<p>She sounds like my old boss’s daughter who is going to the same school - fiercely independent and marches to a different drummer, has a maturity of some people twice her age. I would be very proud ( and a little afraid) to have a daughter like that. :x
But is she aware of the weather there? It can be cold and damp (I will wilt up there). Also recently, I heard Emily Brady’s piece on NPR - is Arcata relatively safe?</p>
<p>Arcata is very much a college town and my impression was that is is a very safe community. The marijuana growers are not in town – the whole point for outdoor growers is that they need to find some relatively isolated patch of land large enough to support a decent size crop, but far enough outside of town and away from main traffic corridors that law enforcement and would-be thieves won’t be accidentally stumbling onto their fields. Of course there are backyard and basement recreational growers – but you’d find plenty of those in Berkeley and Santa Cruz as well. </p>
<p>Here are crime stats: <a href=“http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Arcata-California.html”>http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Arcata-California.html</a><br>
Arcata has a very low rate of violent crimes, well below US average – but higher rate of property crime (theft, burglary) – however I think the higher rates of theft would tend to be common in student communities. (Kids in dorms or student apartment complexes are always having stuff stolen, unfortunately .)</p>
<p>Certainly safer than Santa Cruz - <a href=“http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Santa-Cruz-California.html”>http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Santa-Cruz-California.html</a> – so crime rate data isn’t going to win any arguments between daughter and parents as to college choice. ;)</p>
<p>So funny Calmom, I had exactly the same experience at UCD with Chem 1a and did exactly what you did!!! Her other top choice (and my DH favorite) is an excellent LAC in Oregon that has offered her an excellent merit scholarship. She had a pretty cool chat with the head of the Bio dept.there this weekend at an admitted student event and her interests and his align super well. We both think it would be a great fit for her. She’s not in at UCSC yet but if she is accepted, she claims the LAC, UCSC and HSU will be her top choices (with HSU running at the top). We are doing admitted student days at HSU and UCSC if accepted. My brother who attended and loved HSU has said that if the weirdness of Arcata doesn’t turn her off nothing will </p>
<p>If her interests mesh with Humboldt State’s strengths, it could be the perfect place for her. You never know. It does, indeed have its own vibe, different from all of the other state U’s in California. It is an interesting place. The area is still sort of undiscovered, maybe because of the poor economy, so not much gentrification or cutesy new development there so far. Kind of refreshing, IMO. Yes, there is a lot of drug use there – is it more than at other schools? – Somehow, I doubt it. The town of Arcata has an aging hippie -ish or eccentric element, or so it seemed to me, when I visited. The surrounding area is beautiful. Really, really beautiful. The isolation is kind of neat, IMO, if that is what floats your boat. Driving up there from the Bay Area was like entering a different world. Less people, more trees, more nature, more peace. I would suggest talking to kids and professors in her area of interest. I know some kids who did just fine there. </p>
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<p>Introductory chemistry and biology tend to be among the larger classes at any college (although some colleges limit the largest class size to a small number than others), due to the popularity of majoring in biology and doing pre-med. However, some social studies majors like economics and psychology can also have large introductory and intermediate courses, due to the popularity of the majors.</p>
<p>Would that excellent LAC in Oregon be Lewis & Clark? My son turned down both UCSC and L&C when entering college, but later applied to L&C as a transfer as well as HSU. But College Board messed up on sending his SAT scores, so his app to L&C was never completed. I think he was precluded from applying to UCSC because his transferrable credit was not quite enough for junior status. </p>
<p>When my daughter was looking at colleges, she did an overnight at an east coast LAC - told me she hated it and it was dropped from her list. I asked her why she didn’t like it-- her response? “Too many trees.”</p>
<p>So that’s a good illustration of how a quality that can be turnoff for some is an attraction for others – my son certainly has gravitated toward heavily forested campus environments. (DD likes urban & imposing architecture-- her idea of a “beautiful” college campuses were Chicago and Columbia)</p>
<p>Anyway, it sounds like your daughter has some good choices. I didn’t find Arcata weird at all – it seemed like a very charming and laid back community. I think mstee’s “aging hippie” vibe is more on the mark. We hung around the plaza on Farmer’s Market day – wikipedia has a picture at <a href=“Arcata, California - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcata,_California</a> – the only problem is that it’s a small town and pretty isolated. My son had a car with him – he needed it because he also was working half time and his job was in Eureka - but otherwise I don’t think a car was necessary. There were always plenty of ride shares for travel around the holidays. </p>
