Ryan Davis
Grinnell College
Tropical Biology on a Changing Planet in Costa Rica, Fall 2014
I have few experiences that I look back upon with such fondness and joy as my semester abroad with the OTS Tropical Biology program in Costa Rica.
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Throughout the semester, we took the time to visit and study a variety of incredible tropical landscapes–from cloud forests to tropical dry forests to the rainforest.I applied to the program because I was attracted to the OTS model of intensive yet applicable integration of critical thinking. I found exactly what I was looking for. Individual research, scientific paper writing, and other exercises made me much more confident as a scientist and a student.
Being literally immersed in the topics I was studying provided a whole new learning perspective–both inside and outside the classroom–and is an experience I would recommend to anyone interested in studying biology in an amazing setting.