Why a Large Flagship/Public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted on the thread about UT Austin. The value of a big school for me was that there was the chance to study ANYTHING I could possible want, get involved with groups I'd never even thought of, tons of internship/study abroad/fellowship opportunities, etc. I felt like I could really customize the experience in a way that I might not have been able to at a smaller school with a more set curriculum. I really enjoyed the big lecture classes. You really got out of them what you put in. Also there were always TA sections and office hours, which I always attended. I took a few smaller seminar classes and sometimes the discussion was good but a lot of it was 20-year-olds trying to sound like they knew what they were talking about, and frankly I heard enough of that all the time I wasn't in class. I would not have enjoyed being in mostly small seminars. But one of my friends went to a tiny liberal arts school and loved it! Different strokes.

You were at a large state school, presumably decades ago, where the bottom half of the class is dull, sometimes below college readiness. They're only there to party and get the easiest degree they can, many taking 5 or 6 years to finish. They coast and bulls*** their way through. In a selective private college, full of overachievers whose parents are paying big money for them to be there, the well-groomed kids CARE about their education and READ THE MATERIAL ahead of time, and know how to form arguments and SPEAK COHERENTLY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see any appeal or advantage to attending a large public university as an undergrad. The competition is fierce in the intro courses, you don't get direct interaction with professors, you could easily disappear for a few days or a week and nobody would notice, you could flunk out and nobody would care, etc....

Other than fun football games in the fall semester, what's the appeal?

I could say this about when I went to Cornell. It’s not only big state schools. I could have spontaneously combusted during one of my huge freshman classes and no one working at the school would have ever cared.

+ 1 for Vanderbilt

+1 for Harvard. No one would have noticed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved the anonymity of it. My Ffx co high school had 359 in our grade. I knew everyone. Most for over a decade. I wanted new. I wanted not everyone to know my name or did crazy things without fear everyone would be talking about it.

I loved the crowds and tail gating and fun. The good friends I met were family amongst the larger setting/crowds.

Funny, my kid did not want our state flagship because she knew some kids from her high school were attending it wanted a fresh start.,

If she went to her state flagship, she could easily go 4 years without running into those kids or knowing anyone who knew them.

THIS. is what happened to DS at UVA. He never saw his friends from high school or even other Eagle Scouts. I would ask "do you ever see So-and-so?". Nope. He made his own network and was very very happy and successful there. He did not join a frat but participated in several of the 800+ clubs. He received the best letters of recommendation I have ever read and still visits with his professors when in the area. Hands down a better experience than I had at my four-year slac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see any appeal or advantage to attending a large public university as an undergrad. The competition is fierce in the intro courses, you don't get direct interaction with professors, you could easily disappear for a few days or a week and nobody would notice, you could flunk out and nobody would care, etc....

Other than fun football games in the fall semester, what's the appeal?

You're never going to get forthright responses on a forum full of middle class strivers. The truth is they lack sophistication, can't afford private tuition, and their average kids couldn't get into any top private colleges which would kick them some financial aid. And also, many of their kids frankly don't give a damn about the learning and instruction aspects of college, they just want to go binge drink, tailgate, and be promiscuous messes for four (or five or six) years.

Silver spoon idiotic comment.

+1. It's the "striver" poster. Only one person uses that idiotic term on here. Everyone going to college is striving for something. To berate that is just ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure they’re cheaper but the idea of a school where 75% of students come from a single state seems entirely unappealing.

+1
College is about discovering new areas of interest, geographic cultures and people. Not living a 13th year of high school.

This^. There is more to higher education than a paper degree.

I always feel sort of sad for the kids who go to in-state U, often (but not always) joining the same sorority or fraternity as all the older friends from their high school, and they keep the same exact clique of high school friends all through college! You can follow it on Facebook. Literally 5 to 12 friends who remain basically joined at the hip from like 9th grade through college and often after college in Washington, NYC, etc. Maybe sad isn't the right word, I understand the appeal I guess, but it's not the ideal college experience, in my opinion. That said, I think with iPhones and social media, it must be increasingly common to make fewer new friends at college, especially if you remain in-state.

