<p>Im a sophomore in high school and I hope to become a marine biologist after college, ive seen many posts about this topic but none are specific to my case really. I play baseball, and will probably play at some division 1 school, which school i dont know yet. Ive seen many posts about small colleges ive never heard of that have good biology and zoology programs, but i would certainly prefer to go to a larger D1 school where I could play baseball. I am a good student, and could get into many schools. I know marine biology isnt just playing with dolphins and sharks all day, but i certainly dont want to get out of college to study algae in a lab until I die. Im interested in the more popular stuff even though i know its not easy to do, like studying reefs or larger animals. My question is first of all what colleges should I consider, and what do I major in? Ive heard marine bio is not a good undergrad major and I should broaden my options with biology or other things. What courses or minors or maybe a double/triple major would put me on the best track to becoming what I want to be? Im afraid ill major in biology and chemistry and end up studying seaweed.</p>
<p>This will take some work…</p>
<p>Certainly, there are schools that offer BS degrees in marine biology. But you have to be careful because there may be very good schools who only offer BS Biology degrees, but have strong marine biology concentrations within their major. Also marine biology may be called biological oceanography at other schools… or it may be part of zoology or evolutionary biology & ecology.</p>
<p>It might be easier to narrow doen your choices based on other factors, and then investigate that smaller list of schools in more detail.</p>
<p>What are your stats?
How likely are you to play D1? That is, do you believe that you will be heavily recruited at a particular set or type of schools?</p>
<p>Any geographic constraints?</p>
<p>In what state are you considered a resident?</p>
<p>A word of concern as “a mom”. Marine biology, is a very rigorous course. Out of about 150 freshman that started in that major in my daughter’s class, only about 30 graduated with that degree. That can be due to many factors, however playing baseball for a D1 school would be a major concern to me. It is possible, but, the travel and practice schedule may pose conflicts with class and lab time. Some courses are sequential and if you attend a school where the marine bio courses begin in junior year, you may be limited in the flexibility of course selection. You may find the web site, Sea Grant Marine Careers to be helpful. You can choose to major in marine bio and also take extra classes in zoology. As the previous poster mentioned, different schools call their major by different names depending upon the concentration. Some schools break down marine sciences by marine bio, marine geo, marine physics. You will need to look up “schools that offer marine science”. Then look in the undergrad offerings and look at the concentrations and course selections. You will need to decide if you want to narrow your school selection to those offering D1 or D2 baseball. When you look at the course selections, this may help you also to decide what classes you wish to take in senior year at your HS. Some colleges will accept AP or college courses that line up with their course descriptions. This would also lighten the load for college and free up a little time for baseball or other courses you would like to take. Look to see if your instate school offers marine science. If not, are you in an area that participates in a regional program that offers a discount to an out of state school that would offer marine science. An undergrad. degree in marine science can be as broad or focused as the course offerings at your school. It is in grad school that you tighten your focus and would major in oceanography, fishes, mamals, reef, geology, etc. Don’t forget to speak with your parents about finances! Best of luck.</p>