Background (questions at the bottom):
My oldest is at the stage of picking colleges to apply to. He wants to be a Volcanologist. Ya, I know, but when I looked at the courses he’ll need just to get a BS in Geology in the first place, it dawned on me there were many other fields he could go into should he change his mind. He’s a junior in high school and a freshman in college. By April of next year, he’ll have his High School diploma and an Associates of Arts degree. The classes he’ll have had at that point will include, Calc 1, 2, and 3; Chem 1, 2 and Lab; Physics 1, 2 and Lab, and introductory Geology class; plus the various English Comp, History, Econ, etc classes required for the AA.

Right now, he qualifies for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship which pays 100% of his tuition at a Florida public college. He also has a 529 investment plan that has enough in it to cover 4 years cover tuition, room, and board at most out of state schools.

I believe there’s only two public schools in Florida that have Geology programs, University of Florida and Florida State. Obviously, I’d like him to stay in state for the scholarship money keeping the 529 money available for a graduate degree. He’s not Ivy League, MIT, or Cal-Tech, but there quite a few state schools, University of Colorado-Boulder, for example that seem to have good Geology programs that he could get into. We don’t have any idea how these schools will treat his AA degree and the college classes he will already have taken.

I double majored in Accounting and Finance. I went to a 2 year state school and transfered to a 4 year state school. My tuition was under $6,000 total for 152 credits. Acounting has a straight forward and fairly clear career path. I’ve never felt the school I went to hampered my ability to be successful. In fact, the CFO of a large insurance company I worked for in downtown Chicago graduated from the same school.

I don’t have a clue about this whole Geology thing, though.

How important is the school he goes to?

What schools should he be looking at?

Would Florida State or University of Florida be good enough, or should he really be looking elsewhere?

He’s got enough in his 529 that if an out of state school counted his AA degree and didn’t make him retake those two years, he could swing two years of out of state tuition and still have enough for grad school.

I think I got my money’s worth from my college education, but I’m looking at the numbers for my kids and asking does that really make fiscal sense?

Feel free to ask for more information and bring up points I haven’t thought of.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: trapper189,

I’d say he is choosing an academic environment where school names matter up through the PHD he will most likely need in that field.

I don't think the rocks will care what his alma mater is...

quote:

Originally posted by Patriot:
I’d say he is choosing an academic environment where school names matter up through the PHD he will most likely need in that field.

That brings up another question I meant to ask.

If he did his undergrad work at a Florida state school, how would that affect his chances of getting into a more prestigious school for his grad work?

There are state schools that have Volcanology programs as well. University of Alaska-Fairbanks for example.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I don't think the rocks will care what his alma mater is...

The rocks won’t be paying him.

Look at the U of Wyoming.

quote:

Originally posted by Patriot:
I’d say he is choosing an academic environment where school names matter up through the PHD he will most likely need in that field.

I would argue that undergrad is undergrad is undergrad and it really, like most fields, doesn't matter where the sheepskin is from...just that you have one. You are correct, though, that he is going to need graduate work if he plans on being employable and earning a decent living in geology. For that I would recommend the Colorado School of Mines.

Two good friends from my college years at MSU did their geology graduate work at CSM.

Not sure what research you or he did so I did a search on the career opportunities and this seemed like a good starting place to see where it could take him.

https://www.geology.pitt.edu/g...y-bs/careers-geology

Rice University in Texas (private) has a well regarded geology program, including volcanology. My uncle’s PhD was in geology was from there and he worked for big oil until he decided to go back for medical school to go into practice with my granddad. Don’t rule out private-often they have very good scholarship and research programs.

Space-x might hire him as soon as he graduates.otherwise take the FL scholarship. I thought Colorado School of Mines.

My neices kid graduated a couple of years ago from Colorado School of Mines and is doing quite well for his age. Great salary and doing well moving up in his company.
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I’ve been down a similar path myself so here are my two cents. First, pick a good school that is affordable. The school name will get your son’s foot in the door whether it’s a job or grad school. The better schools will have the more respected and connected profs- essential for recommendations. Second is affordability. There are plenty of excellent state schools. It’s ok to stretch a little and consider out of state schools but save the big bucks for grad school. Third, consider schools with co-op (work/study) programs. It is a great way to earn money and make corporate contacts. Fourth, consider a school that has also has more diverse majors rather than a more specialized “science/engineering” school. Your son will be able to explore other majors if he decides geology is not his love. I was happy with my engineering school but I would have liked the opportunity to sample courses outside the engineering realm. Last, an analytical degree like geology is a great basis for all sorts of non-geology grad programs. A good place to start is the school rankings- work your way down the list. FWIW, I worked my way through a top seven out of state engineering school and then, after a few years of work, a top three business school.

Not sure about geology, but no comparison between the top line schools in biochemistry, and the programs in other schools.

Lesser programs cannot offer the lab experience.

If that is a part of geology, get him into a program which offers the most lab time.

As an FYI, geologists from Texas A&M we’re very well paid at one time.

Young man could look at Colorado School of Mining.

Sent a message to my good friend "Rocky", a Geologist to get some feedback. Will advise.

I'd also argue that he look at the Colorado School of Mines. My stepdaughter has a Chem Eng degree from there, and a PhD in computational biogenetics from Wake Forest. Very good Geology dept at Mines.

He shouldn't have to pay to get advanced degrees, the schools will compete to get him into a research PhD program, a paid research program.

After the bachelors, I would imagine that the University of Hawaii has a world class Volcanology program.

Taking Colorado School of Mines as an example, close to $160,000 for four years’ tuition vs. $0 at Florida State or University of Florida.

Are you guys saying it’s worth it?

Some have mentioned his graduate studies could be paid for. How does that work?

Interesting information so far. Thank you as I really have no clue how to best help him in this endeavor.

One of my long-term clients is a research non-profit in a related field (seismology). From watching them for over 25 years I have come to the conclusion that there is a huge social network among these science types, IOW it isn't what you know, but who you know. I would suggest an early and active program of seeking out internships, field assignments, exhibition volunteerism, etc. to get acquainted with the movers and shakers (ha ha) in the field.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
If that is a part of geology, get him into a program which offers the most lab time.

And that’s the thing, I don’t have a clue. It would seem to me that fieldwork would be a major part of a geology degree in which case there’s probably better schools than the ones here. But, does the fieldwork happen in the undergraduate classes?

Graduate schools typically do not take their undergrads. I have a friend who has a graduate degree from FSU in Geology. She works for the Navy and goes out on the NAVO ships. Does he want to research in Volcanology?
My mother was close friends with the family of David Johnston. He worked with USGS and sadly died with the Mount Saint Helens eruption.

David got his PHD from the University of Washington. His undergrad studies were at the University of Illinois, a state school. I can say for certain that David was smart. Graduate programs in the hard sciences often have scholarships. In some instance you commit a number of years to working for the government or affiliated agency.
https://www.usgs.gov/observato...egacy-david-johnston

Here is what my Geologist friend had to say.

The Colorado School of Mines was my gold standard but there are a lot of good schools. A Masters degree is almost a must, so I recommend a respected school (ie OU, Texas. LSU, KU or something local) and figure out what field he wants to concentrate on and then get the Masters at a school that caters to that field. There is a lot of math, chemistry and physics, so there is a lot of dropouts. I highly recommend the field but it can be a volatile job market but what isn't these days.