<p>I was interested in going to CA (particularly SF) but not anymore (for school). OOS publics are not worth it unless you get very nice aid (that might go for any school in the world). I’ll go there later in life.</p>
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<p>Well, Michigan for example offers a “general studies” alternative to a conventional major, essentially an open curriculum but with a requirement that a certain number of course be “upper division” (advanced) courses so you can’t just skate through taking all intro courses. Students electing this option don’t need to meet the standard distribution, foreign language, and concentration requirements.</p>
<p>As for phys ed, it’s not required at Michigan or a lot of other publics, and it is required at some privates. That’s not a public/private thing, it’s entirely the school’s decision and the legislature has nothing to say about it in any state that I’m familiar with.</p>
<p>Michigan does have some interesting options. My D is so excited to be in the Residential College there. It had everything she wanted. She’s able to take intensive foreign language, creative writing, photography, art history, and other interesting courses while getting a degree in Psychology from the big U. Most of her classes except the entry levels will be under 15. No PE requirement either! </p>
<p>My other D attends New College of Florida which has a curriculum a bit like Brown’s. There are no grades, but students must work hard to satisfy “contracts” they sign with an advisor. Classes there are also usually around 12-18 students, with all courses taught by professors. The state of FL has some required courses for state U’s, but NCF is exempt from them.</p>
<p>There are some interesting programs being offered by top publics, you just have to look for them. And even for OOS, they are still less expensive than privates if you don’t qualify for aid.</p>