doesn't give any mid-terms or finals, just a bunch of quizzes, and she explains the concepts much much much better, and actually understandable to college students.
Here's my experience with lab grades vs. lecture grades at my school: Bio labs count for more than 1/2 of the grade, Chem labs seem to count for about 1/10 of the grade. That's a world of difference, and I am so glad that in Bio the lab TA's allow students to work in groups, so that I don't end up screwing up the labs.
Man am I gonna HATE having to take Cell Bio with the male prof...
😡
I have no choice in G. Chem II profs for next semester, as there is only one teaching...but then I hear he's a cool dude, like I said before, and I've heard again and again that G. Chem II is more fun and less difficult than G. Chem I, so no worries...
Calculus profs...personally I don't care...I could easily get help and tutoring on math at the Opportunity Center
So now I need to find out which Cell Bio classes that prof is gonna teach next semester and avoid them like the plague! Hopefully my pre-med advisor will know (he's a professor in the biology department and teaches Immunology and Biology of Cancer)
I also hear that the male Cell Bio prof is gonna teach a Genetics and Molecular Bio class that I am required to take...dang it, that'll really suck if I end up with him for that particular class.
One more thing in this LONG post before I exit SDN for the day:
at my school, the bachelor's degree granted to bio majors is "Biological Science with an emphasis in ______"
4 emphases to choose from:
Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology
Marine Biology
Cell and Developmental Biology
Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
Any emphasis can be chosen for pre-med students
I think it's fairly obvious which "emphasis" I am gonna choose for myself, what with my interest in Genetics (which seems to be very closely related to Molecular Bio) and the marketability of Biotechnology skillz (back-up plan for if I don't get in the first time)
I studied so hard for those 2 test; time to relax and go party! 
