Hi guys, while I know that the discussion about good schools for marine bio has been rehashed here several times, I still have 31 schools on my list and need to half that number by next week. Yes, I know that most marine biologists advise undergraduates not to major in marine biology, but at the least I want to go to a school where I can concentrate in marine bio. My scores are competitive (SAT is 1480 and GPA is 96.5), and I don’t care too much about different variables in schools besides strength of marine program, and diversity of other academic programs. If anyone can offer some advice about some schools that I can immediately cut off my list, or about what schools are better than others, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
University of Maine -EA
University of New England-EA
Univ of New Hampshire-EA
University of Rhode Island-EA
Boston University
Northeastern University
Univ. of CT
Coast Guard Academy
Rutgers University
Monmouth University
Stony Brook
Oregon State University
Univ of CA - Santa Barbara
Univ of CA - San Diego/Scripps
Univ of CA - Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of San Diego
CA State Univ - Monterey/Long Beach
University of South California
Stanford Univ-EA
U Delaware
Duke
Univ. of South Carolina
Univ of North Carolina - Chapel Hill or Wilmington-EA
College of Charleston-EA
Texas A & M Galveston
University of Georgia-EA
Univ of Jacksonville
U of Florida
Eckerd College
Univ. of Tampa-EA
Univ. of Miami-EA
Florida Southern College
Or whether Coastal Carolina or College of Charleston is the better school-either academically or in terms of their bio and marine departments
What can you and your family afford to pay each year? Have you run the net price calculators for each school? Hoe state? EC’s?
Currently, my parents would like me to be discounting schools that I’ve found are worse in terms of program than other schools. Of course, I am applying for lots of scholarships, but I will not get lots in terms of need based aid. If anything, I can get the majority of tuition paid in merit scholarships at schools like Florida Southern and U Tampa. My home state is New York, Stonybrook is my only home state school.
Although the California UC’s have very good programs, are they willing to pay full fees at $65K/year for you to attend especially if Graduate school is probably a necessity with your major? UC’s give little to no financial aid for out of state students and merit is not readily available and definitely not significant enough to reduce your costs. Run the numbers with your parents and make sure they want to ok with the cost estimates. No program is worth that kind of debt.
@LakeWashington do you have any advice about this? I’ve seen you comment on some threads about marine bio.
At the risk of expanding your list you may want to consider Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. International tuition is C$21,000 which equals US$16,400/year. Some merit money may be available and Dalhousie is the top oceanography program in Canada.
I’m limited to continental U.S. schools
Or @warblersrule I believe I’ve seen some of your comments on threads regarding marine bio. Do you have any suggestions?
Do you think a PhD is in your future? If so, I would concentrate on foundational undergraduate programs, Things like Biochem and Geology. My niece did her undergrad in Integrative Biology and Earth and Planetary Sciences. It is all about the grad school. A good strong lab based science program is going to help more than a field work.
I do, that’s why a lot os schools with good biology programs are appealing to me, because i would rather a bio degree with a concentration in marine bio than a marine bio degree.
As Gumbymom asked, what can your parents afford based upon the NPC calculators? Unless you are able to afford nearly full pay or live in CA, rethink all of those schools. The other OOS public universities may not be good financial choices. Another suggestion is to consider the program itself. Is there an option to obtain the degree in marine sciences with specific tracks of bio, geo, or geophysics. This will offer a breadth and depth of classes that will make you more attractive to grad schools. Do all of the programs allow you to begin your marine science classes as freshman or must you take core courses first. Are research opportunities and internships readily available to freshman? Will you be competing with grad students for research opportunities? How many NOAA Hollings Scholars does each college have? Where are their lab facilities and outdoor research areas located in reference to the school location? Do you have year round access to field work? What percentage of grads work in the field or continue on to grad school? Can you co-author, publish and present as an undergrad at conferences? Is there a strong professor/mentor program? These are some of the questions and conversations that I can remember my daughter having. She majored in marine bio and many of her schools are on your current list. She dismissed UC-Scripps and Santa Cruz due to cost and inability to take marine science courses as a freshman, UCONN program is located at Avery Point.
