Long shot, I know... Montana Western?

[Grace is Sufficient]

My daughter (rising 11th grader) has fixated on Montana for some reason over the last year. (We live in Ohio.)

 

I've been searching for schools there that fit her criteria (very small, rural, good in biology/wildlife/ecology type studies) and only found the University of Montana Western.

 

Wondering if anyone knows anything about it firsthand?

 

TIA

Debbie

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I don't know anything about UMW but I do have experience with the block plan (what UMW calls Experience One). I believe The Colorado Collge pioneered the Block Plan; they have been following it for at least 25 years. CC is a 4 year private liberal arts school in Colorado Springs; Cornell in Iowa follows the block plan as well.

 

The block plan is a great way to study. You focus on one class for three weeks. I found it best for literature, psychology, philosophy, etc. I struggled with taking calculus in three weeks, though. I am not mathy and focusing on nothing but calculus was tortuous. I have heard from non-science, non-math majors that the best way to meet those requirements is to take them at a comm. college or another school.

 

I hope you find someone with some UMW experience. I am curious myself.

[Sonshine]

Have you looked at Montana State University? Bozeman is a great town. It has plenty of amenities yet seems small, and is two hours north of Yellowstone Park. When I was there I noticed that undeveloped land and pastures are just a few miles (as in 2 miles or less) from MSU. It gets more snow than anywhere else in Montana and is surrounded on all sides by mountains. Flying in and out of the airport is reasonably priced and MSU seems to have decent scholarships, going by their website. According to my son, who goes to another school in Bozeman, there are also plenty of places to dumpster dive to help keep down costs. l believe MSU is considered the Ag school of Montana. My son goes swing dancing on their campus every week. It seems like a neat school in a great town and state.

[MBM]

My daughter (rising 11th grader) has fixated on Montana for some reason over the last year. (We live in Ohio.)

 

I've been searching for schools there that fit her criteria (very small, rural, good in biology/wildlife/ecology type studies) and only found the University of Montana Western.

 

Wondering if anyone knows anything about it firsthand?

 

TIA

Debbie

 

I lived a number of years in Bozeman and still have family there and elsewhere in the state. UMW is in Dillon and is very small. Butte, an old mining town, is about 60 miles away, and Bozeman is 115.

 

I would also recommend checking out Montana State in Bozeman which is less than 30,000 and still quite rural and safe, IMO. MSU is involved in many statewide programs that involve the majors you mentioned. My girlfriend majored in biology and was able to participate in interesting projects that helped her land a good agricultural job soon after graduation.

 

HTH.

[Grace is Sufficient]

I'll take a look at MSU -- though I suspect it will be a bit large for her.

 

I appreciate the plug for the 'block plan.' The Montana Western website was the first I'd heard of it, and it seemed kind of odd, but interesting.

[Caryl]

She is passionate about horses, and they have one of the best natural horsemanship programs in the country. Their block schedule will also work very well for her.

 

FWIW, we live about 2.5 hours from Dillon, MT (home of UMW). It's a very nice small "cow town" --low-key, laid-back, low crime. You can get into some pretty spectacular country pretty quick. The school is very small and not very fancy (but affordable). It has good teacher/student ratios and my sense is that most of the classes are taught by teachers, not teaching assistants, but I still need to do some research. I know that their environmental studies program is also well-regarded, and that it is very "outside" oriented- lots of hands-on projects.

 

We've done nothing more than drive around campus a bit- still a few years off- but I'd be delighted if my daughter went there. I'm not sure how well she would navigate a large school or a big city, and it would be nice to launch her to a place not too far away.

[Caryl]

We also spend quite a bit of time in Bozeman. It's a pretty nice large town to small city size place. It used to be very agricultural, but has been "discovered" in the past 20 years and has become pretty upscale. It also has spectacular "outside" place to go just a little ways out of town.

 

The school is much bigger than Dillon, and also quite a bit more expensive, but it is considered a good school. Housing is more expensive than Dillon.

