Eco-Education

As a high school senior, I was faced with the same daunting challenges most people my age were presented with: finding the perfect college, and then getting into that college. However, my college selection process was a little different. My future major- environmental studies- is so new that many colleges in the United States still don’t offer it. In addition, I only wanted to consider colleges which take sustainability seriously, in all respects- from the greenness of their buildings, to the availability of organic food in their dining halls, to the general awareness of the faculty, administration, and students. I believe that of all institutions, universities are those which should be the ultimate stewards of the environment. Future oriented and forward looking, universities shape the world itself as they mold students into intelligent, capable leaders, leaders who should care about protecting the earth.

One of the websites I found particularly useful during my college search was The College Sustainability Report Card, which rates hundreds of colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada based on several factors, such as administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, transportation, and others. The highest grade given was an A-, and only fifteen schools received this grade. Nineteen schools received a B+, the next highest grade. Of the six schools I applied to, three of them were given these top grades: Stanford University received an A-, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill a B+, and Duke University a B+. Coincidentally (or not), these are the only three schools I would now consider attending. Certainly sustainability and an environmental studies major were not the only factors I considered when choosing where to apply, but they were definitely the most important ones.