Hello, all! Trying to develop a balanced college list for D25 who lives in CA. GPA is 4.0 from a highly competitive private school and she’s taken 5 AP/honors classes so far. Good extracurriculars. Test scores are average. Here’s her criteria - thanks in advance for any suggestions:
No price restrictions
Looking to pursue marine biology, environmental sciences or conservation
She won’t be partaking in Greek Life
A bit quirky, not a partier
Her “musts”
Small to mid-sized school (would consider bigger school if honors program)
Beautiful campus
Nature nearby (walkable)
Basic amenities nearby - like a grocery store (walkable)
Your daughter lives in CA. Do you as well? Would she be considered a CA resident for the California public schools?
Does she have any inkling what she wants to do after college? I understand that it will likely change. I’m trying to get an idea if she is more interested in marine biology or in a broader field of study such as environmental science.
I haven’t looked to see which have marine bio and some will be too reachy, buy here is my daughter’s working ES list:
Bates
Bowdoin
Carleton
Clark
Colby
Lewis and Clark
Macalester
Mount Holyoke
Pitzer
Scripps
University of Oregon
University of Vermont
Willamette
Many of the NESCACs that are strong in environmental studies spring to mind: Bates, Colby, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Williams, and Wesleyan. These are all reaches, but worth looking into. Skidmore is worth a look for a somewhat less reachy option; they have both environmental studies (more humanities/social science) and environmental science (more STEM). Also Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Amherst – the five-college consortium has a joint concentration in marine science, which she could participate in regardless of which of those colleges she attends. In California, check out Occidental (well-regarded major in marine biology), Pomona, Scripps, and Pitzer – the environmental analysis major is shared by the Claremont Colleges, so she could have the benefits of a small-college experience but the resources and social opportunities of the larger consortium. Look at Reed and Lewis and Clark, as well. Others that come to mind are Macalester and Dickinson.
Do you mean that national mean, of about 1028 to 1050 on the SAT (source) or an ACT score of about 19-20 (source)? Or some other range of scores?
As all the public Cali schools are test blind, the first school that came to mind for your D is Cal State-Monterey Bay (about 6200 undergrads). I suspect that Cal Poly-Humboldt (about 5500 undergrads) would also be a good contender. Also, I’d check out the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara which would be a small school of about 400 within a big school, and marine science is one of the possible majors within it.
In addition to some of the California publics I mentioned above (and there are more California publics to consider if they have honors colleges), these are some other schools your family may want to consider. The first half of the list tends to be strong in both marine sciences and environmental whereas the second half of the schools are mostly more known for environmental studies than marine sciences.
The bulk of this list is composed of schools that tend to accept most of their applicants, meaning this can be a great spot to look for those sure things (i.e. extremely likely to accept the applicant, be affordable, and a school that the applicant would enjoy attending). I believe that college searches should start with the sure things and that application lists should include at least 2 of them, to ensure that a student has a choice come the spring. Additionally, some people’s entire lists consist of sure things. There are, however, a couple of schools which would be considered reaches for any student.
Without further ado, the list:
U. of Hawaii at Manoa: About 14k undergrads
Stockton (NJ): About 8100 undergrads
U. of Rhode Island: About 15k undergrads
U. of Oregon: About 20k undergrads
U. of Delaware: About 19k undergrads
Western Washington: About 14k undergrads
U. of Maine: About 10k undergrads
Salisbury (MD): About 6400 undergrads
St. Mary’s College of Maryland: About 1500 undergrads (this is a public liberal arts school)
Lewis & Clark (OR): About 2200 undergrads
U. of Vermont: About 12k undergrads
U. of Wisconsin – Stevens Point: About 7300 undergrads in this blue town in a swing state
U. of Montana: About 7200 undergrads in this blue region
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry: About 1600 undergrads and can also take classes at Syracuse
I have a relative with a doctoral degree in this field. Her undergrad wasn’t specifically in Marine Bio, it was in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She did her undergrad at Rice. Meets many of your requirements and might be worth a look.
If she’s open to staying in California, there are a ton of public options: UC Berkeley comes to mind (my daughter is studying Enviro there at the College of Natural Resources, although I think L&S also offers Marine Bio…You say small to midsize but I include this because CNR’s whole “thing” is that provides a small campus experience within a big campus environment)…UC Santa Cruz has an excellent Marine Bio program (may also be too large for your daughter’s tastes, but would probably be a nice likely/safety if she would be open to it), of course UCSD and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Cal State Humboldt is great for enviro stuff and in a gorgeous location. Maybe these are all too large for her? Does she prefer privates over publics?
Wow. Your daughter and scenario sound a lot like mine (D23) from last year’s cycle. Very similar likes, wants, and stats. She was very undecided on Marine Biology (MB) or Environmental Science (ES). Marine Biology schools and options were more limited, most colleges have Environmental Science. Lot of great options already suggested in thread.
Hope below list can provide a couple ideas to look into in New England and Mid East Area
She decided on ES at Villanova after visiting on accepted students day. Amazing campus and smaller close knit ES major. She is very happy there and overall opportunities it provides. She thought ES major/degree offered up a little more options down the line.
