Why a Large Flagship/Public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid ruled out big state schools early. When we toured them, they felt like cities. For example, you could never leave your things on the table in the library or they would get stolen. Parking was difficult and expensive. This was not the case at the small LAC's she favored.

As a parent, I liked the idea of her finishing her growing into adulthood in a relatively closed, safe environment. She will have her twenties to face all of the world's dangers and hardships (no need to encounter that at 18, though of course there is learning in doing so). What is wrong with her sitting on an Adirondack chair reading on a beautiful spring day? Four years at an LAC struck me as a rather idyllic interlude. Her professors stroll by. She knows their dogs.

At the time she was choosing, I supervised a recent U of MD graduate. She said that during finals week she had to go to her parents house to study, since there was no seats on campus/in the library. That stuck with me.

I was happy that my DC preferred and got the LAC opportunity. (Note: we are not wealthy. She chose second tier schools that gave generous merit aid.)


Both environments undoubtedly suit some kids. So we don't have to fight over this.

You sound pompous and your kid sounds childlike. No offense intended. Just advising that you read a post like this through the eyes of potential readers before clicking "submit."

Since we are giving advice to each other, if you don't intend to offend someone, maybe don't call them pompous (which I did not get from the post at all) or demean their child.

"I liked the idea of her finishing her growing into adulthood in a relatively closed, safe environment. She will have her twenties to face all of the world's dangers and hardships (no need to encounter that at 18, though of course there is learning in doing so). What is wrong with her sitting on an Adirondack chair reading on a beautiful spring day? Four years at an LAC struck me as a rather idyllic interlude. Her professors stroll by. She knows their dogs."

If that's not pompous I don't know what is.

I don’t think it is pompous, but it very precious and assumes your child has no ability to cope with the real world. Which is very sad for an 18 year old. It is how we get failure to launch young adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Blessed to have W&M in VA which, despite its larger than slac size, feels like a slac.

Doesn't answer OP's question though.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blessed to have W&M in VA which, despite its larger than slac size, feels like a slac.

Doesn't answer OP's question though.

Must be a W&M grad

[Anonymous]

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

Not doing well because of the size?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is at Michigan. To her, it represents the whole package. Many opportunities, academic and social. Great research to be involved in even as an undergrad. Well respected. Huge alumni network for job opportunities.

She doesn’t like the fierce competition for some classes but she actually said to me, “I took some classes I didn’t think I would like all that much but they turned out to be good. And now I am more interested in X.”

It is true that as a Freshman she could disappear and no one would know. As the kids progress, many of their classes get smaller and it would be much harder to skip classes and such. Even as a sophomore some of her classes like Mandarin had maybe 20 people. She said her Freshman year was the outlier in this respect, and overall academically it was probably the least fun year but most fun socially.

She is very happy with her choice but it’s not for all kids. Other DD is at Colby. Go figure.

Can you elaborate on the 'fierce competition for some classes'? I'm not sure what you mean by that? Competition to get the classes you want to take?

I'm the UCLA poster but I can answer this. Often during registration there are waitlists to get into popular classes or widely required general ed classes and students have to wait for another quarter or semester to take the class. My DC says there's always a ton of movement during the first week of classes as students drop and add other classes, and DC has always managed to get in off a waitlist either that quarter or the next quarter. But as the Michigan poster said, sometimes they end of taking classes they may not have taken if they'd gotten into their waitlist class. My very non-STEM DC ended up in a computer coding class and actually loved it. Taking another one this quarter!

This is a typical complaint about large public universities. But my sister teaches at Stanford and she told me it happens there too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Usually cost, acceptance and distance drives these decisions.

Very telling that this is the first post to mention this. At my DC’s school, it’s cost. Last year, the school announced where graduates were accepted and where they’re attending. Many were accepted to more “prestigious” schools, but chose to attend one of the state flagships on scholarship. A wise choice, IMO.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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?

