Reply to Big state schools - lot of fun, great networks, but do you really learn there?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not OP but curious - for folks sending their DCs to private schools in part because of the small class sizes, close relationships with classmates/teachers, tight knit community, focus on academics etc, what is the thought process behind sending that same DC to a massive instate university? leaving the anecdotal evidence to the side for a second, as I'm sure we all know someone who went to U- wherever and is now setting the world on fire, how do you reconcile the criteria you had for a certain hs experience with the complete opposite end of the spectrum that you're seeking for undergrad? Before any one comes at me, I'm not saying that large state Unis don't have solid academics - but why are you spending $$$ to send little Johnny to Sidwell for a "certain experience" if you're turning around and sending him to a school like UMD? [/quote]

This asks of my own personal experience and the experiences of my kids. We all went to a "Sidwell" type school and we all went to different state flagships. I guess the only way to explain it is that y[b]ou want to provide a strong foundational educational experience, learn how to think and how to write in ways that many large public high schools simply can't do as well. Also, if you like extracurriculars but aren't a superstar (ie future olympic athlete or whatever) a small independent school affords the opportunity to do things like play football or be in a play, or whatever - lots of opportunities to explore[/b] without the stakes being too high - no state championship or future Tonay ward winners to compete with...but then having had those experiences, you are able to attend a large university where literally anything you want to study or explore is at your fingertips, and you don;t have to worry too much about the base academics, because the high school foundation was strong enough to be able to put you in a place where you can use those skills to get through the huge freshman weedout classes without too much stress.[/quote]

This sounds like basically you got the LAC experience in HS so that's why you were prepared to take on the big U. So why is it surprising to people that a student who did NOT get that experience in high school would want to get it in college? Or, at minimum, figure out how to get a LAC-like experience through a honors program or some other program that makes a big school feel small.

On that point...[b]Interesting that so many people think small colleges are bad but then emphasize that you can make a big college feel small. If feeling small is not a virtue, why do big colleges so often emphasize that?[/b][/quote]

DP. It's emphasized because you get the best of both worlds with a large university. Some want the ability to have smaller classes and more ability to interact with professors while also having all of the amenities that a large school offers. [/quote]

So I guess Ohio State is the best school in the history of the world. Has it all. [/quote]

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