<p>Youngest is starting his sophomore year in high school and we’ll soon have to decide whether to go dual enrollment, college in the high school or AP (has to be self study here) to get him rigorous classes.</p>
<p>He’s been pretty dead set on wanting to major in Botany with emphasis on tropical and ethnobotany (people using plants). How do I go about finding schools well known for that? I know I can find schools with botany majors, but how do I find “top” botany schools?</p>
<p>So far he likes U of Hawaii in Manoa, but their overall stats are pretty low and some of what I’ve read makes me wonder about the overall education. Are there other choices? Or is U of H really top in that major to make the rest inconsequential? </p>
<p>I want to see what colleges prefer for rigorous classes to aim him in the right direction now. Middle son is finding a preference for AP at colleges he is considering and he has mostly dual enrollment. I don’t know if that’s typical or not. People are telling me “check with the colleges he’s interested in.” What other colleges might this guy be interested in?</p>
<p>Tulane: [Tulane</a> University Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology](<a href=“http://eebio.tulane.edu/]Tulane”>http://eebio.tulane.edu/)</p>
<p>Some others to check:
Duke: [Duke</a> Department of Biology](<a href=“http://www.biology.duke.edu/undergraduate/]Duke”>Undergraduate Program | Department of Biology)
Possibly, U of Miami, Florida Internat’l U: [CETroB</a> - Coalition for Excellence in Tropical Biology](<a href=“http://www.miamisci.org/cetrob/index.html]CETroB”>http://www.miamisci.org/cetrob/index.html)
Possibly, U Missouri-St. Louis: [Department</a> of Biology: Graduate Certificate in Tropical Biology and Conservation](<a href=“http://www.umsl.edu/~biology/certprograms/gradcerttbconserv.html]Department”>http://www.umsl.edu/~biology/certprograms/gradcerttbconserv.html), [Whitney</a> R. Harris World Ecology Center](<a href=“http://www.umsl.edu/~biology/hwec/]Whitney”>Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center | UMSL)
possibly, Princeton: <a href=“https://www.princeton.edu/eeb/courses/;[/url]”>https://www.princeton.edu/eeb/courses/;</a> Yale: <a href=“Welcome | Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology”>Welcome | Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; WUStL: [Course</a> Descriptions | Department of Biology](<a href=“http://wubio.wustl.edu/undergradcourses]Course”>http://wubio.wustl.edu/undergradcourses)</p>
<p>Also, at any number of colleges and universities, one can arrange to study abroad for topical field biology courses offered through the Organization for Tropical Studies and similar organizations.</p>
<p>You might also look at foreign universities such as these in Australia:
[JCU</a> - School of Tropical Biology](<a href=“http://www.jcu.edu.au/school/tropbiol/]JCU”>http://www.jcu.edu.au/school/tropbiol/)
[Tropical</a> biology - Undergraduate Area of Study - Faculty of Science - Monash University Handbooks 2011](<a href=“http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2011handbooks/aos/ug-tropical-biology.html]Tropical”>http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2011handbooks/aos/ug-tropical-biology.html)</p>
<p>This site has extensive links for programs in ethnobotany:
[Ethnobotany:</a> Higher Education Courses](<a href=“http://www.kew.org/science/eblinks/educ.html]Ethnobotany:”>http://www.kew.org/science/eblinks/educ.html)</p>
<p>A number of these programs are based at non-US universities and are at the postgraduate level.</p>
<p>^^^ Many thanks. I’ll be checking out those links today to see if there’s a trend on what they prefer. I tend to think it will be AP - which is the hardest to do here since our school doesn’t offer them (nor IB).</p>
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<p>This one is a superb site. Thank you VERY much for the link to the links (colleges, etc).</p>
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Hawaii has a few top programs - botany, zoology, marine science, astronomy, Pacific anthropology/archaeology. Ethnobotany is another field in which it excels, and I would say it is quite probably #1 in the field. </p>
<p>I am not sure it’s a great choice for undergraduate studies, however. There are many problems with selecting a comparatively weak university – less funding for research, a less motivated student body, inadequate library facilities, weaker career advising, etc. Additionally, the school has a reputation for its location being a distraction for students (though a boon, of course, for biology students). It really depends on how serious he is about this as a career path. </p>
<p>Personally, I recommend selecting colleges with strong programs in biology (preferably with a concentration in ecology, botany, and/or plant systematics) and anthropology (usually cultural but also archaeology for an interest in archaeobotany). If he has an interest in pharmacology, which is a hot topic in ethnobotany right now, I also recommend looking for strong chemistry programs. </p>
<p>I strongly second Zap’s suggestions of Duke and WUStL; both are tops for botany and have good anthropology programs. Other schools to consider include but are not limited to:</p>
<p>Berkeley
Cornell
Humboldt State
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
NC State
Penn State
UGA
Wisconsin</p>
<p>LACs with sufficient offerings will be difficult to find. Conn College, Juniata, Middlebury, Ohio Wesleyan, and Swarthmore especially come to mind, but many more will have decent ecology offerings - though botany courses may be in short supply.</p>
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<p>Since he’s just entering 10th grade, we haven’t made him chisel anything in stone just yet, but he’s been keeping his own field notes and plant experiments going since he’s been quite young. He’s made me seriously think there’s some truth in the “Naturalist” category of Multiple Intelligences, though, as many non-believers in MI suggest, he’s also quite intelligent overall. That said, he’s really drawn to flora, and to some extent, fauna far more than any youngster I’ve seen (though I know others are out there). Our guidance office is unlikely to have many suggestions for this guy, so I’m digging around a little to see what I can find for him to check out - and to see what path I want him to take to get there. As mentioned before, in order to get AP, he’ll have to self study. Bio is a given. He’s already read through Campbell’s college book - for fun. Perhaps Chem too, but I’ll let him take the regular high school course first.</p>
<p>We visited Wash U this summer for middle son (a Pre-Med wannabe who is applying this year). Youngest perked up a ton at that visit - unlike other visits. However, should middle son make it in, I’m not sure youngest will consider it as he’s always wanted to travel his own path.</p>
<p>He may very likely excel at Hawaii since he’s naturally driven in that field. However, he’s already scuba certified, so distractions there are a real possibility too. We’ll have to put some serious consideration into it in another year or so, esp if they are considered top in his desired field. Normally I’d axe any college with numbers as low as theirs (for his projected ability). On the other hand, merit aid would be nice and I see they do offer some for out of state students.</p>
<p>Out of state publics without the option for aid will likely be out with our finances.</p>