<p>For W&M OOS she needs a much higher GPA and test scores but it doesn’t hurt to try. Coastal Carolina was a good suggestion, it’s a state university in SC near Myrtle Beach. Also I was going to suggest UNC-Wilmington. It’s near Wrightsville Beach and Cape Fear in the southern Outer Banks. Gorgeous area but I guess that’s not the point. I don’t know much about the schools other than that they have the major and are less selective than W&M.</p>
<p>Please look at schools based on the major and not closeness to water. You may find it interesting to look up which schools are sea grant ones- UW-Madison is one despite being far from an ocean. Lake Mendota is one of the most studied lakes in the world (limnology) btw. She needs to consider available courses and opportunities to swim, scuba and labs involving desired experiences. Just being near water does not mean being able to use it.</p>
<p>Your D should be involved in searching schools. This will give her ideas about what various schools offer in related majors. She also needs to consider that she could change her major (like many do) and should look at overall campus fit, not just one major. She should look at courses required and available in the major. Plus other requirements for the major. This is a good time for her to explore colleges online.</p>
<p>For a smaller but still big enough school consider URI. Make sure she likes the school beyond the major. Most kids change from their original intention once they get to a school, therefore it is important they like the school overall and have options if they decide to change.</p>
<p>Merry Christmas all.</p>
<p>Yes, she does realize UConn is not near the water. One of our first visits. She liked the school, hasn’t crossed it off. Likes UMass and BU better. After visiting, she crossed URI and Northeastern off her list.</p>
<p>We realize W&M would be a reach.</p>
<p>wis75 - yes, UW-Madison is most definitely on her list, and yes, she is researching sea grant schools. She is performing all the research for her schools, and we are not very involved - trust me, she is very independent. I asked for suggestions from this group to augment her list and to bring her some options that she might not have considered. She will decide the schools which remain on her list, not us.</p>
<p>One of the reasons she is looking at larger schools is because she has varied interests, and she understands she may very well change her mind (as most young people do).</p>
<p>Off to cook the bacon and pancakes.</p>
<p>Have you considered SUNY Stony Brook? Excellent Marine Biology - and near water. They have an Honors College that if your daughter bumps her scores up a bit she might qualify for.</p>
<p>wis75 mentioned looking at SeaGrant colleges - I believe UWashington is one. My son applied there OOS. Got into Honors College w/ modest merit $$$. UWash was a real contender, but ultimately didn’t make final cut. Good luck. What about the other twin? </p>
<p>Another thing to consider is value. Even though you are full pay, you want to get what you pay for, so it might make sense to focus on good private universities rather than paying OOS tuition for another state’s flagship public. That said, we did let our son apply to New College of Florida (their state honors college) even though we live in MA because he thought it sounded like a good fit. He was accepted, but is waiting to see where else he gets in when those notifications come out in March.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It has a mini-consortium with Connecticut College, which is across the street. But Conn is also small.</p>
<p>Off topic, but Connecticut College is the Harvard of sailing, and the sailing team is open to all regardless of experience.</p>
<p>I believe U Delaware has excellent marine science programs, and they offer some decent merit aid (or at least did when my NJ D was accepted there.)</p>
<p>Absolute safety in NJ, look at Stockton.</p>
<p>Monmouth U-near the water, small, in-state, plenty to do</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.monmouth.edu/school-of-science/marine-and-environmental-biology-and-policy.aspx”>http://www.monmouth.edu/school-of-science/marine-and-environmental-biology-and-policy.aspx</a></p>
<p>The other twin is strongly considering education or social work. She is looking at smaller schools no more than 5 or 6 hours from home. </p>
<p>As for this twin, there are some good private schools on the list, but were she to attend an OOS flagship, we would consider this getting value if it is the right fit. What concerns us are schools where the vast majority of biology students are pre-med and hyper competitive. That’s not the type of environment she is looking for.</p>
<p>UMiami might be a good fit (especially if the SATs come up a bit).</p>
<p>She should look at Texas A&M - Galveston </p>
<p>UNC-Wilmington sounds perfect -she’d qualify for Honors College, it’s by a very nice beach, and their marine biology program is highly respected
William&Mary, Cal Poly SLO, USC, UCSB have already been discussed so I’ll just second 
Eckerd (quite small but in a city with other universities, St Petersburg, and right on the water + strong marine biology - already mentioned but seconded because their biology majors are equally premed as marine bio, which is not common)
What about FIU honors - not one of the great Florida publics, but comprehensive Honors Program with good merit aid and excellent marine science.</p>
<p>
As usual, this is a point that needs to be emphasized. It’s good that she’s open to pursuing a biology degree instead – look for colleges that have a strong emphasis on ecology and organismal biology. Most PhD students in oceanography here at UCLA did NOT study marine science or marine biology as undergrads, and many came from landlocked colleges. </p>
<p>Things to consider when sorting through biology programs:
[ul][<em>]Does the department have a strong emphasis on ecology and organismal biology? (look for courses like vertebrate zoology, entomology, and field botany and faculty research in areas of ornithology, botany, herpetology, etc.)
