Reply to Why Such Snobbery Against State Universities on These Fora?

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[quote=Anonymous]FWIW, I attended one private university and one semi-public university back in the 1990s, and I received a good education at both and have moved on to have a fulfilling career(s) in my chosen fields of study.  My daughter is now attending her second year at the University of Virginia.  When we were applying to universities, I continually impressed on my daughter that she would have to make a very strong case for paying either private school tuition or OOS tuition given that we have very good in-state options in the Old Dominion.  In the end, she did turn down Georgetown because, IMHO, it was not worth the extra $20K over UVA.

Its interesting to read the banter back and forth on these fora about what constitutes a "prestigious" university or college.  You know what?  Who cares?  I'm not looking for bragging rights, but for the right fit for my child.

I am completely amused by the snobbery at state schools here.  Somehow, some tiny LAC in backwoods Maine I've never heard of is a better choice than anything on offer at any of our fine public institutions.  Two of the greatest things the United States ever did was create the system of Land Grant universities under the Morrill Act and open up the higher education system to the lower and middle classes through the GI Bill.  This more or less democratized our educational institutions.  The Ivies and other so-called "elite" schools play an oversized role in our higher education system while educating a very small percentage of our college students.  As Robert Kaplan pointed out in his recent book "Earning the Rockies,"  the public institutions - the Indianas, the Iowas, etc. - play a much bigger and more important role in American educational and economic life.  Much of the scientific, technological, and engineering research and training of America ton which postindustrial society depends takes place at our public institutions.  They are worthy of our support and our respect.

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