<p>Many months ago I received excellent recommendations, but then I went out and had game changing experiences. So I'm pretty much back to square 1 which of course is excellent considering I'm applying in the fall . Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Things I need in a college: Strong geoscience programs especially in the atmospheric science/environmental science branches. Encouragement of undergrad research (I.e. a place where professors are known to take plenty of undergrads under their wings and where I would be able to secure plenty of opportunities)
Things I want: Marching/concert band, LGBT center, honors, merit money</p>
<p>I've been taking ganders at UWashington and UWisconsin so if anyone has insight there that'd be great.
Here's some stats if you want those:
GPA: 3.9,UW/4.7W
Rank:top 5%
State:TX
SAT:2100 not retaken and trying to avoid it
APs: 6 (2 4s, rest not scored yet) taking 4 next year
Stuff: Drum major (2 years, my true love), other band stuff, newspaper editor for 2 years, UIL academics stuff, NHS, volunteer stuff
Financials: I can pay whatever but I really would rather keep it cheap which means it's either merit aid or TAMU</p>
<p>Thanks to all, have a lovely day. You rock.</p>
<p>I don’t think you can expect merit at at either of the UW mentioned, as an oos’er. Though both are great locations to go to college (at least they appeal to me.) I think Purdue has a very good dept but that’s expensive oos too, I don’t know if they give any scholarships for oos.</p>
<p>Isn’t that just always the way… I guess private is more likely to give me money, I just hate to push back the band. Choices, choices. Thanks for the reality check, at any rate.</p>
<p>Are you interested in Marine Science? Both Eckerd and New College of Florida have excellent programs. NCF is especially strong in independent study and research opportunities in all areas, but especially Environmental Science. You would qualify for scholarships at both. Cost of attendance would be under $30k for you at either. They are both small. Marching band might be a problem, although NCF is part of the Florida State system, and affiliated with University of Southern Florida, and so you might be able to incorporate it into a self-designed curriculum. Look at the list of automatic scholarship awards on the College Admissions thread. That might help. You might qualify for a decent scholarship at Tulane, which could potentially bring your costs below $40k. They might be a great fit for you. </p>
<p>New College should not be considered for geology and Eckerd is quite weak in almost all geoscience subfields other than oceanography. Tulane is a pretty good suggestion, but its peer school, the University of Miami would be even better. </p>
<p>For the most cost effective combo of strong geology, atmospheric science, and decent ES, TAMU is hard to beat. The Texas location makes it somewhat problematic if you end up becoming fascinated by say, volcanology, but overall it’s an extremely strong school. The University of Oklahoma and Penn State may also be worth considering (IMO PSU is better if cost is not an issue owing to its strength in ES). </p>
<p>One non obvious suggestion is the University of Vermont which has an outstanding undergraduate focused environmental geology program and plenty of field work opportunities. You may also want to apply to Cornell as a reach since it seems to have everything you want other than honors (not important at an ultra selective school) and a low cost. </p>
<p>Appalachian State could be a possibility although IMO you may get bored by your peers there. Still, it’s a great school for environmental geology and as a masters institution you’d have easy access to research. Not sure if it has meteorology. </p>
<p>Some small school suggestions, most of which lack meteorology.
Colorado College
Carleton
Middlebury
Smith
Allegheny College
Wellesley (MIT has a top meteorology program. May be possible to cross register there although I don’t know the logistics of if). </p>
<p>Wow thanks for all that information. I know TAMU is hard to beat which is great because it’s cheap and I’m eligibile for merit aid, but awful because it doesn’t have much that excites me outside of the classroom. It’s a priority game. </p>
<p>Penn State interests me. It’s my mom’s alma mater as well (funnily enough TAMU is my dad’s). I know how highly regarded its meteorology is, I’ll have a look at the environmental science. Same with Miami. Vermont had not received an ounce of my attention so I’ve got some work to do.
