<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>I'm starting to think that Miami may be the school for me, but is paying for a private school in your state dumb? Or does it end up being cheaper than out of state privates due to scholarships and whatnot?</p>
<p>Would going to UMiami for a person interested in Psychology and Philosophy be a mistake over going to a school like UC-Boulder which would be a completely different environment?</p>
<p>Sorry I'm just very confused.</p>
<p>Nothing dumb whatsoever about going to Miami. If your SAT and GPA are strong, it’d probably offer far more in merit aid that Colorado OOS.</p>
<p>no. if you’re a resident of NJ and get into Princeton, is going there dumb? of course not.</p>
<p>Apply to both, wait for Miami to respond with an aid package, then compare the cost of public vs. private with respect to the quality of education.</p>
<p>You should also consider how easy it is to get home, how much it will cost to get home, shipping/storing your stuff, etc. Being within driving distance of home and not having to rely on airplanes (think delays, baggage fees & limitations) is really nice.</p>
<p>What’s the difference between UConn and Connecticut College?</p>
<p>About 30 miles, 12,000 kids and a land grant university vs. a small LAC.</p>
<p>Totally different college experiences. All they have in common is a part of a name and the same state.</p>
<p>Well right now you qualify for 100% bright futures and the Honors College at University of Florida, which means free tuition and attending a better school.</p>
<p>So yes.</p>
<p>I won’t get in the middle of the debate whether UFlorida or UMiami is better. Much of that has to do with sports rivalries and some opinions of well meaning alumns. Whatever.</p>
<p>But, I do agree with all the other comments. A large state school is not the same as a liberal arts college, particularly with respect to size. Many people regard UMiami as a party school and don’t realize how selective and competitive it is to get in there. Its a fine school. We didnt look there for geographical reasons, though UMiami sure tried hard to lure my kid…we were inundated with brochures! </p>
<p>My recommendations are to apply to 8-12 schools, 3x4x3, roughly (reach, match, safety). Worry about a FINAL decision after you have offers in hand and financial packages. Do not apply to any school where you don’t see yourself succeeding and thriving or being happy. Period. No matter where that is. (Everyone is different and so its a subjective thing.)</p>
<p>For some kids the social experience is primary. For others, its academics and very specific to programs and strength of faculty. For others its getting far away from home! LOL. Be honest with yourself but be rational and try to limit emotional responses.</p>
<p>Going to an in-state private often makes sense.</p>
<p>1) Some states have merit grants that will help pay for in-state private tuition.</p>
<p>2) It is easier to travel to and from school. </p>
<p>3) It is easier for you to figure out if you really like the school because you can visit it more readily during the application process, and chances are that you have friends/neighbors/school counselors who are very familiar with it.</p>
<p>Not stupid at all. Duke is my #1 choice and I live in NC. Is that stupid? No.</p>
<p>DPC, </p>
<p>OK, the Common Data Set thread is really hard to get through and find the info. I have put up the UF, UM and FSUs CDS reports so everyone can look at what is reported by the universities themselves: </p>
<p>[Office</a> of Institutional Research - Florida State University](<a href=“http://www.ir.fsu.edu/surveys.cfm?ID=common_data]Office”>http://www.ir.fsu.edu/surveys.cfm?ID=common_data)</p>
<p>[Office</a> of Institutional Planning and Research - UF Factbook](<a href=“http://www.ir.ufl.edu/OIRAPPS/CDS/data.asp]Office”>Office of Institutional Planning and Research - UF Factbook)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www6.miami.edu/planning-research/CDS0809.pdf[/url]”>http://www6.miami.edu/planning-research/CDS0809.pdf</a></p>
<p>Please pay attention to a couple of things regarding UMiami</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Admission stats. UM admission rate is lower than UF/FSU. SAT/ACT 25/75 scores are higher than the state schools. UF gives a “GPA range” in its average GPA which doesn’t say if it is higher than UM’s 4.2 since the top end of their given 25/75 range is 4.3. </p></li>
<li><p>Student to faculty ratios: At 11 to 1, UMiami’s is almost half the state schools, who are in the 20-20.5 students to faculty ratio</p></li>