I don't know of a single kid in the DMV who did what you just described. None.[/quote]


+1. I don't either. Nor do my UVA and GMU kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is attending UVA and not doing well. The only appeal is the in-state tuition.

Sorry to hear this. Do you mean to imply DC is not doing well because of the large, impersonal nature of a state university?

That's part of it. DC is not mature and socially adept compared to peers. The drinking and frat culture does not suit DC. A lot of students and professors are not cultivating a collegial environment. DC will graduate in 4 years in a marketable major but it's through sheer hard work and mostly working alone. No friends. No internships.

Obviously DC is mostly responsible for his/her own fortune. But the school didn't provide any lift.

You cannot blame any of this on the school. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is attending UVA and not doing well. The only appeal is the in-state tuition.

Sorry to hear this. Do you mean to imply DC is not doing well because of the large, impersonal nature of a state university?

That's part of it. DC is not mature and socially adept compared to peers. The drinking and frat culture does not suit DC. A lot of students and professors are not cultivating a collegial environment. DC will graduate in 4 years in a marketable major but it's through sheer hard work and mostly working alone. No friends. No internships.

Obviously DC is mostly responsible for his/her own fortune. But the school didn't provide any lift.

So why not transfer? There are literally thousands of schools out there, there’s bound to be a better fit. If it needs to be in state, W&M might be a better fit?

There is a serious work hard, party harder culture at UVA. It is not for everyone.

This is a good suggestion. My UVA kid never was interested in the Greek scene or the heavy drinking partying crowd. He found his own people at UVA. He was one of the work hard people. But if the environment isn't working (if in a Greek house, get out, obviously), then why not transfer? I know of one of DC's friends who went back to the state of Washington after first year. I dont know why. But if unhappy, do apply out. Try for W&M if grades are good. There are many smaller options.

[Anonymous]

My kids go instate to a public university and never see the other 9 kids that go there from their class, not any other classes that they may know. The point is, it’s large enough that there are literally thousands of people for them to meet and interact with. I’m sure there are plenty of kids who are rooming with a friend they know from home but there are just as many that don’t. Something for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is attending UVA and not doing well. The only appeal is the in-state tuition.

Sorry to hear this. Do you mean to imply DC is not doing well because of the large, impersonal nature of a state university?

That's part of it. DC is not mature and socially adept compared to peers. The drinking and frat culture does not suit DC. A lot of students and professors are not cultivating a collegial environment. DC will graduate in 4 years in a marketable major but it's through sheer hard work and mostly working alone. No friends. No internships.

Obviously DC is mostly responsible for his/her own fortune. But the school didn't provide any lift.

Does your child have any learning issues or disabilities? UVA has a very good disability services unit.

[Anonymous]

Cost & accessibility to a high-quality education. If you do well they typically have good employers at their career fairs. Good reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted on the thread about UT Austin. The value of a big school for me was that there was the chance to study ANYTHING I could possible want, get involved with groups I'd never even thought of, tons of internship/study abroad/fellowship opportunities, etc. I felt like I could really customize the experience in a way that I might not have been able to at a smaller school with a more set curriculum. I really enjoyed the big lecture classes. You really got out of them what you put in. Also there were always TA sections and office hours, which I always attended. I took a few smaller seminar classes and sometimes the discussion was good but a lot of it was 20-year-olds trying to sound like they knew what they were talking about, and frankly I heard enough of that all the time I wasn't in class. I would not have enjoyed being in mostly small seminars. But one of my friends went to a tiny liberal arts school and loved it! Different strokes.

You were at a large state school, presumably decades ago, where the bottom half of the class is dull, sometimes below college readiness. They're only there to party and get the easiest degree they can, many taking 5 or 6 years to finish. They coast and bulls*** their way through. In a selective private college, full of overachievers whose parents are paying big money for them to be there, the well-groomed kids CARE about their education and READ THE MATERIAL ahead of time, and know how to form arguments and SPEAK COHERENTLY.

