<p>Hi there! I'm going to be a junior in high school this upcoming year and decided that I should probably start looking at colleges. I guess a little about me - </p>
<p>I live in Ohio, family income is about 30K a year. It's just my mom and I, and my mom has MS (I'm not sure if that would play any part in financial aid).
I've always wanted to work with animals, and being a vet is my first choice. But if I don't get into vet school, I'd love to be a marine biologist or zoologist.
I'm in the top 10% of my class at a public high school.
I'm involved in the American Red Cross Club, Business Professionals of America, I play tennis for my school, and I participate in theatre. I also have a part time job.</p>
<p>I don't mind going out of state (which I assume is a big possibility, especially for marine biology), as long as I don't have to pay /everything/ out of pocket. </p>
<p>Take a deep breath. Be at ease. There are literally hundreds of Biology departments that will suit your aims.</p>
<p>However, search the many threads on this forum regarding Marine Biology. Take particular note of the comments of Warblersrule, a person who has much good advice on the subject. Please realize that Marine Biology is largely a graduate field of study. Note also that in recent most university Zoology departments have been absorbed into the general Biology Department curriculum, or reshuffled into something called "the Biological Sciences Department.</p>
<p>Eckerd, in Saint Petersburg, FL, has a very strong Marine Science program, and they are very generous with merit aid. They have a free application and non-binding rolling admissions/early notification. </p>
<p>On the West Coast, Oregon State and Humboldt State are known for their marine science programs. I don’t know if you will get much aid at either, but worth exploring.</p>
<p>Hi @squishyyorkie, My mom has MS and has found the National MS Society to be a fantastic resource. They offer scholarships to students with MS as well as to children who’s parents are living with MS. They’ve been great help to us on several occasions over the years. Definitely worth finding out about the many free services available to you and your mom. Sounds like you’re on a great track! Good luck with everything!</p>
<p>You have Ohio State and Miami in your home state, both of which should be affordable and have extremely strong zoology programs. In addition, you can’t beat the combination of OSU’s vet school and the Columbus Zoo for veterinary and animal handling experience, which is absolutely essential for success in applying to vet school (several hundred hours of handling both small and large animals is typical experience).</p>
<p>Barring very substantial merit or financial aid from another school, it’s pretty hard to justify the expense of a private college or OOS public. You certainly will find few - if any - that are stronger than OSU in organismal biology, and a good many will be much weaker. If you want to add a small school to the list, one of the best LACs for organismal biology is also in your home state – Ohio Wesleyan.</p>
<p>New College of Florida is also strong in Marine Science. If you do reasonably well on ACT and/or SAT you would probably get a decent scholarship. My son is going there from out-of-state for about the same as our own state colleges would cost, and that is without any need-based aid (which you might also qualify for). The California Universities can be pricey for out-of-state students, but they will usually come close to meeting demonstrated need. UC Santa Cruz has a fabulous marine science program, and they actually offer a modest merit scholarship (unique among the UCs) to qualified out-of-state students.</p>
<p>Florida LACS have marine biology majors (Eckerd, Fl Southern, Rollins, UTampa). Eckerd is strong in that major. Apparently, Gettysburg in PA has a strong marine bio program too.</p>