For a Great, but not Over-Accomplished Student, Is there Any Reason to Look Outside Virginia?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a strong student with good academics but never really forced himself to get a bunch of leadership positions or create clubs he had no interest in just for college. As a result, we don’t think he’d say Harvard or Duke caliber, but he’s still looking for a good school. Given that VA has so many strong options, does it even make sense to look outside of UVA, VT, W&M, etc.?

Yes.

There are numerous options available outside of VA.
If you enroll in a reputable private school (it doesn't have to be on the level of Harvard or Duke), you might even find lower or comparable tuition fees, depending on your financial circumstances.

My eldest child attends UVA, while my second child is enrolled in a private school in Boston. I can objectively see the merits of both choices.

Why can’t you just name the Damned out of state score and give us some real context? Everyone on DCUM is so worried about being exposed.

Best guess would be BC/BU/Tufts, all of which are solid schools. In particular there could be an argument for paying extra for Tufts out of state. Of course not Harvard/Duke level as OP was looking for, but Tufts is still quite good.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how the question is framed. If you ask “Can a very smart kid get a wonderful & challenging undergraduate education without leaving Virginia?” The answer is YES.

If the question is “Do any colleges offer things different from what you can get in Virginia?” The answer would also be YES.

It just depends on your budget & how picky you are about the numerous variables involved in colleges. Having lived outside the Northeast, I would guess that the majority of the people in the country don’t look outside their own state when searching for a college, even though some people here would claim that practice & that claim are insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on how the question is framed. If you ask “Can a very smart kid get a wonderful & challenging undergraduate education without leaving Virginia?” The answer is YES.

If the question is “Do any colleges offer things different from what you can get in Virginia?” The answer would also be YES.

It just depends on your budget & how picky you are about the numerous variables involved in colleges. Having lived outside the Northeast, I would guess that the majority of the people in the country don’t look outside their own state when searching for a college, even though some people here would claim that practice & that claim are insane.

This. One of my kids goes to Virginia Tech. He loves it and it had the best program for his major of the schools he considered. He did apply to a couple OOS options that he would have preferred over JMU, which was his in-state back up if he hadn't gotten into VT.

My other kid wanted a smaller school and was waitlisted at W&M so her best in-state option was UMW, which did not have as strong a program as the private LACs that were her other options plus other things that were important to her. After merit aid that LAC costs only a little more than VT, significantly less than W&M.

Yes, most people go to their state university and we are fortunate in VA to have great choices but a student may find a better fit of major+size+location+student life factors elsewhere without stepping up much, or at all, in price.

[Anonymous]

My kid is because the best program in his field is elsewhere.

Super high stat, lots of ECs, etc. and that will make paying double each year painful thought—but this is a case where the private school really does launch kids in this field and the internships and connections are a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is because the best program in his field is elsewhere.

Super high stat, lots of ECs, etc. and that will make paying double each year painful thought—but this is a case where the private school really does launch kids in this field and the internships and connections are a big deal.

Oh and my parents limited me to in-state VA only and I didn’t want to do the same to my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's a big jump you're making there. There're a lot of schools between the Harvard/Duke level and the Virginia in-state options. Doesn't hurt to look outside, but yes the in-state tuition is nice at a lot of great schools.

I agree with this. DD probably would have been headed to JMU (maaaaybe VT) or lower VA school but unexpectedly got into her around T50 private reach school. She really did a turn around academically and absolutely loved every minute of college. She thinks had she gone to VT (where most of her friends ended up) or other instate college that she would have just coasted along like she did in high school. So there's lots more that goes into the college success equation.

I have students at instate colleges and wonder why you think they're "coasting". It's not as if OOS schools are somehow more rigorous than ours. In a lot of cases, it's quite the opposite.

I don’t think the PP was implying anything negative about the VA schools merely her daughters attitude/effort towards school. Going to a school away from her HS crowd caused her to break out of a rut and get more serious about school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is because the best program in his field is elsewhere.

Super high stat, lots of ECs, etc. and that will make paying double each year painful thought—but this is a case where the private school really does launch kids in this field and the internships and connections are a big deal.

Just name the damned school already. Posts like this are just completely useless otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is because the best program in his field is elsewhere.

Super high stat, lots of ECs, etc. and that will make paying double each year painful thought—but this is a case where the private school really does launch kids in this field and the internships and connections are a big deal.

Oh and my parents limited me to in-state VA only and I didn’t want to do the same to my kids.

Useless post

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you were buying a car, would you look at options or just get whatever your local dealer has.

Obviously the price is the difference. A BIG difference. Even if you can afford more, does it make sense to spend it when you could save it for grad school? These are such great schools of all different types in state VA. My kids applied elsewhere but in the end nothing compared.

+1. There are very few schools that justify the price to us. Virginia has a great variety of excellent options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you were buying a car, would you look at options or just get whatever your local dealer has.

Obviously the price is the difference. A BIG difference. Even if you can afford more, does it make sense to spend it when you could save it for grad school? These are such great schools of all different types in state VA. My kids applied elsewhere but in the end nothing compared.

+1. There are very few schools that justify the price to us. Virginia has a great variety of excellent options.

So without looking at the Harvard/Duke level, are there really any? That seems to be the question. Is, say WashU or Georgetown worth it over in-state UVA? Is Cornell or Rice worth it? Let alone schools at Harvard/Duke level?

[Anonymous]

Why would you pay out of state tuition rates when you can stay in state? Why would you pay $35,000 for tuition at UNC you can pay $14,000 for VT, etc.? If you get a decent offer from a university in Virginia, then you take it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, no southern states below DC period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, no southern states below DC period.

My kid refuses to look at red states.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you were buying a car, would you look at options or just get whatever your local dealer has.

Obviously the price is the difference. A BIG difference. Even if you can afford more, does it make sense to spend it when you could save it for grad school? These are such great schools of all different types in state VA. My kids applied elsewhere but in the end nothing compared.

+1. There are very few schools that justify the price to us. Virginia has a great variety of excellent options.

So without looking at the Harvard/Duke level, are there really any? That seems to be the question. Is, say WashU or Georgetown worth it over in-state UVA? Is Cornell or Rice worth it? Let alone schools at Harvard/Duke level?

LOL

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I went to a "no name brand" southern school and got a very inexpensive education. I also worked in three labs and published before I graduated.

As a result, I got a free ride to grad school and landed one of the best positions in my field before even finishing grad school.

A good student with drive can get a good education anywhere.