<p>It sounds like your daughter actually has some good choices. I’d encourage both you and your husband to listen to her concerns rather than try to influence her one way or another. When all the apps are in, if she’s still set on Humboldt, then ask her to explain why (and listen with your heart and not your head). </p>
<p>usbalumnus, my point is that some colleges do NOT have many large lecture classes, either because of a commitment to maintaining small classes or because their overall student body is smaller - so a student who chooses a less-well regarded LAC or small college over a larger, more highly ranked university, might be making a very smart choice, especially when it comes to getting a good grounding in the intro courses.</p>
<p>At the UC’s, chem is a weeder course, and it felt that way – essentially a matter of survival of the fittest.</p>
<p>It may be that chemistry at Humboldt is taught in a more supportive atmosphere. Perhaps the course is not as challenging and they choose a less demanding text book (I don’t know) --but for a hypothetical student who really wants to study sciences but might struggle to pull a C in the large-lecture format, but thrive in a smaller environment – maybe the small school environment choice is a better choice. </p>
<p>I honestly think I missed a LOT in that chemistry class I took. I can’t remember a darn thing, but I think that even at the time large chunks of material were going over my head simply because I could barely hear the prof and there was no possibility of raising a hand and asking for something to be clarified or repeated. </p>
<p>My son took chemistry at the LAC he attended for his first 2 years. I think there were 9 students in his class. He had a scheduling conflict between his lab and another course, and his prof extended the lab hours to accommodate him – so he’d come into lab while most of the other students were finishing up, and then usually have one-on-one time with the prof. It was a new, young professor and my son became very good friends with the prof – I think that was one of his most positive experiences at college. </p>
<p>My son was not able to continue to pursue a science when he transferred, because he didn’t have enough coursework – he would have had to spend at least another year in college in order to catch up – so I really don’t know what science classes are like at Humboldt. But they advertise small class sizes – see: <a href=“Biological Sciences”>Biological Sciences; and they also claim that, based on National Sciende Foundation Data,“among public, non-PhD granting institutions in the U.S., HSU is ranked # 1 in the percentage of undergraduates who go on to earn a PhD in disciplines related to biological sciences.” <a href=“Careers & Alumni | Wildlife”>Careers & Alumni | Wildlife;
<p>I wouldn’t rely on a college web site or brochures for hard info – they always paint an overly rosy picture – but these are the type of questions that can be asked during a college visit. (Or via an email to a a college department head if there isn’t time to visit again before making a decision). </p>
<p>People tend to focus on CC on which college is “best” or “highest ranked” or “most challenging”, because apparently all CC children are absolutely brilliant. But, especially with math or science, some students are going to do better when their introductory courses are more supportive, and give them an opportunity to get a more solid grounding. </p>
<p><a href=“Spring 2023 classes offered in Chemistry as of Wednesday, 06/21/2023 at 07:45 AM”>Spring 2023 classes offered in Chemistry as of Wednesday, 06/21/2023 at 07:45 AM; indicates that HSU chemistry class sizes are fairly large at the introductory level (102 to 117 students), but the sizes get smaller at more advanced levels.</p>
<p><a href=“Spring 2023 classes offered in Biology as of Wednesday, 06/21/2023 at 07:45 AM”>Spring 2023 classes offered in Biology as of Wednesday, 06/21/2023 at 07:45 AM; indicates that biology is similar.</p>
<p>However, other majors may have smaller classes. For example, <a href=“Spring 2023 classes offered in Math as of Wednesday, 06/21/2023 at 07:45 AM”>Spring 2023 classes offered in Math as of Wednesday, 06/21/2023 at 07:45 AM; indicates that the courses that math majors take are small.</p>
<p>More here: <a href=“Cal Poly Humboldt | Spring 2023 Class Schedule”>Cal Poly Humboldt | Spring 2023 Class Schedule;
<p>Calmom, it’s not L&C but another good PNW LAC. The college in question maxes out at about 50 in the intro chem courses. It is taught by a prof not a TA and they pride themselves on making intro chem a quality experience. A chem or bio class with 500 people is going to be very different experience than a class with 40 or 50. To tell you the truth, I was bored to death in the 2 quarters of Chem I took. I enjoyed the smaller lab but the lecture was dull as dirt. At the LAC while we visited, the intro bio class was outside doing fieldwork… Not something you see first year bio students doing at UCD or HSU for that matter. Our hope is to have her sit in on a Bio class at each college so she can compare apple to apples. </p>
<p>Well, after lots of anxiety and teeth gnashing, she chose the LAC in the
PNW. She seems super confident and comfortable with her decision and my husband is beyond thrilled. As I am sure many parents do, we worried about nothing. The kid had it all under control all along.</p>
<p>Thanks for the update.</p>
<p>Lab317 and Calmom- funny that many years later my D has just made the switch from Animal Science to a more social science major at UC Davis after 2 quarters of Chem1. This quarter she is struggling with the Stats teacher with the strong accent. </p>