Good meteorology school mostly hurricanes.

[hicksta]

Im currently a soph in highschool with around a 3.5-3.8 gpa and was wondering what schools are the best for study around hurricanes and which are the best for tornadoes. I live in texas so state would be ok, but out of state is fine to.

[Derek Ortt]

you really do not specialise until you reach graduate school

[JonathanBelles]

i had the same question and I am in the same situation, but here in florida you have to pic ur major in junior year of HS

[Lindaloo]

you really do not specialise until you reach graduate school

That is not what he asked Derek. He would like to know which college is the best. Be a leader.

[DoctorHurricane2003]

I'm a first year junior in college, so I just went through the whole "Where do I pick to go?" thing. This is what I found:

The single best undergraduate meteorology program is at Penn State, no doubt...and of course, because of that, I decided to go here. So far I am enjoying it a LOT. They have a lot of specialty courses taken from general education and twisted to fit the meteorology aspects (Atmospheric Thermodynamics, Data Analysis in Atmospheric Sciences (A Calc-based Stats course) just to name a few). There are also a TON of professional electives to choose from such as Tropical Meteorology, Undergrad Research, Mesoscale Meteorology, Microscale Meteorology, Fundamentals of Remote Sensing, etc. etc. I'm not just saying its the best because I go here now, I'm saying its the best from my experience of applying to schools and such.

The next best three programs I found (in order) are University of Wisconsin (Madison), Florida State University, and University of Oklahoma. I personally did not choose FSU because I absolutely despise the school and its very dumpy looking, but they do have a good meteorology program.

Other schools that have "okay" meteorology/atmospheric science programs are Iowa State University, Texas A&M University, University of Washington, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, University of Kansas, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and University of Miami (FL).

Schools that you do not want to go to because they just focus on Broadcast Meteorology are SUNY-Albany and Mississippi State University....although I'm sure there are some others.

Now when you are talking about specialty schools, Derek is right, that's more of a Graduate School thing. Below are some of the specialties of certain Graduate Schools:

Penn State- Absolutely anything...you are free to research anything that you want, and there will be an expert on it in the department. Also, the benefits (no tuition, get a ~$20,000 salary the first year, benefits package including health insurance) are pretty good. Also, this is one of the best places to go if you want to study climatology.

University of Wisconsin (Madison)- Also pretty much anything. They like to focus more on Dynamical Meteorology and Analysis.

Florida State University- Obviously the answer here is Tropical Cyclones.

University of Oklahoma- Obviously the answer here is Severe Storms and Tornadoes.


Hope this helps!

[Lindaloo]

Thank you Doc.

[P.K.]

One other thing to consider. The University of Oklahoma have a link with the University of Reading with a few students coming here for a while every year.

[DoctorHurricane2003]

That's cool PK. We have a major link to Leeds University.

[Derek Ortt]

I thought he was asking which is the best to study tornadoes and hurricanes. The answer to that is there is not really one for undergrad, as undergrad met school is very broad based and covers all aspects of met.

That said, the good schools are UM (biased of course) due to the small class sizes (including the calc classes, average calc class size is about 30.

[P.K.]

That isn't proper met though, that one was more based on atmospheric chemisty. Reading is the only place here that does pure met (I've done all you listed above within the last year apart from Tropical Met).

[DoctorHurricane2003]

Oh I thought you were referring to the school as a whole (not necessarily meteorology...I had no idea who did meteo in the UK lol)

[terstorm1012]

I'm a first year junior in college, so I just went through the whole "Where do I pick to go?" thing. This is what I found:

Other schools that have "okay" meteorology/atmospheric science programs are Iowa State University, Texas A&M University, University of Washington, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, University of Kansas, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and University of Miami (FL).

Penn State- Absolutely anything...you are free to research anything that you want, and there will be an expert on it in the department. Also, the benefits (no tuition, get a ~$20,000 salary the first year, benefits package including health insurance) are pretty good. Also, this is one of the best places to go if you want to study climatology.

)

Millersville's program is a lot better then just ok... in PA it is MU or Penn State (though Drexel also has an "atmospheric physics" program) but I feel compelled to defend it as it is my alma mater. Millersville's program is small--very small so you'll get individual attention. and there are two climatologists and when I graduated there was one tropical expert. Graduates from MU go places even though it's a little podunk state school(and I mean that with much love and admiration for my alma mater!) ----most in the met program are at some pretty nice grad schools now. There's also an inhouse weather service that gives kids experience for radio, TV, or other private sector work (and yes they do pay their forecasters!)

