<p>That about sums it up. Daughter has had Flagler, Auburn, Maybe App State on her radar for a few years with Flagler being Moms favorite. just added UNC- Wilmington...what's not to love about UNCW? D wants a bit bigger school coming from a smaller HS in Europe (US family at DOD school with 45% NATO international students,55% US students ) with grad class of less than 70. GPA 3.75 \ SAT CR&M about 1170 / normal EC with Varsity BB, Student Gov, some AP. We have saved / budgeted about 25k a year so a bit of FA would be nice. D talks about Marine Biology so Eckerd is on the list too. Education as a secondary. Eckerd does not have an ED major but of course has a fabulous MB program. She/We know that no school is 100% but application time is here....... OPEN to any and all suggestions from the wise and helpful members of this forum!</p>
<p>UNC Asheville is a public LAC with an out of state list price of $35,000 or so (so adding a federal direct loan and some student work earnings might bring it barely in reach at out of state list price). Its net price calculator indicates that some financial aid grants for out of state students are possible, which would make it less of a financial stretch.</p>
<p>Its biology department offers one marine biology course. The school’s education department also has a teacher licensure program that can be combined with a major (e.g. biology major + 9-12 teacher licensure => high school biology teacher).</p>
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The lopsided gender ratio is the most common complaint; there’s twice as many women as men on campus. Be aware that all UNC schools are permitted to have only 18% of their students from out-of-state, making admissions more difficult for those not from NC. </p>
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It is very common for UNCA students to need an extra semester or two to graduate, so that should be factored into cost estimates. It has intense curriculum requirements, and its large undergraduate body (for a LAC) and small, capped classes means it can be very difficult to get into popular classes, even those required for a major or graduation requirements. Competition for classes is usually less fierce in the sciences than the humanities, but biology and environmental studies are popular at UNCA. </p>
<p>Military kids overseas can find it difficult to find a safety because they often don’t get in-state tuition anywhere. Do you have residency in a southern state? If so, and if your home state does not have any public universities with a major in marine biology, she would qualify for the Academic Common Market (in-state tuition at public universities elsewhere in the South). </p>
<p><a href=“Academic Common Market - Southern Regional Education Board”>Academic Common Market - Southern Regional Education Board;
<p>Take a look at Rollins. It’s pretty good all around but has an especially good marine biology program and offers teaching licensure. Her test scores are a bit on the low end, but it’d be a safe match if she could raise them about 100 points. </p>
<p>The College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina would be worth a look as well. </p>
<p>Other options to consider are Florida Southern and the University of Tampa. Both have education and marine biology majors. Your D is well qualified, and the costs seems in line with your budget.</p>
<p>Many freshman change majors during their college career. It’s a good idea to choose a college based upon an overall picture rather than a specific strength in a particular major (like focusing on marine biology at Eckerd) About half of freshman marine biology majors at Eckerd switch majors, according to my niece that attends Eckerd.</p>
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<p>Are you instate for any state? </p>
<p>If not, then many of those OOS schools will be unaffordable. They won’t give you FA beyond a student loan, and enough merit isn’t likely w/o higher stats. Auburn would be $40k+ per year, no aid except a loan. </p>
<p>Instate publics are costing about $25k per year these days (there are some exceptions), and OOS publics are costing $35k-50k per year (with some exceptions). </p>
<p>Did you run the Net Price Calculators on any of these websites? Try running the NPCs on Auburn and Flaglers’ websites to get a general idea. </p>
<p>If you are instate for any state, please let us know. That could help at those state’s publics with cost, etc. </p>
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<p>Edited to add… URM status can help a bit at higher level schools for admission if more Hispanic students are needed for their diversity numbers. It won’t likely help for aid…especially if not a low income student. Some schools offer some small URM scholarships to low-income URMs to give them a helping hand. </p>
<p>I see that you are a resident of FL, but your D doesn’t want a FL school. Does she say why?</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions and info. I have run the NPC on DD’s long list of options. we can jump up on the hoped for 25k- ish a year. We are FL residents so any school in state will also get her the. Bright Scholars funds. Tomorrow should show a nice jump in her SAT but the scores still will not be stellar. Big Florida schools are not her style. She truly loves Flagler and we love the price tag ( as well as the great visits and ongoing contact we have had with them) but she is just a bit concern about it being smaller than she hoped. I agree that the chances of Marine Biology being her graduating major are 50/50, we want her to,have the opportunity to decide…but with a nice education certificate as an option too. M&D are both DODEA teachers, so we are biased. I feel like it might come down to applying to all of her schools, wait to see what comes back in the way of acceptances and packages and then see how she is feeling about each one after seeing any big price differences. We did a great college road trip for two weeks last April to Flagler, college of Charleston, Auburn, U of Alabama ( only bc we were in the area), Applicacian State and Georgia Southern ( offered her a wonderful URM package on the spot). We can make another stateside college tour in January once she has the letters and a shorter list…is that a terrible Plan C?</p>
<p>My son got into Rollins, Eckerd, and Stetson and got merit aid from all 3 with a 3.3 weighted GPA a and 26 on his ACTs.</p>
<p>What about New College of Florida? About $20,000 list price for Florida residents, with scholarships available.
