I was just thinking Canadian universities might be worth a look. Naval and marine engineering might work.
If she’s thinking engineering AND being in the field she’s going to have to deal with a wide range of personalities.
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I think it’s a 4-year program for Canadians, but this is really not my expertise. One thing, are you converting tuition amounts from Canadian dollars to U.S. dollars? Currently $1 USD is 1.28 CAD.
All of the following may need to be considered by minorities who may be subject to social or political hostility in terms of effect on quality of life:
- How the college and college community treats them.
- How the local community treats them.
- How the state government treats them.
1 has the most effect on day to day life. 2 depends on how much one does things in the local community. 3 is more distant, but occasionally has an effect, such as “bathroom bills” versus transgender people that may force colleges to go against what they would otherwise do.
Note also that (not specific to minorities), other political views can affect quality of life for some students. For example, does the student have any particular preference regarding COVID-19 mitigation policy (vaccination or mask use or lack thereof)?
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Unfortunately, the roll of state governments cuts multiple different ways. From cutting funding (basically all states), to “don’t say gay” legislation (Florida), to laws that inadvertently slash the size of an incoming class (California), these are issues that you cannot always anticipate nor do they reflect the state at large. Suffice to say, this debate is inappropriate in this topic. Thanks.
D’oh. I forgot about that.
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OMG. Just popping in to say that she sounds almost exactly like my D24! The hands on, the GPA/PSAT, the rigor, the budget, even the gay (& a bit of a pyromaniac)! Mine is now interested in naval/marine and being a ship engineer and just got into SEA expedition, but I know shoe would love explosives too. Thanks for posting. I will be following.
Mine also had adhd, so I’ve been trying to find programs that would have some support or at least smaller class sizes. Here are a few others that have caught my eye:
Smith
Rose Hulman
Union College
Cooper Union
Northeastern
SLO
RIT
Webb
Manhattan
I know the price tag on these is too high but would hope for aid.
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D24 has ADHD (hence no service academies). She had been interested in naval architecture and marine engineering. So, we have kicked Webb around. Ultimately, she ruled it out as being too small. Her sophomore class is 65 right now and Webb is smaller than that…so it was a no go. SLO has been a thought (and gets a lot of good press). Our concern is cost over time given that what she would study would likely be an impacted major, meaning more than four years of education. The rest, well, no northeastern schools. I mentioned some in Ohio and Indiana and received the eye roll of death.
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I know OP said their daughter is not interested in California, but @CheetahBee and @Peruna1998, you might take a look at Cal Maritime. Around 1,000 students, with mostly smaller classes and a number of academic support resources. Majors in several areas, including Marine Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Oceanography. Just launched an Inclusion Center. In-state cost of ~$27K, OOS cost ~$40K.
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Are all students there in a cadet program? I don’t think mine has an interest in a military-type lifestyle!
Well, if the interest in marine engineering/naval architecture continues there are two options not in the northeast, California, FL, or TX: 1) University of Michigan, and 2) University of New Orleans. There would likely be very good options for merit aid at UNO.
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The state maritime academies are not specifically military focused, but are focused on majors related to ships and maritime transportation.
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I was going to suggest this too. Not sure how many states have maritime academies–I know of CA and Maine.
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NY has one (SUNY Maritime College) – SUNY prices are reasonable even for OOS and the college offers learning support services – but the east coast is out for the OP.
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Similar stats to D17. Schools on her list, assuming VTech’s inclusion means the “northeast” exclusion would still include these:
Purdue (where she just graduated. VT was her second choice)
Ohio State
Pitt
Penn State
Case Western
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Here is a list of maritime academies: Maritime Academies | MARAD .
But how did we get here from the OP’s student’s interest in chemical, environmental, and mining engineering?
Colleges with all three include:
Colorado School of Mines
Columbia University
Michigan Tech
Missouri S&T
New Mexico Tech
Penn State
Arizona
Nevada - Reno
Pittsburgh
Washington
Utah State
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
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I think marine/naval popped into the discussion because @CheetahBee found many similarities between her D and OP’s D, but that her D was interested in marine engineering as well. Then OP (@Peruna1998) indicated that her D had also been interested in naval architecture and marine engineering, but hadn’t been able to find an institution that was in one of the desired locations (or not in one of the avoid-locations).
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My friend’s (not so slightly) pyromaniac son is a junior at Mines and is loving it. He’s involved in some sort of space-mining lab (I can ask her for more details if you like) and in his element.
In a lab that I used to work at we had the most wonderful lab technician that was a Cal Maritime graduate (it’s in Vallejo, CA, I think). He was the best at designing and building the most exquisite lab equipment. Lab technicians like him are highly sought after in experimental science. His, was definitely, not a desk job.
A few more data points for your search, albeit West Coast centric. Good luck in your college search. It’s an exciting time full of possibilities.
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I put it out there because OP’s D loves the outdoors, is SCUBA qualified, wants to blow-up stuff and wants to be in the field.
I was in Newfoundland once and were talking about universities. One had a son at at their university studying marine engineering. Thought it sounded interesting.
There are only nine schools in the US that have an actual naval architecture and marine engineering major, although it is likely that some others have that as part of another department like mechanical engineering.
The nine schools include two maritime academies (ME and NY), three service academies (Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine), Webb Institute (which has just that one major), and two other schools (University of Michigan and University of New Orleans).
The two other maritime academies have other engineering majors (CA has mechanical, MA has energy systems).
Newfoundland, Canada
Might be able to find similar degrees under different names.