Yup! So while I personally don't understand the desire to attend a large university and do think that smaller universities offer "more for the money", I get that for many they do desire an environment of larger than 4K students. Similarly, a school with only 1500 kids would be too small for me and my kids (HS is almost 3K students), but I'm able to understand that for some they will thrive in an environment that's very small (SLAC). I'm thankful my own kids choses smaller universities simply because we knew they would do much better at a smaller university---they do not have the personality to thrive at a large university and wanted the smaller classes. But if they had wanted to attend a large state university and could articulate why (more than for just partying or huge greek life), I'd be happy to send them to one--many of the top engineering schools are huge state universities and there are benefits to being at a larger school (better facilities, more companies recruit, etc). Kids will do best in college if they are in an environment they choose and want. But I get that for many they want and thrive in a much larger environment and want all the activities and things that go along with a large state university. There are pluses/minuses to both. |
A school is not necessarily better because it is private. Yes, the ivies, mit, tufts and cmu are at the top but if you are not getting into UVA you are probably not getting into those schools. In our case we did not think RPI, Union, RIT or Rochester had a better engineering program over GA Tech, UF, NC State or Clemson. Bigger, better facilities with more opportunities for internships. Better weather, better campuses, and more school spirit. That is all before you get to how much they cost and crazy, totalitarian, lock down covid policies in the northeast. We did not apply to PSU but consider their engineering program to be just as good if not better than those second tier private schools. |
DP. So did I and yet I can understand why my kids want the large state school experience. Why can’t you? |
you should ask for a refund because your ivy educations should have given you the answer. |
| my child is going to Clemson for less than it would cost to go to Maryland. Have you seen Clemson? Have you seen Maryland? even if paying full price I would hope they would decide to go to Clemson. |
I fully understand why some students would prefer Clemson over Maryland. But surely you can understand why some students might prefer a higher ranked university near a major urban area (UMD 's locations puts DC and Baltimore in easy reach) compared to the 2+ hours it takes to drive from Clemson to Atlanta or Charlotte (and no, Greenville is not a major urban area). |
| Because they do not want to ultimately stay in the DMV (often parents are not from here and have no affinity for this area) and want to experience another part of the country (Colorado, Midwest, SEC schools…). |
Why not? |
That's right, nobody from Clemson ever gets a job. Their alumni network is full of highway workers who hold stop and slow signs. You should just stop with trying to figure this out, it will never make sense to you |
rankings mean absolutely nothing. It comes don to the student and how successful they want to be. |
Wow, are you off the mark. There is so much study abroad at these schools and the scholarships pay for it. Ironically, you likely went to a school that “broadened your horizons”. |
Whoa...stop it, you're going to overload their minimal aperture for truth and reasoning...robot can't compute...Alabama bad...Georgia bad...all south bad...stupid inbred racist fratty types bad. |
?? Uh, who said anything about Clemson students not finding a job? No one. It appears that you are so defensive and opinionated that you're creating criticism where it doesn't exist so you can counter it. College students look for different things -- some would take Clemson over UMD in a heartbeat and others would not. Why is it so hard to acknowledge that? But fine, UMD is hell on earth and Clemson is paradise. Anyone who thinks otherwise is insane. Feel better? |
Thanks for confirming you are indeed a troll. |
| DD is at Wisconsin. She loved it when we toured, it has great academics, she wanted to go to college in a different part of the country, and we saved money for her to be able to go wherever she wanted. The end. |