Out of state flagships with scholarships vs. less known in state (VA)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: One criteria that is important …is he does not want to go to a school that mandated a Covid vaccine for students. Even if they have now rolled that back.

That drastically shortens the list (of potential employers too).
Ole Miss & Liberty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think ED at VA Tech would be a possibility. Scholarships would be off table.

Depends on the college/major within VA Tech. Likely NOT possible for engineering or even business. Majors within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences can be considerably less competitive.

Not so much anymore.
DP

Look for yourself -- you can pick different colleges/majors (and control for variables) in the following interactive website and see just how HUGE the difference in acceptance rates can be.

https://udc.vt.edu/irdata/data/students/admission/index#college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think KS, OK and AL are odd choices

OP here
If you have other suggestions I'd love to know! One criteria that is important (but I didn't put in my op) is he does not want to go to a school that mandated a Covid vaccine for students. Even if they have now rolled that back.

Oh boy …

+1

U of South Alabama would give a lot of merit but probably too “progressive” How about Ole Miss? Kansas might be a great fit.

KU and the surrounding town are generally pretty liberal though there is a range of viewpoints. I don’t think you know much about the school or Lawrence.

+1.

KU had William S. Burroughs on the faculty. In the 1970s, it was on the same wavelength as Berkeley and Chapel Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think KS, OK and AL are odd choices

OP here
If you have other suggestions I'd love to know! One criteria that is important (but I didn't put in my op) is he does not want to go to a school that mandated a Covid vaccine for students. Even if they have now rolled that back.

Oh, you're one of those! Well, higher ed isn't going to to help you much. Might as well throw your $$$ at Liberty.

Yes, or maybe Pensacola, Bob Jones, or Patrick Henry. Or Appalachian Bible College in West Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have learned that there are very bright students at the flagship public college in every state.

My kid was offered a scholarship to Minnesota that would have made costs very similar to being in-state in VaTech and less than UVA/William and Mary (no money offered in state). Classmates received good very generous scholarships from Ohio State, Clemson, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, etc. A lot of these kids wanted to be a school with an avid sports culture.

Even if Minnesota (a fine school) or Tennessee, for example, offers a scholarship that would make them cheaper than UVA, your kid would still be better served going to UVA if she or he wants a job on the East Coast or in the Mid-Atlantic -- more connections and stronger reputation.

Source?

If you want to think that recruiters from Bain Consulting, Morgan Stanley, Amazon, etc. value a degree from the University of Tennessee just as much as a degree from UVA (all other things- GPA, interview presentation, etc. - being equal), you go right ahead.

But Kansas City and other cities in the region have big, strong job markets of their own, and typical professionals there have a much better quality of life than they would on the coasts.

Stressing to stay around the DMV makes sense for someone who loves being involved with national policy, but heading to the Midwest makes a lot of sense for people who’d rather have a big house, a golf club and a little more down time.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how much and time you are willing to use to get him back and forth to colleges OP. Plus, where you want him to live after college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have learned that there are very bright students at the flagship public college in every state.

My kid was offered a scholarship to Minnesota that would have made costs very similar to being in-state in VaTech and less than UVA/William and Mary (no money offered in state). Classmates received good very generous scholarships from Ohio State, Clemson, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, etc. A lot of these kids wanted to be a school with an avid sports culture.

Even if Minnesota (a fine school) or Tennessee, for example, offers a scholarship that would make them cheaper than UVA, your kid would still be better served going to UVA if she or he wants a job on the East Coast or in the Mid-Atlantic -- more connections and stronger reputation.

Source?

If you want to think that recruiters from Bain Consulting, Morgan Stanley, Amazon, etc. value a degree from the University of Tennessee just as much as a degree from UVA (all other things- GPA, interview presentation, etc. - being equal), you go right ahead.

Interesting anecdote. Is there data to support this claim?

I do recruiting for a consulting firm. We target top schools and the only way we are recruiting from University of Tennessee is if the individual has a personal connection to someone who is partner level who is referring them.

[Anonymous]

yeah, I think you need to look at what your son wants to get out of it.

I mean, some of those schools will get you big time sports, so that is fun while there. But their alum networks may not stretch to the coasts as much, so what does he want to do/where does he want to live post college? And I think it is good to think about who might be recruiting on those campuses.

VA state schools are perfectly fine if you are going to stay in the mid-atlantic. JMU, GMU, etc will have ties back to this area/good alumni networks, if you want him to come home after college.

Did you ever say what he might want to major in? I think I missed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: For him to have already decided that he doesn't want to go to a college that has a vaccine requirement, even a "rolled back" one, means that his mother is a crazy anti-vaxer who brainwashed him.

Not actually an anti-vaxxer - and anti covid vaxxer, which makes them covidiots

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have learned that there are very bright students at the flagship public college in every state.

My kid was offered a scholarship to Minnesota that would have made costs very similar to being in-state in VaTech and less than UVA/William and Mary (no money offered in state). Classmates received good very generous scholarships from Ohio State, Clemson, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, etc. A lot of these kids wanted to be a school with an avid sports culture.

Even if Minnesota (a fine school) or Tennessee, for example, offers a scholarship that would make them cheaper than UVA, your kid would still be better served going to UVA if she or he wants a job on the East Coast or in the Mid-Atlantic -- more connections and stronger reputation.

