<p>My son is very interested in everything environment (environmental science, landscape architecture, alternative and renewable energy, organic agriculture/soil/water and sustainability, etc.) His major strength is in science. He has a writing learning disability and it has really hurt his GPA and his standardized testing scores on the english side. He would love to avoid writing forever. Physics he is getting an A. He is very laid back and not at all competitive, but really wants to learn and improve the world. His GPA is around a 3.4 (in a very competitive large high school). He would probably be a lot better in a small, hands-on college but many of his interests seem to be in the large land-grant universities. His extracurricular activities are environmental club (pres), habit for humanity, amnesty, sustainability initiative, garden club, speed skating. He has an engineering brain but not the grades/scores to match. Any advice on colleges would be appreciated.</p>
<p>that screams College of the Atlantic or Presott College, both members of “The Eco League”
[Eco</a> League - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco_League]Eco”>Eco League - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>This place looks so cool:</p>
<p>[Unity</a> College](<a href=“http://www.unity.edu/]Unity”>http://www.unity.edu/)</p>
<p>I second huskem’s recommendation of COA. It’s without doubt the greenest college in America and has one of the most user-friendly curriculums to boot; every student designs his/her own course of study.</p>
<p>Warren Wilson is another small, environmentally conscious college with an excellent reputation. </p>
<p>Evergreen State, Willamette, UNH, Arizona State, Colorado-Boulder, App State, UVM, and Western Washington are larger colleges with green reputations. I’m not sure how much writing would be required in their curriculums.</p>
<p>Humboldt State (in the redwoods, on the beach) has lots of opportunities in the fields of interest you express. Forget speed skating though, ;)</p>
<p>My older d is a 2008 Colgate grad, but is now taking courses at SUNY ESF in preparation for studying environmental science in grad school -</p>
<p>[SUNY-ESF</a>, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry](<a href=“http://www.esf.edu/]SUNY-ESF”>http://www.esf.edu/)</p>
<p>[College</a> of the Environment - Wesleyan University](<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/coe/]College”>College of the Environment - Wesleyan University)</p>
<p>Thank you for all of the response to my question so far.
We are definitely interested in learning more about College of the Atlantic. There course catalog looks fantastic- I wonder how they can offer so many classes with so few people. I suppose they rotate the classes over time. The big concern about a small liberal arts college is the focus on writing and the investment in four years before starting a technical program of some sort if that ultimately becomes the choice (landscape architecture, engineering or engineering tech, renewable energy pgm, etc.). Interests are wide spread right now, so something a more general program seems to make sense except concerned about so many years of school for someone who works so hard to get through and really likes getting his hands dirty.
Humbolt sounds interesting but have heard a lot about the drugs scene there and also it doesn’t meet the “needs to be accessible with one plane flight” criteria…
SUNY ESF looks very good, we went to visit, will definitely be on the list but not sure it created that spark with my son.
UVM is very interesting because of their degree in Env. Sci ecological design (which pulls so many interest together). A bit worried about the size of the classes.</p>
<p>Duke University in Durham, NC</p>
<p>^ What? why?</p>
<p>Take a look at Northland College in WI. It’s an environmental liberal arts college.
[General</a> Education, Liberal Arts Curriculum | Northland College](<a href=“http://www.northland.edu/academics-curriculum.htm]General”>http://www.northland.edu/academics-curriculum.htm)</p>
<p>
Duke has arguably the best undergraduate program in environmental science in the country (Cornell might dispute this). I’ve written about it [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063058900-post2.html]here[/url”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063058900-post2.html]here[/url</a>] and [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064307119-post38.html]here[/url”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064307119-post38.html]here[/url</a>]. Duke is also routinely recognized as one of the greenest colleges in the US.</p>
<p>It would not be a good choice for the OP, however. Aside from the extreme unlikelihood of admission with a 3.4 GPA and low CR/W scores, Duke heavily emphasizes writing. Three writing courses are required for all A&S students, for example.</p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz- pre-eminent marine biology and outstanding environmental studies department; access to the long Marine Lab;lots of green activity in town</p>
<p><a href=“https://admissions.sa.ucsc.edu/discover/majors/EnvironmentalStudies.cfm[/url]”>https://admissions.sa.ucsc.edu/discover/majors/EnvironmentalStudies.cfm</a></p>
<p>[Long</a> Marine Laboratory](<a href=“http://ims.ucsc.edu/lml.html]Long”>http://ims.ucsc.edu/lml.html)</p>
<p>Shuttles available from SFO and San Jose airports (closest)</p>
<p>Oregon State University might be a good option if you can afford the 30k/yr OOS tuition. It sounds like that would be a match for your son</p>
<p>My concern about Santa Cruz is the horror stories about California State budget issues (not to mention the $53, 375 out of state total cost mentioned on their website for an out of stater).
Having said that the school does look great- just wondering how great. </p>
<p>Oregon State looks very interesting- and thinking about a possible trip this summer.</p>
<p>Dartmouth and Middlebury</p>
<p>If your son isn’t necessarily looking for the “highest prestige” school, he might want to take a look at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. I know someone who turned down a HYP school to go there, and has never regretted it. It is small, and has a very strong focus on ecology. Your son’s GPA wouldn’t be a problem there at all, and he would definitely wouldnt have the cut-throat competition there that he would get at other schools: it seems that most everyone there is there because they want to learn, and they knew that this college was the right fit for them.</p>
<p>any UC school is great for science. 2 that stick out for being extremely environmentally focused are UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz.</p>
<p>Your son might like Binghamton university. Not only is it very cheap for OOS, but it also has a great nature preserve.</p>
<p>Here is a video tour of the preserve: [Binghamton</a> University Admissions](<a href=“http://blogs.binghamton.edu/index.php/admissions/comments/a_tour_of_the_nature_preserve_by_frisbee/]Binghamton”>http://blogs.binghamton.edu/index.php/admissions/comments/a_tour_of_the_nature_preserve_by_frisbee/)</p>
<p>Also, PR just published a guide to green colleges, which you can download for free on their site: <a href=“The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2023 Edition | College Rankings | The Princeton Review”>The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2023 Edition | College Rankings | The Princeton Review;
<p>My son has been accepted at the following colleges so far:
SUNY ESF, Rutgers, University of Vermont, University of Rhode Island,Northern Arizona, and is awaiting U Del, Rochester Institute of Technology and U of Delaware. </p>
<p>He is interested in 3 different majors (Landscape Architecture/Environmental Design, Environmental Science (renewable energy or ecological design focus), and Environmental or Bioprocess Engineering. </p>
<p>He struggles a lot with writing and will need support in college although he is very focused and dedicated to doing whatever it takes to get his work done. </p>
<p>I would appreciate your thoughts (inside insights) on any of these schools and programs. His primary interests are the environment, cycling, organic gardening, healthy eating and energy. He is not a party/sports kid.
Thank you!</p>