Colleges that meet these criteria...

[NancyNellen]

My daughter is a very driven 11th grader this year. She was homeschooled until last year and is currently attending a great Classical charter here in town. She is already beginning to panic because she doesn't know what college she wants to attend and "everyone" in her class already seems to know. (I know this is not true, but she can be a bit tightly wound :-)

 

She has great grades, is very successfully taking a number of AP's, and enjoys biology. She thinks she wants to get a biology degree...maybe go pre-med, maybe research. She also has a lot of interest in marine biology - she is an avid scuba diver and would like to be able to continue adding certifications as she gets older. She likes the idea of being close to a city, but is not sure about living IN the city. She doesn't want harsh winters or lots of humidity in the warmer months. She's pretty conservative but can hold her own in just about any conversation.

 

What schools should we look into? I told her that I would ask the hive's advice and see what comes up. So far, she is considering Johns Hopkins as a reach. University of Arizona is appealing since her grandmother is a professor at the medical school there. We both get so overwhelmed just googling, and she says all of the college visits she's been to at school seem great, but she understands it's the presenter's job to make them seem great. What says the hive? Any suggestions? Thanks!!

 

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I liked playing around with the search function at college confidential. I felt like it let us tailor the search to focus on things that mattered to my ds.

[hornblower]

Send her here!

Vancouver's UBC or U of Victoria 

 

Both offer Biology, Oceanography, lots of scuba here (& surfing on Vancouver Island), whales, no sharks. Not hot, mild winters. There's a marine research station nearby that offers courses which transfer directly into these universities offering opportunities for marine science studies. 

Vancouver is a big city but the UBC campus & residences are geographically at the edge, right up against the ocean. It's got ocean & forests all around & the little shops at the edges are cozy and nice.
Victoria is small - less than 100,000 people...

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

This site lists the top programs in Marine Bio.

 

The Education Portal has a nice search feature to play around with.

[raptor_dad]

Washington's bio major is uneven but the ZooBots quarter[1] at Friday Harbor is world class. The research apprenticeships are also great. Regardless of where she goes these could be an option.

 

[1] http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/studentSpring2015.html

[Sneezyone]

I was thinking UW (I have a gf that works in marsh/habitat restoration and graduated from UW). HI also has a great marine program. What about schools in FL?

[NancyNellen]

Oooo...thanks! Lots of ideas. We hadn't considered Canada, so the Vancouver options were new to us...thanks hornblower! I sent my daughter all of the links and she is currently perusing. Thanks again so much!

[creekland]

There can be a bit of humidity in the summer months, but U Miami and Eckerd are worth a look if she's interested in Marine Bio/Science w/research.  They are the top 2 schools for NOAA's Hollings Scholarship winners (in the other order).  I put U Miami first because they are also well known for being decent for pre-med.  Both have scuba/sailing and water activities.  

 

Eckerd is literally right on the water and has the only student water Search and Rescue Team in the US if that interests her.

 

http://www.eckerd.edu/waterfront/ecsar/

 

 U Miami is sort of close, but it's a few miles away.  Kids take vans to get there for (some) classes, etc.

[bugs]

Some former student's of my son's DE program have gone on to the Friday Harbor program for a semester then to Hilo, and to University of WA.  My husband and my others have said that scuba diving in the Puget Sound is world class; our outdoor temperatures are moderate too. The humidity around the Puget Sound is moderate as well; it may actually feel more humid in the winter than in the summer.  When people around here whine about humidity in the summer it may be up to 50%. Yah, they don't know humid.

[NancyNellen]

Thanks, Creekland! I hadn't even thought of U Miami, which is crazy since I attended there for a semester! (I was there for Hurricane Andrew and decided that tropical storms were not for me, so I transferred out :-) Eckerd is one we haven't looked into, so thanks for that rec, as well.

[creekland]

Thanks, Creekland! I hadn't even thought of U Miami, which is crazy since I attended there for a semester! (I was there for Hurricane Andrew and decided that tropical storms were not for me, so I transferred out :-) Eckerd is one we haven't looked into, so thanks for that rec, as well.

 

My guy is at Eckerd having started as a Marine Science major, then switching down to Environmental Science, and now is Biology.  Marine Science was too focused on "marine" to him as he also loves land flora and fauna.  ES was too political for my non-political guy.  On the "How are your freshmen doing" thread I recently mentioned he might be coming home due to not finding like-minded (non-drinking) male friends, but hopefully that is fixed now.  There were always females he knew in his "friend" category (again, non-drinking).  Through it all, he's been enjoying the school itself - it was only the lack of good (male) friends that he had as his issue.

 

We also visited UM and loved it, but my guy wanted to be on the water - literally.  He still enjoys that.

 

And we visited Nova Southeastern and liked it, but again, it wasn't on the water.  Nova Southeastern would be a decent consideration if you are looking for very significant merit aid at lower than usual stats (was 1280 when we were looking).  All classes at this school are small and it seemed to be an up and coming program.

 

U Miami had good merit aid for high stats - and is considered decent with need-based aid.

 

Eckerd has basic merit aid for reasonable stats (was 19K in merit aid for a top award) and has been good with need-based aid for us.  I'm not sure if they are "in general" or not.

 

After considering those three (and Palm Beach Atlantic - not such an in depth marine program there), my guy only applied to Eckerd.  He liked it that much better than the others - mainly because it was on the water to be honest.  If that's not as essential of a "need" we all liked the other schools too.

 

Note that the Marine Science "competition" at Eckerd is high.  Since it's so well known as being at the top for Marine Science there are students there who come in already having significant experience at places like Woods Hole.  It's still very welcoming to "beginners" though.

