Huh? Louisiana is a major oil-producing state that employs lots of geologists. At least three of the public universities in Louisiana – including LSU – have geology programs, and they issue dozens of geology bachelor’s degrees every year:
U of Lousiana-Lafayette also has a [BS Geology](Search | School of Geosciences) program, which produced 8 bachelor’s in 2014-15 (along with 10 master’s).
I’m currently studying env science and geology at USC!! I don’t have much to contribute other than confirm that there are amazing opportunities in geology at USC. My lab for geology this year is so interactive and my section is only 8 people so it’s basically a personal tutorial and no one has to share equipment & I know upperclassmen that have had the opportunity to do crazy study abroad and research positions as a geo major. At USC you start taking major classes right away and the course plan is pretty lenient so as a geo major you could double major and add a minor or just take a bunch of electives each year if you want to focus on geology and save time for extracurriculars, work, research etc. Also you mentioned school spirit and you really can’t beat USC, an extension of that is the Trojan family network which is real and thriving and I guarantee will help you no matter where you go grad school or job wise after graduating USC. There’s also 400+ clubs here and tons of Eco oriented ones + hiking and climbing clubs if you’re an outdoorsy person. ALSO if your parents are concerned about money, USC turned out to be the most affordable of any college FA packages I received last year (my family income was about $60k at the time) and if you apply by December 1st you are automatically considered for any general school wide scholarships I believe (there may also be specific school scholarships with separate applications I’m not sure) also I’ve heard that many kids are successful getting into great geology grad programs (notably UC Berkeley and Stanford since they’re also in California) if you’re interested in going for a masters or PhD. Also both the environmental studies/science major and geology are comparatively small in number so you definitely get to know each other through classes and major functions. If you have any questions about geology at USC I would be happy to answer!!! Good luck with the college search and application process ++ side note my application profile seems similar to yours as far as GPA and ECs, I’m not sure what the ACT SAT conversion is but I had about a 2100 and 750 subject tests, and a (in my biased opinion) good common app essay but subpar supplement.
Thank you everyone! My sisters are around 30 years old so they’ve been done with college. This helps me to kind of put everything in perspective. My main worry is that ill have a huge list of reach schools and can’t get into any of them and have to go to a safety that I don’t really enjoy.
This is all just so overwhelming!
Collegefactual.com is a nice resource for finding out about the size of different departments. Search for a school, Click on Academics, Click on Majors, Click on Physical Sciences. Then you’ll see the # of undergraduate degrees given.
A school to put on your radar is the University of Rochester. It’s got a small but excellent geology department. Plus the the city is blessed w diverse geology to view: a gorge that runs thru the middle of downtown that exposes a Paleozoic section chock full of trilobites and crinoids; glacial terrain; and more.
With your strong stats you’d qualify for merit money. Plus being from Louisiana will give you a geographical hook in addition to your URM hook.
To work professionally in geology, you should get at least a masters degree.
The following Keck Consortium colleges claim to cover 100% of demonstrated financial need (although many of them offer little or no merit scholarship money):
Amherst College
Carleton College
Colgate University
Colorado College
Franklin & Marshall College
Macalester College
Mt. Holyoke College
Oberlin College
Pomona College
Smith College
Union College
Washington and Lee University
Wesleyan University
Williams College
These schools feature small classes (typically with 100% or nearly 100% of classes under 50 students, and with under 20 students in 60% or more of classes). Many have attractive campuses and surroundings (depending of course on what you happen to like). All are among the US News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Some of them are among the top producers of alumni-earned earth science PhDs per capita. From 2005 to 2014, alumni of tiny Carleton College earned more earth science PhDs (69) than alumni of Berkeley (43), Brown (42), Michigan (36), Stanford (30), or USC (12), according to NSF data*.
++ side note my application profile seems similar to yours as far as GPA and ECs, I’m not sure what the ACT SAT conversion is but I had about a 2100 and 750 subject tests, and a (in my biased opinion) good common app essay but subpar supplement.