<p>Florida State has one of the best film schools in the country, University of Central Floirda has a great one too. These would be great schools to try. I think someone has already mentioned it but University of Colorado might be good. </p>
<p>UF is no more of a reach than U of M, both are the top public schools in the nation. UF is certainly the biggest reach on your list.</p>
<p>"Why go to a state school if it isn't in your state? Out of state tuition puts the cost closer to a private school and financial aid is going to be targeted toward instate students in most cases. Consider a second tier LAC with good financial aid recources or if money isn't an issue try the new California UC Merced."</p>
<p>hmmmm Merced or San Diego? Let's think about it, where would you like to spend four years of your life. SDSU has a good business program and has the flagship comm program of all the state schools. I would also highly recommend Cal Poly SLO for engineering and any other studies. As far as the other state schools, I don't know Mr. B might be right.</p>
<p>Virginia Tech has it's own paintball field :) & everyone seemed to be walking around looking happy when we visited.</p>
<p>Although you make a good point Savedbythebell, some state schools aren't really "state schools" in the technical sense. Some state schools have as much personality and attractiveness to make them worth the heightened tuition. Many people would drool over the chance to attend UT in Austin simply because it is UT. In many ways, its as sought after as HYPMS and those who seek it aggressively are willing to pay out of state charges. I personally would be immensely happy at UT or U Mich - Ann Arbor. And my best friend's second choice, U VA, is one of his favorite schools.</p>
<p>heheh nicely said, hikkifan. I am an Austinite, who visited/experienced UTA for more than 4 years. It is a great school with lots of things to do!! Austin people are really nice, and food & music are fantastic. =)</p>
<p>If you get into UT honor programs, you will qualify for in-state tuition. just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>Purdue had a gorgeous campus and is fairly easy to get into. Much prettier than UT, great engineering dept., plus the football games are a blast. UT was not like a college campus; it was more like a busy crowded city.</p>
<p>Sorry when I said state schools I was referring to "CAL" state schools, sorry I didn't verify that. I definitely agree hikkifan.</p>
<p>I don't want to go to Purdue because I hate math. Engineering is not for me.</p>
<p>My revised list is as follows; Penn State, Arizona, Auburn, Texas, Florida, Maryland, Delaware, Towson.</p>
<p>I heard Penn State has an honors college that's Ivy level for academics.</p>
<p>It really should be Florida State or U Central Florida on that list, for all of the reasons I listed.</p>
<p>My newly revised list is Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Auburn, Penn State, Maryland, and Towson. I am considering Delaware and University of Colorado at Boulder</p>
<p>Michigan State Univ. </p>
<p> . should absolutely be on this list -- it's one of the most overlooked very good major State Us in the nation (I've been surprised how little it's brought up on this board). It's got a bunch of top rated ("elite") programs, to name a few: Education, Ag (of course), Journalism, physics (esp. nuclear), criminology/crim justice, accounting & supply chain mgmt (among other good ones in business), Hotel (2nd oldest and most prestigious to Cornell's) veterinary, and many biological sciences and environmental programs. </p>
<p>Just outside the elite are its (very underrated) music school (superior staff and tradition, esp in jazz, woodwinds, orchestra/bands, piano -- but some dated facilities that are soon to be replaced (by 2010). Creative writing is very strong here as the English Dept graduated such celebrated novelists and writers going back to muckraker Ray Stannard Baker and more recently such celebrated novelists as Jim Harrison and Pulitzer winner Richard Ford the emerging film program is being tirelessly championed largely by one man: Wm Vincent, who taught Hollywood uber-director Sam Raimi (Spiderman series, among many other top gigs), among others. The East Lansing Film Festival has become one of the major college festivals in the nation and the creative writing program hosts the famed Clarion Fiction Writers Workshop each spring/summer.</p>
<p>Poli sci is quite good and their are a number of liberal arts programs that are of quality -- surprising considering this is the original land grant college -- in fact, I'd say, of the land grant colleges, MSU (and its great college town home of East Lansing) decidedly more well rounded and liberal than its land grant counterparts which are much strictly ag and technical, ... and very conservative... an example? In the recent 2004 presidential election, Ann Arbor and East Lansing (EL) were the major Dem bastions for Kerry-Edwards in the entire state. Many liberal progressive causes were started/exist there: i.e. the nations 1st battered womens shelter; the 1st divest from South African Apartheid movement, a very strong LBGT-friendly presence, etc.. EL is also the cultural center of the 500K Lansing/Mid Michigan region, with the 24 year-old Wharton Center for the Performing Arts taking its place among the nationally elite concert performance venues (it hosted the key/final U.S. Presidential debates of 1992). A decade or so ago, Rand McNally ranked EL among the top 5 US college towns.</p>
