<p>I'm a transfer student and am aiming to transfer in the spring or fall of 2007 as an ES major. Besides having an ES major, I'm looking for schools that are in Mid-Atlantic or in the lower New England states, have a rural or a small-town setting, small to medium-sized student body, preferably close to a forest, have no Greek life, and give a good amount of financial aid that's not entirely in loans. For ethical reasons, which I will not expound upon here, I'd prefer schools that have no medical-related majors and med schools.</p>
<p>Oh, the only things that I won't compromise on are being located in the Mid-Atlantic or in the lower New England states, good amount of financial aid that's not entirely in loans, and ES major. (Duh! ;) ) Also, I need a school that can guarantee housing for all undergrad students, not just freshman.</p>
<p>It is located in Syracuse. I am not sure if they provide housing for all undergrads, but it meeds most of your weird criteria! LOL It is small, next to a forest, has no frats, a great program in the Environmental sciences, it is cheap ($20,000 for out of staters, including room and board) and they do not have a medical school!</p>
<p>Thanks, Alexandre. I'll have to take a look.</p>
<p>It definitely hasn't been easy so far, as there aren't that many schools that offer ES majors in the US from what I've found. (There may be more that I haven't ran across.) I know that, but I don't expect to find a perfect match. That's why I know I may have to compromise. But Middlebury also seems like it could be a fit. (If their admit rate wasn't so low for transfer students.... But hey, a lot could happen from now 'til then!)</p>
<p>As far as the location goes, I know that somethings could change in the future, but at this point, I want to stay close to home. But NY is just one state over from where I live. So, that's definitely a positive. :)</p>
<p>Check out Allegheny College. They have one of the oldest ES programs in the country. School is about 1800 students in Meadville, PA, about 40 miles south of Erie, PA. They offer good financial aid and own their own forest. They do have Greek, but it does not dominate the social scene. They have a premed program, but premed is essentially taking a specific set of classes to qualify you for med school, not a specific major.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how big a role location plays, but Bowdoin, Skidmore, Colgate and the College of the Atlantic (their entire focus is on Environmental Science!) sound like very good matches. Dartmouth springs to mind, but I imagine it's very difficult to transfer in (they have a Greek life, though).</p>
<p>try Williams in western Mass. LAC (so no med school or professional degrees), small, no greek, on-campus housing, envirnmental studies in school owned forest, strong aid program.</p>
<p>One note on environmental majors, coming from a hirer. There is a difference between an envirnmental studies & an environmental science major. "Studies" includes a science ciriculum as well as related humanities whereas env sciences gets deeper into the sciences of course. Make sure you choose the appropriate track, as job possibilities will be slightly different with each (e.g., we hire env science majors at my env consulting firm, but rarely env sudies majors.)</p>
<p>Warren Wilson College, also in North Carolina: <a href="http://www.warren-wilson.edu%5B/url%5D">www.warren-wilson.edu</a> Small LAC, Has an excellent ES program, costs are low because they have an unusual work-study program where EVERYONE on campus pitches in to keep things running. Called a "best buy" by both the Fiske Guide and Princeton Review</p>
<p>Both are kind of quirky and off beat, but sound very much like what you are looking for.</p>
<p>Just thought of another possibility for you to check out: St. Mary's College of Maryland, the public liberal arts college in Maryland. They have an awesome ES program, are located right on the water, surrounded by woods, rural area, beautiful campus, very reasonable tuition, even for out of state students. No Greek system, no medical school. Excellent education. Also one of the Princeton Reviews "best buy" schools.
<a href="http://www.smcm.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.smcm.edu/</a></p>
<p>Thanks for all the recommendations! I've looked at Williams already, and I'm not really interested in it. Same with Allegheny College. (I've been up through Meadville. I live in PA, by the way.)</p>
<p>shennie, I know what premed is. ;)</p>
<p>And Papa Chicken, I also know what the difference is between environmental studies and environmental science.</p>
<p>Swarthmore has graduated majors in both Environmental Studies and Environmental Sciences, although both would fall under the category of their fairly common "special majors".</p>
<p>Hard to say if it is "small town" enough for you. The campus has a small town feel, but it is located in a large metro area. It does have its own forest (the Crum Woods) which was the subject of an intense environmental battle when the Blue Route (I-476) was built. Swarthmore was a key player in decades of legal challenges that ultimately forced the state to build perhaps the most environmentally friendly highway in history. Including strict limits on grade and seamless pavement to reduce noise.</p>
<p>The entire campus is designated as a national arboreteum.</p>
<p>With no idea where you are transfering from or strength of transcript, I have no idea if it would be an appropriate option for a transfer admission. They do accept a handful of transfers each year, but I think it could be a tough place to jump into mid-stream.</p>
<p>I've looked at Swarthmore before, and it doesn't really interest me at this point. Also, I don't know whether they accept transfers into those programs, being that they're specialized. If they do, there might be a limit of some sorts. That's something to check up on.</p>
<p>But I don't truly know what the future holds, so I might become interested in it later on. (Same goes for Williams and Allegheny College.) Thanks for the suggestion.</p>
<p>carolyn, St. Mary's definitely intrigues me. (So close to home!) I'm going to research some more on it. </p>
<p>As far as my needs of having a school close to home, being in a rural or small-town setting, and preferably living near a forest, I'm a country girl and a nature lover. Have lived in the country and been a nature lover almost all my life, and I'm 22 now. I did live in the city for awhile when I was younger, but I only remember somethings. However, I do know that not all experiences are the same, and just because I prefer not to live in the city now, it doesn't mean that I won't in the future. I also have the tendency to grow homesick very easily, although I know there's a chance that I may outgrow that in whatever way(s) or amount. So, I need a school that is close to home at this point but am also trying to be open-minded about some other routes. :)</p>