I want to go to college for applied ecology and general environmental science. I have a fantastic academic and extracurricular record and live near central Texas. I’ve been looking at UT Austin because it’s close to home and has a good biology program, but I’ve also looked at Colorado State at Fort Collins and University of California at Berkeley. Has anyone attended one of these universities or knows anything about the programs there? And does anyone know of some good applied ecology/environmental science programs out there? Nothing too specific like SUNY ESF.
I’m looking for an area where I can be close to the outdoors, especially through backpacking, and a college with lots of hands-on experience with knowledgeable professors and outstanding academics.
Not sure if you are interested in small liberal arts colleges, but if so, take a look at: Middlebury, Whitman, Colorado College, and the Maine LAC trio of Bowdoin, Colby, and Bates. All would offer you plenty of hiking and other outdoors activities in addition to having tight student/prof relationships, great academics and strong ES programs.
U of Vermont is bigger but has a great ES program and really nice location for your interests.
Montana, Montana State, Wyoming, Utah State, Utah, Northern Arizona, Idaho, UC Santa Cruz…there are many universities in incredible locations where you can study the great outdoors. Several of those I just named have amazing hikes located directly next to campus, and good programs related to biology, ecology, environmental science and wildlife biology. You will find many like-minded people at these universities, as well as at Colorado State that you already mentioned. It depends on your budget and stats, but many of these universities have decent scholarships you can look into, some with grids for GPA and test scores so you can see in advance what scholarships you might qualify for.
St. Lawrence. For its incredible location and their Peak Weekend (see the related article below.)
Hamilton. For its combination of environmental studies with one of the country’s strongest geosciences programs. With respect to outdoor adventures (online article): “Hamilton College students climb all 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondacks” / USA Today.