Virginia Tech has several majors in the College of Natural Resources that are worthy of consideration.
Tech also has a rigorous Environmental Science major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Undergraduate Programs | School of Plant and Environmental Sciences | Virginia Tech
The check sheets in the following link show the courses required for graduation in each major offered at VT.
https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html
I get the geographic/political restrictions - I do - but maybe consider Eckerd in Florida for marine bio. It’s that quirky mix, on the beach, colleges that change lives kind of place. Our neighbors kid is there. It’s not like the rest of the area.
But I also agree about having plenty of schools for undergrad with broader majors - a lot of kids don’t stay in marine bio and a lot of Marino bio people majored in a more basic science. We know of three who dropped the major
Coming back to this “must” for your D, is the small to mid-size because she wants to have a more intimate community and/or not fear getting lost in the shuffle? Or is she wanting to have smaller classes?
Depending on the answer, then looking at the requirements to be invited for the honors program will be important at the bigger schools. Then again, the size of the college isn’t always in a direct relationship with the size of its classes. If class size isn’t a driving factor in your D’s preference, would something like the Warner living learning communities that @vwlizard mentioned work as a way of shrinking a big school to a more manageable size?
Yes! I wish that were the case. Unfortunately, each counselor has a case load in the hundreds, so the input has been limited. The school really prioritizes helping first-gen and under-represented students finding their college path, which I appreciate them for.
Fantastic list - thank you. Good luck to your daughter!
Thank you! You’ve listed several we haven’t looked into (esp. Skidmore, Macalester and Dickinson) - excited to start researching.
Really appreciate the probably safeties - something we’re short on with her list and needing to build up. Thank you!
She is definitely open to private or public - her desire for a smaller size is to be “seen” a bit more. She’s pretty quiet/shy and smaller classes/student body size might be helpful in bringing her out of her shell. Thank you!
I forgot to mention that she said no more Catholic schools (after 7 years of them). Is religion pretty deeply woven into the Villanova culture?
This looks amazing! Thank you.
How have we not looked into this? It sounds incredible on all fronts. We’d love to check out his Insta. Thank you!
That’s a really good question. It’s probably equal parts not wanting to get lost in the shuffle and she really enjoys smaller seminar-style classes.
For this attribute, soms of the schools appearing in this site may be suitable:
I went ahead and pulled the class sizes for the colleges I mentioned earlier (plus Colorado State) using this aggregator, and for the schools that weren’t in the aggregator, I used USNWR. I’ve sorted this list by the percentage of classes that have more than 50 students.
For schools with lower percentages of classes over 50, I think there would probably be less need for an honors college (though definitely a nice-to-have). But the larger the percentage of classes that have more than 50, the more important I think that honors college will be. Additionally, I would recommend looking at the Common Data Sets (CDS) for schools of greater interest. The CDS will give greater detail on classes sizes…like how many are in the 20-30 range vs the 40-50 range, as I suspect that can also have a significant impact on the classroom experience.
With that said, here’s the chart:
| School | Classes under 20 | Classes 20-49 | Classes 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| U. of Redlands | 64.0% | 36.0% | 0.0% |
| Colorado College | 63.0% | 37.0% | 0.0% |
| St. Mary’s College of Maryland | 72.0% | 27.0% | 1.0% |
| Lewis & Clark | 54.0% | 45.0% | 1.0% |
| Stockton | 36.4% | 62.6% | 1.0% |
| Colby | 64.0% | 34.0% | 2.0% |
| Salisbury | 46.3% | 51.1% | 2.6% |
| Cal State: Monterey Bay | 28.8% | 67.3% | 3.9% |
| Cal Poly: Humboldt | 43.9% | 49.6% | 6.6% |
| SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry | 64.0% | 29.0% | 7.0% |
| U. of Wisconsin - Stevens Point | 38.3% | 52.9% | 8.8% |
| U. of Montana | 54.0% | 37.0% | 10.0% |
| U. of Rhode Island | 39.0% | 51.0% | 11.0% |
| Western Washington | 49.5% | 39.5% | 11.1% |
| Cal Poly: San Luis Obispo | 18.7% | 69.8% | 11.5% |
| U. of Maine | 45.0% | 42.0% | 14.0% |
| U. of Hawaii at Manoa | 39.6% | 44.5% | 15.9% |
| U. of Vermont | 41.0% | 42.0% | 17.0% |
| U. of Delaware | 36.0% | 47.0% | 17.0% |
| U. of Oregon | 37.0% | 44.0% | 19.0% |
| UC - Santa Barbara (not CCS) | 57.0% | 25.0% | 19.0% |
| Colorado State | 34.0% | 44.0% | 22.0% |
ETA: Forgot the California publics so I added them in.
