<p>Record applications. Soaring tuition. Tighter budgets. State U. may no longer be as great a deal or as easy a backup as it once was. Parents and kids, time to rethink your strategy.</p>
<p>(Money Magazine) – At the 50,000-student University of Florida, only 50 or so undergrads major in geology. It’s not exactly an easy subject.</p>
<p>But Michael Perfit, the department’s chairman, says that thousands of UF’s liberal arts undergrads fulfill their science requirement with geology - and they do a lot more than sort rocks. Students learn about the patterns of the oceans, groundwater systems, and long-term changes in the earth’s atmosphere. Pretty key things in this era of climate change, especially in a coastal wetlands state like Florida.</p>