--and...since I am guessing you're male, there's lots of girls at MU. The gender ratio is skewed as the school has a huge education department...so you're in luck there too

Penn State has one of the best climatology schools? grrr, that is going to be my grad focus when I go back in 2 years.....and I wanted out of this state I'll give it another look.

[Scorpion]

Meteorology program is no picnic. I hear only 10% or so of the undergrads stay. If you love math and physics, go for it. I personally hate those subjects but love meteorology.

[ncweatherwizard]

To some extent, some undergrad schools are definitely better than others, but alot depends on what you are looking for. You're not going to really specialize in undergrad; however, you may have some opportunities to become at least semi-involved in research going on in the department while you're an undergrad. Penn State certainly has an excellent program, and it may be the top school in the country for meteorology. Florida State, which I don't really consider too great a place on aesthetics or academics has a well established program. On the flip side, both of these schools are very large and you may want a program that can provide you with more personal attention. MIT has an excellent earth sciences program, which includes atmospheric science; I don't believe that you can actually get a degree in meteorology, but rather in related fields that can be just as useful. Of course, there's only a few of us who can actually get into MIT. Oklahoma and Wisconsin are very active; although I'm not sure how much involvement undergrads may have--I've never really looked into those schools. Miami (FL) gives you more of a personal connection with professors in the department, which is very useful, and undergrads can become involved--to some extent--with research. Math and physics here is VERY weak; however, and I'm quite disappointed in the quality of education I'm receiving for the amount of money I'm paying. On the flip side, there's lot of unique opportunities in the immediate area to get your foot in the door at places. Also, there's a lot of little heard-of Technical schools that offer programs in atmospheric science, and some offer a degree in meteorology. I remember someone from New Mexico Tech telling me about an atmospheric sciences program there, but I can't find anything on their website. Florida Tech also has a new undergraduate program chaired by Dr. George Maul, who worked at AOML and RSMAS for quite some time, and they're willing to offer quite a bit of money to a strong enough student. The school looks ugly; and it's crammed onto one city block made out of nothing but concrete, but it gives you one to one attention with your professors. I know Georgia Tech has a program; I have no idea how good it is. So there's lots of options, and it's good that you're starting to check them out early..I know of alot of people who have no idea where they want to go a few months before decision time. You know how to get hold of me if you want, so feel free to shoot a message sometime, and I'll try to answer.

Scott

[terstorm1012]

good post scott.

my degree is actually in geography...but i've been told I can use that in a graduate meteorology (or related) program and I'd just have to play catchup on a handful of math classes.

New Mexico Tech's program may be part of the Physics department, there are quite a few meteorology programs hidden within geography, "earth science", and physics departments.

[meteorologyman]

For those like me whom are going to Florida State University, these two websites tell you what classes you might have to take if majoring Meteorology

http://www.academic-guide.fsu.edu/Maps/ ... ology.html

http://www.met.fsu.edu/index.pl/acprograms

[DoctorHurricane2003]

Actually here at Penn State if you are in any major in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, you will no doubt get individual attention. Just remember you have to actually go up to professors and say "Hello Dr. X, my name is so-and-so and I'm interested in x aspect of weather."

The only big lecture classes I've had are my two physics classes and food science (health/physical activity req.). Chemistry has a big lecture class, but I didn't take it here.

Inside the Meteorology program, there were about 100 students in my METEO 201 class last semester (Intro to Weather Analysis), but it is not impossible to get to know the instructor. The best times to get to know them though are once you get past 201. In my 300 couse (Survey of Atmos Sci) there are 18 students (but I'm in the off term, in fall there are 100 seats available) so I'm able to get to know the instructor very well....in 431 (Atmospheric Thermodynamics) there are 50 students in the class and its still really easy to get to know the instructors.

If you have problems with homework or whatever, you go to the profs and ask...in the meteo dept., they ENJOY giving this individual attention.


Sorry about my rant, I just felt the need to disperse the ideas that going to a big school means you don't get to know anyone or get individual attention.

