<p>At the risk of sounding snobby I'm going to generalize a little about public schools. My opinion (I haven't attended any college so this is just based off of what I've heard and researched) is that it is the average public schools job to ensure that the kids of a state (which ever the college is in) have the opportunity to go to college. A lot of kids who aren't driven, aren't good at school, and aren't very interested in their education get accepted and go to public school. There are definitely some super smart kids and plenty of kids who care a lot about their education, but compared to a private school there are gonna be a lot more kids who don't care. I'm not judging anyone who went to public school!!! Please understand that.</p>
<p>My question is whether this generalization applies to more selective public schools. I'm thinking about UMCP, UMAnnArbor, U Delaware, and U Pittsburgh. I live in Maine and I'm gonna apply to UMaine as a safety school, but I'm afraid that it will fit the generalization above. How do the other schools I've listed compare the my generalization? What would a private school have that these don't?</p>
<p>(I don't want this to alter the conversation a lot, but I'm planning on studying engineering. I'm saying that just in case it affects someones response)</p>
<p>Wow. You obviously haven’t looked at University of Michigan, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles, University of Virginia, University of North Carolina, College of William and Mary or Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Texas Austin close. Getting into any of these schools OOS would be an accomplishment and they would provide you with a top notch education that is better than many privates. They’re also filled with a bunch of over-achievers (can confirm that one for UVA).</p>
<p>I think your opinion is largely shaped by your surroundings. Generally speaking the state schools in the Northeast are, as you said, not on the same level as the privates in the area (aka, Ivies, top LACs, etc.). Outside the Northeast though the state schools tend to offer educations that aren’t too far behind the local top private school and in some cases, superior.</p>
<p>University of Delaware, University of Pittsburgh and University of Maryland College Park are definitely good schools but not worth paying out of state dollars if your goal is “prestige”. Since engineering is your goal I’d recommend looking at Georgia Tech, University Michigan and maybe Virginia Tech if you are heart set of engineering.</p>
<p>I have looked at Umichigan. It would be a reach for me. How about the other schools I mentioned. How are Udelaware and Upitt? If money isn’t an issue would these schools be just as good as a private school with similar scores?</p>
<p>Whether a school is public or private doesn’t matter: strength in your field, affordability, fit, employment/internship opportunities, whether it will prep you for grad school, and prestige(if you care) matter.</p>
<p>This is not necessarily true, since, in some states, financial aid is poor, so students from low income families are unable to afford even the in-state public universities (e.g. PA and IL are the best known examples). In those states, the in-state tuition discount is mainly a nice discount for the upper-middle and upper income families sending their kids to college.</p>
<p>Selectivity of both public and private schools varies; you will find a wide variation in the level of selectivity among both public and private schools. “Flagship” public schools do tend to get some of the top students in the state, who may not have gotten into the most selective private schools, so such students may be on the same campus as those who just barely passed the admission threshold, which may be low at some “flagship” public schools but high at others.</p>
<p>Do not expect good financial aid at most out-of-state public schools, although some may offer large merit scholarships (e.g. Delaware’s Du Pont scholarship). Check the net price calculators of both public and private schools you are considering if cost and financial aid is a concern for you.</p>
<p>Engineering is not generally a “gut” major due to ABET accreditation requirements, so at less selective schools, the students with lower ability and motivation get “weeded out” after experiencing such courses as math, physics, chemistry, (depending on major for the following) computer science or computing for engineers, statics or solid mechanics, materials, electronics, etc…</p>
<p>Thanks, ucbalumnus. Someone mentioned prestige, which isn’t particularly important to me , but job prospects are. Would I be as likely to get a good engineering internship or job at Umaine as at Udelaware? I’m sure school name matters but how much does it matter in the engineering world?</p>
<p>Privates may not give you a better education than publics, but they will give you a more personal education. I’ve also noticed privates have better amenities than publics. I’d rather go to a good private than an OOS flagship, but that’s just me.</p>
<p>There is generally a local bias in recruiting, so going to a school near employers you would like to work at after graduation can be advantageous (especially for smaller employers with smaller recruiting budgets that are less likely to travel to a lot of colleges).</p>
<p>Teenybodybuilder, that depends on which privates you’re comparing to which publics. At my state flagship, almost all classes in my major have 30 or fewer students, the department regularly funds trips that undergrads go on with professors, and it hosts weekly colloquiums where students meet with top industry professionals. I’d argue that the level of attention I’m receiving is equal to, if not superior than most privates. </p>
<p>On the other hand, there are many privates which offer excellent across the board support.</p>
<p>For me, I’m comparing UMiami to UMD and UVA. The class sizes are the smallest at Miami and the campus is much smaller and nicer in general. I think it is just more personal in general. I will get a great education at any one of the 3.</p>
