Regional universities

[Anonymous]

After that post bashing the PA one, is it how people feel, that regional colleges are bad and sort of loser-ish?

[Anonymous]

I really think it depends on what you're looking for. I went to the main campus of a university with a robust regional system. In my area of the country, the regionals weren't looked well upon. In DC or New England or even CA, the difference wouldn't be as stark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After that post bashing the PA one, is it how people feel, that regional colleges are bad and sort of loser-ish?

Of course they're not all looked at that way. But East Stroudsberg is not a good school at all. I'd be willing to bet it also has major financial problems. Many regionals do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really think it depends on what you're looking for. I went to the main campus of a university with a robust regional system. In my area of the country, the regionals weren't looked well upon. In DC or New England or even CA, the difference wouldn't be as stark.

What if your flagship isn't an option? Do you do a lesser flagship in a different state just because it's still better ranked? It was very discouraging to read this post.

[Anonymous]

My child is at a regional university in VA which they chose over bigger schools and private schools. Overall we like it, but it doesn't have the name recognition of UVA or VA Tech, and the career counseling has been average. There have also been cost cuttings over the past two years, which might be in seen at other schools too, but which are noticeable for students. Overall, we have been pleased but there are negatives compared to private schools and larger state schools. I am not sure other schools would have the same issues, they might have other issues too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really think it depends on what you're looking for. I went to the main campus of a university with a robust regional system. In my area of the country, the regionals weren't looked well upon. In DC or New England or even CA, the difference wouldn't be as stark.

What if your flagship isn't an option? Do you do a lesser flagship in a different state just because it's still better ranked? It was very discouraging to read this post.

Tough question. I think I would personally would.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really think it depends on what you're looking for. I went to the main campus of a university with a robust regional system. In my area of the country, the regionals weren't looked well upon. In DC or New England or even CA, the difference wouldn't be as stark.

What if your flagship isn't an option? Do you do a lesser flagship in a different state just because it's still better ranked? It was very discouraging to read this post.

You can also often transfer to the main campus after 2 years at a satellite if grades are good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really think it depends on what you're looking for. I went to the main campus of a university with a robust regional system. In my area of the country, the regionals weren't looked well upon. In DC or New England or even CA, the difference wouldn't be as stark.

What if your flagship isn't an option? Do you do a lesser flagship in a different state just because it's still better ranked? It was very discouraging to read this post.

Tough question. I think I would personally would.

And I should have add that we're not much into prestige, and since all our kids are STEM-oriented, we'd much rather them do a small engineering school vs. a flagship with a mediocre engineering program vs. a regional campus. Obviously YMMV depending on plan on study and career goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After that post bashing the PA one, is it how people feel, that regional colleges are bad and sort of loser-ish?

Of course they're not all looked at that way. But East Stroudsberg is not a good school at all. I'd be willing to bet it also has major financial problems. Many regionals do.

Stop saying "willing to bet" if you don't know . . . either cite the fact you're speculating about or zip it.

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of very successful people who attended private, regional colleges. They are in the same vein and have the same advantages as NLACs, except they have more students from the local area (>50% is the limit), so aren't listed with the national LACs.

[Anonymous]

My DS attends a regional college and he really likes it so far - is a freshman. He is a good student but not good enough for UMD. He didn't like Towson. He applied and was accepted to UMBC but he likes the regional college better and we do too (and he got merit aid). It has other things he wanted (location, small classes, an intermural sport) and he just liked the feel of it. Still too early to have a sense of impact on his career, but he is happy, engaged and doing well and that's the first step in a successful road to adulthood. He has made like minded friends and he likes his classes - he has found the STEM classes challenging.

[Anonymous]

PA state regional colleges are kind of a disaster. Shippensburg, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, ESU...they are all 40% smaller vs. around 2010 when they peaked.

I would just do a ton of due diligence to see if the regional school is growing...or at least hasn't seen enrollment fall off a cliff...if it punches above it's weight in job placement or some niche, etc.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on what you are looking for and where you want to go after college.

I went to a regional college -- Cal Poly SLO -- but it's the top ranked "regional" college in the West, has a very strong reputation in California. I had a great experience there and got strong practical experience that directly led to my first job. However, in retrospect, I knew in the longer term I wanted to move to the East coast (most of our relatives are here, applied to Eastern colleges that my parents decided were too expensive) so it might have been better for me to choose a school with greater name recognition. I know CPSLO is better known now but wasn't back then.

OTOH, my reasons for choosing CPSLO over better-known UCs made sense -- I wanted a smaller, more undergrad focused experience. I liked the "learn by doing" approach which gave me the experience that helped start my career. I was a really timid 17 yr old going off to college and still think I'd likely have floundered at the huge U.

In the end I got the job I wanted out of school (in LA) and through that built contacts that helped me make the jump East and ultimately went to grad school here.

One of my kids goes to a regional college, in the mid-Atlantic, basically for the same reasons I did and I think it's a good fit. She also feels strongly that she wants to stay in the region so a regional school is just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After that post bashing the PA one, is it how people feel, that regional colleges are bad and sort of loser-ish?

Of course they're not all looked at that way. But East Stroudsberg is not a good school at all. I'd be willing to bet it also has major financial problems. Many regionals do.

Stop saying "willing to bet" if you don't know . . . either cite the fact you're speculating about or zip it.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on what you are looking for and where you want to go after college.

I went to a regional college -- Cal Poly SLO -- but it's the top ranked "regional" college in the West, has a very strong reputation in California. I had a great experience there and got strong practical experience that directly led to my first job. However, in retrospect, I knew in the longer term I wanted to move to the East coast (most of our relatives are here, applied to Eastern colleges that my parents decided were too expensive) so it might have been better for me to choose a school with greater name recognition. I know CPSLO is better known now but wasn't back then.

OTOH, my reasons for choosing CPSLO over better-known UCs made sense -- I wanted a smaller, more undergrad focused experience. I liked the "learn by doing" approach which gave me the experience that helped start my career. I was a really timid 17 yr old going off to college and still think I'd likely have floundered at the huge U.

In the end I got the job I wanted out of school (in LA) and through that built contacts that helped me make the jump East and ultimately went to grad school here.

One of my kids goes to a regional college, in the mid-Atlantic, basically for the same reasons I did and I think it's a good fit. She also feels strongly that she wants to stay in the region so a regional school is just fine.

To all other posters, CA regional colleges are not the OP is talking about.