I’ve done a lot of research, and narrowed it down to these two colleges for Geology… I’m from Texas, but the UT drive is still far, and I’ll definitely be able to get in and afford it. Penn, though, is Ivy League, and they also (like UT) have a top notch Geology program. I’ll have a slightly harder time getting in, but I’m still pretty certain I will. I thought I might enjoy the change in scenery, but I do love Austin, and I’m not sure if the Penn tuition is worth it. Opinions?
Want to work in energy or water issues. UT. Want to become an academic or researcher. Penn
Generalizations, but don’t know your goals, finances or profile.
Both fantastic. But wholly different.
Penn is certainly worth it.
“I’m still pretty certain I will?” How?
Are you ranked in the top 6% at your HS? If not, both schools are major reaches. Arizona, TAMU, UWash, UWisc also have excellent geology programs. Arizona popped up as a top program in many of my searches.
My college BF was a geology major at UGA and got his MS in hydrogeology from Indiana. Did summer field work in WA. No problem getting jobs, though sometimes govt contracts don’t get renewed. Salaries aren’t super high, so I would be leery of spending Ivy-level $$.
Even if the OP is at the top 6%, UPenn is a reach. As for UT Austin, it all depends o what the OP’s stats and ECs look like.
In any case, @CountingDown provides a few more geology programs which are great.
If you are are looking at an Ivy in Geology, UPenn isn’t your best choice, Columbia is. Overall, Ivies aren’t the best colleges for geology, and Penn State has a better geology program than UPenn,
These schools appeared in a “best colleges for geology” search, should you be interested in diversifying your choices:
Amherst
Bates
Bowdoin
Brown
Caltech
Carleton
Colby
Colgate
William and Mary
Colorado College
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State
Columbia
Cornell
Hamilton
Juniata
Lafayette
Lehigh
Macalester
Miami University
Oberlin
Occidental
Penn State
St. Lawrence
Stanford
Texas A&M
Union
UArizona
UC–Berkeley
UC–Santa Barbara
UC–Santa Cruz
UColorado
UMichigan
UNC–CH
Penn
UT
UWashington
UW–Madison
Whitman
Yale
In your further research, I’d recommend you look into some of the LACs listed such as Amherst, Hamilton, Colgate, Union, Carleton, Oberlin, Macalester, Colorado College and Whitman.
Stats?
What is your career plan?
According to NSF (WebCASPAR) data, the 10 undergraduate institutions listed below generated the most alumni-earned earth sciences PhDs from 2012 to 2016 inclusive. Column 2 (“PhDs”) shows the total number of alumni-earned PhDs in earth sciences for that 5-year period. The next 5 columns (marked 2014-2010) indicate the number of undergraduate degrees conferred on geoscience majors (acc. to IPEDS data). The final column (marked “rate”) indicates the approximate percentage of geoscience majors who went on to earn geoscience PhDs, assuming the number of graduating majors in the years 2010-2014 represent the PhD-earning cohort for the years 2012-2016.
College Name … PhDs … 2014 … 2013 … 2012 … 2011 2010 … rate
Carleton College … 30 … 21 … 12 … 17 … 15 … 25 … 33%
Cornell University … 25 … 12 … 18 … 13 … 16 … 21 … 31%
UColorado Boulder … 25 … 39 … 42 … 51 … 28 … 25 … 14%
Michigan Ann Arbor … 24 … 27 … 26 … 14 … 22 … 27 … 21%
UCalifornia Berkeley … 23 … 32 … 25 … 29 … 22 … 25 … 17%
Pennsylvania State … 20 … 188 … 158 … 147 … 167 … 97 … 3%
UWashington Seattle … 20 … 89 … 84 … 63 … 52 … 58 … 6%
University of Chicago … 18 … 12 … 15 … 9 … 4 … 3 … 42%
U Texas at Austin … 18 … 56 … 68 … 77 … 54 … 53 … 6%
UWisconsin Madison … 18 … 34 … 27 … 20 … 16 … 20 … 15%
Caveat:
This isn’t meant to be an undergraduate geology program quality ranking.
It may be reasonable to assume that strong programs tend to attract, motivate, and prepare students well for advanced research. Still, there may be important confounding factors. For example, good employment opportunities for earth scientists in Texas might tend to depress the number of graduates who pursue PhDs in the field.
It’s interesting that tiny Carleton College has not only a high PhD production rate (33%) but also the highest number of alumni-earned PhDs in absolute terms. Carleton is among the Keck Geology Consortium colleges, which may be worth considering if LACs have any appeal.
https://keckgeology.org/member-schools/
@merc81’s list has a nice range of selectivity. You don’t have to go Ivy for a top geology program. I’d drill down on summer field programs to assess which play to any specializations you may want to investigate. Also recognize that you may need a MS, too.
Though the recognition certainly wouldn’t serve as an evaluation of its geology program, Forbes does like Penn in general with respect to it being worth its expense:
On the general topic of geology and colleges, I recommend you consider proximity to natural features that might be of interest to you as part of your selection process. Most direct geological observation benefits from a cross sectional view, so topographical variability will enhance this. You might also want to study in an area in which rocks of various ages can be studied in igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic forms. For fascinating continental glacial features, you will need to travel beyond the 38th parallel.