Hello! This may not be the right place to ask this, but I couldn't find any rules stating otherwise...

Anyway, I'm currently a high schooler in Indiana, but I want to study marine science at csumb as I'm very interested in their research program, work with the MBA/MBARI, and overall location. However, it's been hard to find scholarships for out-of-state students, and I’m afraid I won't be able to afford attending a college I actually like on the coast. Has anyone here come from inland and have any advice?

For context, my parents are a public school teacher and a self-employed guitar teacher, so the budget's pretty slim but not low enough for most financial aid.

Thanks a lot! Let me know if I should move or take down this post.

I just wanted to put it out there that there is an amateur radio club within walking distance of CSUMB. Back when Fort Ord was open they had a shortwave radio site that could communicate around the world, and when the base closed the property was given to the city of Marina. As a former CSUMB alum I had no idea it was there and would have been interested in checking it out long ago had I known about it. Located just past the stables on California Ave, the N6IJ site managed by MBARA has some interesting relics like a massive discone antenna.

It's also a playground for experimenting with HF radio, electronics, and antennas and has a solar powered shack hosting a UHF amateur radio repeater which can do analog or digital modes, a GMRS repeater, and Meshcore/Meshtastic. MBARA does in person amateur radio license testing as well. GMRS is a licensed (but test-free) service and you can use the repeater to communicate all around the peninsula with a $25 radio. Meshcore is a neat unlicensed and completely off-grid IoT protocol for sending encrypted or unencrypted packets around the mesh. You can see the coverage that volunteers have been building out here and here . Currently there is coverage from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo, with Santa Rosa and Santa Maria starting to light up.

Anyways if you are interested in joining an amateur radio club or using one of these technologies (like meshcore) for a capstone project there are resources available. MBARA is a non-profit and would be thrilled to have student engagement and/or an associated club. There will likely be other capstone opportunities as club projects come up.