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February 25, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR MARTY
CHINTALA IN RI
Hi Katie,
Sorry I couldn't respond yesterday- our email system was down,
so I
couldn't access or send email. As far as schools with a marine
biology
focus, they don't have to have a separate laboratory, but
frequently
they do. In part this is because the marine laboratory is
in a separate
location than the main campus (lab is usually near the water).
In terms
of schools that I have had experience, they are all what are
considered
large universities and on the east coast. The University of
Delaware
(UD), University of Maryland (UM) and Rutgers University (RU)
all have
good undergraduate programs, as well as marine laboratories.
UM has a
few laboratories associated with it and it is part of a "system"
of
schools, so there are many possibilities. Many people seem
to cycle
through UM, and I am constantly finding people who have gone
through the
UM System for grad school. UD has a good marine policy degree
as well,
so if you found you liked the policy end as well, you could
work toward
that also. RU has a relatively new Institute of Marine and
Coastal
Sciences with some prominent faculty members, few remote field
stations,
and a great underwater laboratory "LEO-15". You
should check out their
web site: http://marine.rutgers.edu/ and search around. Other
schools
like Duke University, University of North Carolina, University
of South
Carolina, schools associated with the Louisiana Universities
Marine
Consortium (LUMCON), University of Washington, Oregon, University
of
California system- to name just a few- all have good reputations.
Some
of it depends on where in the country you think you might
want to go,
and whether you prefer being in cities or large towns compared
to
smaller more remote towns (or a mix of both). It also depends
on
whether you want a large school or a smaller school (I liked
Delaware, I
liked Maryland, both the main campus area and the remote area,
but I
wasn't very fond of the Rutgers main campus area but enjoyed
the remote
field stations). If you are wanting to swim, a larger school
might be
better, but not being a swimmer, I'm not sure about that aspect.
If you
know at all what area of marine science you might want to
focus on, it
might be helpful to do a web search for individuals who work
on that
aspect of marine biology and see if you can talk to them (just
remember
that many people promote their own school!). I do still love
marine
biology, although there was time when I considered doing something
else.
I think my biggest advice is to tell you: 1) that no matter
what, don't
be afraid to make a change if you think that where you are
headed is not
really what you want after you see what it is like, and 2)
make sure
that as an undergrad you get some exposure in that you talk
to
professors who do the kinds of research that you think you
want to
pursue, and volunteer to work with them or do internships
with them,
because there are many students out there, and the harsh reality
of it
is that it makes a difference if you have a few professors
who can
associate a name to a face and have knowledge of you and what
you can do
(it frequently is who you know first, then what you know).
Good luck,
and by all means, keep conversing if you want me to expand
on any aspect
of anything that I have said already!
********************
A: FROM MENTOR NANCY WHITE
IN WA
I'm a Duke graduate in Marine Botany and can say that you
don't have to go
to a school WITH a lab, but if you don't, plan on making sure
you spend a
summer or quarter at a lab sometime during your college career.
Duke's lab
at Beaufort NC is fabulous. The chance for hands on work,
rubbing elbows
with practicing scientists and seeing the daily "nitty
gritty" is a really
important part of the learning experience. You can do this
from summer jobs
and internships. I was fortunate to have two amazing internships.
I think
this goes for any field of interest - balance the intellectual
academic
inquiry with the practice side. It is this blend that a) shows
you some of
the possibilities and b) allows you to hone your skills on
both which are
needed for advanced study and employment.
That said, I have to confess -- I never became a Marine Botanist
myself.
This lesson for me is that a quality education can be applied
in many
fields. The grounding in science has made me a stronger critical
thinker
and a great project manager. The discipline of scientific
inquiry can be
applied in many ways.
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