Lower Intensity colleges in NJ & nearby

[Mjkacmom]

I’ve heard ramapo empties out on weekends too, my daughter’s friend just graduated. My best friend from HS went there, I remember being impressed with the dorms even back then.

[MACmiracle]

CT would work. I would consider $30 K a year but not much higher.

[relaxmon]

I am afraid I don’t know the costs or merit situations but Fairfield and Quinnipiac are both common destinations for students looking for a less selective but respected college in CT. Others include Trinity in Hartford and Connecticut College - both are somewhat more selective. For some programs people like University of New Haven. Of course there is also UConn but think expensive for out of staters.

[Mjkacmom]

My kids got UCONN down to about $35,000 with merit, 3.9/33/34 act, same with Quinnipiac.

[AustenNut]

Just wanted to throw out the names of a couple more schools that you may want to consider:

• Gordon (MA): The bio major offers a concentration in marine biology, and its Academic Success Center is available for all, whether students have documented disabilities or not.
• Simmons (MA): Small, all-women’s college in Boston.
• Rider (NJ): I don’t think this one has been mentioned yet, but in addition to having a major in marine sciences, it seems as though they have several different systems set up to help support students from their first year onwards (Academic Success Center, Student Navigation Office, and if there’s a documented disability (including ADHD), Student Accessibility and Support Services.
• Kean (NJ)
• Salisbury (MD): Offers environmental biology, marine sciences, and environmental studies majors. The science work seems to take advantage of the close proximity to water.

[Ailurophile20]

Gordon MA seems pretty religious based on what I know. Not sure if that’s what you’re looking for or not, but good to know

[kaslew]

Second the mention of Salisbury. Knew a few NJ folks for whom Salisbury was cheaper than the in-state options. The environmental programs there are very strong, and Env Studies in particular with a strong sense of community, great mentoring, a “high-touch” environment that really allows kids to find their way and shine. They have outdoor freshman orientation programs, including one at Assateague natl seashore. Collaboration between envl programs is good, helping students to find the “right” major. Awesome summer program kayaking through the Chesapeake. Freshman Living Learning Community focused on the environment where a small group of kids live together in a dorm and take a couple of classes together … I have heard great things about all this.

[MACmiracle]

I appreciate your thoughtful reply. Thank you very much.

[MACmiracle]

What is the area around Salisbury like? Is it a good area for walking and riding a bike around, exploring, etc?

[kaslew]

The university is in a town of about 70,000 people. Not a college town, but has all the sorts of shops or restaurants that one would expect. The campus is surrounded by neighborhoods, with US Highway 13 running between the academic campus and the sports fields, and a range of shops and restaurants on Hwy 13. They have the Seagull Century, which is a well regarded regional bike ride in October, thousands of bikers come to ride. It is FLAT, and easy to get out of town and ride long distances on small country roads. The bike ride to Assateague National Seashore is about 40 miles (the freshman orientation program: “Bikes, Beaches, and Beyond” introduces students to biking and camps at Assateague). There are a few nice parks for walking on trails, but overall the Eastern Shore is less a hiking area. But if you like to canoe or (not whitewater) kayak, few places in the East are better, and lots of flat empty roads for exploring on a bike, leading to small fishing towns on the Chesapeake Bay, beaches, etc. And of course, Ocean City.

[kaslew]

City of Salisbury MD - Capital of the Eastern Shore

Environmental Studies Major | Salisbury University

[AustenNut]

Another college that you might want to consider is U. of Maryland - Eastern Shore. It’s an HBCU that offers a number of programs that might interest your daughter, including a dual degree Bachelors/Masters in Marine Sciences. 78.7% of classes have fewer than 20 students, and only 1% of classes have more than 50 students. This page provides more information about its location, 13 miles from Salisbury.

[AustenNut]

Based on your post here, I’m going to repost on this thread, that way any responses to you will be easier to locate than on the Class of '23 thread. For those who weren’t reading, here are some of the posts (besides the linked one):

@MACmiracle

I don’t know exactly what she wants because she has changed her mind since she started submitting apps. She wanted cold weather and more rural. Now she has reservations about cold weather and wants things to do nearby.

She first talked about math. Then it became environmental science in time for apps. Now she’s leaning toward marine biology. So I think she needs to be somewhere that she can have options after enrolling.

Right now she has acceptances in environmental science, environmental studies, one math acceptance and one anthropology acceptance. (The anthropology professor she spoke with at an open house impressed her.)

I think she also would do better in a smaller, more nurturing place but somewhere that she won’t get bored. And she likes the outdoors.

She has three options that are about $24K (Rowan, Stockton, Mount St. Mary’s) and a few in the $28K range (Susquehanna, Etown, Evansville, Hope, Maine, Ursinus) There are some more expensive than that (Roanoke, St. Mary’s of Maryland, Lynn and probably LSU.)

