<p>Ok, so, for the longest time I've been looking at UMiami for marine biology. It's been my dream school for the past few months now. But I've also been looking at UNC Wilmington, mostly based on cost. I've been saying that UNCW is where I will go if UMiami doesn't give me enough money for me to afford it. But my girlfriend just visited UNCW (she's also interested in marine biology) and she said it was absolutely amazing, she really loved it. So, I was wondering what other people think.</p>
<p>Has she visited UM? Because, as far as I’m concerned, it’s pretty hard for any place to beat UM on appearances alone 
RSMAS is one of the top marine science schools in the country. The only question is whether it’s affordable and whether it’s in a place you’ll enjoy. If you’re unsure about the later question, you definitely need to visit both campuses, because you don’t want to end up some place you’re going to hate. Good luck!</p>
<p>Edit: Also, I don’t mean to CC stalk you (lol) but I notice you haven’t posted this in the UNC forum. I’d recommend you do that, if you want both points of view.</p>
<p>Yeah, I was meaning to, but the UNCW thread has been all but dead from the time I started looking at it, haha</p>
<p>My son graduated from UM Marine Sciences in December with a BS in Marine Sciences & Biology and a Chemistry minor. He was offered a job at RSMAS upon graduation. I can only talk about his experiences at Miami. </p>
<p>One of the main attractions for him (and me) was that Marine Science majors were required to add a second science major, either Biology, Chemistry or Physics, (I believe there is also a special Geology double major that requires special admissions). For me the added major gives the student the benefit of having a “recognized” major since “Marine Sciences” can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people.</p>
<p>The second attraction was the opportunity to get involved in ongoing research as a freshman. Sitting in class is fine, but having the opportunity to get your hands dirty (wet actually) with actual marine research is a big bonus, (I think SVMmom can support me on that one). </p>
<p>My son had the added advantage of already having his SCUBA certification and 100+ dives before getting to Miami. After taking the research diver certification class 1st semester sophomore year, he became a regular on RSMAS collection dives. He has been on research trips throughout the Caribbean, Central America and South America. He brought his SCUBA experience with him and Miami-RSMAS was happy to give him opportunities to use it in scientific settings. If you make yourself known around RSMAS as a hard worker with some skills, you’ll have more opportunities to do interesting things than you can handle.</p>
<p>I know nothing about UNC-Wilmington, so you’ll need to research that school on your own, but from my perspective, Miami is going to be a hard place to beat. As far as Miami’s city/party reputation, my take is that every school parties but I’ll warn you that the Marine Science types tend to hit the books fairly hard. Also, most collection activities happen on weekend mornings somewhere in the Keys, if you’ve ever tried to dive to 100 ft with a hangover you understand the, errr, “discomforts” that combination can cause.</p>
<p>I have the same problem: my heart’s set on UM, but parents think it’s going to be too expensive, even with a scholarship. I don’t think they’re quite on the marine biology bandwagon yet. They think I won’t be able to get a job once I graduate. (Although I’m pretty sure, to them, marine biology means training dolphins, lol.) If anyone knows of less expensive schools in s. florida with good marine bio programs, please post!</p>
<p>I think USF also has a good marine bio program? But it seems like your from California. You guys have some really good schools for marine biology, too. And, by the way, if you’re good enough to get into RSMAS, you’ll almost certainly get a pretty good scholarship.</p>
<p>@sunnysocal11
I totally agree with rankinr, if you get into RSMAS, you’ll probably get a fatty scholarship. I’m from the San Diego area, and I received enough scholarship&financial aid money to allow me to attend UM for the same cost as a UC (I know UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz have AMAZING marine biology programs by the way.) I’ll be heading off to UM this fall as a marine biology major as well :), so if you want to chat or have any questions, feel free to PM me !</p>
<p>I actually live in Illinois now, and it sucks!!! Our best in-state public school is probably U of I Urbana/ Champaign, and after visiting I’m pretty sure that it’s the last place on earth I want to go to school. Also, it’s kind of hard to be a marine bio major in a land-locked state. Basically, the cost of going back to CA and attending a UC would be as expensive as UM, or I would be going to UC San Diego.</p>
<p>Also, marinebio444, I don’t know if you’re aware, but UM is having “A Canes Summer Preview” on monday the 26th, so this might be a great time to check out the campus for yourself and see how awesome UM really is!</p>
<p>Aside from the equal prices of the two schools, I’d say it’s best to keep away from the UCs right now. They have overpacked classes and no money, so they’re closing classes left and right. Alot of people are getting stuck in programs for an extra year because they can’t get classes, etc. One of the main reasons I picked UM over the UCs back home is because of that. The school system is a little less than up to standard at the moment D:!</p>