<p>I'm curious about this. The consensus on CC seems to be that you can get an excellent education for cheap(er) at a state school. It usually seems to be implied, however, that the state school is the states flagship.</p>
<p>Could one get a good education at one of the lower level schools? For instance, in my state everyone knows that UVA/VA Tech/William&Mary are the excellent schools. Could one get a good education at say... Radford? Or VCU? Etc.</p>
<p>Many schools that are not as well known have fine programs. So much of education is what you put in to it and one of the wonderful things about being an American is that we get lots of second chances. So I could really mess around in high school, go to a no-name school, get my act together, graduate, get a job, and become a successful member of society. The consensus on CC is avery skewed view IMO.</p>
<p>In our state there are students who choose UTN-Martin for specific majors and they get an excellent education. The overall quality of the student body will not be quite what it is at the flagship, though, so you may have to look a little harder to find peers to challenge you academically, but they ARE there. There are very bright students who choose non-flagship campuses for financial or other reasons. Unfortunately, in the current economic recession, there might be an impact on job opportunities.</p>
<p>I realize that you the quality of the student body may not be what it is at a higher ranked university. How much does that affect the quality of education–particularly in discussion classes? I’d assume a lot, but maybe not.</p>
<p>Michigan State is a pretty good university, I’m sure you can get a good education there, so I’m going with yes. </p>
<p>Oh, same goes for UCLA, UCSD, and probably a few more out there.</p>
<p>I don’t actually know anything about the schools you mentioned though.</p>
<p>ppl on CC talk too much of the top 50 Univ. in US while ignoring all the lessor known schools that also can produce successful persons. I bet if I mention CSU East Bay, ppl on CC will sneer at it. On a scale of 1 to 100, if Stanford is 100, this school is around 10. I don’t think any one will visit that school while visiting Stanford, even they are only 20 miles apart.</p>
<p>Well my friend who graduated from that school is working as a manager in CISCO just bought a beautiful house for 1.2 million dollars in cash and also kept their old, fully paid 1.2 million dollar house for rental. So their real estate holdings are totaling 2.4 million dollars already. I believe many HPY graduates would love to attain his stature as well. In addition, he works hand in hand with ppl graduated from MIT, Northwestern and Stanford, mostly under his direction.</p>
<p>Artloversplus, that’s not actually the question the OP asked. I think nobody disputes that you can become fabulously wealthy and successful without a good college education, or even no college education whatsoever. One merely has to witness all of the multimillionaire athletes and entertainers who never attended college at all. Similarly, you don’t really need a strong education to become successful in the business world.</p>
<p>The question on the table is whether you can obtain a good education, however defined, at a non-flagship state school.</p>
<p>The answer to the OP’s question is yes.</p>
<p>One must remember that it is up to the student to obtain the education (s)he desires; academic institutions simply establish a minimum standard to follow. If one is willing to go above and beyond, one will increase his/her chances of success, whatever success may be.</p>
<p>I think a success person in a major corporation must also got a good education. Is that how everyone judged upon? If you go to HPY, but you end up homeless, it will not be considered good education to you.</p>
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<p>Uh, no, not at all. As one example, major corporations are rife with office politics; many people enjoy successful corporate careers do so simply because they are savvy office politicians. Similarly, major corporations are also rife with cronyism. If you happen to be friends or relatives of a top corporate officer, you will probably be successful at that corporation.</p>
<p>Not to make an overtly political point, but the fact is, George W. Bush became Managing Partner of the Texas Rangers simply because his father was President of the United States at the time. It’s not as if he had been well-educated: he himself jokes about his wayward college years.</p>
<p>Yes, you can definitely get a good education at a non-flagship school. Most schools have certain departments that are especially strong, so it’s good to look carefully and see which school would best meet your needs/interests.</p>
<p>Absolutely – my son is a graduate of a CSU in California and is doing fine. He had some exceptional opportunities there and it definitely was a good choice for him.</p>
<p>My son was NMF, straight A student in high school. The reason he ended up at the CSU was that he was a transfer – he started out at a US News tier 1 LAC, but dropped out after 2 years. In hindsight that was one of the better decisions he has made in life.</p>
<p>Let us be very clear – you can get a good education at all almost any school. And the flip side is true as well. You can get a bad education at HYSP. The truth is that no school can be the right school for everyone. A good education is one that prepares you for what you want and have to do in life. Making money is not a mark of being well educated, but leading the life you are supposed to live is.</p>
<p>As a good friend of my son’s said when asked why he turned down Harvard to go to Iowa State “Well, they don’t do wildlife management and Iowa State does.”</p>
<p>^ I agree. And remember your education doesn’t start or stop with university.</p>
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<p>In my state, the Univ of South Carolina and Clemson (I have degrees from both) are equally good schools overall but they each have their own strengths and weakness. Clemson is great for engineering, architect, nursing, etc. while USC is stronger in business, liberal arts and science. Clemson is more of a rural setting and SC is in a urban setting. They cost about the same and are similar in size (Clemson is slightly smaller). They’re both big football schools.</p>
<p>Of course, the state population tends to be equally split between those who think Clemson is better vs. those who think USC is better…depends on where you grew up. :)</p>
<p>As others have said, many choose non-flagships for specific majors - e.g. deaf education, hospitality management, nursing, poultry science, etc. My non-flagship state U had the nationally ranked program in my major…the flagship barely had a program.</p>
<p>The answer is yes. Everyone in my family went/goes to a non-flagship state u.<br>
If we did not feel we got a good education, we would not have let our kids go there. </p>
<p>Most non-flagships have some great programs that aren’t even offered at the flagship. In our state, the flagship does not offer engineering or architecture. Two non-flagships offer those degrees. The state u. that graduates the most most nursing majors per yr. is a non-flagship. Same with education majors.<br>
Lots of the smartest kids fr. our h.s. just don’t want to go to the flagship and choose one of the other state u’s. It’s all a matter of fit, preference and offerings in your preferred interests.</p>
<p>You can get a good education at a non-flagship.</p>
<p>As others have said, it is def. what you make of it.</p>
<p>Sure for all the reasons stated above.</p>
<p>Of course you can! </p>
<p>And go a step further. You can also get a good education at a small, relatively unknown LAC. Not every school desires to be a Harvard. Take a look at many schools affiliated with the Catholic church. Many of them founded by women religious started as junior women’s colleges specailizing in education and/or nursing. Much has changed, but they’re still places that would rather give kids a chance at a quality education than become “renowned”.</p>
<p>The answer is yes. Remember, many directional/non-flagship state schools were started to fill a need after the Civil War - many were teachers colleges. Several I can name shed the image of the sleepy “normal” school 50 or more years ago and have developed powerhouse programs in specific areas (again, meeting a need). Sometimes these departments are even stronger than the corresponding department at the flagship school.</p>
<p>If you look at the departments you are interested in at any school, you want to see strong faculty who came from top tier schools and who have written text/authoritative publications, and/or who have won awards or who are on boards related to the field. These are all indications of strong faculty in the department. A department that has achieved and maintains the highest accreditation possible in the field is another indicator of quality. It is then up to you to make the most of your opportunities at that school and in that department.</p>
<p>One of the nice things about non-flagship schools with strong departments is that professors teach classes and you have a lot of access to them. Building relationships with professors can really enhance your education exponentially (opportunities for research, more in-depth discussions of issues in the field, contacts for internships, help with grad school applications, references, etc.).</p>
<p>You get out of school what you put into it. A mature student can figure out how to make the most of his opportunities.</p>