NP here and nope. I went to a large state school for undergrad (Michigan) and then three different ivies for various graduate programs. The Michigan kids were just as bright or brighter than the ivy students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted on the thread about UT Austin. The value of a big school for me was that there was the chance to study ANYTHING I could possible want, get involved with groups I'd never even thought of, tons of internship/study abroad/fellowship opportunities, etc. I felt like I could really customize the experience in a way that I might not have been able to at a smaller school with a more set curriculum. I really enjoyed the big lecture classes. You really got out of them what you put in. Also there were always TA sections and office hours, which I always attended. I took a few smaller seminar classes and sometimes the discussion was good but a lot of it was 20-year-olds trying to sound like they knew what they were talking about, and frankly I heard enough of that all the time I wasn't in class. I would not have enjoyed being in mostly small seminars. But one of my friends went to a tiny liberal arts school and loved it! Different strokes.

You were at a large state school, presumably decades ago, where the bottom half of the class is dull, sometimes below college readiness. They're only there to party and get the easiest degree they can, many taking 5 or 6 years to finish. They coast and bulls*** their way through. In a selective private college, full of overachievers whose parents are paying big money for them to be there, the well-groomed kids CARE about their education and READ THE MATERIAL ahead of time, and know how to form arguments and SPEAK COHERENTLY.

NP here and nope. I went to a large state school for undergrad (Michigan) and then three different ivies for various graduate programs. The Michigan kids were just as bright or brighter than the ivy students.

A dad of one of our DCs' friends said this recently. He was accepted to Michigan law, coming from an Ivy. He met a couple of others who had also come from Ivies early on in orientation. They hung out and basically looked down at their classmates who had been undergrads at all these Big Ten schools. "This is going to be so easy."

After the first exam, none of them said that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted on the thread about UT Austin. The value of a big school for me was that there was the chance to study ANYTHING I could possible want, get involved with groups I'd never even thought of, tons of internship/study abroad/fellowship opportunities, etc. I felt like I could really customize the experience in a way that I might not have been able to at a smaller school with a more set curriculum. I really enjoyed the big lecture classes. You really got out of them what you put in. Also there were always TA sections and office hours, which I always attended. I took a few smaller seminar classes and sometimes the discussion was good but a lot of it was 20-year-olds trying to sound like they knew what they were talking about, and frankly I heard enough of that all the time I wasn't in class. I would not have enjoyed being in mostly small seminars. But one of my friends went to a tiny liberal arts school and loved it! Different strokes.

You were at a large state school, presumably decades ago, where the bottom half of the class is dull, sometimes below college readiness. They're only there to party and get the easiest degree they can, many taking 5 or 6 years to finish. They coast and bulls*** their way through. In a selective private college, full of overachievers whose parents are paying big money for them to be there, the well-groomed kids CARE about their education and READ THE MATERIAL ahead of time, and know how to form arguments and SPEAK COHERENTLY.

This ridiculous bias

[Anonymous]

Have friends and relatives who attended and taught at east coast SLACs and Ivies (Harvard, Penn, Yale, etc .) and also at western and midwestern schools (MN, AZ and some in ÇA) as visiting profs. They said there was not a noticeable difference in the quality of the top students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public universities = weed out courses first year to force out thousands of qualified students from the most expensive STEM departments, to funnel them into cheap soft departments taught by cheap grad assistants and lecturers. And for the last 20 years, those funneled out are often domestic students, in favor of big spending international students. Anyone extolling the virtues of a public undergraduate degree is a sap. You can say it worked for you, fine, whatever, but recognize you're an outlier or just too dull to realize you received a half-ass college education. Maybe fewer people have heard of a SLAC, but nobody at a SLAC is purposely setting up half the freshman to fail out of biology or turning the school into a pseudo pro sports team.

So if those at public universities receive a half-ass college education, why do these lists look the way they do?

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/engineering/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/lists/tech/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/medicine/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/astronauts/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/biotech-pharma/

Because they are curated by a website called “less high school stress”

You clearly didn't even look at the lists: NASA, Mayo Clinic, top tech and healthcare firms.

You should find a better use of your time than coming to a place that provides real discourse and attempting to disrupt it with your uninformed attempts at wit.