Look at a description of the courses at each school. If you want to continue with grad school in a marine bio field, you will be more than well prepared with an undergrad degree in marine bio. If you choose not to continue a grad degree in marine sciences, you will still be very prepared. Anecdotally, my daughter has a BS in marine science with a concentration in marine bio and is now in vet school. Her boyfriend was accepted directly into a PhD program in the field of genetics with the same degree. It depends upon the program and the courses offered. Take your time to look at each school and see what their students who graduated with a marine science degree are doing now. They all track their graduates. Out of state universities on your list are running $40,000 to $70,000. Your parents should run the NPC to determine cost of attending. With your statistics, your best chance of merit awards would be at the private schools on your list, Eckerd, University of Tampa, Florida Southern, the least costly would be Stony Brook as it is your instate choice.
You should take a look at Western Washington University. You can concentrate in marine bio in either biology or environmental science.
Academics: College of Charleston > Coastal Carolina.
Baseball: Coastal Carolina > College of Charleston.
Five/six years ago when we were looking, Eckerd ended up at the top of our list… This was due to their fantastic program that definitely is noted elsewhere (like with Hollings Scholars and pretty much everyone working in the field who we contacted), their having their facilities right on campus - literally roll out of bed and walk to the labs/classes vs getting into a van and driving elsewhere, and no grad students doing the “fun stuff” as my lad put it. Undergrad students did it all. YMMV
FWIW, we eliminated schools that were only good for Marine Bio/Science - places like Galveston. So many change their minds… as did my lad. He did not have to change schools - nor did he want to.
Make sure the school has other things you like, is affordable, then visit to see how the vibe fits.
Cornell CALS is worth a look since you have discounted tuition as a NY resident, though still expensive without financial aid. You can do marine research at the Shoals lab.
I agree with the posters above; you have a lot of public universities on your list that are going to be expensive as an out-of-state student and unfortunately won’t offer much in the way of financial and merit aid.
Of the schools on your list, I particularly like the following:
BU
College of Charleston
Eckerd
Northeastern
Stony Brook
U Miami
If you add at least one or two affordable safeties (SUNY Geneseo? SUNY Bing?), I think that’s a very good list.
D18 goes to CofC and received OOS scholarships there and at Coastal. She hasn’t been yet but the aquarium is a 20 minute walk from campus. Shes not marine bio but is enjoying her time there so far.
I have a friend whose kid attends Cal State Monterey Bay for Marine Science (in the School of Natural Science). The location, affordability and ability to get courses was a draw. OOS tuition is $396/unit plus other fees. The proximity to Monterey Bay and the Aquarium is nice and in addition the school has The Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Program (CMEP).
Taking 15 units/semester = $11,880/year + $700 (fees) = $12,580/year tuition and fees only.
https://csumb.edu/catalog/2018-19-tuition-fees-and-deadlines
https://csumb.edu/cme
@warblersrule Well I am down to my final 3 (my dream school, Duke, rejected me). My top 3 are Northeastern, U Miami, and UC San Diego. I absolutely adore all of the schools, but the campuses and climates of Miami and San Diego do something for my psyche that the cold, urban nature of Boston just doesn’t. On the other hand, the opportunities for career development and global educational opportunities at Northeastern are simply unparalleled-especially as their program is quickly expanding to include the three seasons program, semester at sea, and freshman semesters at James Cook in Australia. I could spend 3.5 years of my 5 years at Northeastern working, learning, or researching in warm, coastal places around the world that no other school would allow me to. UCSD, everything about their school itself I just adored, but opportunities at Scripps seems really limited for undergrad students, plus it’s on the other side of the country. Still, I adored their campus and school. U Miami which I just visited impressed me so far beyond than I expected. I loved the campus and the students there seem so absolutely happy. Miami is so well situated for my favorite hobby, fishing, and also has boundless opportunities for internships and jobs. Their marine science campus, RSMAS, was also stunning. While it is still graduate heavy, there are tons of opportunities for undergrad research. The school also requires marine science students to double major with another degree like biology, or policy, which I know is very useful for marine biology students. RSMAS also made me feel so at home, right on the beach, which only makes my decision harder. I have just over two days left and could use any advice I could get. Sorry for the rambling, thank you in advance.