Top Colleges Are Cheaper Than You Think (Unless You’re Rich)

[Anonymous]

^ I would add to the above that in almost every state in the country, the highest paid public employee in the state is the head football coach at that state's flagship university. And some people wonder where all the money goes.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:^ Harvard's endowment is $37 billion. I guess they can be pretty generous. Of course only .4% of college students attend an Ivy so I don't know why you keep posting this as representative of anything.

Exactly. There is a wide variety of choice for the 0.4% and for the ultra rich. For the rest, it is big box education. But diversity of thinking and backgrounds has always been a strength of the US. This will hurt our country in the long run.

Got news for you, there is plenty of 'diverse thinking' at a large state university.

I agree with you, and must say I find the term "big box education" incredibly offensive.

State universities have genius teachers, are doing amazing research, and are great values. To compare them to Sam's club is ignorant.

most them them, for undergrad, have survey courses with 500-700 students and then sections taught by foreign TAs, often with a poor command of English. That's their business model.. The profs of course prefer to work with the grad students and pursue their own research. True, some are better than others, but this description is quite common. Also Princeton Review's Top Party Schools are almost always public flagships.

.. says someone who has never set foot on a university campus.

You're way off there. So you dispute that description?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Harvard's endowment is $37 billion. I guess they can be pretty generous. Of course only .4% of college students attend an Ivy so I don't know why you keep posting this as representative of anything.

Exactly. There is a wide variety of choice for the 0.4% and for the ultra rich. For the rest, it is big box education. But diversity of thinking and backgrounds has always been a strength of the US. This will hurt our country in the long run.

Got news for you, there is plenty of 'diverse thinking' at a large state university.

I agree with you, and must say I find the term "big box education" incredibly offensive.

State universities have genius teachers, are doing amazing research, and are great values. To compare them to Sam's club is ignorant.

most them them, for undergrad, have survey courses with 500-700 students and then sections taught by foreign TAs, often with a poor command of English. That's their business model.. The profs of course prefer to work with the grad students and pursue their own research. True, some are better than others, but this description is quite common. Also Princeton Review's Top Party Schools are almost always public flagships.

.. says someone who has never set foot on a university campus.

You're way off there. So you dispute that description?

Yep. Doesn't match up with my experience, nor that of my children. Perhaps you were in the wrong program, or the wrong school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Harvard's endowment is $37 billion. I guess they can be pretty generous. Of course only .4% of college students attend an Ivy so I don't know why you keep posting this as representative of anything.

Exactly. There is a wide variety of choice for the 0.4% and for the ultra rich. For the rest, it is big box education. But diversity of thinking and backgrounds has always been a strength of the US. This will hurt our country in the long run.

Got news for you, there is plenty of 'diverse thinking' at a large state university.

I agree with you, and must say I find the term "big box education" incredibly offensive.

State universities have genius teachers, are doing amazing research, and are great values. To compare them to Sam's club is ignorant.

most them them, for undergrad, have survey courses with 500-700 students and then sections taught by foreign TAs, often with a poor command of English. That's their business model.. The profs of course prefer to work with the grad students and pursue their own research. True, some are better than others, but this description is quite common. Also Princeton Review's Top Party Schools are almost always public flagships.

.. says someone who has never set foot on a university campus.

You're way off there. So you dispute that description?

Yep. Doesn't match up with my experience, nor that of my children. Perhaps you were in the wrong program, or the wrong school.

Very common at all the large state flagships with 30,000+ students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ I would add to the above that in almost every state in the country, the highest paid public employee in the state is the head football coach at that state's flagship university. And some people wonder where all the money goes.

If you look into it, you'll find that football programs at most of the flagships are moneymakers. They are not usually a drain on the university finances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ I would add to the above that in almost every state in the country, the highest paid public employee in the state is the head football coach at that state's flagship university. And some people wonder where all the money goes.

If you look into it, you'll find that football programs at most of the flagships are moneymakers. They are not usually a drain on the university finances.

You are probably right, but still they pay the coaches exorbitantly, esp. considering they are public employees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ I would add to the above that in almost every state in the country, the highest paid public employee in the state is the head football coach at that state's flagship university. And some people wonder where all the money goes.

If you look into it, you'll find that football programs at most of the flagships are moneymakers. They are not usually a drain on the university finances.

You are probably right, but still they pay the coaches exorbitantly, esp. considering they are public employees.

I agree, but they still bring in more than they take out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ I would add to the above that in almost every state in the country, the highest paid public employee in the state is the head football coach at that state's flagship university. And some people wonder where all the money goes.

If you look into it, you'll find that football programs at most of the flagships are moneymakers. They are not usually a drain on the university finances.

You are probably right, but still they pay the coaches exorbitantly, esp. considering they are public employees.

Coaches are paid through athletic foundations, which are funded by athletics revenue and donors. There's a base salary that comes from the general budget, but the big name coaches get their millions from the foundations. Your taxes don't pay Butch's salary.

Public school budgets are PUBLIC. You can see the salary of every public school employee in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ I would add to the above that in almost every state in the country, the highest paid public employee in the state is the head football coach at that state's flagship university. And some people wonder where all the money goes.

If you look into it, you'll find that football programs at most of the flagships are moneymakers. They are not usually a drain on the university finances.

You are probably right, but still they pay the coaches exorbitantly, esp. considering they are public employees.