She thinks Susquehanna and Mount St. Mary’s are too remote, but their costs are the best of the private colleges.

She is waiting on SUNY ESF. I think she would get the small school benefits there with the fun of SU next door. It’s not too far from home. The only problem is that they primarily offer sciences so if sciences don’t work out for her, she’d probably have to transfer.

@Mwfan1921

@randommom1

UMAINE is great for marine biology and forestry/environmental-y things.

@PAMom24

Second that. My son almost wound up there but at last minute switched to Coastal Carolina. Went in as marine bio major but just switched to hospitality - fortunately, school has good programs for both.

@2plustrio

Jacksonville U? @MACmiracle

@Poochie21

Am I making it up that you liked Stockton when you visited? We did not get down there, but it was on my original list for D23 - I thought it looked nice. Would she be open to starting there for Marine Biology and giving her interests more time to develop? The nice thing about Stockton is she could go in many directions there. UMaine, too. But maybe she’d prefer to stay in NJ? I was just reading a thing about how this year’s seniors are showing the effects of the pandemic and they’re not all eager to fly yet. I’m seeing that play out with some of the kids in our friend group. Hang in there - it’s great that she has a lot of options. And I’m sorry you’re feeling so stressed and stretched, you’re almost at the finish line.

@AustenNut

If I recall correctly, I believe your daughter is a big fan of biking. These are some schools I’d give some serious consideration to if your daughter is thinking about doing a late application.

Salisbury’s sticker price is about $35k, but I don’t know if it is still giving scholarships. It has lots of opportunities to explore your daughter’s academic interests, but is a smaller campus with about 6700 undergrads, so smaller than most publics. It appears to be in a cute town, and with its location on the eastern shore of Maryland, there are lots of water possibilities. Salisbury is also considered a bronze level biking university.

U. of Louisville is a bit larger, at a bit under 16k undergrads. Its sticker is around $40k, but as a New Jersey resident your daughter would automatically qualify as a Regional Scholar which would give her a minimum of $10k/year and up to $16k/year, depending on her academic stats, perhaps bringing costs down to as low as $24k/year if she has a weighted 3.5 GPA and a 29 ACT/1330 SAT/comprehensive review if TO. It appears as though the campus is 2.5-3 miles from the waterfront park & botanical gardens, with those miles going through Old Louisville and Downtown, which definitely seems as though there would be lots of stuff going on in those areas. U. of Louisville is considered a silver level biking university.

Florida Southern is more intimate, with about 2800 undergrads. It appears to be right on Lake Hollingsworth, which makes up part of the Lake-to-Lake Trail which, according to Wikipedia, “is an urban 26 miles (42 km) network of paved multi-use paths that runs between numerous lakes in Lakeland Florida.” The campus appears adjacent to a historic district which itself is near the downtown. Sticker is about $53k, but it appears as though scholarships may still be available (it still has an Apply Now button and indicates that all students are automatically considered for merit aid) and the net price for families earning more than $110k is below $30k. Some of its programs that might interest your daughter include marine biology, integrative biology, and environmental studies which appears to be more science based than social studies based. There’s even a 3-2 program where Florida Southern students can apply to complete a 2-year Master’s environmental studies degree at Duke after their third year at FSU.

@2plustrio’s suggestion of Jacksonville also has possibilities. It’s another intimate school, with about 2600 undergrads. It offers a degree in Marine Science as well as a major in Sustainability, Geography, and Environmental Planning with concentrations in either Sustainability and Resiliency, Geography and GIS, or Environmental Planning. You can call, but I wasn’t able to find any deadlines to apply for scholarships (which appear to get automatic consideration once you’ve applied).

@Mwfan1921

@MACmiracle

How will the change in FAFSA change our need in future years? I have a D20 with some special needs on a five year plan so we have a year of overlap that won’t be taken into consideration.

Don’t know the answer to this, but probably less of an issue at CSS schools. Also, unlikely to matter if you don’t qualify for a Pell Grant now, and she attends a non-meets full need school. You could run NPCs with a different number of dependents and/or different number of kids in college (not sure that’s an issue for you?) to see how it changes the estimated costs.

@MACmiracle

I suspect D23 will not have a high gpa if she has a science related major. So gpa requirements for merit scholarship renewal is a big deal in my mind.

Thinking about all of this fries my brain.

I get all of this…anxiety in the face of uncertainty is normal, and GPA requirements to retain merit are a definite consideration. Hopefully the requirements at some of her schools are attainable even with a science major. And once your D finds what she likes to study, she is likely to get the grades needed to keep her merit.

Which of her choices is she leaning towards? Did she just put in an app at SUNY ESF? Many of the additional suggestions that posters identified could still work too.