<li><p>Class Size: Over 50% of UMiami’s classes are 2-19 students…the state schools have the opposite, over 50% or more in the 20+ range, especially UF</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Use all this data to make your own decisions…posters will have their own opinions, but absolute, unsupported statements like UnintelligibleGator’s “attending a better school” don’t hold up when facts are presented.</p>
<p>University of Florida is ranked higher by UNR Rankings, as well as numerous others, and will leave him free of debt. </p>
<p>Why would somebody want to go to a second rate liberal arts school such as Miami and still have significant debt?</p>
<p>I thought UMiami is in the league of USC and NYU. Is it actually in a lower tier?</p>
<p>Seeing that FSU has [great</a> national rankings in both graduate clinical psychology and philosophy](<a href=“Rankings | Florida State University”>Rankings | Florida State University) and costs far less than Miami, it would seem an easy choice. </p>
<p>Get the best education at the least expense.</p>
<p>Miami is a top tier school. </p>
<p>When looking for a school, you should definitely compare programs at schools above all else. After all, if the school does not have the type of courses you are interested in, what is the point? </p>
<p>My D is at Miami and loves it. She is a triple major Marine Sciences/Biology/Chemistry. For her major, Miami is a top school and hard to beat.</p>
<p>IntangibleGator</p>
<p>Why don’t you go crawl back in your swamp. Bashing schools because of rivalries does not help students make critical decisions.</p>
<p>The [Department</a> of Psychology](<a href=“http://www.psy.fsu.edu/index.html]Department”>FSU Psychology) at [Florida</a> State University](<a href=“http://fsu.edu/]Florida”>http://fsu.edu/) is likely the oldest program in Florida. The Philosophical Gourmet Report recently ranked [FSU’s</a> Philosophy Department](<a href=“http://www.fsu.edu/~philo/]FSU’s”>Department of Philosophy) #1 for Philosophy of Action in 2009: [The</a> Philosophical Gourmet Report 2009 :: Breakdown :: PHILOSOPHY OF ACTION (incl. free will)](<a href=“http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/breakdown/breakdown6.asp]The”>http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/breakdown/breakdown6.asp) </p>
<p>Joe O’Shea, an FSU philosophy major, won the Rhodes Scholarship in 2008: [The</a> Florida State University](<a href=“Florida State University”>Florida State University)</p>
<p>Get the best education for the least expense. :)</p>
<p>Definitely want to chime in on this one.</p>
<p>Tulane is our local private. Son wants nothing to do with going to school in Louisiana, but is actually now considering Tulane because of a recent visit. </p>
<p>Great campus life, most of students come from 500 miles away.</p>
<p>I myself attended Miami, although 30 years ago, but can tell you this, it was not a “local school”.</p>
<p>I’m from New Orleans, and as cosmopolitan as my city is, I had never met anyone from New York, the Midwest, or even Jewish. Okay. I went to Catholic school all my life. </p>
<p>Anyway, met people from all those places at Miami. I never went off campus. Plenty to do on campus. Took great courses. Had some big auditorium classes for freshman bio and chemistry, but had small classes for physics and calculus. Like one of the above posters, I went there for Marine Science/Biology, so best choice for my major.</p>
<p>Now, Miami is a lot more expensive now than when I was there, but I doubt the demographics have changed. You will meet a large variety of internationals there, South Americans, Middle Eastern, as you would no doubt meet at the publics as well. It is not a suitcase school. And I felt very safe there. And I was down there during the Liberty City riots and the Hostage Crisis during the Carter years. Calculus class was awesome, with lots of kids from Libya in my class. Great political discussions before class. As for the Liberty City riots, well, we had bad public transportation back then, no monorail yet, so was very happy that I was stuck on campus instead of roaming the city and the beaches while I took classes during the summer.</p>
<p>Although it is called a Party School, I can tell you, if you’re a science major, there won’t be much partying for you. It is a rigorous curriculum. It is also ranked as high as Tulane, if that matters to you.</p>
<p>Yeah, You can get a good education in bias at Florida State. </p>
<p>“Just like a women”</p>
<pre><code> - Bobby Bowden, trying to deflect a difficult question posed by a female reporter.
</code></pre>
<p>Check out the other current FSU thread on the search and selection main board for more bias examples.</p>
<p>SVM, Unintelligible Gator never met a fact he wouldn’t try to ignore…Kind of like Bernie “Big Mac” Machen sending in top scores for McUF </p>
<p>Thanks Montegut for your relating your experiences. Brings back some memories.</p>