<p>Just starting college search with our HS junior. Smart kid, good but not great student, sports fanatic. He wants to go a Division-I school to cheer for football and basketball. Parents want to make sure undergraduate teaching is top notch. He is leaning towards schools in Big East, ACC, and Big Ten conferences. We have visited only two so far-UConn and Univ. of Providence, and were much more impressed by the latter. Our son is not sure of his major, though he is interested in journalism. Ideas?</p>
<p>While I don't know if I would condone choosing a school based on being able to cheer for other people playing sports, in the beautiful Great Lakes region you've got University of Michigan, Notre Dame, and Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison.</p>
<p>Northwestern has the best journalism program. It's the only private Big Ten school with a strong undergrad focus. It would be a reach for him, but could give it a shot.</p>
<p>I also second applejack's suggestions.</p>
<p>Syracuse is great for journalism</p>
<p>Also very good are Indiana University and Maryland.</p>
<p>Wisconsin has a great journalism/communications school and top ranked football and basketball to cheer unlike NU which is pathetic. </p>
<p>And enjoying big-time sports can be a great part of the undergrad life. It's a lifetime intererst for many as the attendance and TV coverage of the bit-time schools indicates. You don't get 80,000 people together on every Saturday in the Fall to go to a museum. And most of them are alums. I know lots of older professional working folks who far prefer the college game over the pros.</p>
<p>Second Barrons on UW-Madison. Fits your son's criteria nicely.</p>
<p>If he's interested in journalism, he should consider the University of Missouri-Columbia. It's got one of the best journalism schools in the nation, and it's crazy about its football team no matter how good or bad it is. I'm not sure if its undergrad teaching is "top notch" (it isn't a selective school), but it fits everything else you mentioned besides being in one of those conferences you mentioned.</p>
<p>^ Poor Mizzou...it got shafted by the BCS.</p>
<p>If he's a good, but not great, student, I'd think UW and Northwestern would be reaches. I think IU and Mizzou would be solid matches, as would Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. OU has a very well-regarded communications/journalism school and has a beautiful campus. It's in the MAC, so sports would not be as good as in the Big 10 or Big XII, but still competitive.</p>
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Syracuse is great for journalism
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<p>Unfortunately, Syracuse's awesomeness in journalism is matched by the futility of their football team, so perhaps its not the best choice for the OP's son.</p>
<p>quite true. but they have an excellent basketball program that is extremely well supported...</p>
<p>Also true, so it comes down to basketball vs. football and whether he could get accepted into the journalism program, whose selectivity I am unfamiliar with.</p>
<p>Why not U-Conn? Wouldn't that be the cheapest option? It has great basketball tradition and a solid football program.</p>
<p>If his SAT scores are 1300+, the University of Florida has a great journalism program, and as far as sports.....Basketball Championship....football championship....Basketball championship....Heisman Trophy all in consecutive years. No school is hotter in sports right now.</p>
<p>University of Oregon has a terrific journalism program and the football and basketball teams are very well supported. It's very much "sports" school. Also check out University of Washington.</p>
<p>I second Syracuse and Mizzou.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your ideas. We have ruled out Northwestern University because his father taught there and was denied tenure. Would never send a child to NU because of this history. U Michigan is his father's preference, since Dad was raised in Detroit and went there as an undergrad. For reasons we will never know, our son became a big OSU fan! I think attending UM would be considered treason. Overall, I guess we are are thinking our guy might get lost at a big state school. He is a very quiet kid, has lived all his life in a town of 8000 people, and his senior class will be 90 students. In other words, the big schools might appeal, but we wonder how he will fit in.</p>
<p>Thanks for the ideas. We are considering OSU- our son is a huge fan of both Ohio State and Univ. of Cincinnati sports teams. NU is out-my husband was a professor there for 6 years but did not get tenure. UMichigan is a problem because of OSU; he would consider it treason. Will think about the others, I think his grades will get him into almost any state school. We are hoping that he might get into an honors college at a big school to make the transition easier. We live in a town of 8000 people, and his senior class is 90 students. What do you think of Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Penn State?</p>
<p>I am not sure what you mean exactly by him being a smart kid but not a great student - </p>
<p>Penn State - could be a reach, accredited communications department though
W VA - might be a great fit.
Va Tech - reach as well.</p>
<p>What's the matter with UConn? The grass is always greener?</p>
<p>We visited UConn last week and weren't that excited by what we saw. Physically unattractive campus, buildings a bit worn down, labs were not that old but equipment was antiquated, surrounding Willimantic offers little, etc. I also sensed more excitement from our tour guides about UConn sports teams than their classes/majors.</p>
<p>Our son takes challenging classes in high school, and has a GPA of 3.7. Have no idea what his SAT scores/ACT scores will be; he will be taking both tests this spring. What I meant by a smart kid but not a great student is that he is bright enough to earn B grades in classes that don't hold his interest, but he doesn't apply himself or try to excel in these subjects.</p>
<p>Like many teens, he is interested in getting away from home and is gravitating to schools that are not in our backyard. He has mentioned Penn State, W VA, VTech along with Clemson, Ohio State and others but these will require more of a road trip for us.</p>