[</em>]Does the college offer field and lab-based seminars?
[<em>]What special facilities does the college have? Herbarium, vert/invert research collections, SEM, phytotron, mass spec, flow cytometry…?
[</em>]How good are the college’s research opportunities? Are freshmen encouraged to participate in research? (Don’t be bamboozled by references to freshmen “working in labs.” Often this is simple grunt work.)
[<em>]How competitive is research funding for organismal biology? Be sure to focus on research funding for organismal research as opposed to molecular/biochemical/neurobiological. Too many universities heavily favor the latter, much to the detriment of the former.
[</em>]Have students been published? If so, where and in what capacity?
[<em>]How many students have received NSF or other post-graduate fellowships?
[</em>]What graduate programs do students attend?[/ul]</p>
<p>Marine biology is an extremely interdisciplinary field that requires preparation in many different areas. At the minimum, most marine biologists need to have a strong background in biology (genetics, ecology, biochemistry, botany, evolutionary biology, embryology, etc.) and chemistry (1 year of intro chem, 1 year of orgo, biochem); a background in physics, calculus, statistics, and computer science is also highly recommended. Some geology would also be very helpful. Note that many schools offering marine biology are comparatively weak in the basic sciences (e.g. U New Haven).</p>
<p>A student majoring in biology can round out his/her education by spending a semester and/or summer somewhere like the Shoals Marine Lab or Duke Marine Lab. Funded research experience in oceanography is available through the [REU</a> programs](<a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=5053]REU”>http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=5053). You can also study abroad at universities with strong marine science programs – James Cook in Australia or Bangor in Wales, for example. Many zoos, aquariums, and government agencies like the NPS are happy to host summer interns. For young zoologists, summer field positions aren’t too hard to get (there’s a listing [here[/url</a>] and [url=<a href=“Physiological Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America”>Physiological Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America]here](<a href=“Physiological Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America”>Physiological Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America)</a>).</p>
<p>
The College of Charleston is a medium-sized university (10,500 undergrads) that surprisingly hasn’t been mentioned yet. It’s quite good for the sciences in general and marine biology in particular, and you can’t get any closer to the water. </p>
<p><a href=“Department of Biology”>Department of Biology;
<p>Tulane is another excellent mid-sized school (8300 undergads) on the water. </p>
<p><a href=“http://tulane.edu/sse/eebio/”>http://tulane.edu/sse/eebio/</a></p>
<p>Wake Forest, which has strong organismal biology offerings and has gone test-free, is also a possibility – though admittedly rather small for a university.</p>
<p>Many larger universities have strong ecology and/or zoology programs – UGA, CU Boulder, Colorado State, Auburn, Arizona, Michigan State, Oklahoma, OSU, NC State, UF, Wisconsin, URI, etc.</p>
<p>
All too true. A second, relatively employable major is often a good idea. Majors like education, statistics, and geography pair quite well with biology. </p>
<p>I highly recommend UC San Diego. From what i understand they have one of the top marine biology programs in the country. However, if she’s looking for schools spirit and sporting events to go to, UCSD is probably not the best choice, however, she will be surrounded by very intelligent students as herself. And not to mention the campus is literally situated on the ocean in one of the most beautiful beach areas in the country, La Jolla. </p>
<p>Does this student have the stats for UCSD?</p>
<p>Agree with all of the suggestions above.</p>
<p>If she has any interest in a broader degree in environmental studies (i.e., not limited to marine biology), check out University of Colorado, Boulder. Her grades and test scores are good, but some of the schools suggested above will be a reach unless/until she can raise her scores. Boulder would be a good academic fit, and it is a beautiful and popular college town with an enthusiastic student body.</p>
<p>Northeastern (maybe a reach) in Boston has this interesting program - <a href=“Three Seas - Northeastern University College of Science”>http://www.northeastern.edu/threeseas/</a></p>
<p>Folks, apologies for the delayed responses over the Christmas holiday.</p>
<p>MYOS1634 - yes UNC-Wilmington is on her list to visit. Eckerd is a nice small school suggestion for her to research.</p>
<p>warblersrule - thank you for the very comprehensive post. It is very much appreciated, and contains the kind of information she will find helpful. The College of Charleston is on her list to visit. My wife and I visited CofC earlier this year with her older brother. I think there is much about the school she would like, and I have a friend who teaches there. Interestingly, my daughter recently added Tulane to her research list.</p>
<p>UCSD is on her list. Based upon our experience, it is a very achievable reach if she gets her scores up a bit.</p>
<p>prospect1 - the University of Colorado - Boulder is a good suggestion and seems to have the type of environment she would be drawn to. She is very open to options such as environmental studies (and has even mentioned enviromental engineering). Yes, some of the schools mentioned in this thread are reaches, but are certainly worth considering. She is motivated to raise her test scores.</p>
<p>colorado_mom - yes, Northeastern has a very interesting program, however, after a recent visit to the school, my daughter has removed it from her list.</p>