<p>What are the advantages to going to a public university like UNC/UVa/Mich or a private like Duke or an Ivy or even a place like Wake Forest? Please leave $ out of the discussion. I really want to know about what to expect from these schools academics, social, post graduation opportunities...etc.</p>
<p>It seems like at the private institutions a student is treated less like a number, also less TAs teaching class (if any), have found adm to be more accomodating and caring. Perhaps though all these pluses are really due to the size of the college and my experience with public have been large schools 15,000+ and the privates I have had experience with ranged between 1200-5500 students.</p>
<p>the large public is a better fit if you're an outgoing person, willing and able to be in the drivers seat on decisions, in fact chafing a bit when people tell you what you must do. There are tons of resources at the large publics, but its up to YOU to go find them & approach them. Its easy to be anonymous and alone in a huge school, for example, but there are a huge number of clubs/groups/teams in which you can take part. They don't come to you, though. When you're making decisions on majors, careers, etc there is counseling available but you need to take the first steps. Many classes can be large (as in 100-400 students) so if you want to get to know profs for guidance, as future sources of recs, etc. then its up to you to go to office hours. I hope you can see the picture I'm drawing here; an abundance of resources but nothing that comes automatically.</p>
<p>Off the top of my head:</p>
<p>"Pros" of attending an elite private / Ivy:</p>
<ul>
<li>A top notch education</li>
<li>Oustanding student body / faculty</li>
<li>Luxury of being a name not a number</li>
<li>Graduating from a school w/instant "name" recognition and an unquestionable academic reputation</li>
<li>Unrivaled flexibility for post-graduate options (career options and/or grad school)</li>
<li>Ability to leverage strong existing alumni network</li>
<li>More "intimate" classrooom experiences</li>
<li>Incredible resources</li>
<li>More "personal" guidance (majors, careers)</li>
<li>Higher chances of enrolling into classes of your choice vs. a "lottery luck" system</li>
<li>Higher probability of "knowing" your fellow classmates vs. a school with 15,000+ students</li>
</ul>
<p>
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Graduating from a school w/instant "name" recognition and an unquestionable academic reputation.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Doesn't this apply to Michigan/UVA/UNC (schools the OP mentioned)?</p>
<p>
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Doesn't this apply to Michigan/UVA/UNC (schools the OP mentioned)?
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</p>
<p>Why does everything always seem to boil down to a Michigan discussion?</p>
<p>I never said anything about Michigan, UVA or UNC - my post were "pros" for elite privates / Ivies. Nothing more.</p>
<p>Well it would be most useful to tailor your answer to the OP's question, wouldn't it? She was obviously talking about elite privates v. elite publics, so in this case, that's not a huge advantage for the privates.</p>
<p>EDIT: Actually, never mind. After reading her post again, I'm not entirely sure of what the OP is asking.</p>
<p>With all due respect,</p>
<p>Are you the OP?</p>
<p>You've personally spoken to the OP and have discussed whether my post was "useful" or not to the OP?</p>
<p>If not, I'd let the OP speak for herself in gauging whether my post was "useful" or not.</p>
<p>Besides, if it came down to SHEER name recognition ONLY, then the top Privates > top Publics = Harvard, Yale, Princeton > Michigan, UVA, UNC (though that wasn't my point - it sure seems like all of these threads end up degenerating to this point anway)</p>
<p>Useful enough for YOU?</p>
<p>Well, your tax money went to fund your public school, so you might as well use it. They usually have more resources and good professors than a similarly priced private school; I don't know about an "elite" school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
With all due respect,</p>
<p>Are you the OP?</p>
<p>You've personally spoken to the OP and have discussed whether my post was "useful" or not to the OP?</p>
<p>If not, I'd let the OP speak for herself in gauging whether my post was "useful" or not.</p>
<p>Besides, if it came down to SHEER name recognition ONLY, then the top Privates > top Publics = Harvard, Yale, Princeton > Michigan, UVA, UNC (though that wasn't my point - it sure seems like all of these threads end up degenerating to this point anway)</p>
<p>Useful enough for YOU?
