My son is so excited to choose one of these schools but having a hard time chooses which will be the right fit. We are in state and he has Bright Futures for UF and FSU. He wants to do pre-med but also wants to major in Marine Science.
UF has a Marine Science major and also has a lot of research
He received some scholarship money as well.
No Honors program
FSU Honors Presidential Scholar doesn’t have a. marine science major but has some classes he could take in Marine science and has some great research opportunities in premed
Full scholarship
Duke has a special program he is interested in that ties in Medical and Marine science
Smaller classes, and has always been his #1
Cost will not be to bad
So my question is what school ? I hear so many different things that undergrad doesn’t matter get good grades but it’s 4 years of his life. I want him to enjoy college and make the best of it and get every opportunity. We are a middle class family nothing fancy so he is afraid at Duke he maybe around a lot of students that he doesn’t measure up to the only reason I am saying this is because he went to a private high school and that was the case there.
Well he got into Duke. He’s always wanted to go. You can afford it.
If he’s passionate about his field of study, he’ll measure up fine. Or they wouldn’t have admitted him.
I don’t see UF or FSU on any program ranking. While I don’t love rank, in a niche like this I’d want to.I see Duke often, but not always. It also has a coastal lab.
If saving tens of thousands will help your family go to FSU. Assuming room and board is included. But if you can’t focus on what you want is it worth it ?
Don’t know the difference in cost of UF to Duke but if it is meaningful then I get UF.
But you are talking a huge flagship, even with research, vs one of the elite schools in the country.
Only if it won’t impact your finances severely - but if it won’t I think Duke is a no brainer. And what your son worked for.
The reasons not to go - money and after a visit he didn’t like it.
The reason that doesn’t work for me - he can’t hold his own. If he’s passionate and driven, he’ll make it work.
There may be monetary differences with some Duke students - wealthy - but he doesn’t need to keep up with the joneses. Good luck.
it doesn’t seem like FSU has his field of study, and what if pre-med doesn’t work out or he changes his mind? I am all for saving money but he has an interest that it seems FSU can’t meet.
between UF and Duke I would focus on the marine science thing and go where it’s better. pre-med will be great at either (or anywhere else).
That is what I have been telling him as well. He worked so hard for something I want him to go where he has been always saying he wanted and we will make it work money wise. I also agree with if he changes his major he will still have amazing opportunities at Duke.
I think at FSU he would major in environmental science with focus on oceanography. Both FSU and UF have research labs (geared towards graduate degrees).
The Duke program is fairly new.
I majored in Earth & Ocean Sciences (now Earth & Climate Sciences) at Duke, focusing on marine science. I started out as a bio major but switched over to EOS since the department was much smaller and more focused on undergrads. Duke is a terrific place to study marine science, especially if you can spend time at the marine lab, and there’s more research opportunities and funding than students can take advantage of.
Duke offers cross-registration with Carolina, which also has a very solid marine science program. A bus runs directly between the two campuses every 30 minutes.
I was a shy, nerdy gay kid from a relatively poor family and fit in just fine. Duke is a rather diverse place, and most students can find their niche.