Help and Advice for Transfer Env Science or Ecology

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi,
I just finished my freshman year at bard College and have my ups and downs with it. I went there to study human rights and international relations. After doing it for a year I am thinking that instead I would like to major in environmental studies/science, ecology, social policy, and conservation, some combination thereof. First, I do not want to be at a school where science would be purley lab research and so on, I really like the approach of the School For Field Studies. I would like to be somewhere where I could learn about ecology and conservation while still maintaining a very intellectual and creative focus and approach. Which is why I am not so sure if I should try and transfer from Bard. As far as I can tell, its a great school academically, and has plenty of contacts. We are right on the Hudson River, so there are plently of opportunities for environmental activism as well as ecology(The Center for Ecological Studies is around there as well as the cool Hudsonia Center). Bard is a very intellectually charged place, and I’ve liked the focus on philosophy and critical engagement so far. I’ve also been looking into Anthropology as well which I’ve liked. I also hear it has a great environmental studies program. My problems with Bard are…</p>

<li><p>For science I don’t know its rep and if the program would be any good. The classes would def be small and very engaging, but its cloudy.</p></li>
<li><p>The social atmosphere of hipster kids gets to me, and it can, not always, but can get very click-ish.</p></li>
<li><p>People at the school seem to be under the impresion that it sucks and it is not helpful to be at a place where the students don’t want to be there.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>My issue with transferring I guess would be to find a place a little socially happier, optimistic, and open, while finding an improved natural science program that still maintains intelelctualism and creativity.</p>

<p>The schools I’m looking into are
Reed
Middlebury
Colorado College
and any others people can suggest</p>

<p>Here are stats off the top of my head</p>

<p>College:
GPA of 3.7, 5 200 level courses
Co-Head of the SSTOP club(against human trafficking)
Going to be an RA my sophmore year
Member of Amnesty Club</p>

<p>High School
GPA of 3.6ish(?unsure)
Boarding School prefect for 2 years (Junior and Senior)
Class Officer Sophmore Year
Wrestled Varsity for 3 years
Captian of Wrestling team senior year
Work Program
School didnt offer AP’s but took heavy courseload
Great recommendations
Several years of international and cultural exchange/leadership with CISV
SAT I: above average, 1200 on old, 1800 on new
27 ACT
680 SAT II World History</p>

<p>Any places fitting my criteria would help so much, for I need to meet with my high school guidance counselor as well. And any thoughts on Bard would also help, cause I hear a lot of different things. Thanks. Chances?</p>

2

<p>Reed has no environmental studies major or program. Your SAT and ACT scores are both below the 25th %ile for the last entering class. I doubt that Reed is noticably socially happier. I think Reed would be a reach. However, across the river is Lewis & Clark College which has an active environmental studies program: <a href="http://www.lclark.edu/dept/envs/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lclark.edu/dept/envs/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>It depends on how much prestige you are looking for...but it sounds like you are what you want is exactly what my old school College of the Atlantic offers. It has about 300 students (25 % of which are international, making it the second most intl college in the country). About 30% of the school end up "majoring" in ecology/ environmental science and another 30% in social justice. Another 30% major in some combination. No one actually majors in anything, as they actually choose self-made concentrations as late as their last trimester...This school doesn't have many resources, except when it comes to environmental science and social justice. Here, the school is one of the best I can think of. The ultimate benefit is that there are no requirements. You can look at all the courses and take whatever you want, usually skipping any of the requirements. Just to give you an example of how environmentally conscious this school is, it is the first carbon neutral college in the US. (p.s. while the school is relatively small and unknown, it is both increasing enrollment and becoming more selective. Admissions only accepted 33% of applicants this past year and the average h.s. gpa is actually higher than Bard's).
Good luck with your decision</p>

4

<p>Are you sure you want to stick with a small LAC, or would you be open to some universities at this point? The reason I mention this is because some of what you don't like about Bard may not be all that different at any LAC, especially the ones you have on your current list which, to me, have a very similar campus culture to Bard in many ways. Maybe it's time to consider something different if you're going to go to all the trouble of transferring.</p>

<p>If you're set on sticking with LACs, check out the environmental studies programs at Allegheny College, Denison, Colby and Dickinson - no hipster vibe at any of them. If you still want the hipster/granola approach, look at Earlham, Oberlin, Pitzer, and possibly Evergreen State.</p>

<p>If you'd like to explore some larger schools, look at the U of Pittsburgh, Oregon State, Humboldt State (CA), Case Western, PennState, U of Wisconsin, Syracuse U, U of Rochester, and the U of Vermont. (This list is by no means exclusive, however)</p>

5

<p>By the way, I just visited Bard last week, and was very impressed with their new science building - it will be a state of the art facility when it opens, and I think it is a good sign of Bard's growing dedication to the sciences. Bard is well-respected by graduate schools, by the way, so don't let rumors scare you away. I think that much of what Bard has to offer could lend itself nicely to environmental studies -- for instance, you might look into whether the Levy Economics Institute is doing any work related to environmental issues, etc.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for everyone's comments and help. I've actually been looking into COA but am a little let back by the small school size, its like 400 kids right? But the major is basically what I want to do. And I think it is also true that this just might be the case with most LAC's, especially those with a little more 'granola' approach, which is more my thing. </p>

<p>Carolyn: Its good to hear that the science building actually looks promising. The nice thing bout Bard that makes me still really want to stay is that is is a really great location to be studying anything dealing with the environment. Between the Hudson, where the enviro movement basically began, Hudsonia, and the new science building, it probably is a pretty good place to be. I'm thinking that I might just stick with Anthro for now, but take at least 1 Eco class every semester, and minor in Science, Technology, and Society, thus letting me do so. Theres a lot of good envirn/ecological anthro courses here, so maybe I'll just see how the semester goes and go from there. Thanks all.</p>

7

<p>You might want to check out this website: <a href="http://www.enviroeducation.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.enviroeducation.com/&lt;/a>
You might check out Humboldt and their Sierra Institute. Also, Northern Arizona University has a Grand Canyon semester. Definitely not indoors.</p>