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<p>Vandy = Florida? You cannot be serious!</p>
<p>^^ Glad Iām not the only one who choked on that one.</p>
<p>Mom of Wild Child - I think you are right - Vandy is a different educational experience than UF, although UF is the best school in the state of Florida, and an excellent education can be had there. Floridaās public schools are simply not very good - and UF is actually reasonably hard to get into because of the sheer size of Floridaās population. </p>
<p>The SEC has improved, too, although if one is looking at the world in terms of athletic conferences, it is a far cry academically from the ACC and the Big 10. Pac-10 is great in the top half, too (Cal, UCLA, Stanford, and Washington). </p>
<p>I competed athletically against the SEC schools (years ago) and my brother and I would always marvel at generally how their libraries (aside from being excellent places to flirt) had a community college feel. No question most students had more fun than I did, though. </p>
<p>The SEC has improved (Georgia and Florida in particular), but visit LSU in Baton Rouge today. The academic buildings are strangely small relative to the size of the campus and in particular the athletic facilities (which, by the way, are fantastic). It just gives off all sorts of negative academic vibes, although again, a good education with diligence can be obtained at LSU.</p>
<p>Someone gave a positive opinion of diversity at U of Georgia. I donāt think that this is quite the case, compared to U of South Carolina, Mississippi State or even U of Mississippi. UGA has expended quite public efforts to encourage more applications, particularly from African-American males, but with lackluster results (compared to the number of female applicants) from what Iāve read in recent years. Moreover, complaints of ātoo many metro Atlanta residentsā have been voiced. But grumbling from small city and rural-bred classmembers about too many metro/suburban area classmates is heard at flagship universities in many states.</p>
<p>I agree that Florida is excellent in many respects- as is UGeorgia. The CEO of my company (regarded as one of the best large corporation CEOs and one of my personal heroes) is a LSU grad, as are many of our other executives and managers. Their particular field is strong at LSU, granted, but I never rule a school out these days.</p>
<p>What Iām getting from all this talk about Vandy, Georgia, Florida, and LSU is, āOle Miss is nothing special.ā Right?</p>
<p>Iād love to hear something good, too, because my daughter may be very interested in their Flagship Chinese program and honorās college. Iām trying to figure out if that would be enough to keep her happy at a lower academic school with great merit scholarships.</p>
<p>The field of study makes a difference when you talk academic quality or even academic space. I just read recently where LSU is building a $60 million new business school complex that will be completed within two years. Also, their internal audit program has produced the top scorer on the certification exam numerous times (my daughter happens to know one of them and the girl works for a firm in San Francisco now).</p>
<p>I donāt know specifics of academic programs at Ole Miss or I would try to help you. My observations are only based on a couple of kids that I know personally who went to Ole Miss.</p>
<p>Although Iām not familiar with Ole Missā program, I do know that LSUās Honors College has a China program for honors college students because this was a recruiting tool they used when my daughter was a senior in high school. From what I remember, they bring a group of honors college freshmen all expenses paid and they interact with a group of Chinese students while there in addition to touring and such. I also remember a Chinese culture and commerce minor (my sister in law is Chinese).</p>
<p>To the original poster,</p>
<p>Are you a southerner? If not, does your child have much experience with the south?</p>
<p>UFlorida isnāt really very southern because most of Florida isnāt very southern. UGA is not quite as southern as many of the other public schools in the SEC because 86% of the in state residents come from metro Atlanta and many of those students are transplants (or at least their parents were) but UGA is still pretty southern.</p>
<p>As a life long Southerner, I think we can be an acquired taste, especially in large numbers. Which isnāt to say it is bad, but just different. That whole waving at strangers and being sugary sweet can be different.</p>
<p>Southern schools (especially the large publics) are generally more conservative than other state Us in other parts of the country, I think. Most SEC states are still pretty Red regardless of how they went in the presidential election.</p>
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<p>Honestly, unless it were a function of āa scholarship here or the kid canāt afford college at allā (which I donāt perceive to be the case for you), Ole Miss falls into the category of state schools that donāt have a compelling reason for out-of-staters to consider them, IMO. Yes, a good education can be gotten anywhere by a motivated kid, but I think your son might have a harder time finding his ātribeā at Ole Miss. I donāt know what your state flagship is, but I would consider most state flagships to be better.</p>
<p>lastminutemom- Good post and very true. The south isnāt for everyone and can be quite an adjustment.</p>
<p>When we were in Dallas and a lot of bright kids were faced with not being guaranteed admission to UTx (no longer UT to me since I live in TN) or A&M, they were turning to alternative state flagships that they would love. The schools that were āhotā (at least a few years ago) were Georgia, Alabama and Indiana. Arkansas and OU were always on the radar, but lots of really bright private school kids were looking at the three I named above.<br>
I agree that there would need to be something āmoreā for an out of state kid to hone in on Oleā Miss.</p>
<p>Lastminutemom, very well said. Being from the south, I agree. I am applying to schools in the northeast and worry about the same transition in the other direction. Always a cultural concern going to college in a different part of the country.</p>
<p>OP, Iām sure you already know about the SMBHC (the Honors College) at Ole Miss. If you have an opportunity to mean Dean DS-G of the Honorās College, please do so. He remains the single most impressive staff member I have met in any college setting. Ever. Truly a gem of a guy and, IMO, heās doing a whale of a job in Oxford. </p>
<p>Is it a setting everyone could thrive in? Probably not. But for the right kid it could be a very reasonable alternative.</p>
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<p>Just out of curiosity (because itās often hard to be objective!), what concerns you about the transition to the northeast?</p>
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<p>When the metro Atlanta area is over half the stateās population and has the best schools in the state (by far) in it, youāre going to see an over-representation at the state flagship. With HOPE, a lot of parents arenāt willing to pay OOS if their kid gets into UGA (and yes, this includes kids that get into UMich, UNC, and UVA - from very wealthy parents!).</p>
<p>I tend to agree with Cur on this one. Maybe itās because Iāve known a few profs there. Maybe itās because I have several ātrue born and bred southernā friends so I āgetā the culture. Who knows. Not for everyone, but great for the right person. Pretty traditional medium sized campus and Oxford is a lovely southern town. And heck thereās the football traditions at least everyone knows what āOle Missā is.</p>
<p>I currently live in NC but grew up in FL and am a proud member of the Gator Nation. Like most large state universities you can get a great education; but it is no where near Vandy. Lots of kids here applying to OOS universities because it is difficult to get into UNC. Georgia, SC are the most popular (closest in proximity as well). Alabama, LSU occasionally, but not Ole Miss or Miss State</p>
<p>Oh, my word. That would be āto meetā Dean S-G. </p>
<p>I have suggested the Croft Institute to posters seeking that kind of opportunity and the Chinese Flagship program looks , at first glance, to be another winner. </p>
<p>My favorite thing about the campus was its āwalk-abilityā, its scale. My D stood in the (whatever they call the center lawn ) and she could point to where sheād live and each building sheād have for her core courses. For an LAC kid it was āmanageableā.</p>
<p>Living about 120 miles Southwest of where MOWC lived, our locals (when they headed to OOS state schools) headed to Arkansas and Ole Miss.</p>
<p>āThat whole waving at strangersā</p>
<p>That was one of the things that DH and I immediately noticed and LIKED about the South. Very unlike when weāre in the NE and no one says hello unless you have your dog with youā¦then people acknowledge your dog and then you. LOL Seriously, thatās been our experience.</p>