<p>I really need help finding some colleges. I'm a senior, graduating in 2011. I have a 3.8 GPA. SAT scores are 550 in reading, 560 in math, 510 in writing and my ACT score is a 24. I also took SAT subject tests in math and biology, but I haven't gotten my scores yet. I have a lot of extra curricular activities and tons of community service, if that counts for anything. I want get my bachelors degree in biology and my masters in marine biology. Right now Auburn is my first choice. I was looking at University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, but I heard it was an awful school. I need some other colleges that are amazing in biology and that I have a good chance of getting into. I live in Florida, but I want to go out of state. I'd like to stay towards the east coast, maybe no further than like Illinois. Please help me!!!!</p>
<p>Your GPA is very good, and inconsistent with your SAT and ACT scores which are on the low side. Consider applying to test optional schools like Bates and Bowdoin in Maine.</p>
<p>Bowdoin has an especially strong environmental sciences program, including a marine biology research lab on the coast, about a 10 minute drive from the campus. </p>
<p>This presumes you can afford to pay…</p>
<p>^ Very good point. Can your family afford paying OOS rates for school?</p>
<p>Will your parents pay for an out of state public?
If so, then great. If not, that will be a problem.</p>
<p>Are you pre-med?</p>
<p>Shoot for colleges where the 25/75 SAT ave for M+CR is about 1150-1225… some that are near oceanic waters where the biology courses might expose you to Marine Biology research are Loyola University of New Orleans, and the University of San Diego, which is very near Scripps Insititution of Oceanography. There ought to be several colleges in Florida as well, though I’m not familiar with them… certainly University of Miami, but I think your stats are just too far outside their sweet spot. Perhaps Florida could still work for you if you go to a college at least a couple of hundred miles from home.</p>
<p>Thank you for your suggestions :)</p>
<p>I know my SAT scores are really low, I’m not sure what happened. I have taken 3 AP classes before this year, and passed 2, if that would increase my chances any. I am taking 4 AP classes this year, and 2 duel enrollment classes. I am hoping colleges will look more at that and not so much my SAT scores. </p>
<p>Also, budget is not an issue.</p>
<p>Try Mount Holyoke. They are score-optional and very strong in the sciences. (Am assuming you are female!)</p>
<p>
you and about 90% of high school seniors!</p>
<p>umass dartmouth actually has a very good biology program, everything else there is not that good, but its a good school for bio or nursing.</p>
<p>my brother went there for bio and he has a very good paying job in a lab now</p>
<p>oh its ugly though lol</p>
<p>
There’s little you can do with a MS in marine biology that you can’t with a BS, and even most PhDs end up working in unrelated areas. Most students have overly romanticized notions of the field.</p>
<p>
If you’re serious about marine biology, then I recommend staying put. Some of the best programs are in your state and would be quite cheap - UF, FSU, USF, West Florida, Eckerd, etc. Some of them may be slightly out of your range, however, given your test scores.</p>
<p>Others that may work are:</p>
<p>Alabama
College of the Atlantic (very small)
College of Charleston
Hampshire
Old Dominion
U Maine
UNC Wilmington
UNH
URI (not as good at undergrad level)</p>
<p>Some of these are reaches and may have deadlines that have already passed.</p>