D graduating 2026 (edited by moderator) wants to study animal science/zoo science. needs small school (less than 5k) with lots of hands on opportunities w/animals. Needs less pressure cooker environment of prevet/premed schools (high school experience has been complicated). Test optional. Toured DelVal and loved it. Other small NE schools that have this focus?
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I don’t know if you would consider Ohio, but take a look at Otterbein. We have a friend who had a child there for zoological sciences, had an amazing experience, and had no trouble finding a job afterwards in her field.
It’s great that she loved Delaware Valley…you got one 
Alfred State, 3500 students
Bucknell, 4,000 ish students
Frostburg 4,900 students
SUNY Morrisville 1800 students - AA degree
W Liberty 1919
You don’t often hear about W Liberty - I learned of it when there was a transfer student from there on my daughter’s College Basketball team - well, the school she attended. It’s in WV…but the degree might work.
Not sure if any of these choices = Del Val but some others to look at.
thank you. that was not on my radar. looks possible
Thank you. Most of these don’t have enough hands on with animals it seems. She is less interested in the agriculture side of the equation
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Did she graduate in 2025 or is she graduating in 2026?
This may not be working with animals enough although they talk about experiential but Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island.
There are past thread with Delaware Valley - I think most in this area though are large schools. From one of those, I pulled off Warren Wilson near Asheville NC - not NE but - they have a working farm.
Animal Science Bachelor’s Degree | Providence | Johnson & Wales University
graduating high school 2026. I need to fix the opening statement. thank you for catching it.
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If your daughter wants to work in a zoo, an Animal Science program might not be the best fit. A lot of Animal Science programs are housed in agricultural colleges and focus heavily on livestock and food animals. Some offer specializations like animal nutrition that could be relevant to zoos, but she may want to explore programs in biology, wildlife biology, or zoology instead.
It can also be helpful to choose a school located near a zoo, so she can gain hands-on experience through volunteering or internships. Since zoos have a limited number of roles that involve direct animal care, another good approach is to work backwards: look at specific zoo jobs that interest her, see what qualifications they require, and then pick a program that aligns with those requirements.
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