Looking for schools in rural locations?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Okay, I'm currently a Junior in the I.B. program in high school. I'm from a small city in Florida, but would like to go to a university in more of a rural location, very close to mountains (for hiking, camping, etc.) with a good environmental program(preferably with Environmental engineering major available). I've been looking and looking on collegeboard and collegeconfidential, and just haven't really found too many that I like. One that I'm kind of interested in is CU at Boulder, but I'm concerned about the partying scene. I would like to go to a school with some sort of party scene, but maybe not to the magnitude of CU's... however, the university is in an ideal location. Like the setting is PERFECT, but I'm afraid that once I graduate and am looking for a job and put down CU on my job app's that they might not take me seriously? If that makes sense. What I'm trying to say is that I want to go to a school with SOME prestige, which CU seems to lack (looks like they admit just about anyone as long as they have the money to pay). </p>

<p>Either way, anyone know of universities in a rural location similar to CU Boulder but with more prestige? Preferably near the rockies. While the appalachians are beautiful, they just don't compare to the rockies. And more info on CU Boulder or just on applying to colleges in general would be much appreciated. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Colorado college. Best Lac in that area and well-known.
Less selective Carroll College in Montana.
While not in the Rockies you may want to give a look at UNC Asheville</p>

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<p>University of Washington</p>

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<p>The environmental studies program at CU-Boulder can be very rigorous — especially if you do an undergraduate honors thesis. And the engineering program has an impressive record of employment post graduation. Sure, some kids party, but there are many many who do not.</p>

5

<p>Take a look at St Lawrence University in Canton, NY. I am here right now dropping my S off at college and this place is unbelievable. The campus has to be the most beautiful I have seen in all the college tours I have been on with all my boys. Great Environmental Science program( my S is majoring in ES with a Philosophy concentration). Bright, engaged, happy, happy kids. I really don’t think the location is that isolated, but NYC it ain’t. The town is quaint and charming and has most of what you need. There is a beautiful river right next to the school. The Student Center is too gorgeous to be believed, and the dining hall and food got BIG thumbs up from S. Big fireplaces everywhere, comfy chairs and study areas, adirondacks spread out all over. I have been VERY impressed with the administration every step of the way. It is pretty selective( 43% acceptance rate), with a high % of ED’ers. 93% freshman retention rate nothing to sneeze about and the alumni network is insanely loyal… the graduates get jobs!!</p>

<p>My S is a smart kid that wanted an engaged classroom. SLU gives really good merit aid to lots of top students.( my DS got $30,000 a year merit).</p>

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<p>University of the South… Sewanee… beautiful campus but extremely rural…</p>

<p>[Sewanee:</a> The University of the South](<a href=“http://www.sewanee.edu/]Sewanee:”>http://www.sewanee.edu/)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.google.com/search?q=sewanee+photos&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=H_YXUqCOMMrI2gWHrIDIBg&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1480&bih=1012[/url]”>http://www.google.com/search?q=sewanee+photos&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=H_YXUqCOMMrI2gWHrIDIBg&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1480&bih=1012&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>and i do realize its not the rockies :)</p>

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<p>As someone already mentioned, University of Washington. It’s within 2-3 hours of great hiking, climbing, skiing.</p>

<p>Equally impressive (from an outdoors perspective) is the University of Oregon.</p>

<p>There are a handful of LACs in Washington and Oregon that are also well situated for outdoors activities.</p>

<p>Of the California UCs, UC Merced is within a couple of hours from Yosemite and Sequoia. It’s an up and coming UC. Several other UCs (more selective than UC Merced) are not far from the Sierra Nevada.</p>

<p>In Canada, University of British Columbia is well situated in Vancouver.</p>

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<p>Upstate New York and New England have quite a few academically excellent colleges in settings of profound natural beauty. Although the Rockies are unique among American mountain ranges, you should not underestimate the accessibility and user-friendly aspects of the Northern Appalachians, Berkshires and Adirondacks. Hiking, climbing, camping, winter sports and generally taking advantage of outdoorsy activities are very much a part of the experience at rural colleges in the Northeast.</p>

<p>I’d look at Williams, Hamilton, Cornell, Middlebury, Amherst, Colgate, Dartmouth. In addition to rigorous academics, these colleges offer good career connections. Prestige is sometimes in the eye of the beholder, but for sure, these colleges are also well known to employers and graduate and professional school admissions.</p>

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<p>You don’t so much need to be worried about selectivity as you do with quality of education and reputation. CU-Boulder has a reputation as a very good public university; moreover, there are a lot of very good colleges and universities that have higher acceptance rates because of some quirk of their student bodies. Out of nearly 2,000 universities, CU-Boulder is ranked in the top 100. Another example is Lawrence University, a top 50 LAC where the average SAT range is from a 1740 to a 2120 and still the acceptance rate is 76% - because few people have heard of it. Many, many good colleges admit more than half their applicants.</p>

<p>With that said, I think Colorado School of Mines might be perfect for you ([Mines](<a href=“http://www.mines.edu/]Mines[/url]”>http://www.mines.edu/)</a>). CSM is in Golden, Colorado, which is a suburb of Denver - about 20 minutes to Denver by car and about 30 minutes to Boulder. Thus, it’s not really rural (but then, neither us CU-Boulder).</p>

<p>Still, CSM sits right at the edge of the Rockies and some humongous state parks. What’s more, CSM is an an engineering and sciences school. They definitely have an environmental engineering major. They also have geology and geological engineering, and geophysical engineering. And it’s a very selective school, with an acceptance rate of 37%.</p>

