<p>My son, a senior, has been accepted to Oregon State, Montana State, Washington State, Colorado St (Ft. Collins), Univ of Montana, Univ of Wyoming, Northern Ariz U, Univ of Ariz, and Cal Poly SLO for either forestry/geology/natural resources. He is a CA boy, but likes the idea of moving away and does not mind cold weather. He received WUE and other academic scholarships. We are not sure which school has the "best" reputation for decent academics (he probably would not have been accepted to any UCs had he applied (3.5 GPA unweighted, 1830 SAT) and cost is not a factor. Do any parents know about the quality of education at these schools? Well, except for Cal Poly; our older son is there in AERO, which we know is rigorous to get into and stay in.</p>
<p>UofA is the strongest geology program on this list. Not sure about forestry.</p>
<p>Wyoming is also a very good program and I think the school is on the rise.</p>
<p>Ft. Collins is a great town and CSU is a pretty good school.</p>
<p>Montana State is extremely popular where I live and I have heard very, very positive things.</p>
<p>Oregon State and Washington State are comparable. Both are decent and located in relatively small towns (Pullman is more isolated).</p>
<p>CalPoly is obviously a great school. I can’t say anything about their programs outside of engineering.</p>
<p>NAU is supposed to be a nice school - Flagstaff is gorgeous - but I think their academic programs are not quite as strong as some of the others on this list.</p>
<p>Has he visited yet?</p>
<p>Ranking the forestry programs:
OSU
CSU
U of M
WSU
NAU</p>
<p>The others don’t have forestry.</p>
<p>NR mgmt
U of Az
U of MT
CSU</p>
<p>Geology
MSU
U of Az
OSU</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. he has visited U of A and thought it was too much of a city (we live near Los Angeles) and maybe too large. He did get to meet a geology professor there at the minerals museum who “offered” him a part time job for next year. (How cool is that!). We liked NAU, but got the feeling it wasn’t as strong academically, but a great place to go to college. We are scheduled to visit the others in Feb and early March. I think we’ll take a drive up to Cal Poly to check out the nat res dept after that, especially if he is not wowed over by the other out os states. I think it is good that we are seeing them in the middle of winter.</p>
<p>I work with the foresty industry and of the ones you mention, Oregon State has the best reputation by a long shot. Another good one not on your list is U of British Columbia in Vancouver.</p>
<p>If he still is looking and is willing to head East, the best undergrad forestry schools are Auburn, U of Georgia, NC State & Va Tech. Yale has a great graduate forestry program, not sure about undergrad.</p>
<p>I agree with your read on UA and NAU. It rains a LOT at OSU in the winter. CSU and MSU have traditional Rocky Mtn climates. WSU has suffered severe budget issues, and I could not recommend it (i.e., program may disappear.) Utah State Univ. is stronger than either 2 or 3 of the schools on your list in broad NR. It has formula-based financial aid so you could know exactly what you would get, pre-applying. I have personal biases re U of WY, so will reserve judgment.</p>
<p>We have always liked Corvallis (Oregon State). A nice town with quick access to both the Oregon Coast and mountains. A little rain should not be an issue for a forestry major :). If it is, he might want to reconsider. Would not want to send my kids to Pullman. Too isolated.</p>
<p>I have a Colorado boy at Cal Poly. Colorado State is a great school for the majors your son is looking at and the academics are very strong. Winters are not that harsh in Colorado. We have lots of sunshine and the climate is dry so it’s not bitter cold. It snows, but it doesn’t stay around long. The worst weather in Fort Collins is the high winds they can get, not the snow and cold. Fort Collins isn’t a college town like it once was; it’s a city now, but it’s still very supportive of the college and the students and it’s a great place to live. Your son has some great choices.</p>
<p>Is he more interested in geology, or more interested in forestry? I’m not sure that you’re going to find even close to equally strong programs in both at any of these schools.</p>
<p>[SUNY-ESF</a>, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry](<a href=“http://www.esf.edu/]SUNY-ESF”>http://www.esf.edu/) ESF - SUNY </p>
<p>When I was at Syracuse University we called them “Stumpys”. Stumpys get room & board through SU.</p>