Since you will probably want a job once you get out of college, you consider which schools have a good reputation in biology. That is one way of signalling. Ideally, you want a school that signals strong for biology but not for other majors: that way you don't get the increased competition against students in other areas.
Other considerations can be important to factor in as well, but others have already mentioned these.
You've implied that you are not from the US. I have noticed that students who have peers of a similar nationality often have an easier time assimilating into universities and seem to form stronger connections both with other international students and with local students. If I would have to guess, it is because they don't end up feeling as displaced. So you may want to consider which schools are likely to get more transfers from your country or have strong international programs in general.
Since this fall I will be applying to college in the USA, I have compiled a hefty list of colleges based on the following criteria:
-4-year school;
-co-ed or all men;
-Biology major;
-"full-ride" financial aid available.
The problem's that I have quite a lot of choices, hundreds, as a matter of fact. So how should I narrow down my list even further, given that I don't care about other stuff, such as campus size or location?
Moreover, to how many colleges should I apply? As far as I know, mpst people apply to 6-9 colleges, but some even apply to 20! I guess that by applying to as many colleges possible, my chances of admission go up. But, I probably won't have time to write hundreds of admission essays, or the money to send in my application to all these colleges.
Lastly, as my objective is to gain admission somewhere, should I only apply to colleges with acceptance rates above a certain percentage? What should that percentage be?
If anyone would like to take this in private, I'd be more than happy to receive some advice from any member of the community!