One possibility is because you go to a private and Bing is the gem of the SUNY system. And private schools want big names. Bing isn’t a big name per se but it will reflect better upon the school than ESF. That’s one explanation.
ESF shows up in multitude of rankings for the major. Its focus is here. Haven’t seen Bing in one. ESF is in many ways part of Syracuse. It’s not Syracuse but the student life is integrated.
As you see from the list above - ESF and Albany and Buffalo are accredited in EnvE. Bing is not. You wanted potential access. You do need to check on access as a non major but if you decide to study engineering, you have three SUNYs not named Bing that would make more sense.
Here are Bing career outcomes in the major - they do compare favorably to some of your reach schools -so that’s a plus. You can see job titles too - not sure they’ll fit what your son wants but that’s why it’s important (I think) to find the right curriculum over school brand - especially given a rather narrow focus. As we studied these for my son when he had interest b4 changing, it was very apparent that each school had a different focus or expertise.
As for money - that’s ALWAYS a personal call. But generally in life, people should know what they’re getting for their investment. So it’s always something to think about at least.
We haven’t - it’s clearly a reach, and wasn’t recommended by our school advisor. Would you think it is preferable to any of the reaches on the list now? Glad to hear your perspective!..
Wesleyan doesn’t have engineering - so if that’s really a requirement, you’ve got Bucknelll and potentially Lafayette - who has a civil and env eng dept in regards to LACs. Not the ones you list.
You have higher reaches on your list already than Wes - IMHO.
While I think it’s fair to offer other perspectives, this poster did say they are full pay with no cost constraints. If posters want to raise the ROI lens and/or the whole idea of potentially spending less, perhaps asking OP if they want to engage in that discussion makes sense first?
Regarding SUNY ESF, perhaps the counselor is cautious because that school is operating at a sizable budget deficit, and has experienced recent cutbacks in grad programming.
More likely the school name and how it reflects on the school. I know here in Nashville that’s a thing at the higher end privates. To continue their brands, they need big name colleges.
A bigger risk to ESF (and the major anywhere) is that the feds are basically diminishing the entirety of the mission.
“A small college that packs a powerful research punch, SUNY’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry is under pressure by federal research funding cutbacks and inequities in the distribution of state operating monies—a combination that puts ESF future at risk.”
Note the quote you used also points to the state’s funding structure as problematic for ESF as well. Basically, they are getting hit from both state and feds.
Interesting - was not aware of deficits at ESF. Of course, Im certainly not sure our college counselor is either!
The issue of cost is a thorny one that I would just rather not include here. We’re very lucky to have it not be relevant to us, and would like just to focus on the other factors.
Essentially - with some trimming for personal preference and geography, and a couple additions (Middlebury, Northwestern) based on other research and advice.
ESF is very specialized. S23 100% knew they were going the Wildlife Bio/Conservation route, and it was even too specialized for him. His mentor, an ESF grad who is well sought out in her field, was not very positive about ESF for his particular case (an “instatiably intellectually curious” kid who also wanted to dabble in engineering and interdisciplinary honors classes with many options on the table due to his stats. He sounds similar to your son). It’s not that it isn’t a good school for the right kid, but it doesn’t seem to be a fit for your son.
I’d concentrate on more safeties to find one that he’d love. Consider UW (not a safety), UMD for atmospheric studies. For political climate and climate studies, University of Boulder would be a fantastic choice. Lots of great climate research going on there.
I feel like perhaps your son’s counselor went to the big names and might have overlooked schools that have great, very specific programs that may interest your son. As he seems really set on his path, evaluate on the program they offer in his major rather than an overall ranking. Often, state schools have excellent programs, research, and funding for very specific programs, and you just have to do a lot of digging to find them. Since he seems research focused, he can take a look at which schools are putting out the research in his areas of interest. He may be surprised at some of the names that pop up.
I’d say that Wesleyan could make a good choice depending on which characteristics of college selection your child would like to emphasize. Socially, Wesleyan is quite liberal, for example, and, with respect to academics, Wesleyan offers an interdisciplinary Quantitative Analysis Center, which may be of interest.
As an academically suitable suggestion that might be more similar in some ways to, say, Colgate or Dartmouth, look into Hamilton.
PSA: Please note it is appropriate (and considerate to readers) to use quotation marks when including a quote to clearly indicate that the enclosed words are not your own and are being attributed to another source. The source should also be cited.
I’ve noticed this issue across multiple threads so please be diligent going forward. Thank you for your understanding.
Middlebury is a very strong choice for environmental studies–for the past few years, it’s been the second most popular major. Plus, Bill McKibben teaches there.
Midd may be a target for ED, but for RD, I’d place it in the reach category.
But studies isn’t science…they have science but the major # is made up of the various studies majors I believe - and studies is more social science oriented.
It goes back to @vwlizard - find the schools focused on what you’re interested in vs. the big names that might not do that.
Colorado and Colorado State seem reasonable choices.
I took “or equivalent” to include similar programs like environmental studies, but I guess OP can decide based on curriculum. They already had Middlebury on the list, so I presumed ES was a suitable equivalent. Middlebury (and many other schools) also offer a 3-2 engineering program with Dartmouth and Columbia, if that might be of interest.
Thanks - the dual-degree options at Middlebury are very attractive and seem to offer a nice way to have it all, admittedly with a little greater investment of time.