No meteorology is a deal breaker so I’ll be hunting through their majors lists. But thanks for the list!</p>
<p>You seem like the perfect candidate for a LAC. Start there. Are you a female? Smith would be the college for you</p>
<p>I am female. I checked it and while I do like the all girls school deal, they don’t have any atmo programs. It would probably help to mention that I want to work in renewable energy and the best way I can think to do that is to do predictions for weather sensitive renewable companies.</p>
<p>Eckerd has the largest number of Hollings, (NOAA), scholars in the US. It is quite strong in geoscience field as well as marine science. It does not offer oceanography as a major, the majors are marine biology, marine chemistry, marine geology and marine physics. The opportunities for undergrad research are huge. Professors are evaluated on how successful they work with students on their research. Eckerd is also noted for environmental studies. They have several bands, including concert but do not have a marching band. Here is a description of one of the summer projects:</p>
<p>Eckerd College students researching aftermath of BP oil disaster
posted on 06/19/2014</p>
<p>A group of Eckerd College students leaves tonight for a 10-day research trip into the Gulf of Mexico as part of an ongoing study of the impact of the BP Oil disaster.</p>
<p>The research is funded by the Deep-C Consortium, which is studying the geomorphologic, hydrologic and biogeochemical settings influencing the distribution and fate of the oil and dispersants released during the Deepwater Horizon disaster.</p>
<p>The students will help map the seafloor of the gulf off the coast of Panama City, Fla., to create a baseline of information about the topography and habitat of that area of the gulf, Locker said. The results will inform future research. “It’s important to know what resources are out there to be protected,’’ Locker explained. “There is a broad application of this research.”</p>
<p>This is not the first time Eckerd students have collaborated with Locker. “Eckerd students have always been very helpful over the years,’’ he said. “They always do really well.”</p>
<p>The students will blog about their experiences each day. Follow along on their journey of discovery.</p>
<p>Check to see if you can begin your research and studies in your major as a freshman. Many larger Universities do not allow you to begin your concentration until junior year. Also check to see what the opportunities for research are for undergrads.</p>
<p>Best of luck in your new search.</p>
<p>^ If you want a LAC and geoscience, a good place to start would be the Keck Geology Consortium colleges.
<a href=“http://www.keckgeology.org/”>http://www.keckgeology.org/</a></p>
<p>In the 5 year period ending in 2011, the alumni of one of these schools, Carleton College (with just ~2000 students) earned more doctorates in Earth Sciences than the alumni of any other college in America. Carleton alumni earned 2x as many PhDs in Earth Sciences during this period as the alumni of Penn State, which enrolls over 39K undergraduates and has the USNWR #1-rated graduate program in geology.</p>
<p>The Keck Consortium LACs are very different in atmosphere from TAMU.
Some of them offer merit aid, some don’t.<br>
I doubt most (if any) of them have strong programs in atmospheric science.</p>
<p>If LACs have any appeal, check out the College of Wooster.
It’s a Keck Geology Consortium college that does offer rather large amounts of merit aid … and does have a marching band.
<a href=“http://www.wooster.edu/academics/areas/music/ensembles/scotband/”>http://www.wooster.edu/academics/areas/music/ensembles/scotband/</a>
<a href=“http://www.wooster.edu/_media/files/academics/catalogue/areas/geology13.pdf”>http://www.wooster.edu/_media/files/academics/catalogue/areas/geology13.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/wooster”>http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/wooster</a></p>
<p>I’d look at Williams. Legendary marching band. Moocho Macho Moocow Military Marching Band!</p>
<p>No merit aid, though.</p>
<p>More to the point: Keck Consortium. Excellent sciences – strong environmental science, environmental policy, biology, geoscience, astronomy departments. The Center for Environmental Sciences (founded in 1967) pulls it all together. No meterology per se, but plenty of focus on climate change and sustainable energy. (See the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives.)Also the marine studies program at Mystic.</p>
<p>Excellent academic and research mentoring. Winter Study, four weeks in January, offers lots of environment based opportunities and the location in Berkshires is a natural for field work.</p>
<p>I especially liked this list of funding for summer projects from the Center for Environmental Sciences.
