Science and the Outdoors

UT84321
Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:06:46 +0000

I would encourage the OP to think beyond the access-to-the-outdoors criteria. I grew up in what was then a two stoplight town in MT, which even today is much smaller than the OPs home town. I certainly understand that there are schools that could be too urban to make an easy adjustment (UChicago and Columbia come to mind), and that those could readily be off the list. There is a whole huge world out there, and going off to college is a prime opportunity to explore it. By staying anchored in the “I like mountains” mentality, you may be denying yourself some transformative experiences.

But you should be considering the Claremont consortia, Reed, Whitman, Macalester, Grinnell. Earlham does well with Ph.D. placements in the sciences, and might throw you good aid. Swarthmore does good Ph.D. placements, but unless you get your test scores up is a high reach. (Until you get your scores up, adcoms will discount your #1 rank as indicative of a less than rigorous HS).

Family finance will be a challenge for you. There are lots of schools that you could get into, and then not be able to afford. The WICHE/WUE program opens up a lot of regional school access for you, but I am not sure your family can afford them. You may find that a full need granting LAC would be cheaper than WUE tuition.