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</p>
<p>Sheesh, fine then, I'll back off. Should've known better than to go there.</p>
<p>Whoa! I didn't mean to start an argument. I'm a junior looking at my options. I'm not sure I'm Ivy material esp HYP but am probably still a solid applicant to go to a good school. In my mind a good school is a top 25 school whether it's duke, vanderbilt or wake. I'm also trying to figure out why I should choose a top public like unc over a top private. I'm just trying to figure out which direction would be better for me.</p>
<p>OP in addition to looking into the differences its important to decide what environment is right for you. Some people prefer a more supportive and personal environment, some don't care or actually prefer taking charge and larger more anonymous classes. I don't know if this is something you decide by just thinking about it; I'd suggest visiting larger and smaller colleges near you to get a sense of what the different options are like. Talk to students their about their experiences, and to any current college students you know. BTW don't assume the ivies or similar are going to deliver a small, personal education. Some of them have a rep for being somewhat indifferent to their undergrads, with profs more focused on their grad students.</p>
<p>
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Sheesh, fine then, I'll back off. Should've known better than to go there.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Look, if I came off sounding like a jerk - I apologize.</p>
<p>It just seems like you go out of your way to purposely nitpick my posts.</p>
<p>I'm not asking for a fight with every post I make.</p>
<p>I'm not seeking to be argumentative.</p>
<p>All I am doing is giving my point of view - no more, no less.</p>
<p>I have no personal experience with the ivies, but Vandy, Elon, and Wake profs all seem to give alot of personal attention to undergrads. My daughter in law went to chapel hill and actually had profs say that they hated teaching the undergrad classes they had, only wanted to do grad level. I realize that those statements were from just a few and not nec. representative. The other thing my kids liked about the smaller schools was that they did have more graded assignments, not just a couple tests.</p>
<p>Trust me, I'm not purposely picking on you - I just happen to disagree with a lot of what you say. :p Your pet peeve is anti-Ivy sentiment. Mine is Ivy-centrism/elitism to the point that some people don't seem to realize any other schools (even schools that truly are Ivy-equivalents) exist. Like you said, you may be a crusader for other schools under a different screenname, but under this one...not so much. That's certainly your right, but, as you know, it will cause you some grief from other posters. </p>
<p>Oh and the majority of your post was fine - it was the last line that came off....well to be honest I don't know what it was supposed to mean, but it didn't sound polite. :p</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm not sure I'm Ivy material esp HYP but am probably still a solid applicant to go to a good school. In my mind a good school is a top 25 school whether it's duke, vanderbilt or wake. I'm also trying to figure out why I should choose a top public like unc over a top private. I'm just trying to figure out which direction would be better for me.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>If you are competitive for Duke, you'll be competitive for the non-HYP Ivies with the possible exception of Columbia. If money is not an issue, and you are faced with a choice of a school like Duke or Brown versus UNC, I would choose the Ivy/Ivy-equivalent. On the other hand, if it's Vandy or Wake versus UNC, prestige is pretty much equal, so you should choose based on fit. What do you think will be important to you in college? Research opportunities? Individual attention? Sports? Greek life? Whatever the case, be sure to consider the question academically AND socially.</p>
<p>There really isn't that much of a difference between elite privates and elite publics. Yes, Michigan, Virginia, and UNC will be on average larger then comparable private schools, however, don't forget that Virginia and UNC are about the same size as Penn, and Mich is about the same size as NYU.</p>
<p>So - taking size out of the equation there are a few things to take note about. How regional is the school? For a school like UNC, about 85% call north carolina home. For a school like Virginia, only about 70% call Virginia their home - and the majority of them are form the D.C. area. A school like Michigan also hovers around that 2/3 instate/outstate %. But I have found that doesn't matter too much - I live in New Jersey and on a good day I can drive to UVa in 5 hours. You can live 5 hours away from UVa and live in virginia.</p>
<p>How are the students at the school? By going to any of these schools, you're going to be around mostly smart kids - no argument can be made otherwise. Also, I can't speak for UNC and Michigan, but for every argument I hear (and have personally seen) about snobby rich kids at private schools (eh hem, duke) - the same argument can be applied to some of UVa, a public school. </p>
<p>Regarding academics, you won't really see a difference at the undergraduate level - unless you're going into a very specialized field at a certain school - i.e. physics at Caltech vs. physics at UNC.</p>
<p>You'll hear people on this board drone you to death with the "networking abilities" of the ivies and so on. But in reality, if you do well at any of the elite publics, you'll be in a position to do just as well as any of your private counterparts. Graduate school admissions are extremely numbers based, so you shouldn't worry too much about the name of your school at this level. No one is going to look down on you because you "only went to uva/mich/unc/ucla." I've only ever been met with wows when someone asks me where I go.</p>
<p>My best advice is, if you're choosing between a school like UVa, and a school like Penn or Wake Forest, is to go visit (and stay over a thursday or friday night!). See if you think the campus is pretty. See if you like the social life there is what you're looking for. See if you think there are too many/too few people around. See if the students are active - or do they just sit around and watch tv/study.</p>
<p>anyway, sorry for the long post. but in conclusion - there isn't a big difference between elite publics and elite privates. just pick on preference.</p>