Source?

If you want to think that recruiters from Bain Consulting, Morgan Stanley, Amazon, etc. value a degree from the University of Tennessee just as much as a degree from UVA (all other things- GPA, interview presentation, etc. - being equal), you go right ahead.

Interesting anecdote. Is there data to support this claim?

I do recruiting for a consulting firm. We target top schools and the only way we are recruiting from University of Tennessee is if the individual has a personal connection to someone who is partner level who is referring them.

Data would help put this anecdote in perspective, but thanks for the insight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have learned that there are very bright students at the flagship public college in every state.

My kid was offered a scholarship to Minnesota that would have made costs very similar to being in-state in VaTech and less than UVA/William and Mary (no money offered in state). Classmates received good very generous scholarships from Ohio State, Clemson, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, etc. A lot of these kids wanted to be a school with an avid sports culture.

Even if Minnesota (a fine school) or Tennessee, for example, offers a scholarship that would make them cheaper than UVA, your kid would still be better served going to UVA if she or he wants a job on the East Coast or in the Mid-Atlantic -- more connections and stronger reputation.

Source?

If you want to think that recruiters from Bain Consulting, Morgan Stanley, Amazon, etc. value a degree from the University of Tennessee just as much as a degree from UVA (all other things- GPA, interview presentation, etc. - being equal), you go right ahead.

But Kansas City and other cities in the region have big, strong job markets of their own, and typical professionals there have a much better quality of life than they would on the coasts.

Stressing to stay around the DMV makes sense for someone who loves being involved with national policy, but heading to the Midwest makes a lot of sense for people who’d rather have a big house, a golf club and a little more down time.

I don't disagree at all with this. KU makes great sense if one is considering working and living in Kansas City or surrounding region and yes, there are definite downsides to living in the DMV or big East Coast cities. But if the kid wants to live in the East Coast/mid-Atlantic, I wouldn't pass up UVA for KU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have learned that there are very bright students at the flagship public college in every state.

My kid was offered a scholarship to Minnesota that would have made costs very similar to being in-state in VaTech and less than UVA/William and Mary (no money offered in state). Classmates received good very generous scholarships from Ohio State, Clemson, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, etc. A lot of these kids wanted to be a school with an avid sports culture.

Even if Minnesota (a fine school) or Tennessee, for example, offers a scholarship that would make them cheaper than UVA, your kid would still be better served going to UVA if she or he wants a job on the East Coast or in the Mid-Atlantic -- more connections and stronger reputation.

Source?

If you want to think that recruiters from Bain Consulting, Morgan Stanley, Amazon, etc. value a degree from the University of Tennessee just as much as a degree from UVA (all other things- GPA, interview presentation, etc. - being equal), you go right ahead.

UVA v KU isn’t a choice this kid has. It’s CNU v KU
But Kansas City and other cities in the region have big, strong job markets of their own, and typical professionals there have a much better quality of life than they would on the coasts.

Stressing to stay around the DMV makes sense for someone who loves being involved with national policy, but heading to the Midwest makes a lot of sense for people who’d rather have a big house, a golf club and a little more down time.

I don't disagree at all with this. KU makes great sense if one is considering working and living in Kansas City or surrounding region and yes, there are definite downsides to living in the DMV or big East Coast cities. But if the kid wants to live in the East Coast/mid-Atlantic, I wouldn't pass up UVA for KU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think KS, OK and AL are odd choices

OP here
If you have other suggestions I'd love to know! One criteria that is important (but I didn't put in my op) is he does not want to go to a school that mandated a Covid vaccine for students. Even if they have now rolled that back.

Oh boy …

+1

U of South Alabama would give a lot of merit but probably too “progressive” How about Ole Miss? Kansas might be a great fit.

KU and the surrounding town are generally pretty liberal though there is a range of viewpoints. I don’t think you know much about the school or Lawrence.

+1.

KU had William S. Burroughs on the faculty. In the 1970s, it was on the same wavelength as Berkeley and Chapel Hill.

Republicans in the 70s are liberal by today’s standards.

But anyway, Liberty might give op’s kid the big state feel without the “pesky” government he’s avoiding. All big state schools are going to lean left because…education. Most college towns feel liberal even if the locals are not.

But OP, I think this is a ridiculous criteria and he’s not being mature. As much as we are reminded that they should lead the process, this would be a good place to get involved - like when they pick a school based on where a boyfriend/girlfriend is going. Time to parent.

[Anonymous]

it doesn't sound like the kid is passing up UVA. It is pretty clear OP states that the chances of UVA, W&M and Tech admission is low. I mean, the kid can try, if he isn't still sticking to the covid vaccine nuttiness- the chances do sound low knowing how hyper competitive it is at those 3.

I mean, in terms of national recognition, Kansas, OU and Bama are bigger names than Madison and CNU. That is all due to athletics and not necessarily academics, but whatever. You do you.

-signed looking mostly at Radford and ODU with my child

[Anonymous]

Don't worry about what any future employer MIGHT think. Go with what your child KNOWS is important to them in a college. They'll have a much better experience if the things they believe are important are present, and their happiness will impact their performance and thus their future.