Anonymous wrote:Eh, it just looked like a lot of extra debt from our family’s POV. With UVA, we’ve got some money left over for grad school.
I completely understand your point about networking and name recognition.
If your student could get in ED to one of those schools and afford full-freight, fantastic. If not, like many in this area, UVA looks the better deal.

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Anonymous wrote:Because cheap parents in NoVa insist on instate, only.

100%.

Living in $1.3m+ home with 2.5 kids, people say "our kids will just go to state school," which means apply to UVA.

Yep -- they're the smart ones all right.

Look, if a NOVA kid gets into an Ivy or something, then sure you make it work. But why pay two to three times more for a Duke, Georgetown, Notre Dame or Vanderbilt? Makes zero sense.

Right. Buying a trendy house to look cool is so much better than buying a top notch college education for your children. Maybe I should forgo our 529 and get me some mom bling.

You're being ridiculous. For one thing. college lasts for four years. Your family home can last for decades. For another, UVA is top notch. No, it's not the Ivy League but it is the first choice for many, many families, both in state and out, who easily can afford to go to a private school. Why do you think it has a reputation for being a rich kid school?

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Let's set the record straight. UVA is a perfectly fine state school, but at the end of the day, it's a state school like any other. Nobody outside of the mid-Atlantic thinks of UVA as being particularly interesting or prestigious. Locals always think their own backyard is well-known to outsiders, it's a common bias.

And yes, there is more to life than STEM. I'm a research scientist, and even I know this

well at the risk of devolving into a UVA fight as usual, all state schools are NOT created equal and people know that. I don't know who you all talk to, but UVA, UNC, Michigan, UCLA etc all are considered to be a step above other state universities. That's just a fact. I'm in the executive recruiting business and I talk to hiring managers all over the country sand they know what the top state schools are and what they aren't.

OP here.. The first "non-defensive, non knee-jerk" response. Thanks for that. Completely agree with your point. I'd love for DC to go to UVA just for this reason. I also understand that "STEM is not everything" as a few others passive-aggressively pointed out. My point is that given the rise in the importance of STEM, shouldn't it play a stronger role in how schools are ranked? After all, one of the most important reasons everyone goes to college is to get a job that pays well. A top school may teach you have to analyze The Illiad in 200 different ways but what's the point in that if you end up working at Starbucks after that (extreme example of course).

Anonymous wrote:Worldwide ranking is largely based on research and published papers. It is built on mostly free labor by foreign phd students who do the grunt work. For undergrad, e.g. between Dartmouth and Mich St., more will pick Dartmouth even its world ranking might be lower.

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Let's set the record straight. UVA is a perfectly fine state school, but at the end of the day, it's a state school like any other. Nobody outside of the mid-Atlantic thinks of UVA as being particularly interesting or prestigious. Locals always think their own backyard is well-known to outsiders, it's a common bias.

And yes, there is more to life than STEM. I'm a research scientist, and even I know this

well at the risk of devolving into a UVA fight as usual, all state schools are NOT created equal and people know that. I don't know who you all talk to, but UVA, UNC, Michigan, UCLA etc all are considered to be a step above other state universities. That's just a fact. I'm in the executive recruiting business and I talk to hiring managers all over the country sand they know what the top state schools are and what they aren't.

PP you replied to. Sure, I can agree with you that there are some quality differences among state schools. But vast differences? No. Equating any state school to prestigious world-renowned universities? Not by any stretch of the imagination. UVA is not the Holy Grail. It's pointless to bicker about a state school, is my point. They're not important enough.

They’re much more important than the Ivies. They educate a much larger number of students and are major centers of R&D. Too much focus on the Ivies for their contribution to the Commonweal.

UVA is a smallish flagship school that is not a major center for R&D. Berkeley, UCLA, and Michigan are the most elite public world-renowned schools in this country.

UVA was ranked higher than Michigan up until 2 years ago. Now suddenly Michigan is a part of the “world renowned public school club” but not UVA? Give me a break man

We are talking about the world, not some regional public school that is relatively weak in STEM and in R&D. In worldwide rankings, UVA is practically a no show.

smh...some parents aren't satisfy that their kids got into nationally ranked schools but want bragging right of a worldwide ranked school..LOL
some people really have very insecure and petty lives and project that onto their kids...sad

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Let's set the record straight. UVA is a perfectly fine state school, but at the end of the day, it's a state school like any other. Nobody outside of the mid-Atlantic thinks of UVA as being particularly interesting or prestigious. Locals always think their own backyard is well-known to outsiders, it's a common bias.

And yes, there is more to life than STEM. I'm a research scientist, and even I know this

well at the risk of devolving into a UVA fight as usual, all state schools are NOT created equal and people know that. I don't know who you all talk to, but UVA, UNC, Michigan, UCLA etc all are considered to be a step above other state universities. That's just a fact. I'm in the executive recruiting business and I talk to hiring managers all over the country sand they know what the top state schools are and what they aren't.

