Eckerd College, in St. Petersburg, Florida is on one and a quarter miles of gorgeous waterfront. As such, Marine Science is the most popular and well-known program here, with 4 separate tracks: Marine Biology, Marine Chemistry, Marine Geology, and Marine Geophysics. Environmental Science and Animal Science are also very popular and are, quite frankly, frequent fallbacks for students who realize the science and math required for Marine Science at Eckerd are more rigorous than they expected.

There are just under 2000 students here, 90% of them live on campus, and over 82% come from out of state. Students define the student body as quirky and inclusive, and our tour guide told us, "Most of our student population is queer." The activities director was not sure she agreed with that, but the drag show is the most well attended event of the year. The campus is pet friendly and there are more pet-friendly dorms here than not. Pets include dogs, cats, iguanas...you name it!

All the dorms are named after Greek letters. But there's no Greek life. The college provides free paddleboards, kayaks, canoes and more for students to use, and Division 2 rugby is a very popular spectator sport, with students making a day of it. There's an extremely supportive alumni network and a career mentor program which hand selects matches for student among alumni, parents, and community members. Students meet with them monthly.

The Fiske Guide says Lewis and Clark is an overlap school, and who am I to disagree with Fiske? But I'd say Reed. With an all-in price of $65K and merit scholarships up to $25K, this is a great option for the right student.