<p>teenbodybuilder, I suggest you inspect UVa more closely. Very few private universities can match it, let along beat it, where undergraduate academic experience is concerned. Some public universities have facilities that over 90% of private universities can only dream of having.</p>
<p>hansolost, if you are interested in Chemical Engineering, Delaware is a great option, as are Wisconsin-Madison and Minnesota-Twin Cities. Those universities have top rated programs and strong ties to companies such as DuPont, 3M and the petrochemicals.</p>
<p>The mission of state universities is to serve the taxpaying citizens of the state (including not only individual citizens but also corporate citizens.) Undergraduate education is not the only objective or even necessarily the primary one. </p>
<p>Historically, the public land-grant university system was established during and after the civil war to address the need, accelerated by the industrial revolution, for applied scientific and technical knowledge in fields such as agriculture, engineering, manufacturing, communications, and transportation. The curriculum and focus departed from the traditional liberal arts emphasis on cultivating well-rounded individual thought-leaders for the church, the state, and local communities. </p>
<p>Aside from the land-grant universities, many state universities originated as normal schools (schools devoted to training school teachers ). Many “directional” state universities started as such. The needs of growing immigrant populations and changing class structures (including a growing middle class) were addressed not only by public colleges but also by the private schools USNWR calls “regional” universities (many of which are Roman Catholic schools in old industrial cities.) Growing cities needed accountants, newspaper reporters, and civil servants. These needs were served by other variations on the traditional liberal arts curriculum.</p>
<p>Today, most public and private schools offer essentially the same set of traditional liberal arts majors (English, history, biology, math, economics, etc.), in addition to any pre-professional programs they might have. Depending on which public school you are comparing to which private school, there may be some difference in emphasis. The richest, most selective private schools draw students from all over the country. They tend to offer (especially at the small LACs) a fairly high level of student-faculty engagement, with many small discussion classes and frequent writing assignments even during the first two years. Even at the most selective public flagships, usually most students are from in-state; classes during the first two years tend to be larger (sometimes much larger); there tend to be more pre-professional programs. Beyond that, it’s hard to make too many meaningful generalizations (and even these generalizations sometimes break down in comparing specific schools). Some schools on both sides of the comparison (such as UVa or Cornell) really blur any such distinctions we might want to make.</p>
<p>There are a small number of very selective privates. There are a good number of privates that are desperate for students in order to keep the lights on. So, don’t assume that privates are better or that they all have better students.</p>
<p>Problem with UVA is that their OOS acceptance rate is so low. I can’t really like the school because my stats aren’t that competitive OOS. UVA also has grade deflation…I need a good gpa for medical school.</p>
<p>All but 7 (and all in the top 25) are private.
Maybe there are relatively more private schools at the bottom, too.<br>
I don’t know. If you look at the lowest 20 in the stateuniversity.com ranking by SAT alone, you’ll see a mix.</p>
<p>Those top 75 (or so) command a lot of attention on CC. Most students go to public schools and schools in their own states. It is strong students who are shopping across a broader geographic area who have the most choices, and therefore may have the most to gain from a forum like College Confidential. If they want to go out of state and depend on a lot of need-based aid, private schools often make more sense. Public schools tend to offer more/better choices for engineering students. For full-pay students, public schools often are much less expensive even at OOS rates.</p>
<p>Quote:
My opinion (I haven’t attended any college so this is just based off of what I’ve heard and researched) is that it is the average public schools job to ensure that the kids of a state (which ever the college is in) have the opportunity to go to college.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most/all states have more than one public univ. </p>
<p>Your premise seems to be that a state flagship has a “come one, come all” attitude, but in reality, they don’t. The less-strong students in the state are more likely doing one of the following: not going to college, starting at a CC, or going to their local directional state school.</p>
<p>In my experience as a Maryland high school student, my more high-achieving classmates are accepted to and attend UMD College Park, while the others attend the Baltimore County campus or Towson, for example. The smartest students are accepted to the honors program at College Park, which also separates the really serious students even more. A lot of students are rejected from Colleg Park, and you really have to apply Priority in order to have a chance to get in.</p>
<p>*In my experience as a Maryland high school student, my more high-achieving classmates are accepted to and attend UMD College Park, while the others attend the Baltimore County campus or Towson, for example. *</p>
<p>I think that’s very true for many. When I hear kids post that they don’t want to go to their flagship because 75% of their public high school goes there, I don’t believe it unless the flagship is in their hometown. </p>
<p>The simple truth is that 75% of the parents of a typical public school’s seniors don’t have the money to send their kids away to college. More likely, no more than 10% are attending their sleep-away Flagship, some number are going away somewhere else, and the rest are commuting to a local CC or univ or not going to college at all.</p>