[DoctorHurricane2003]

Oh another thing about the undergraduate degree at Penn State is that there are 6 options from which to choose from. For more info on those, click:

http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/courses/options1.html

My option is Atmospheric Sciences since I plan to go to grad school. For this, my major specific or major related courses include:

Have Taken Already or In Progress:
CHEM 012 Principles of Chemistry (Transferred from CHM 1045 PJC FL)
CHEM 014 Experimental Chemistry (Transferred from CHM 1045L PJC FL)
PHYS 211L Mechanics Lecture(0 credits)
PHYS 211R Mechanics Recitation (4 credits)
PHYS 212L Electricity and Magnetism Lecture (0 credits)
PHYS 212R Electricity and Magnetism Recitation (4 credits)
MATH 140 Calculus/Analytic Geometry I (Transferred from MAC 2311 PJC FL)
MATH 141 Calculus/Analytic Geometry II (4 credits)
MATH 230 Vector and Multi-Variable Calculus (Transferred from MAC 2313 PJC FL)
EM SC 100S Earth and Mineral Sciences First-Year Seminar (3 credits)
CMPSC 201C Programming in C++ for Engineers (3 credits)
METEO 201 Intro to Weather Analysis (3 credits)
METEO 300 Survey of Atmospheric Sciences (3 credits)
METEO 431 Atmospheric Thermodynamics (3 credits)

Will take in the future:
Summer 2006:
MATH 251 Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations (4 credits)
ENGL 202C Technical Writing (3 credits)
Fall 2006:
METEO 411 Intro to Synoptics Laboratory (4 credits)
METEO 421 Dynamic Meteorology I (4 credits)
METEO 436 Atmospheric Physics I (3 credits)
METEO 473 Computer Applications in Meteorology (3 credits)
METEO 496 Independent Studies (3 credits)
Spring 2007:
METEO 414 Mesoscale Meteorology (4 credits)
METEO 422 Dynamic Meteorology II (4 credits)
METEO 437 Atmospheric Physics II (3 credits)
METEO 440W Principles of Atmospheric Measurement (3 credits)
METEO 497B Data Analysis in the Atmospheric Sciences (3 credits)
Fall 2007:
METEO 433 Fundamentals of Remote Sensing Systems (3 credits)
METEO 434 Radar Meteorology (3 credits)
METEO 452 Tropical Meteorology (3 credits)
METEO 471W Meteorological Observations (3 credits)
METEO 496 Independent Studies (3 credits)


Just to give you a general idea on how it goes

[Ixolib]

Oh another thing about the undergraduate degree at Penn State is that there are 6 options from which to choose from. For more info on those, click:

http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/courses/options1.html

My option is Atmospheric Sciences since I plan to go to grad school. For this, my major specific or major related courses include:

Have Taken Already or In Progress:
CHEM 012 Principles of Chemistry (Transferred from CHM 1045 PJC FL)
CHEM 014 Experimental Chemistry (Transferred from CHM 1045L PJC FL)
PHYS 211L Mechanics Lecture(0 credits)
PHYS 211R Mechanics Recitation (4 credits)
PHYS 212L Electricity and Magnetism Lecture (0 credits)
PHYS 212R Electricity and Magnetism Recitation (4 credits)
MATH 140 Calculus/Analytic Geometry I (Transferred from MAC 2311 PJC FL)
MATH 141 Calculus/Analytic Geometry II (4 credits)
MATH 230 Vector and Multi-Variable Calculus (Transferred from MAC 2313 PJC FL)
EM SC 100S Earth and Mineral Sciences First-Year Seminar (3 credits)
CMPSC 201C Programming in C++ for Engineers (3 credits)
METEO 201 Intro to Weather Analysis (3 credits)
METEO 300 Survey of Atmospheric Sciences (3 credits)
METEO 431 Atmospheric Thermodynamics (3 credits)

Will take in the future:
Summer 2006:
MATH 251 Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations (4 credits)
ENGL 202C Technical Writing (3 credits)
Fall 2006:
METEO 411 Intro to Synoptics Laboratory (4 credits)
METEO 421 Dynamic Meteorology I (4 credits)
METEO 436 Atmospheric Physics I (3 credits)
METEO 473 Computer Applications in Meteorology (3 credits)
METEO 496 Independent Studies (3 credits)
Spring 2007:
METEO 414 Mesoscale Meteorology (4 credits)
METEO 422 Dynamic Meteorology II (4 credits)
METEO 437 Atmospheric Physics II (3 credits)
METEO 440W Principles of Atmospheric Measurement (3 credits)
METEO 497B Data Analysis in the Atmospheric Sciences (3 credits)
Fall 2007:
METEO 433 Fundamentals of Remote Sensing Systems (3 credits)
METEO 434 Radar Meteorology (3 credits)
METEO 452 Tropical Meteorology (3 credits)
METEO 471W Meteorological Observations (3 credits)
METEO 496 Independent Studies (3 credits)


Just to give you a general idea on how it goes

Just looking at that list makes me dizzy.....

[MiamiensisWx]

That's A LOT of class branches and so on!