[JennW in SoCal]

What about UC San Diego, Santa Barbara or Santa Cruz? 

 

A friend's son got his undergraduate degree in biology from a small Christian liberal arts school in San Diego, Point Loma Nazarene, and is now working on his PhD in some kind of biology/medical research at the cancer research hospital, City of Hope.  PLN is a drop dead beautiful campus with oceanfront dorms.  Lots of students keep surf boards in their dorm rooms as the beach is literally just outside their doorstep. Don't know how the scuba diving is off Point Loma.  

 

The pre-med program at University of San Diego has an excellent reputation, and the school seems very good about providing research opportunities and internships.  Another beautiful campus, but you have to drive, oh, 15 minutes to get to the ocean.

 

May I point out how utterly landlocked the University of Arizona is, lol?!

 

One way to narrow things down would be for your dd to consider if she'd prefer a large campus or a smaller liberal arts type of school. I always give a pitch for the small schools, but I'm biased!  My ds has been doing research since his first semester at a small liberal arts college in cold, snowy Ohio.  It's been the perfect place for him -- he has a good crowd of friends and supportive faculty.  He's been a TA and tutors students at the student center.  I couldn't get him to look at any local liberal arts schools, such as the 2 I've mentioned or Chapman in Orange County or Redlands up in Riverside (or San Bernadino?) county.

[Gwen in VA]

William & Mary has a highly regarded marine biology program, but if you are OOS it would be expensive -- there is essentially no merit aid available.

[Melissa B]

There is also New College in Sarasota. Their campus is on the water and they have a marine biology program. I don't know how it ranks, nationally. The program tends to appeal to homeschoolers around here because they are a grade-free campus. All students enter into contracts at the beginning of a semester and the professors prepare written evaluations at the end rather than grades. They are an honors college so a student does need very solid test scores, a compelling essay, etc. to get admitted.

[NancyNellen]

Creek...thanks so much for all of that info. on Eckerd. My dd will be looking into it further after she gets home from the ACT.

 

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions and first hand experience! This has been so helpful to her!

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I want to say that there is somewhere in North Carolina and one or two schools in Rhode Island that have a good reputation for Marine Biology.  But I can't seem to think hard enough to pull up names at the moment.

[Reefgazer]

Old Dominion University in Virginia - a decent student can get in without too much trouble, it has a terrific program in marine biology and associated fields (oceanography, ichthyology), lots of research in various areas of bio, has a pre-med program if she changes her mind about marine bio, close to dive sites on the Carolina coast, affordable, bearable winters, associate programs with some prestigious marine institutes (VIMS).  It's a bit humid here in the summer, but not unbearably so.

[Pawz4me]

I want to say that there is somewhere in North Carolina and one or two schools in Rhode Island that have a good reputation for Marine Biology.  But I can't seem to think hard enough to pull up names at the moment.

 

Duke

UNC Chapel Hill

UNC Wilmington

 

As far as I'm aware those are the universities in NC for marine biology.

 

[8filltheheart]

Has she looked to see if any offer summer programs? It may be one way to investigate. UNC Wilmington has one. http://www.uncw.edu/marinequest/Oceans17.html

[memphispeg]

Hi Hivers - It has been a while.  My dd is a Jr. in Marine Biology at CalPoly San Luis Obispo.....She adores the place.  It is a "learn by doing" kind of place that requires a lot of STEM courses for the major.  She applied to U of Miami, the New College, UNC Wilmington, College of Charleston, University of San Diego ..... which met her geographical and academic criteria. 

She has done well and has a conservation/research internship for this year.  They offer diving certification and refresher courses periodically.  They have revamped a lot of their marine bio facilities and well, the kicker for us was that when we were out on the pier, there were whales breaching in the distance and a sea otter came by and played.  The school is in a small town and it is a real beauty but, it is far from cosmopolitan (unlike Miami, Charleston or SD).  She has found plenty to do outside of academics, namely dance.  There are alot of sports on campus and her roomies are heavily involved. 

The downside, to me, is that it is not a liberal arts school.  I really felt my dd should have more under her belt as part of a "complete" education.  But, she feels that the quality of the STEM courses makes up for that.

We did look at UC Santa Cruz and UCSB but, my dd felt they were just too big......maybe for grad school.  Hope this helps.

[JennW in SoCal]

Hi Hivers - It has been a while.  My dd is a Jr. in Marine Biology at CalPoly San Luis Obispo.....She adores the place.  It is a "learn by doing" kind of place that requires a lot of STEM courses for the major.  She applied to U of Miami, the New College, UNC Wilmington, College of Charleston, University of San Diego ..... which met her geographical and academic criteria. 

She has done well and has a conservation/research internship for this year.  They offer diving certification and refresher courses periodically.  They have revamped a lot of their marine bio facilities and well, the kicker for us was that when we were out on the pier, there were whales breaching in the distance and a sea otter came by and played.  The school is in a small town and it is a real beauty but, it is far from cosmopolitan (unlike Miami, Charleston or SD).  She has found plenty to do outside of academics, namely dance.  There are alot of sports on campus and her roomies are heavily involved. 

The downside, to me, is that it is not a liberal arts school.  I really felt my dd should have more under her belt as part of a "complete" education.  But, she feels that the quality of the STEM courses makes up for that.

We did look at UC Santa Cruz and UCSB but, my dd felt they were just too big......maybe for grad school.  Hope this helps.

 

I know several kids who have graduated from "SLO" and they all absolutely loved it!  A great school and beautiful location.  Good to know about the marine bio program.