<p>@CuriousJane</p>
<p>Why do you think Iowa State Uni is better than Michigan State Uni?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>@tk21769</p>
<p>TY!</p>
<p>For a multitude of reasons, I will not be considering lacs hitherto.</p>
<p>I did not elaborate on these as I do not want others to digress.</p>
<p>Once again, I will have to reiterate my standpoint:</p>
<p>Preferences and Factors to take into account: best uni for general education, quality of teaching, quality of education, quality of academics and intellectual environment. In post #4 etc.</p>
<p>Cost: Refer to post #5</p>
<p>@Truust</p>
<p>Obviously, people with general knowledge know that not all majors are equal in the same uni.</p>
<p>For a multitude of reasons, I will not be considering lacs and private unis hitherto.</p>
<p>I did not elaborate on these as I do not want others to digress.</p>
<p>Once again, I will have to reiterate my standpoint:</p>
<p>Preferences and Factors to take into account: best uni for general education, quality of teaching, quality of education, quality of academics and intellectual environment. In post #4 etc.</p>
<p>Cost: Refer to post #5</p>
<p>@pHyRe7</p>
<p>Who’s the ■■■■■ here?</p>
<p>Fancy pHyRe7 you accusing others instead! lol! joke of the day!</p>
<p>Trollers like you are not welcome on cc.</p>
<p>I will not waste my time feeding trolls like you.</p>
<p>@tk21769</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for speaking the truth!</p>
<p>And thank you for defending and speaking up for me!</p>
<p>Your advice is well heeded.</p>
<p>Don’t worry. I will not waste my time feeding those trollers.</p>
<p>@happymomof1</p>
<ol>
<li><p>liberal arts education, general education and greater flexibility in choosing modules</p></li>
<li><p>Not decided yet. Probably in US for a year or 2. I will eventually return to my country. I may venture to other nations as well.</p></li>
<li><p>Researched long time ago on it already. Not very informative or helpful. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes I did. Weather and climate does not matter. So long as it is not too hot and humid during summer.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes I did. Not a significant issue for me.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks a lot! Happy New Year too!</p>
<p>@MYOS1634</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply!</p>
<p>For a multitude of reasons, I will not be considering lacs and private unis hitherto.</p>
<p>I did not elaborate on these as I do not want others to digress.</p>
<p>@anonemuss</p>
<p>For a multitude of reasons, I will not be considering lacs and private unis hitherto.</p>
<p>I did not elaborate on these as I do not want others to digress.</p>
<p>Once again, I will have to reiterate my standpoint:</p>
<p>Preferences and Factors to take into account: best uni for general education, quality of teaching, quality of education, quality of academics and intellectual environment. In post #4 etc.</p>
<p>Cost: Refer to post #5</p>
<p>Many transfer to better unis after 2 yrs as well. Its not rare.</p>
<p>@Amandarin</p>
<p>Your apology is accepted! I’m not petty.</p>
<p>Once again, I will have to reiterate my standpoint:</p>
<p>Preferences and Factors to take into account: best uni for general education, quality of teaching, quality of education, quality of academics and intellectual environment. In post #4 etc.</p>
<p>Cost: Refer to post #5</p>
<p>@Amandarin</p>
<p>My info are on post #4 too.</p>
<p>@nyhokie</p>
<p>Haters like you are just going to hate.</p>
<p>Apparently, I have already done my in-depth research. </p>
<p>There are very real reasons why the ranking tables are controversial and contentious.</p>
<p>Apart from that, I had already researched on each uni’s strength and academic reputation etc.</p>
<p>Who’s the ■■■■■ here?</p>
<p>Fancy nyhokie you accusing others instead! lol! joke of the day!</p>
<p>Trollers like you are not welcome on cc.</p>
<p>I will not waste my time feeding trolls like you.</p>
<p>I do not know if anyone can answer your questions as to which of these is the best for “general education, quality of teaching, quality of education, quality of academics and intellectual environment”. While many of us have some familiarity with more than one of the places on your list, it is unlikely that any of us has sufficient recent experience with more than one of them at the undergraduate level in order to form a valid opinion. Not what you want to read here, I’m sure, but that’s the truth. All of these universities can meet your needs as you have described them to us. Whether you would be happy at any of them is another story entirely.</p>
<p>You can read each websites carefully, and look through the graduation requirements to get a sense of whether or not the general education programs will meet your interests and needs. You can look for reviews of specific faculty members at ratemyprofessorDOTcom. You can visit the websites of clubs, or read the e-editions of the student newspapers. You can check the university calendars for performance groups and dates. You can look up the alumni information and find links to e-editions of their magazines and newsletters. You can investigate the library collections to see if books or journals that you think are important are there. But truly, that is research that you need to do yourself. </p>
<p>I would suggest that you return to your original criteria for creating your list. Review the factors that went into making it. Perhaps you will find a new factor that will help you eliminate some universities.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>CuriousJane recommended deleting Michigan State due to “low scores”.
Iowa State’s median SAT-CR scores are 50 points higher than Michigan State’s.
However, Michigan State’s SAT-M scores are 20 points higher.
Their median ACT composite scores are almost exactly the same.
