<p>So I am applying to colleges right now and I am particularly interested in colleges with a very good ecology/conservation biology/etc undergrad program. I'm applying to most UC's, some out of state universities, but I am particularly interested in private colleges. Any good choices? I'm definitely applying to Cornell, and Carnegie Mellon and Oberlin look like good options too.</p>
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<p>What are your stats, financial constraints, geographic preferences, size of school, urban/suburban/rural, etc?</p>
<p>Without this information, suggestions can run from Harvard to Green Mountain College</p>
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<p>But assuming you don’t care about these things since you are applying to CMU and Oberlin, two vastly different schools, here are some suggestions:
College of the Atlantic
Connecticut College
Middlebury
Whitman
University of Puget Sound
Emory University
Sewanee: The University of the South
Wash U: St. Louis
University of Rochester
Bowdoin
Bates
Davidson
Colby College
Dartmouth College
Eckerd
Tulane
Grinnell
Carleton
Colorado College
St. Lawrence University
BU (technical bent)
Colgate</p>
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<p>I don’t think there’s a college around that doesn’t have some form of ecology/environmental science-most even have special research centers/institutes. That and entrepreneurship seems to be the latest thing for colleges. I don’t know how you would decide what a “good” program is since so much would seem to depend on the particular focus of the program. You might try looking at your constraints first like WhenHen suggests and then see what programs are available.</p>
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<p>I agree with whenhen’s suggestions and would add the following:</p>
<p>Allegheny
Beloit
Bryn Mawr
Denison
Dickinson
Earlham
Juniata
Hamilton
Hope
Lewis & Clark
Pomona
Prescott
Puget Sound
Skidmore
Swarthmore
Warren Wilson
Wesleyan</p>
<p>Columbia
Duke
Michigan
Penn
Princeton
Rice
Stanford
Syracuse
U Miami
UNC Chapel Hill
Vanderbilt
Washington
Wisconsin
Yale</p>
<p>If you’re a California resident, you should give strong consideration to Humbolt State, which has some of the strongest undergraduate zoology, botany, and natural resource offerings of any college in the country.</p>
<p>I agree with whenhen and sadilly that you need to narrow your options based on personal preferences like size and location. I do not agree that good environmental science programs can be found anywhere, though it is true that many colleges have good programs. In my opinion, a good environmental science program has to have the following characteristics:
[ul][<em>]At least a few faculty members devoted to environmental science. An environmental science “program” cobbled together from a couple of biologists and chemists whose teaching duties rarely allow them to focus on environmental science courses is inevitably much weaker than a freestanding program with dedicated faculty.
[</em>]A strong geology program. While some colleges like Emory have adequate to decent environmental science programs without geology programs, I’m of the opinion that a college needs to have a strong geology to be truly good. In fact, it may even be better to major in geology and focus on environmental science (or add it as a minor).
[<em>]Strong science offerings across the board. Be wary of “environmental studies” programs that have proliferated at so many colleges - they are often fluff programs with faculty from history, English, etc. While they may be perfectly suitable for someone interested in environmental policy, they are not always stringent enough with science requirements for someone interested in the science side of things.
[</em>]Field opportunities. Does the college offer field-based classes? Does it own any research stations where students can work for a summer or semester? Learning in the classroom is all well and good, but environmental science is a very hands on subject.[/ul]</p>
<p>As a shameless plug, I have written before about Duke’s superb [marine</a> biology and earth/environmental science programs](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/9894419-post38.html]marine”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/9894419-post38.html).</p>
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<p>sorry forgot to mention some important info, I have SAT score of 2110 and a gpa of 4.1, but I have no particular preference with size but I’d prefer a west/east coast college. Also I also want to double major in music performance with ecology/biology (with ecology/environmental science focus)</p>
<p>What about money? Can your family afford full-pay, or are you going to be looking for significant financial aid?</p>
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<p>looking for some financial aid, nothing too significant</p>
<p>I know you said private, but have you looked at SUNY-ESF? It’s basically part of the Syracuse University campus. Husband is an Alumni, majoring in Environmental Science. It is consistently ranked high, and most of your liberal arts classes are taken at Syracuse but you pay SUNY tuition, which isn’t bad for even out of state. It’s actually the largest college in the nation-- by land area, having a Ranger school in the Adirondacks. Many chances for research, etc. I think it would be hard to also major in music, but maybe with an extra year over at Syracuse’s Setnor school of music it would be possible. Good Luck!</p>
<p>
SUNY ESF may come close in terms of land ownings, but the largest college in the country is Berry College. Even more impressively, it is all contiguous.</p>
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<p>I would also add Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. It has a dedicated Env. Science faculty, is very rigorous in terms of its core curriculum and affords students tons of opportunities to do research with faculty from an early point. </p>
<p>[School</a> of Public and Environmental Affairs | Indiana University Bloomington](<a href=“Indiana University Bloomington”>Indiana University Bloomington)</p>
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