<p>There's a strong one-on-one personal aspect of MSU that gets often overlooked. First, it has 2 of the outstanding "residential college" programs of the big state schools: James Madison College -- (for political/pre law/international studies, etc.) -- often confused w/ VA's fine James Madison U. -- and Lyman Briggs School (for premed/science majors). Both combine large dorm buildings with classrooms, lecture halls, labs, libraries and faculty offices. Unlike the more trendy-gimmicky such programs that have caught on at some large research Us (many copying MSU in their own way), Madison and Briggs, both at around 1,000-1,500 kids, are academically rigorous and widely admired among the Ivies and Ivy-likes. Outside these, MSU pioneered the college-within-the-college concept with the living-learning center philosophy: More than 1 half of the 16,000 MSU dorm residents live in buildings that feature the Madison/Briggs type residence/classroom arrangement, only the classrooms are generally (though not exclusively) for the required underclass general ed courses. One student said one of those ubiquitous student commentary/guide book of Madison/Briggs: its a small Ivy League college with Big 10 sports! Despite its obvious hugeness, these residential programs, paradoxically (in the minds of many students and alums), make the place seem quite small and personal. </p>
<p>And the Honors program, one of the oldest and most prestigious, has small, intense course, separate quiet dorm rooms, and its own (historic) building and library.</p>
<p>On top of that is the positively stunning campus with lots of trees, ivy-covered collegiate Gothic halls -- this is mainly on the North (of the Red Cedar River) campus which, although is the ancient home of the school when it began as a land grant ag school (the pioneer Morrill Land Grant school -- that's its slogan), the old North Campus has pretty much morphed into the Liberal Arts campus. Makes sense, because it has the look and feel of a prestigious LAC... I think because of the somewhat decentralized, sub-campus nature of MSU, it can have the illusion of being more bite-sized to kids though, no doubt about it, the place is huge. And, yes, you get a strong diet of research, AAU state school maladies like some 500+ classroom lectures and lines for books, food and things (at times). </p>
<p>... mark my words, this is a fine school and one which many a good student can take pride in. I've had many friends and acquaintance educators who've visited with their siblings and kids with the same: "My god, I had no idea ..." astonished look on their faces...</p>
<p>Sorry, gang, for this long-winded pitch for MSU, but my fingers just started for this has stuck in my craw, for some time, as I sat on the sidelines as a mere reader of posts, while this majors U is constantly overlooked by posters (and sorry for the few grammatical glitches here & there, its very late; Ive got work in the a.m.) --- you get a high-quality education at a school thats moderately (though getting increasingly tougher) school get admitted to at a generally reasonable price, as compared to its peers BOTTOM LINE: pass up this great school at your own, or your loved one's peril...</p>
<p>
[quote]
I just looked Indiana up on Princeton Review, and it looks horrible.
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</p>
<p>That's interesting...'cause Newsweek/Kaplan just picked Indiana as one of the 25 Hot Schools this year.</p>
<p>Quincy,
Thanks, I learned quite a bit about MSU from your post even though I'm rather familiar with the school myself.</p>
<p>Your welcome, GoBlue. We're here to learn from one another.</p>
<p>UT-Austin will be a major reach for you as an out-of-state applicant (many applicants with few openings). UT's average SAT of 1230 is deceptively low as the state's top 10 percent automatic admissions rule admits numerous in-state students with test scores well below 1230 thus bringing down the overall average. Other schools to consider with relatively warm climates are University of Oklahoma (a beautiful campus with rising academics and super athletics); University of North Carolina - Asheville; Clemson University; and University of South Carolina. As mentioned previously, University of Georgia, University of Florida, and Florida State are all strong picks as well (though I don't know the out-of-state admissions criteria for these schools).</p>
<p>Rutgers is a good school</p>
<p>Agree with Fish. FSU has an outstanding film school probably the second best in the east after NYU. But, it is extraordinarily difficult to get into because it's relatively small. Do look at UCF. A good second level film program.</p>
<p>I also have read good things about the Lyman Briggs School at Michigan State University. Indiana-Bloomington can't be beat in many fields, plus its reportedly a beautiful campus. As for the southwest, Texas-Arlington will be a very long shot for a non-resident because it is wildly popular among Texans. Alternative, investigate U of Texas-Arlington (in the metro Dallas area). At least one recent UTA graduate was a space shuttle astronaut, so that fact says something about its science programs. Consider also Kansas U, U of Iowa and Colorado State U.</p>