 

I know from your other posts that you are a Christian. There are good groups at both schools, and there are some excellent churches in Bozeman (I don't know about that for Dillon- we have friends in Bozeman).

[hmschooln]

Dillion is small, but it's nice course then again I like smaller areas. And it's also home to "Montana's Biggest Weekend" ;)

[Mary in GA]

My sis lives in MT and my niece went to University of MT in Missoula. Never heard of Mt Western, but I'll ask her.

 

Mary

[Grace is Sufficient]

I got back from a vacation yesterday and was excited to see more info on the thread. Thanks, everyone!

[Caryl]

I know you said your daughter was fixated on Montana, but University of Idaho has an excellent wildlife/environmental studies program. The country up there is pretty nice too, and U of I is a small school. Good churches, very active christian youth group (my best friend's daughter goes to U of I). Small town, although not as small as Dillon. More snow. Earlier spring.

[mhippler]

You might take a look at Rocky Mountain College. It's a very small private LAC in with an excellent reputation and a good environmental science program. I know a young woman who just graduated with this degree and who had two really wonderful fieldwork opportunities. It's in Billings and only 2 hours from Yellowstone.

 

Michelle

http://www.collegeprepenglish.com

[MamaSheep]

Bozeman has definitely been "discovered" in recent years. My parents live there now that my Dad's retired, and their property values (and therefore taxes) have really jumped.

 

I don't know much about MSU, as I avoided it like the plague when I graduated high school because half the people I knew from high school were going there and I never wanted to see any of them again in my life...lol. However, my dad (retired research biologist who used to work in Yellowstone Park) sometimes does some work with the graduate students there. I'll try and give him a call tomorrow and ask him what he thinks of their program. :)

[MamaSheep]

I talked to Dad tonight. He says he thinks the program at MSU is a good one and that's the one you'd want to go to in Montana to learn about the plant and animal aspects of things. They have several programs in plant and animal sciences, range management, and ecology. He said the one in Missoula has a good program too, but its focus is on forestry. He also mentioned that the University of Wyoming is another good school to go to for those kinds of studies.

 

Mom's input was that Bozeman is a nicer place to live than Missoula. I like it there when we visit. They moved there after I was married and I only remember it from when we'd go there for shopping and doctor visits and stuff when I was growing up. It's changed a bit since then, having been "discovered" as someone mentioned. It's a little bit bigger, but still not anything like what I'd call a "big city", and it's been cleaned up and modernized a bit. My younger brothers were still at home when they moved there, and they liked growing up there.

 

I think I forgot to ask specifically about Dillon, I just asked what Dad knew about the biology/ecology/wildlife kinds of programs at schools in Montana. All I can think of regarding Dillon is that I have a sister-in-law who grew up there and when dh and I were considering moving to Montana a few years back she said never live there, it was small and dumpy, there was nothing to do, and she wouldn't wish it on her worst enemy. So...whatever that's worth.

 

Also, Dad mentioned that Bozeman is near some great ski slopes and the MSU football team is doing well this year. Because obviously that's important information when choosing a college...lol.

 

HTH, and good luck!

[Grace is Sufficient]

Pass on a thanks to your dad, too. We really appreciate the input. I'm thinking my daughter and I will be taking a road trip to Montana over spring break and visiting some of these schools.

 

She had recently been steered toward the school at Bozeman from someone else, and is very interested in it, too.

 

Rocky Mountain college looks worth a visit, but I confess a bad attitude toward any school that has a lot of extra hoops for homeschoolers to jump through, and they seem to fit that category.

 

Thank you everyone!

Debbie

[MamaSheep]

No problem. :001_smile: It's not something I know a lot about, education not being passed on genetically and all (such a shame, I sometimes think), but he definitely knows what he's talking about and is well respected in the field, as well as having first-hand experience with MSU, so I trust his opinion. Montana is beautiful country, especially western Montana, and I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip there in the spring whether that's where your dd ultimately decides to go for college or not.