Another University with a good option is University of Delaware with the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. They have a few majors that cover hydrology or freshwater related fields. It also is a smaller college in a not the biggest state university. If you want to do research over the summer, College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment has its own campus in a gorgeous town called Lewes. I love that place with a passion. That campus is practically a research/field work station and students often work there over the summer.
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If your main concern is having a connection with professors and students, youâve chosen the correct field. I have yet to find a program that doesnât have a tight nit group. Somehow, almost everyone seems to know each other at these small colleges in big state universities.
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Thank you for all the suggestions and comments. After doing more research and consulting with my family I have removed and added some colleges.
-Hobart and William
-UW Superior
-UW Stevens Point
-Washington College
-CSU Warner
-University of Idaho
-Salisbury University
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Donât forget to run the NPC on each of them to make sure they are affordable.
I hope you can explore the different majors at the 3 universities above, especially if one is instate (OOS costs would be high at VTech and PSU. I think Ag&EMS at PSU-UP have special scholarships otherwise all you can expect is 5k if you get into Schreyer. However these are very good programs with smaller classes because relatively few students know about them and they receive lots of funding.)
Wash Coll actually has been getting good financial health grades (Forbes 2023 College Financial Grades: The Nationâs Strongest And Weakest Schools). And they have been receiving very large grants and donations as of late. But yes, it is good to look at for all schools, even big ones like West Virginia)
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Just double checking because the article talks about Washington U St Louis - not Washington College - to ensure we have the right Washington.
Hereâs from the school:
Financial projections for WC show increased enrollment is crucial â The Elm (washcoll.edu)
No, you actually type in Washington College in the search on the article and will see the grade (but yes, Wash U is on first page and has good grade)
Also, there has been some other news too:
But I still agree, always good to do homework. WVA cut a lot of majors this year and other schools are closing. I am sure other groups outside of Forbes analyze this as well, might be worth comparing!
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They were very generous with merit aid last year.
SUNY ESF has Aquatic biology/limnology? They are only 1600ish undergrads, but on the Syracuse campus and have access to many SU amenities.
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I agree with the other posters. I recommend going more broad. NEVER choose a school based on a potential âmajorâ interest out of high school, especially if itâs an out of state university and triple the tuition cost. Chances are, youâll change your major. High school is a maturation process where students find their real passions. Thatâs why itâs best to keep college affordable with a wide variety of choices.
If a student seeks this out, I agree that they can find it at almost any 4-year residential college. One doesnât have to go to a small college to get this experience. But if a student is seeking a small to medium-sized school, I donât think thereâs anything wrong with that.
I agree that one shouldnât choose a college, just because of the major. Additionally, choosing a school that only has a limited range of majors can also have potential downfalls. The schools that OP is considering below, however, all have a wide array of majors should OP want to change directions. Thus, if the schools (these or any others) offer a range of different options, are within budget, and are a good fit for the OP, I wouldnât hesitate to give them strong consideration.
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What about New Mexico Tech?
It has a hydrology research center (one of the oldest in the US) and offers a hydrology concentration within its environmental science dept at the undergrad level. Tech offer graduate degrees (MS and PhD) in hydrology.
Tech is small school with about 1250 undergrads.
Tech is relatively inexpensive ($36K/year for OOS tuition, fees, housing & meals). Scholarships are available. The Gold Scholarship ($5K/year) is guaranteed for students with High school GPA of 3.5 and ACT 30 or SAT 1360.
Scholarship information here: New Mexico Tech Scholarships: New Mexico Tech
Tech is a small school in a smallish town, but has amenities like its own golf course and shares its campus w/ the control center/research center for the VLA (Very Large Array) So if youâre into astronomy/astrophysics⊠you have that too.
NM has numerous karst formations with extensive caves systems (Carlsbad Caverns is just the most well known). The Blue Hole is one of a system of 7 interconnected underground sinkhole lakes.
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I think you should consider a broader program and should not stay limited to this only.
There are many other options like Minde Colorado School Their programs in geological Egineering. Or else you can search many other schools.
My daughter is an engineer and while she didnât know that sheâd go into engineering when she started high school, we were pretty sure sheâd be in some type of STEM. I had no issue with her going to a tech school because if she changed her mind from engineering she would have switch to chemistry or math or physics. That same school would have been a disaster for my other daughter as there werenât enough fine arts or liberal arts courses (never mind majors) offered.
Not all colleges have a wide variety of choices and no one has a problem with small LACs that donât offer business or engineering, or tech schools that donât offer orchestra or dance as majors. Those small schools wouldnât be right for ME, but the OP seems to have a good grasp on what he/she wants in a school (and yes, lots of kids transfer as sophomores because they realize that a school is too small or too big, but I donât think Williams worries it isnât offering enough majors)
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