PP you replied to. Sure, I can agree with you that there are some quality differences among state schools. But vast differences? No. Equating any state school to prestigious world-renowned universities? Not by any stretch of the imagination. UVA is not the Holy Grail. It's pointless to bicker about a state school, is my point. They're not important enough.

They’re much more important than the Ivies. They educate a much larger number of students and are major centers of R&D. Too much focus on the Ivies for their contribution to the Commonweal.

UVA is a smallish flagship school that is not a major center for R&D. Berkeley, UCLA, and Michigan are the most elite public world-renowned schools in this country.

UVA was ranked higher than Michigan up until 2 years ago. Now suddenly Michigan is a part of the “world renowned public school club” but not UVA? Give me a break man

We are talking about the world, not some regional public school that is relatively weak in STEM and in R&D. In worldwide rankings, UVA is practically a no show.

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Anonymous wrote:
Let's set the record straight. UVA is a perfectly fine state school, but at the end of the day, it's a state school like any other. Nobody outside of the mid-Atlantic thinks of UVA as being particularly interesting or prestigious. Locals always think their own backyard is well-known to outsiders, it's a common bias.

And yes, there is more to life than STEM. I'm a research scientist, and even I know this

well at the risk of devolving into a UVA fight as usual, all state schools are NOT created equal and people know that. I don't know who you all talk to, but UVA, UNC, Michigan, UCLA etc all are considered to be a step above other state universities. That's just a fact. I'm in the executive recruiting business and I talk to hiring managers all over the country sand they know what the top state schools are and what they aren't.

PP you replied to. Sure, I can agree with you that there are some quality differences among state schools. But vast differences? No. Equating any state school to prestigious world-renowned universities? Not by any stretch of the imagination. UVA is not the Holy Grail. It's pointless to bicker about a state school, is my point. They're not important enough.

They’re much more important than the Ivies. They educate a much larger number of students and are major centers of R&D. Too much focus on the Ivies for their contribution to the Commonweal.

UVA is a smallish flagship school that is not a major center for R&D. Berkeley, UCLA, and Michigan are the most elite public world-renowned schools in this country.

UVA was ranked higher than Michigan up until 2 years ago. Now suddenly Michigan is a part of the “world renowned public school club” but not UVA? Give me a break man

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let's set the record straight. UVA is a perfectly fine state school, but at the end of the day, it's a state school like any other. Nobody outside of the mid-Atlantic thinks of UVA as being particularly interesting or prestigious. Locals always think their own backyard is well-known to outsiders, it's a common bias.

And yes, there is more to life than STEM. I'm a research scientist, and even I know this

well at the risk of devolving into a UVA fight as usual, all state schools are NOT created equal and people know that. I don't know who you all talk to, but UVA, UNC, Michigan, UCLA etc all are considered to be a step above other state universities. That's just a fact. I'm in the executive recruiting business and I talk to hiring managers all over the country sand they know what the top state schools are and what they aren't.

PP you replied to. Sure, I can agree with you that there are some quality differences among state schools. But vast differences? No. Equating any state school to prestigious world-renowned universities? Not by any stretch of the imagination. UVA is not the Holy Grail. It's pointless to bicker about a state school, is my point. They're not important enough.

They’re much more important than the Ivies. They educate a much larger number of students and are major centers of R&D. Too much focus on the Ivies for their contribution to the Commonweal.

UVA is a smallish flagship school that is not a major center for R&D. Berkeley, UCLA, and Michigan are the most elite public world-renowned schools in this country.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let's set the record straight. UVA is a perfectly fine state school, but at the end of the day, it's a state school like any other. Nobody outside of the mid-Atlantic thinks of UVA as being particularly interesting or prestigious. Locals always think their own backyard is well-known to outsiders, it's a common bias.

And yes, there is more to life than STEM. I'm a research scientist, and even I know this

well at the risk of devolving into a UVA fight as usual, all state schools are NOT created equal and people know that. I don't know who you all talk to, but UVA, UNC, Michigan, UCLA etc all are considered to be a step above other state universities. That's just a fact. I'm in the executive recruiting business and I talk to hiring managers all over the country sand they know what the top state schools are and what they aren't.

PP you replied to. Sure, I can agree with you that there are some quality differences among state schools. But vast differences? No. Equating any state school to prestigious world-renowned universities? Not by any stretch of the imagination. UVA is not the Holy Grail. It's pointless to bicker about a state school, is my point. They're not important enough.

They’re much more important than the Ivies. They educate a much larger number of students and are major centers of R&D. Too much focus on the Ivies for their contribution to the Commonweal.