This is a topic I haven’t seen on CC before. My D is a senior, my first to go to college, and wants to study geology. We have a list of schools she is interested in, many of which I have learned a lot about on this forum. My concern is that she wants a specific school - University of Texas Austin (likes hydrology program) but we are OOS NY residents. I know she will probably not get any merit money if she does get in, and that would be a deal breaker. Also on her list is SUNY Geneseo, Oneonta (she likes the water resources program) Juniata (we visited I loved it. Town was kinda dull and near a jail), Tulane, St Lawrence, Furman, UVM. Guilford College came up with very good merit aid, but it seems like it’s on a downswing. She is not leaning towards anything right now except Texas. I’ve run the NPC calculators on some of these schools and they came up with some very generous merit aid. My thing is, it seems like many of these schools will be absolute negatives because they will be too expensive. So, my question is, how many schools should she apply to if I am pretty certain they will be too expensive. I also like Denison University. It seems like a great school for geology, but she doesn’t care to go to Ohio. And, merit aid is good. I don’t think she is sure what type of school is right for her right now, so the schools listed are small, midsize and large (Texas) She likes Texas because it seems like a small school even though it’s really big. I helped her choose the schools because they all have high retention rates (except Guilford) and have good geology programs.
If anybody could help clear up some of my confusion, I’d appreciate it.
Her stats are 93.5 weighted GPA, SAT 590CR 680M 630CR 29 ACT. She will be retaking both soon. She has taken a few honors, SUPA and AP classes.
Hi there, I am not really sure how to answer your question, except that you and your daughter need to come to some agreement as to what is affordable. Of course Texas will have added transportation costs. I wanted to tell you, though, that my son is also interested in geology. We’re in Massachusetts and he’s looking within a 3 hour driving radius and pretty much exclusively at smaller schools. Skidmore has a nice geology program. It is a smaller school but has a strong research focus for science undergraduates. Looking at the geosciences research posters on the walls, I remember a lot of them had to do with water. Also, I have heard that UMass Amherst has a very good geology program too. I am not sure how affordable it is for people out of state. University of Vermont might fit the bill of a big school that feels smaller, and I think they DO give good merit aid to out of state people.
Thanks LBowie. We do need to agree on price. Right now, it looks like a state school would be her best bet, as far as cost. But, I would like to have a list of more than a few that are affordable. And, some of the schools I mentioned, would give good merit aid. I’ll look into the schools you mentioned. I’ll also look at Texas State San Marcos, txstella. Thank you both.
I think you should consider requiring her to apply to Denison, if it is affordable and has the program she wants. In addition to schools she prefers, of course. It will do her no good to end up with unaffordable acceptances
Kids can change a lot over the course of senior year in HS, and having another nice out of state choice in April is always a good thing. She would not be the first kid who visited a school after being accepted who turned out to love it.
Thanks all for your replies. Whataproceess Hobart William Smith doesn’t give good merit, Allegheny is hard to get to from here (nearest airport is Pittsburgh and is 1 1/2 hours away) The school doesn’t have a system set up to get kids to/from the school to the airport, I believe. 8.5 hours is a pretty long to drive to get her.
I think I’ll have her add Denison, Consolation.
ucbalumnus, The Mines schools are a possibility I haven’t thought much about. I will look into those.
Also, she really would like a school without sororities or less of a sorority presence.
Like txstella, I was going to recommend Texas State. Less expensive but easily accessible to Austin. It even has shuttles that take students into Austin. Several years ago, UT’s Jackson School of Geosciences was looking to increase its profile, but I don’t know whether that’s still true. That was the area ds1 was interested in. He got in and even got a scholarship, but his stats were quite a bit better.
Some of the state universities in the “wilderness” areas of the country, like University of Montana, for example, have excellent geology programs. Much of geology is learned in the field, and there is a lot to explore in these areas. Also, these universities tend to have more reasonable tuition than some other state universities in more populated states. Montana even has an international dual/joint degree where part of it is spent in Europe: http://www.umt.edu/catalog/colleges-schools-programs/humanities-and-sciences/geosciences/default.php
Not sure what level you are looking for, but based on most recent info, HWS gave 45% of freshman merit aid, and while the average was $15K, they have many $25K scholarships. They also offer a small number of full tuition scholarships. I don’t see how that qualifies as “doesn’t give good merit”, although it certainly may not quite meet your criteria/definition.
