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<p>Easy. It’s because many state flagship honors programs are far more selective than schools like Smith and RPI.</p>
<p>25th/75th percentile SAT:</p>
<p>University of Michigan Honors 1380-1490
University of Chicago 1330-1530
Cornell 1290-1500
Johns Hopkins 1290-1500
RPI 1250-1420
Smith 1150-1380</p>
<p>DD never liked UCs as these were too big for her. We were also of the same opinion so we worked toward sending DD to private college for a long time making sure her 4 years at MIT be safe. The only affect of downturn to us is that we won’t be able to move to Boston. We are not rich but don’t qualify for FA anywhere. DD had a choice of $25K at Rice, $15K at USC, and Regents/Alumni at UCB/UCLA/UCSD.</p>
<p>Toadstool, I’d bet it has a lot to do with Smith digging deep to get full pays as well.</p>
<p>My son chose a public university (Alabama) over our in state publics as well as some outstanding privates, because of the benefits he will receive as a National Merit scholar – including full tuition, honors housing, a stipend, study abroad/research money, a laptop – as well as small classes. He really liked Richmond and Washington U. but could not justify the loans. He would rather graduate with little or no debt. He also realized that his younger brother wants to go to school, too, so there has to be money for him.</p>
<p>A friend just told me this am that her son is turning down U of Chicago to go to an OOS state U who offered him instate tuition cost. He is sad about losing the opportunity to go to Chicago, but finances right now dictate otherwise.</p>
<p>A local, small private college told their faculty yesterday that next year’s class will be the smallest in quite a number of years—applicants are down. They also are cutting number of adjunct profs.</p>
<p>In California, we are blessed with great public universities. Some UCs are world-class. At the same time, the UCs are under standing instructions to cut enrollment by 6 % this year. No one knows how enrollment will work out until after May 1 since the very forces discussed in this thread might force more applicants to accept their admissions this year. Even the UCs don’t know.</p>
<p>The pressure – or should I say squeeze – on the UCs are only going to get worse. Every few months, the UCs are being asked to cut another $ 100 million in costs. Next year admissions at our great publics might be even more difficult than this year. Imagine over enrollement in Fall 09 + continued budgetary pressures = Further tightening of admit standards in 2010 = more selectivity than ever in admissions and so on.</p>
<p>Welcome to a new brave world of elite public universities. One silver lining: more UCs are joining the rank of “highly selective institutions” – thus boosting their ratings in the future.</p>
<p>Current economy pushed my D to choose private over public. We’re from CA and she was getting freaked out by all the stuff in the press about how CA budget woes would greatly impact students at UCs. Not that privates won’t be affected on some level, but she does NOT want to spend an extra year at the undergrad level and believes the chances of having to do so are greater at a public than at a private.</p>
<p>UNC and NC State are schools with great reputations.</p>
<p>If your D really loves Villa Nova let her apply, but be sure she understands what your financial limitations are, and that if the money doesn’t come thru she will need to stay in-state public.</p>
<p>My S is at an expensive private LAC, but my D likes two very large public flagships. She wants a big school, with lots to do all the time. I have concerns about the publics’ budgets being cut, but even privates are cutting budgets these days.</p>
<p>Given this economy, I see the prestige of the publics rising, as many students who would have only considered privates a few years ago are now going to publics instead.</p>