Honors program expectations vary from college to college. I haven’t looked at all, but I started with the schools with the highest percentage of classes with 50+ students and started making my way down.
Colorado State (source)
CSU Honors Program Applicants Demonstrate:
• Academic rigor as shown through coursework, including but not limited to: Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual-enrollment credits.
• Exemplary academic performance.
• Evidence of meaningful community contributions.
• Knowledge of program values illustrating how these values align with educational aspirations.
• Excellent communication skills as illustrated by application responses.
• A desire to participate in, and contribute to, an Honors community.We are looking for highly motivated students who aspire to explore important questions in today’s society, to build healthy and inclusive communities, and to do so within an environment that encourages interdisciplinary connections and effective dialogue. We are seeking applicants who desire to be part of a supportive, inclusive community of engaged students, faculty, and staff. In addition to demonstrating academic excellence and creativity, we look for an interest in interdisciplinary connections and a commitment to community.
Note: CSU is test optional, so Honors does not require SAT or ACT scores. CSU also does not require letters of recommendation. You may include these items in your CSU application; however, Honors@CSU does not use these for admission criteria into the program.
A 3.8 (weighted or unweighted) is a minimum requirement.
College of Creative Studies (source):
Application generally recomments letter of intent, transcripts, work in evidence of talent, and letters of recommendation (depending on major…bio requires them but marine science doesn’t accept any).
U. of Oregon (source)
Each application is evaluated to establish its strength with respect to:
• Creative Potential: Creativity and critical thinking
• Academic Performance: The extent to which you have challenged yourself by taking diverse and rigorous courses in high school
• Potential Contribution: The ways in which you have contributed to your family and your community
• Typical Clark Honors College Incoming Students
• 3.9 Median GPA or higher
• 90th Percentile of test takers
Indicated that it’s highly competitive with more than 4000 applicants for “a limited number of spots in our incoming class.”
U. of Delaware (source)
Not much info, but about 11% of the incoming class is part of the honors program and it’s test optional for admission to honors.
U. of Vermont (source)
Even less info.
There is no application required for first-year admission; invitation is based on high school academic performance. Seeking to create a diverse learning community, we consider many factors in order to build a balanced and diverse class. The final criteria used will depend on the profile of the incoming class as a whole.
U. of Hawaii at Manoa (source)
Admissions Requirements
Applicants must have a cumulative high school G.P.A of 3.5 or higher. Our ideal students have been involved in a range of extra and co-curricular activities throughout their education, including leadership roles, volunteering, employment, international exchanges, and more. Many of our students take AP or other college level courses during high school. If you feel you meet these requirements you are encouraged to apply to our Honors Program.
Thank you for this incredible research and detail! Very, very much appreciated.
This will change for students in Honors programs, though. Many of their gen ed requirements will be filled with <20 student seminars rather than the typical lecture hall gen ed classes.
Not only do requirements vary from program to program, but what the programs offer vary drastically.
Our final two schools were UMN and CSU and S23 was leaning toward not doing the honors program at UMN if he went. There, it was not integrated into the gen eds the way it is at CSU. It seemed like an add on burden offering few benefits with the sole purpose of “graduating with honors” rather than an integrated value-added program.
I’ve heard wonderful things about UDel’s honors program as well.
If your daughter thinks she would enjoy an honors program, I highly recommend doing additional research. In some schools, honors programs completely change the experience and in others not so much.
Also, in some schools applying early may give you an edge when applying to an honors program.
If extremely small is doable, College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, ME would fit all of the other criteria.
UMAINE is quite strong for Marine Science; campus is a sleepy town. UNH also very good. Bit more going on/accessible.
UVM great for environmental sciences.
All are cold (and dark) during the winter.