Coaches are paid through athletic foundations, which are funded by athletics revenue and donors. There's a base salary that comes from the general budget, but the big name coaches get their millions from the foundations. Your taxes don't pay Butch's salary.

Public school budgets are PUBLIC. You can see the salary of every public school employee in the country.

Or Tony Bennett's of whoever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Harvard's endowment is $37 billion. I guess they can be pretty generous. Of course only .4% of college students attend an Ivy so I don't know why you keep posting this as representative of anything.

Exactly. There is a wide variety of choice for the 0.4% and for the ultra rich. For the rest, it is big box education. But diversity of thinking and backgrounds has always been a strength of the US. This will hurt our country in the long run.

Got news for you, there is plenty of 'diverse thinking' at a large state university.

I agree with you, and must say I find the term "big box education" incredibly offensive.

State universities have genius teachers, are doing amazing research, and are great values. To compare them to Sam's club is ignorant.

most them them, for undergrad, have survey courses with 500-700 students and then sections taught by foreign TAs, often with a poor command of English. That's their business model.. The profs of course prefer to work with the grad students and pursue their own research. True, some are better than others, but this description is quite common. Also Princeton Review's Top Party Schools are almost always public flagships.

.. says someone who has never set foot on a university campus.

You're way off there. So you dispute that description?

Yep. Doesn't match up with my experience, nor that of my children. Perhaps you were in the wrong program, or the wrong school.

Very common at all the large state flagships with 30,000+ students.

Also common at ivys and other large privates. Usually for introductory/core courses or rockstar profs. I don't like it which is why I prefer LACs but the idea that it only happens at publics is quite laughable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Harvard's endowment is $37 billion. I guess they can be pretty generous. Of course only .4% of college students attend an Ivy so I don't know why you keep posting this as representative of anything.

Exactly. There is a wide variety of choice for the 0.4% and for the ultra rich. For the rest, it is big box education. But diversity of thinking and backgrounds has always been a strength of the US. This will hurt our country in the long run.

Got news for you, there is plenty of 'diverse thinking' at a large state university.

I agree with you, and must say I find the term "big box education" incredibly offensive.

State universities have genius teachers, are doing amazing research, and are great values. To compare them to Sam's club is ignorant.

I teach at a big box school, love my students, love my school, think we are a terrific value. I involve many undergrads in research, and get many letters from graduating students thanking me for mentoring them. However, that does not mean that it is the best thing for the United States to have the vast majority of our students educated this way (maybe the majority, but not the vast majority). I went to a LAC as an undergrad. I know it is a very different experience. But, then again, LACs would not be the right school for the kids that thrive with me.

It really is true that allowing many paths yields diverse, interesting outcomes. As a prof at a big box school, I would hate to see us go the way of Europe, and have a standardized path to higher education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Harvard's endowment is $37 billion. I guess they can be pretty generous. Of course only .4% of college students attend an Ivy so I don't know why you keep posting this as representative of anything.

Exactly. There is a wide variety of choice for the 0.4% and for the ultra rich. For the rest, it is big box education. But diversity of thinking and backgrounds has always been a strength of the US. This will hurt our country in the long run.

Got news for you, there is plenty of 'diverse thinking' at a large state university.

I agree with you, and must say I find the term "big box education" incredibly offensive.

State universities have genius teachers, are doing amazing research, and are great values. To compare them to Sam's club is ignorant.

I teach at a big box school, love my students, love my school, think we are a terrific value. I involve many undergrads in research, and get many letters from graduating students thanking me for mentoring them. However, that does not mean that it is the best thing for the United States to have the vast majority of our students educated this way (maybe the majority, but not the vast majority). I went to a LAC as an undergrad. I know it is a very different experience. But, then again, LACs would not be the right school for the kids that thrive with me.

It really is true that allowing many paths yields diverse, interesting outcomes. As a prof at a big box school, I would hate to see us go the way of Europe, and have a standardized path to higher education.

But, private colleges aren't going away, they fill their classes pretty well every year. They charge a lot of money and have plenty of takers. People here are complaining about cost, but, despite better value options the private colleges seem to be doing just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're a two earner house, each making about 100K in the DC area. Modest suburban house, two cars purchased used. Thrifty but not penny pinching lifestyle. From a paying for college perspective, it almost seems like one of us should quit our job and be a stay at home parent. Am I missing something?

At 100K, you should still qualify for financial aid. Try typing your numbers in the Harvard Financial Aid calculator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Harvard's endowment is $37 billion. I guess they can be pretty generous. Of course only .4% of college students attend an Ivy so I don't know why you keep posting this as representative of anything.

Exactly. There is a wide variety of choice for the 0.4% and for the ultra rich. For the rest, it is big box education. But diversity of thinking and backgrounds has always been a strength of the US. This will hurt our country in the long run.

Got news for you, there is plenty of 'diverse thinking' at a large state university.

I agree with you, and must say I find the term "big box education" incredibly offensive.

State universities have genius teachers, are doing amazing research, and are great values. To compare them to Sam's club is ignorant.

most them them, for undergrad, have survey courses with 500-700 students and then sections taught by foreign TAs, often with a poor command of English. That's their business model.. The profs of course prefer to work with the grad students and pursue their own research. True, some are better than others, but this description is quite common. Also Princeton Review's Top Party Schools are almost always public flagships.

I had a number of sections taught by foreign TAs with bad accents at Princeton.

[Anonymous]

I feel like when I complete the NPC I’m being given false hope since the FAFSA goes in-depth.