<p>Another school that is pretty close to what you want is the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. This school also has a 31% acceptance rate, with an SAT CR+M range of 1140 to 1370. It’s located in Socorro, NM, a small rural area right at the tip of the Rockies and nearby a bunch of state parks. It’s 1 hour from Albuquerque.</p>

<p>Here are some other schools you may be interested in in rural or semi-rural areas:</p>

<p>-the Air Force Academy is in Colorado Springs and has environmental engineering - but of course, this is a special mission college.
-Sewanee-University of the South (I am seconding this nomination)
-Williams College, in Williamstown, MA
-Colby College in Maine - it’s on a wildlife refuge
-Cornell University in Ithaca (not only is Ithaca a pretty rural environment, Cornell has a bunch of majors that may appeal to you - environmental engineering, environmental science and sustainability, science of earth systems, and design and environmental analysis).
-College of the Atlantic, in Bar Harbor, ME. It’s a human ecology focused college.
-Clarkson University, in Potsdam, NY. Potsdam is way up near the Canadian border, in the Adirondacks, and has several state parks nearby. They have environmental engineering.
-SUNY Potsdam, which is in the same town. No environmental engineering, but they do have environmental science and environmental technology.
-SUNY Plattsburgh, also in upstate NY. Plattsburgh is on Lake Champlain and pretty rural, and they have an ecology major as well as environmental science, geology, and [expeditionary</a> studies](<a href=“http://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/exp/]expeditionary”>http://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/exp/).
-Rennselaer Polytechnic, which is in Troy, NY - just north of Albany - and has environmental engineering.
-Norwich University, in Northfield, VT. Norwich is a military college, but you can be a civilian student there, and they have environmental engineering. It’s nearby a lot of state parks.
-Lehigh University in the Lehigh Valley has environmental engineering. Lehigh is pretty rural-ish.
-Penn State, in State College, PA. They have environmental engineering. State College is a small town but it is in a rural area.
-Syracuse, which is in upstate NY. Syracuse is obviously a city, but the school has environmental engineering and isn’t too far from some awesome upstate NY camping and hiking.
-The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. It’s located in Syracuse as well. Has environmental resources engineering, as well as a bunch of other environmentally-focused majors.
-SUNY Buffalo has environmental engineering. Althoughh Buffalo is an urban area, it’s along the same lines of Rochester and Syracuse - in upstate NY and close by great outdoors sports.
-University of Georgia in Athens. Athens is a college town, but just about an hour north are the tail end of the Appalachians and a lot of national forests and parks. They also have environmental engineering and sciences.</p>

<p>Also</p>

<p>-Northwestern has an environmental engineering major, although I don’t think it has the setting you want, being a suburb of Chicago.
-Marquette University has an environmental engineering major, but it’s located in Milwaukee.
-Rice has environmental engineering, but it’s in Houston.
-Southern Methodist in Dallas has environmental engineering.
-Tufts has environmental engineering, but it’s just outside Boston.</p>

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<p>willow,
Definitely check out Virginia Tech. One of the best Civil and Environmental Engineering programs in the country. Beautiful, rural campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. The school is obviously not in the Rockies, but has a lot of what you seem to be looking for. Good luck!</p>

<p>Here is a link to the Civil and Envir. Engineering program:
<a href=“http://www.cee.vt.ed%5B/url%5D”>http://www.cee.vt.ed</a></p>

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<p>Thank you all so much for the replies!! Really appreciate it, and I’m definitely going to be checking all of the above mentioned out :slight_smile: And you’re right, I’m gonna be more open minded about the schools and locations. It’s just that I used to spend every summer in the apps growing up, and I would like to expand myself and explore the country a bit. There’s just something exciting and wild about the west :slight_smile: thanks again!!!</p>

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<p>Given your criteria, I’d say Northern Arizona University, or University of Wyoming. I would probably lean more towards NAU simply because it is located right there in Flagstaff… a beautiful area.</p>

<p>Either of those schools should give you the type of vibe you’re looking for though. FWIW, the east coast outdoorsy-scene is very different than west coast outdoorsy-scene. If you’re looking for real mountains, more open space to hike/bike/whatever, and better weather year-round, look west.</p>

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<p>Im in New England…These are extremely prestigious and rural
Dartmouth (their motto lol)
Colby
Colgate
Middlebury
Bowdoin
Williams
Amherst </p>

<p>Honestly Cornell is in a beautiful area and gives the same feel, but it is right next to Ithaca which is a big town. The others are truly in the middle of nowhere. Colgate has more students than the town its located in</p>

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<p>@OP, you said,

One of the best choices that you could make would be the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.</p>

<p>Here is the general website: [Cal</a> Poly - Welcome to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California](<a href=“http://calpoly.edu/]Cal”>http://calpoly.edu/)</p>

<p>This wonderful video will introduce you to just how great the area and the school is. Enjoy! <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4swoERUXpU[/url]”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4swoERUXpU&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It is one of the best schools in the country for your desired major. It is located in one of the most beautiful areas on the central coast. It is one of the largest land holding universities in the country with mountains literally on campus and the ocean nearby. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Less prestegious in terms of name, but perhaps a very good choice if cost is an issue could be SIU-Carbondale. Guaranteed instate tution with a single sitting ACT of 26 or SAT of 1170 (M + CR) </p>

<p>Small rural campus town with lots of research opportunites located very near the Ohio River, the Mississippi river, Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, and the Shawnee National Forest. Not mountainous per se but very nice large hills with wonderful rock formaions and lots of good hiking opportunites.</p>

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<p>Has anyone suggested University of Vermont? I’m not positive of the academic fit, but the location is gorgeous, it’s a great town but still has the mountains right there and the added bonus of Lake Champlain.</p>