The courses I’d say any geology student needs: intro geology, mineralogy and petrology, historical geology, stratigraphy, structural geology, and geomorphology. Anything else would be a bonus. I’d also recommend a class each in atmospheric science/physical oceanography and geophysics to round out an earth science education.
To prepare for graduate study in hydrology, math is as important as geology. At a minimum, one needs calculus and differential equations. A good background in physics, including fluid dynamics, is also important. Look for colleges strong in math and all of the basic sciences.
Agreed. A master’s degree is increasingly becoming the norm for geology. Some of the SUNY schools (Bing and Geneseo in particular) or a LAC like Denison are perfectly adequate preparation for graduate studies in geology. Keep costs down for undergraduate studies – no need to spend lots of money on an OOS public at the undergraduate level.
Her test scores are a weakness for some of the most generous colleges. Consider Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, and Wesleyan as reaches if she has a strong transcript; they’re test-optional. For a larger option, U Rochester is excellent.
Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Wooster, Macalester, Trinity (TX), and the other [Keck Consortium colleges](http://www.keckgeology.org) are some other options. You’ll have to run the EFC calculators to see if they’re affordable.
Have you looked at Cornell? Geology is in their school of Agriculture Life Sciences, which is one of the land grant colleges which means lower tuition than Engineering, Arts & Sciences, etc. The average SAT / ACT scores are also lower than for engineering, etc. Google it and you will see that the 25 - 75 range for SAT (CR+Math) is 1240 - 1440. ACT is 28 - 32. Your D is at the low end of this now. With a bump in the next round of testing, could be an option.
Like other posters, I would encourage you NOT to rule out Hobart & William Smith - my D was offered $25K merit scholarship there - and was also in the running for the full-tuition. She ultimately didn’t go there, but we visited and liked the campus a lot.
Have you looked at Colorado School of Mines? My S applied and was accepted with some nice merit $$ - he was also invited to apply for one of their full-tuition scholarships. He did apply, but didn’t get the full ride. The school was still a contender but ultimately didn’t make the cut. Two other schools he considered were McGill and University of British Columbia in Canada - both less expensive than US privates and with solid geology programs.
Lastly, what about SUNY Stony Brook??? Their department of Geosciences is excellent -
If she’s interested in water and geology, go west. Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Oregon State, Colorado State and Colorado School of Mines all have excellent geology/water programs. Mines is going to be more expensive, but some of the programs there are funded very nicely (and they love girls). At Wyoming, her tuition would be about $7000/yr, and there might be department scholarships to be had.
Erin’s Dad & 4Gulls Thank you for your replies. She loved Texas. It’s so far her #1 but she doesn’t want to let go of it, so I will let her apply and see what happens. I always thought of Cornell as a really tough school; had no idea she would be at that level. Thanks for that. This website is so awesome. Hobart & William Smith seems interesting, on a lake, Geoscience program seems different than others. It seems to have weather/climate classes that others don’t have. Originally, she wanted to be a meteorologist but changed to geology because the job outlook is better for Gelogists. So, I don’t know if that is a good thing or bad. We visited Colorado School of Mines when we were on vacation there last month. SUNY Stony Brook she didn’t like the campus at all. Plus, each Stony Brook freshman has 2 roommates, with 2 closets 2 desks 3 beds and the rooms are the same size as any other, or probably even smaller.
Thank you twoinanddone, I’m a little wary about having her go west to Montana or Wyoming. It seems so remote and hard to get to. We didn’t love the Mines campus. It was ok, not very pretty. University of Colorado Boulder was beautiful, but I’ve heard that’s a party school. I know college is what you make it and she wouldn’t necessarily be a crazy partier, but still. I don’t know.
Twoinanddone, I’m looking at Montana Wyoming and Utah. They all have low graduation rates (in the 20’s) I feel like that’s something to be concerned about, no?
I saw that she’s interested in possibly looking at Furman on your potentials list. If she’s willing to consider coming to SC, you may want to look at Clemson. They have a geology major. If she’s ranked in the top 10% of her class with her current scores, she’s eligible for 7500.00 in merit. If she increased her scores to 33 ACT or 1440 SAT she’d be eligible for 15,000 merit. Furman’s COA is 62,000 a year.
It will do her no good to end up with unaffordable acceptances