<a href=“http://ces.williams.edu/summer-opportunities/projects-funded/”>http://ces.williams.edu/summer-opportunities/projects-funded/</a></p>
<p>Penn State w its top atmospheric program & great marching band seems to be the best fit in terms of interests. But since money is an issue, & u are a TX resident, TAMU seems like a great option.</p>
<p>What’s wrong w TAMU?</p>
<p>We’ll see about the money. For my parents it’s a cost-benefit analysis. Nothing’s set in stone I’m just cheap by nature and I’d have a hard time asking them to shell out so much money.</p>
<p>It’s just that I’ve been to A&M so many times, stayed on campus for a week, and talked to so many students and I just can’t feel like I belong there. It just doesn’t feel quite right. I’d be happy to elaborate, but I’ll leave it there for now. On a more tangible note, I can’t be in their band and the LGBT population is slim. Don’t get me wrong, it’s by no means a poor place to get an education and if I had to go I’d do what it took to mold my experience into a positive one. I just feel like (or maybe I’m just dreaming) there’s a better place for me out there.</p>
<p>Have you seen this?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ametsoc.org/amsucar_curricula/index.cfm”>http://www.ametsoc.org/amsucar_curricula/index.cfm</a></p>
<p>What about Texas Tech? They offer a BS in the geosciences and a minor in atmospheric science.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.atmo.ttu.edu/index.php”>http://www.atmo.ttu.edu/index.php</a></p>
<p>Rice has a small-college feel, but is also a top research university. They offer a BS in Earth sciences, but that might be more focused on geology than atmo.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in marching band, The Ohio State University has one of the best in the land. They also have an LGBT center and will have research opportunities; I’m not sure about the opportunities for merit money. They do have a geography major, and you can concentrate in atmospheric and climactic sciences or atmospheric science alone:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.geography.osu.edu/undergraduates-and-graduates/undergraduate-studies”>http://www.geography.osu.edu/undergraduates-and-graduates/undergraduate-studies</a></p>
<p>If you are into small colleges, Hobart & William Smith Colleges might be a good idea - they are two small liberal arts colleges (one a men’s, the other a women’s) and fairly competitive, but still might offer you merit aid. They have a geosciences major with some atmospheric classes:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.hws.edu/academics/geoscience/curriculum.aspx”>http://www.hws.edu/academics/geoscience/curriculum.aspx</a></p>
<p>I know a few years ago, Iowa State was offering large merit scholarships to top out-of-state students to attract them to the university.</p>
<p>I was on that website just a few hours ago, actually.
My parents dislike Tech so yeah. I live for OSU band videos, however so I’ll have to go hang out on their website for a while.
The other two I know little about so I’ll go check them out, thanks!</p>
<p>TK, a phD in geology is not necessary for non academic employment in the same way that it is for say, biology or chemistry. A masters is far more important, which most of the top geology graduate schools urge their undergraduates to obtain. In fact, many departments, Berkeley’s included (a top public for geology/ geophysics), specifically tell their UGs that it’s more cost effective to obtain a masters if they don’t want to go into pure research than a phD.</p>
<p>Also @ECmotherx2 Eckerd doesn’t appear to offer any courses on non oceanic petrology (rock formation), only offers one class on geophysics, and a highly specialized course on geochemistry. From the course offerings it doesn’t appear to be nearly as strong a program as many of the other Keck geology LACs. </p>
<p>
That’s not an issue. The best majors for atmospheric science are math and physics, and there are many colleges with strong programs in those fields. To maximize merit aid opportunities, it’s best to cast as wide a net as possible. </p>
<p>Geology courses are much less important than a solid grounding in math (at least through differential equations) and physics (classical mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, etc.). Oceanography courses - particularly physical oceanography - would be beneficial but definitely not necessary for an undergraduate. Because so much work is done with computer modeling these days, computer science courses are quite helpful as well. </p>
<p>Environmental science is a different kettle of fish. Geology is a good choice – grads have pretty good job opportunities, with some subfields (e.g. hydrology) having particularly good job outlooks. You don’t have to major in geology to go into environmental science, though, and graduate programs in geology have always been relatively welcoming to those with undergrad degrees in other fields. </p>
<p>ohsomello, take a look at Rhodes, Denison, and Hendrix if you’re willing to try a smaller school. I know you don’t want to retake the SAT, but consider it if you think you could do better (e.g. if you didn’t prep for it the first time). A slightly higher score could drastically improve your chances of snagging a merit scholarship, which are often very numbers driven. </p>
<p>There have been many threads over the years about colleges with generous merit scholarships, so searching the forums should yield some helpful results. </p>
<p>A&M has quite a strong culture. Some people love it, some people hate it, but there seems to be little in-between. It certainly isn’t a typical generic state school.</p>
<p>I am planning on a master’s, I’ve been told the geoscience advanced degree situation many a time.</p>
<p>I think I’m trying to find a place with the strong geology and meteorology/physics because I’m 17 and I cannot be trusted to decide on one and stick with it for the rest of my life and I’d hate to get somewhere and realize I picked to wrong one.</p>
<p>Warbler-I’ll check them out, thanks. I bought the Baron’s 2400 book. There’s no turning back now.</p>