If you want Engineering, there are just a few smaller schools and tons of State schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid ruled out big state schools early. When we toured them, they felt like cities. For example, you could never leave your things on the table in the library or they would get stolen. Parking was difficult and expensive. This was not the case at the small LAC's she favored.

As a parent, I liked the idea of her finishing her growing into adulthood in a relatively closed, safe environment. She will have her twenties to face all of the world's dangers and hardships (no need to encounter that at 18, though of course there is learning in doing so). What is wrong with her sitting on an Adirondack chair reading on a beautiful spring day? Four years at an LAC struck me as a rather idyllic interlude. Her professors stroll by. She knows their dogs.

At the time she was choosing, I supervised a recent U of MD graduate. She said that during finals week she had to go to her parents house to study, since there was no seats on campus/in the library. That stuck with me.

I was happy that my DC preferred and got the LAC opportunity. (Note: we are not wealthy. She chose second tier schools that gave generous merit aid.)


Both environments undoubtedly suit some kids. So we don't have to fight over this.

You sound pompous and your kid sounds childlike. No offense intended. Just advising that you read a post like this through the eyes of potential readers before clicking "submit."

Since we are giving advice to each other, if you don't intend to offend someone, maybe don't call them pompous (which I did not get from the post at all) or demean their child.

"I liked the idea of her finishing her growing into adulthood in a relatively closed, safe environment. She will have her twenties to face all of the world's dangers and hardships (no need to encounter that at 18, though of course there is learning in doing so). What is wrong with her sitting on an Adirondack chair reading on a beautiful spring day? Four years at an LAC struck me as a rather idyllic interlude. Her professors stroll by. She knows their dogs."

If that's not pompous I don't know what is.

DP. No, sorry, it’s not “pompous.” Arguably, it’s precious and reflective of a bubble mentality. But I have no problem with it.

DP. Agree. To quote the Princess Bride, that word doesn’t mean what pp thinks it means.

I get what the other pp is going for. I believe that there are advantages to transitioning through a more nurturing environment in college. My DC has applied and been accepted to several huge state schools, as well a medium-sized private and some very small schools. I’d be fine if he chooses one of the state schools (he could go to our flagship basically free!), and they definitely have their appeal, but my advice has been to go to a private school for undergrad and go a big state school for graduate school. My DH, who attended his state flagship for undergrad, and is the furthest thing from a helicopter parent, is quite adamant that a smaller school is the best choice.

[Anonymous]

Top tier research reputation at a small fraction of the cost. Some students like the sports culture and school spirit as well.

Ignoring the top-middle Ivies and the likes of Stanford/MIT/Caltech/Hopkins, etc., the top research universities are public flagships.

UC's (across the board), U. Michigan, U. Washington, Purdue (for engineering), UNC-CH, etc.

The top students get access to world renowned professors, have small honors-specific classes, get great merit aid given they are competitive for Ivies.

[Anonymous]

^^^this is me. I wanted to add that, the differences are not huge, and if $$ was more of a consideration for us, I’d be pushing the state school hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Usually cost, acceptance and distance drives these decisions.

Very telling that this is the first post to mention this. At my DC’s school, it’s cost. Last year, the school announced where graduates were accepted and where they’re attending. Many were accepted to more “prestigious” schools, but chose to attend one of the state flagships on scholarship. A wise choice, IMO.

Not necessarily wise, just economical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Top tier research reputation at a small fraction of the cost. Some students like the sports culture and school spirit as well.

Ignoring the top-middle Ivies and the likes of Stanford/MIT/Caltech/Hopkins, etc., the top research universities are public flagships.

UC's (across the board), U. Michigan, U. Washington, Purdue (for engineering), UNC-CH, etc.

The top students get access to world renowned professors, have small honors-specific classes, get great merit aid given they are competitive for Ivies.

Harvard or Princeton not offering all that?

[Anonymous]

To be fair, a tiny percentage of high school graduate get accepted into top schools, even a tinier percentage can afford or get aid for it. What’s left? Lower tier for profit expensive schools or large state schools. Decision is pretty much made by realities not choices.