WSJ Article: Students Are Using a ‘Backdoor’ to Attend Their Dream Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TLDR; kids who don’t get accepted to big flagships are just enrolling in online program, moving near campus and doing everything else like regular undergrads. Schools make money, kids are happy.

It’s pretty smart, honestly.

+1

Why are we begrudging people for using a program the university established? We want people to go to college, but then demean certain methods of doing that if they aren’t “traditional?”

100%.

Some people (like the PP who wrote "cringe") are ignorant about the fact that there are a lot of kids who have significant events that derail their academic progress and opportunities like this help them stay on track.

To look down on it shows your lack of civility.

[Anonymous]

UF is behind UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, Georgia Tech, and UVA, but it’s probably in the same band with UNC and Texas now. Washington and UIUC or Purdue would round out my Top 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No difference with regular UF ... most freshman classes are online anyway

Not true.

In case you don’t already know, there’s a lot of jealousy on this forum of the state flagships in Florida and Texas.

Got it. Gator haters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UF is on par with the best publics for undergraduate, including UVA, Michigan, Purdue, UIUC and has surpassed every UC except for maybe Berkeley and UCLA. Even those latter two with how fast and how far their undergraduate students have slipped, UF is a better choice.

It's a football school in a backwards swamp state. But more power to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not be adjacent and on a pathway to the full experience?

The kids at Santa Barbara City College have dorms right next to UCSB. They all socialize together. And the SBCC kids who perform well then feed directly into UCSB for their last two years, and graduate from UCSB.

The total cost is so affordable! And the social life is not disjointed in the middle by the academic transfer.

I wish there were more set up like this.

Santa Barbara City College does not own or run any dorms. SBCC is not that near UCSB since SBCC is in the city of Santa Barbara and UCSB is right by Isla Vista/ Goleta, which is 10 miles away. There is one private dorm like apartment complex that is for SBCC student that is located in Isla Vista. They used to mix SBCC and UCSB students in this complex but they no longer do. I wouldn't pay all the housing money or out of state community college tuition for my kid to go to SBCC to party with UCSB students.

[Anonymous]

Not sure joining Greek life is possible if not a matriculated student in main undergraduate program.
Think about it - casual students extension type students have always been around. But none of them are in the fraternities nor sororities. I knew of someone in the Columbia GS program who thought he could rush but was blocked out much to his surprise.

[Anonymous]

A U.F. bachelors in business grad earns $82,000 vs. A U.V.A. business grad who earns $142,000. Source IRS, via collegescorecard.ed.gov .

I don't really care, my DC"s have been in privates their entire lives, but its just not true that U.F. is a top public. Nevertheless, dreaming is free ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A U.F. bachelors in business grad earns $82,000 vs. A U.V.A. business grad who earns $142,000. Source IRS, via collegescorecard.ed.gov .

I don't really care, my DC"s have been in privates their entire lives, but its just not true that U.F. is a top public. Nevertheless, dreaming is free ...

Yeah, agreed. I kind of raised a brow at the equivalent comparison a few pages back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UF is on par with the best publics for undergraduate, including UVA, Michigan, Purdue, UIUC and has surpassed every UC except for maybe Berkeley and UCLA. Even those latter two with how fast and how far their undergraduate students have slipped, UF is a better choice.

It's a football school in a backwards swamp state. But more power to you.

U Michigan is as much if not more of a "football school" than UF, and Indiana (home of Purdue) is more of a "backwards" state than Florida. But "more power to you," douchebag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UF is on par with the best publics for undergraduate, including UVA, Michigan, Purdue, UIUC and has surpassed every UC except for maybe Berkeley and UCLA. Even those latter two with how fast and how far their undergraduate students have slipped, UF is a better choice.

It's a football school in a backwards swamp state. But more power to you.

U Michigan is as much if not more of a "football school" than UF, and Indiana (home of Purdue) is more of a "backwards" state than Florida. But "more power to you," douchebag.

Sorry but Purdue has a far superior profile than UF (and I didn't even go there).
But I am sure UF fulfills its mission as a decent state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UF is behind UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, Georgia Tech, and UVA, but it’s probably in the same band with UNC and Texas now. Washington and UIUC or Purdue would round out my Top 10.

Remove Washington and UIUC, and replace with Tennessee and maybe Wisconsin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure joining Greek life is possible if not a matriculated student in main undergraduate program.
Think about it - casual students extension type students have always been around. But none of them are in the fraternities nor sororities. I knew of someone in the Columbia GS program who thought he could rush but was blocked out much to his surprise.

At UT guys can pledge fraternities even if they are at ACC. This is very common especially in the top fraternities. Most of them end up transferring into UT. Been happening since I was there in the 90s.

[Anonymous]

Of course this thread like so many others turns into a spat about tiers and rankings just like sports forums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always thought the primary purpose of going to college was to get the degree for better job opportunities. The college experience is just a byproduct.

But standards are being lowered if 1200 SAT 3.4UW kids get into UF via a backdoor if my kid needed a 1500+ and 3.9uw. What does that say about the classes and value of that degree?? Unless the weed out is real and these kids are all communications or sports management or elementary ed majors.

This is gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always thought the primary purpose of going to college was to get the degree for better job opportunities. The college experience is just a byproduct.

But standards are being lowered if 1200 SAT 3.4UW kids get into UF via a backdoor if my kid needed a 1500+ and 3.9uw. What does that say about the classes and value of that degree?? Unless the weed out is real and these kids are all communications or sports management or elementary ed majors.

This is gross.

Why? It’s not my post, but if kids can’t cut it academically, yet still claim to have a degree from a selective flagship, it diminishes the value of the degree. This is an absolute sham.