Marine Biology (MB) Major School Acceptances:
University of New England (Coastal ME, near Portland ME)
Roger Williams University (Coastal RI, near Providence RI)
UNV of New Hampshire (Near coast of NH, near Portsmouth NH)
UNV of Connecticut (Isolated/Larger but has CT Coastal Campus Avery Point 2 years as MB major)
UNV of Rhode Island (Coastal RI, near Newport RI, Larger but offsite Marine Bio Facilities on Bay)
SUNY ESF (Syracuse UNV Campus)
Environmental Science School/Major Acceptances
Villanova University
UNV of Richmond
Cornell UNV Transfer Offer (Decided to decline recently)
Waitlisted to BU (MB), Northeastern (MB), Wake Forest (ES)
Rejected from Duke (ES), UNC (Bio/M)
Recommend to visit if possible as makes a big difference touring MB facilities, wet labs, fleet (Boats) and get a sense of area and weather.
Oregon State has one of the best Oceanography/Marine Science programs in the world (especially with its Hatfield Center). It may not fit all of your criteria (and it is experiencing growing pains), but it is worth a look.
If you’re open to UCs, UC Davis has a wonderful marine science research facility at Bodega Bay (Sonoma Coast). But I don’t know how much access undergrads have – there are residential facilities for grad students and visiting researchers, but you might want to look into whether undergrads can participate in research there.
D24 is ES and narrowing down her choices (and still waiting on a few admissions decisions).
Ithaca College meets a lot of this. Robust bus system for things that aren’t walkable (including to nearby state parks) Can also take up to 12 credits at Cornell
Cornell - definitely a beautiful campus, and good programs, but too big for my daughter.
Binghamton - doing a lot in Sustainability
SUNY ESF - She loved their programs but didn’t like the area. But others might.
Vanderbilt - fairly new ES & Climate program
U of Rochester
UMass Amherst - haven’t visited yet
U Pittsburgh - definitely get application in in September. Rolling admissions.
Northern Michigan - haven’t visited yet. Lots of snow!
Clarkson
Also check out Stony Brook on Long Island. They had ES and also a coastal ES option.
Although it’s big University of Delaware has a great honors program and if she decides on marine bio, they have a site in Lewes right on the Chesapeake
Northern Michigan was on our list, but we found it impossible to get to. Michigan Tech has an even better program, and S23 was a candidate for a full scholarship, but it also fell into the same category.
Great questions - thank you! Yes, she lives with me in CA, so is a resident. I’m guessing she’ll likely end up in a broader environmental sciences field vs marine biology, but she has a lot of passion for the latter. She doesn’t know exactly what she wants to do after college, but wants to be out in nature for a decent portion of it!
If she wants to do Wildlife Bio and Conservation, I suggest she look at Colorado State University. It’s part of WUE and there are lots of California kids there.
Although it’s large, between the honors program and Natural Resources having its own college (Warner College of Natural Resources), it does not feel large. For a “large” school, we find them incredibly responsive and user-friendly. Plus, they offer so many opportunities that I just don’t think a smaller school could compare. Follow Warner College on Instagram and really pour over the Warner College section of the CSU website.
There is Greek life, but the only people that even notice it are the small percentage that participate. It is a non-issue on campus.
Most of the honors students are not partiers. There is a really nice honors dorm, but there isn’t room in the dorm for all honors students. My son chose to live in the dorm that houses the Warner residential learning communities. It was a fantastic choice as he instantly found a group of friends that wanted to be out hiking and exploring. I tell people I don’t have to worry about my son partying because his friendgroup is asleep by 10 on Fridays so they can get up at 5 to head out exploring. I do however have to worry about him getting up close and personal with wildlife (if interested, I can send you his Insta to check out the pictures of all of these adventures)
Outstanding honors college. S23 loves it and it’s more comprehensive than some of the other schools we were considering.
People say the campus is beautiful. I guess beauty is the the eye of the beholder as I find it pleasant but not stunning. The views are pretty spectacular though.
There is nature right on campus and my son regularly bikes to Horsetooth Reservoir, which is absolutely stunning. Not exactly walkable, but everyone bikes at CSU. Don’t worry if you aren’t the most proficient biker. They teach you everything you need to know at orientation and have an on campus shop to help you out. And because they allow first year students to have cars on campus, my son quickly found friends with cars that loved to go out exploring. He’s been all over Colorado and parts of Wyoming. There is also a very active Outdoor Club (another thing to follow on Instagram).
Fort Collins is a great town. It’s a great college town and also a great family town. Old Town is the cutest pedestrian area and is walkable from campus. Small shops, restaurants and coffee shops, galleries, outdoor entertainment and there is always something interesting going on. South of campus is every big box store you could ever think of and accessible via public transportation. DH and I are seriously thinking of moving there.
My son’s experience with academics and professors has been great. He’s loved all of his honors classes. They are small, discussion-based, interdisciplinary, and taught by invested instructors. He has had no problem accessing professors. Students are very “you do you” and don’t seem concerned with competition. The professors in Warner are passionate about their subjects and so supportive of helping kids find their path. (I will say that DS is a good self-advocate and go-getter so has had amazing opportunities. He didn’t have to “fight” for them, but he was invested enough to seek them out). I’m blown away by all the resources Warner offers.