What distinguishes top state schools from others?
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Anonymous
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I went to a Big 10 school many years ago. I went on a full-ride and had a decent education overall, but also the typical big school experience of huge biology and physics lectures, TAs or adjuncts teaching a good chunk of my classes, limited advising. I was very self-directed, so I was fine in that environment.
What makes flagship state schools like Michigan, UT and UVa rank so highly compared to others? I always assumed that any huge school (say, 20-50,000 students) would have the same pressures. What are those higher-tier state schools doing differently? |
Anonymous
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They are not doing anything differently. It's supply vs. demand.
They are huge states that offer very few spots. It keeps their admission rates very, very low. UVA has <4000 freshman for the whole huge state. IT... <9000 Penn state... 16,000 |
Anonymous
| The faculty are top notch. This is true for most state schools, but the top 10 are the best jobs besides for or along with some privates universities. |
Anonymous
Some have great college towns, like Madison. Just about the perfect size. People really like Ann Arbor, Madison, and a few others. But yes, the schools do things differently if you look closely. Better or worse depends on your circumstances. Budgetary health matters. |
Anonymous
They have different cultures but educationally not very different when all is said and done. |
Anonymous
But realistically, are undergrads taking courses with the top faculty in a large State university? |
Anonymous
depends on the major. Some schools may have a weedout culture for engineering, others not. Really matters if you are one who might be weeded out. |
Anonymous
Yes of course! |
Anonymous
| Wouldn't the academic quality of your peers differ as well? If your peers have 1100 SAT's vs. 1450 SAT's, you're probably going to notice a difference! |
Anonymous
No. |
Anonymous
Yes if they are in the same class. But, most likely, they are not. Dumb kids will get weed out soon enough. |
Anonymous
My DC went to one of the top state flagships and yes, he did have classes with the top faculty in his department, which is one of the best in the country for that subject (top 15). DC was also in the honors program and top faculty taught selected honors seminars as well, even to freshman. I also think peer group matters so a selective school that is attracting the top kids from in state and out of state is going to be better. From my perspective schools that have a significant out of state population are a plus because it brings not only geographic diversity but also kids with different perspectives, experiences, etc. |
Anonymous
| Just remember that UVA is so much smaller than the big state u schools. It doesn't feel like those Big 10 schools with 60,000+ people on campus. |
Anonymous
Enrollment is pushing 25K. Not Ohio State, but certainly not small. There are only about 10 private universities in the U.S. that are that large. |
Anonymous
That’s with grad students. It’s small compared to OSU, Penn State, etc. it’s just not a good comparison. Private schools aren’t really being discussed here. |