<a href=“Tuition & Fees Information - New College of Florida”>https://www.ncf.edu/tuition</a>
<a href=“https://www.ncf.edu/fl-freshmen-scholarships”>https://www.ncf.edu/fl-freshmen-scholarships</a></p>
<p>Even if you are out-of-state, the $43,000 list price is offset by a $15,000 scholarship for all out-of-state students, giving a net price of $28,000 ($25,000 + $3,000 of federal direct loan or work earnings will cover that).
<a href=“https://www.ncf.edu/out-of-state-freshmen”>https://www.ncf.edu/out-of-state-freshmen</a></p>
<p>New College of Florida does offer a marine biology major.
<a href=“http://www.ncf.edu/marine-biology-aoc”>http://www.ncf.edu/marine-biology-aoc</a></p>
<p>Keep the suggestions coming! We did look closely at NCF but only on their web site and some deep research on some other sources. Interesting school with interesting students. Great packages as well. I will double ck with DD to see what came of her research there. As trite as it sounds…she does not want to be too far south into Florida as she wants to be able to get to our second home in SC at times via car (short holidays, etc) and to be able to travel around a bit.
Jposka - thanks for the heads up and encouragement on Rollings, Eckerd, and Stetson with your son’s stats. </p>
<p>Jpoksa did your son select Rolling, Eckerd, or Stetson or head somewhere else?</p>
<p>D has thrown her net out wider now that we are at the 11th hour. Looking at Denison in Ohio but seeing as she is nott much of a cold weather gal, it seems a personal stretch. Still trying to avoid too far north and too far west but looking for a LAC that has a bit of a lower threshold for Merit aid. D has spreadsheets and notes and is very open to new ideas while keeping some of her old ideas. </p>
<p>One thing to consider when your D says she doesn’t want a small college is that her idea of small is what she knows. Even the smallest college is going to be much larger than her high school, so I would not limit the choices too much by size. </p>
<p>Some colleges that may interest your D would be Guilford College in Greensboro NC. Meredith College in Raleigh is a women’s college but it is very close to NCSU so there may be some opportunities for taking classes and meeting students there ( check to be sure). Agnes Scott is a similarly situated women’s college in Atlanta with proximity to Emory. Wofford is an LAC in South Carolina. </p>
<p>I have not looked at the academic offerings at these schools so your D will need to see if they would work. It is also possible that she may get some merit aid at some of them. </p>
<p>College of Charleston? It offers a B.S. and M.S. in marine biology through its Department of Biology in the College of Science and Mathematics, as well as a School of Education; it also has an honors college (although your daughter’s stats might not get her there).</p>
<p>We visited Denison a week ago, and the words I would use to generally describe it are: First Class.</p>
<p>Beautiful campus, well-kept buildings, modern equipment, nice students and faculty. And they spend their considerable endowment on attracting good students with generous merit aid.</p>
<p>You will get some winter in Ohio, but you will get all 4 seasons. Beautiful fall colors there when we visited last week.</p>
<p>I would encourage its consideration. My S has already applied. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks (as always) for the great info. Denison is definitely on the radar now and we have agreed to a late January USA college trip (we have a week off of school at that time) so she can see first hand what Ohio is like in the winter. As for small college… her graduating class is only 67 students so anything is big…but she just wanted a bigger feel that Flager College’s 2000 students. That said. Flagler will most likely be on her short list once the letters come in. I know she is just anxious to know where she is going. Unfortunately, all the begging, crying, and screaming (on my end) to better prepare for the SAT in her Junior year are all catching up with her now. She might get her scores up but if not, we are not swinging out of state tuition just bc her scores are too low for OOS scholarship/waiver. Private schools are our best option for now.</p>
<p>I had suggested Denison, but if you are visiting Ohio, you should look at Wooster too, as they are generous with merit money as well. Very close to Denison.</p>
<p>^Ohio Wesleyan is another possibility and close to both Denison and Wooster.</p>
<p>Maryville College is not on CC’s radar but my younger D is a freshman there in the sciences. We’ve been delighted with her experience. MC is courting Hispanics and have an excellent biology/ environmental sciences department. They also have a STEM program and generous financial aid. It’s a small college but well funded and has a long history of valuing diversity.
<a href=“Scots Science Scholars Program - Maryville College”>http://www.maryvillecollege.edu/academics/learn-by-experience/scots-science-scholars/</a>
<a href=“http://www.maryvillecollege.edu/news/2014/2037/maryville-college-students-dive-into-caribbean-ecology/”>http://www.maryvillecollege.edu/news/2014/2037/maryville-college-students-dive-into-caribbean-ecology/</a>
<a href=“http://www.maryvillecollege.edu/news/2013/1840/mc-receives-grant-to-boost-enrollment-of-latino-students/”>http://www.maryvillecollege.edu/news/2013/1840/mc-receives-grant-to-boost-enrollment-of-latino-students/</a></p>
<p>Wow, another interesting, beautiful, and generous school. I absolutely love CC for all the insider information shared. Thanks so very much…and keep the suggestions coming! The list is getting longer ! </p>
<p>Since you’ve widened the net to schools that may not have a marine biology major, check out CTCL schools: <a href=“http://ctcl.org/”>Austin College – Colleges That Change Lives. Lots of excellent choices there.</p>