Sources:
[Michigan</a> State University Admissions: ACT Scores, Financial Aid & More](<a href=“http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeprofiles/p/Michigan_State.htm]Michigan”>Michigan State: Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores, GPA)
[Iowa</a> State University Admissions: SAT Scores, Financial Aid & More](<a href=“http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeprofiles/p/iowa-state.htm]Iowa”>Iowa State University: Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores, GPA)
[College</a> Rankings - Top 500 Ranked Colleges - Highest ACT 75th Percentile Scores - Page 12 - StateUniversity.com](<a href=“Top 500 Ranked Colleges - Highest ACT 75th Percentile Scores - Page 12”>Top 500 Ranked Colleges - Highest ACT 75th Percentile Scores - Page 12)
[College</a> Rankings - Top 500 Ranked Colleges - Highest ACT 75th Percentile Scores - Page 12 - StateUniversity.com](<a href=“Top 500 Ranked Colleges - Highest ACT 75th Percentile Scores - Page 12”>Top 500 Ranked Colleges - Highest ACT 75th Percentile Scores - Page 12)</p>
<p>Even if one of them had SAT scores that were consistently 20 points or 50 points higher, or ACT scores 1 or a couple points higher, that would not be a very good basis for saying it is flatly “better”. These are big, complex institutions. Variations from department to department, professor to professor, and class to class do not march in lock-step with variations in the collegiate averages. </p>
<p>As for making judgements about “general education, quality of teaching, quality of education, quality of academics and intellectual environment”, I agree with happymomof1.</p>
<p>What happens if you don’t transfer? Where would you feel best completing your education?</p>
<p>You’re looking at very similar universities - undergraduate education will not necessarily be bad because the faculty will be good, but you may have classmates who aren’t very driven and in any case you’ll have lots of huge lecture classes. You will also have very bright classmates and you should be able to find your niche if you’re not shy. You’ll have a LOT of choices, literally hundreds and hundreds of classes to choose from. During your first year, unless you’re in engineering (and even there) you’ll be in general classes so you’ll be taking about 10 classes, with probably 2 in your major and 2 related to it, and 6 unrelated to it but aiming at making sure you’re broadly educated so you’ll have to choose widely and see if you can get info on the TA’s. You’ll have to stay motivated and on top of things.
Iowa State enrolls very good students from Iowa (it even has a better reputation than U of Iowa); Michigan State is shadowed a bit by UMichigan and there’s a fierce rivalry with it, it’s very strong in agriculture and engineering though… is that the sort of information you’re looking for?</p>
<p>Even if you want to transfer, you need to choose the school where you’d be okay spending the next 4 years. Don’t choose thinking you’ll leave: choose as if you had to spend 4 years there, this way you win no matter what.
On your list which schools would you like best to spend 4 years at?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Just fyi, if you provided the information people here are asking for, you would’ve gotten answers a lot quicker than in 75 posts. What you may interpret as irrelevant is the opinionated view of an inexperienced high school student. The fact that almost every post so far is asking you to elaborate just goes to show how you’re wasting time rather than “preventing the thread from digressing” as you see it.</p>
<p>OK. I’m just going to say: There is no “best” on your list for gen ed, teaching quality, education quality, academic quality and intellectual environment. </p>
<p>At each of those schools, YMMV.</p>
<p>It’ll depend upon your course selection, your academic preparedness, your learning style, your life management skills, your intellectual curiosity, your ability to connect with stimulating people on campus or in community, your comfort with the teaching style, etc.</p>
<p>Here’s an idea: Pick schools from your shortlist that are sited within one hour’s travel-time of an international airport, have a lovely campus, include courses in the catalog which are the right size for you and for which you meet the requirements, and host an engaged international students group. Then apply and call it a day. You’ll likely make the most of wherever you land for your freshman/sophomore year, but should start immediately working on your transfer goal (ask the target school for your Bachelor’s degree what they need to see from you for a smooth transfer for junior/senior year). Note that some majors cannot be completed in only two years, so plan for that. </p>
<p>I’m wondering if this discussion might be a result of a cultural clash. In the U.S., in higher ed, decisions without context are not valued. You’ll see this reflected in the academic work in any decent college course in the U.S. The “why” questions need to be answered.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In most other countries, there aren’t 3000+ colleges and universities. There may be one prestigious national university, or a few of them, with a rather clear pecking order and national exam-driven admissions. You’re unlikely to find similar colleges and universities in every jurisdiction of the country that have been preparing an educated middle class for over 100 years. So it might seem relatively straightforward to present a list of 10-20 schools and ask, “which are the best?”</p>
<p>About 100 private schools, and a small handful of public universities, draw many undergraduates from all over America. The rest do not. The schools on the OP’s list aren’t truly “national” universities (not at the undergraduate level, anyway). They serve their states. Very few students from Oregon or Maine would choose to attend North Carolina State University. So even in a forum like College Confidential, very few if any posters will have first hand experience (or even 2nd hand experience through relatives and friends) of more than a couple of them. If we have credible opinions at all, chances are they are influenced by the same kind of data that drives the major college rankings.</p>
<p>^ Agreed. I’m still confused why and how the OP’s list was compiled. That is a lot of state schools to be looking at for an international student that will have to pay private school prices for a state school education.</p>
<p>Hi starbaby,</p>
<p>Since you are a student from overseas, I would recommend that you go to a well-known public university. It has much more name recognition compared to say Fordham, Brandeis or Wake Forest. My bro (USC/Wharton/Oxford) who lives in London suggests likewise.</p>
<p>Pitt, Purdue, Minn and Maryland from your list would be my choices.</p>
<p>Though you may not trust college rankings, these two (in addition to the US News one) are followed worldwide:
[Academic</a> Ranking of World Universities - 2013| Top 500 universities | Shanghai Ranking - 2013 | World University Ranking - 2013](<a href=“http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2013.html]Academic”>http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2013.html)
[World</a> University Rankings 2013-2014 - Times Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013-14/world-ranking]World”>World University Rankings 2013-14 | Times Higher Education (THE))</p>
<p>Good luck !</p>