I got my BS in Biology at UNC-Wilmington which has an awesome marine bio ungrad program as well as graduate and PhD Marine bio programs. I went for a biology degree because I really did not want to restrict myself right out of college with a marine biology degree.
I will tell you right now that if you plan on having a career in biology or marine biology plan on getting your undergrad and graduate degrees as a bare minimum to get a decent paying job. It is an extremely competitive field. I am proof, I graduated Cum Laude, maintained a near 4.0 GPA in my Biology classes, and I did not end up in the Biology field. I am in sales.
I don't mean to try and sway you from the field if you are interested in it, but I personally wish people had been more realistic with me when I was looking at college programs and explained exactly what was involved with getting a good paying job in the Marine Bio field.
Do not pursue marine biology for the money, do pursue it because you like to learn, research, read, write and study.
As far as colleges, there are a ton of great marine bio degrees on both coasts, try to schedule some visits to them so you can get a feel for the campus and make your decision from there.