Beyond Berkeley: Up and Coming State Publics

<p>Today's WSJ on the increasingly competitive admissions to in-state publics. Featured as "up and comers" are 8 schools, several of which I see mentioned more and more often here on cc:
UDelaware
USouthCarolina
UFlorida
UWisconsin
UGeorgia
UCSantaBarbara
UOklahoma
SUNYStonybrook</p>

<p>Also mentioned in the article are UWashington, UArizona and Arizona State. </p>

<p>Changes in admissions at some of these schools include a move away from pure #s-based decisions to essays, ECs and holistic review; change from auto-admit of top 50% of hs class to top 25%... </p>

<p>A student with a 3.5GPA and over 1200 SATs found herself on the no-go list for UGeorgia.
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116311939280419303.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_weekendjournal%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116311939280419303.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_weekendjournal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>UF is working to add a $500 per semester fee that will not be covered by the state's Bright Futures scholarships for an Academic Enhancement Program. If it's approved, it will go toward hiring more faculty members & academic advisors so that UF can "rise to elite status" according to UF Pres.</p>

<p>jmmom, interesting article. When I read that the prestige of the institution is based on the difficulty of getting in (and not the education), I just :).</p>

<p>Ucb > ******</p>

<p>Thanks for the article. I never thought of UW-Madison as "up and coming" since I remember when they increased OOS tuition to discourage all the rabble rousers circa Vietnam war days, back then being in the upper 25% was an almost certain in for instaters, now it's the upper 10% (but there's grade inflation? and no more curved grading now...). Hearing about ASU's Honors College- fine to have it, but I wonder about the quality of the nonhonors courses, they can't have every possible course in Honors and I'd much rather have a university where all the courses (and students in them) were of a higher caliber. Regarding prestige, Michigan versus Wisconsin, I don't know of any Wisconsinites who value Michigan academics over Wisconsin's enough to go there (with Lake Michigan separating the states it's a long trip around the lake through Chicagoland, not close like it may seem). This comment is sure to generate posts telling us why Michigan is so much better than Wis, and arguments about how certain depts are better in one school or the other...but it's like debating which of the top 10 schools is better; 60+% of the students in either school will be instate and finances matter.</p>

<p>It's interesting how some schools' reputations reach beyond their region and influence applications; this applies to the many private East coast schools as well, there are many equally good schools but only certain ones capture the out of area interest.</p>

<p>On a provincial note, when I see WSJ I initially think of Wis State Journal; The Wall Street J is found in libraries, lounges, some bookstores and online...So, it is appreciated when articles about education are posted.</p>

<p>Very interesting, particularly the bit about attracting OOS for the higher fees. The word on the street here next door to GA, is that you still can get in OOS, with about the same GPA as a couple of years ago - presumably because you would be paying OOS tuition - whether that is true or not, I don't know. I wonder when the young lady who was profiled submitted her application???</p>

<p>True, but there can be a relationship, which develops. U instructors, like others who teach, are attracted to an institution by a number of its features: resources, facilities, and caliber of student body. Nothing is more satisfying than teaching to capable & motivated students. Not an overnight phenomenon, for sure, but I've seen advances in stature within branches of a State's University system, and just as importantly, within departments at those various branches. Sometimes it's all about the <em>program</em>, whose reputation can tower over the overall name of the institution. :)</p>

<p>UCLA is already about as competetive as UCB and UCSD isn't far behind.</p>

<p>UCSB has several Nobel Prize winners on it's faculty and has been steadily moving up for years. Each year, the number of applicants increases and the requirements go up to match.</p>

<p>From our local high school, U of Arizona and Arizona state are still fairly easy to get into and a financial bargain even for OOS students. Personally, I haven't heard that the quality at either school is anything special.</p>

<p>I'm curious if this means that schools like UCSD have "already made it," since they weren't listed.</p>

<p>I certainly didn't expect to see any of the top UC's (UCB/UCLA/UCSD) on the "up and comers." The schools highlighted seem to have been less selective until recently and probably still are by quite a margin.</p>