<p>sure, we've all heard our fair share about popular universities like the ivies and such, but what about state colleges? which are the best to attend academically as well as socially? name state colleges of which you know that really stand out for whatever it is that it may be.</p>
<p>Berkeley, UCLA, U Michigan, U Virginia, U Washington, UCSD, U Wisconsin are all excellent state schools.</p>
<p>W&M</p>
<p>... highly academic oriented enviornment, no grade inflation at all. Some think the social scene is lacking.</p>
<p>Texas- Business, many other good programs, and everything's bigger in Texas</p>
<p>UNC- you simply couldn't ask for a better mix of academics and social scene</p>
<p>UNC, UMich, UVA, UCB (berkely), UCLA are some of the best known ones, but there are a lot of other great publics as well. Uwisc-madison isn't quite at the same level, but it's quickly improving. W&M is probably one of the most underrated publics out there. It has superior academics, it's quite the hidden jewel. Both Texas A&M and Texas-Austin have superior academics as well.</p>
<p>North Carolina</p>
<p>I would put UW on the same level as UNC (I plan on applying to both) - although it isn't as hard to get in, especially for out-of-staters, it is always ranked high acedemically, especially in the sciences.</p>
<p>UIUC. It's a fine school, probably on a level with UW and UNC.</p>
<p>All of the state colleges at Cornell. Ag and life Sciences, Human Ecology and the School of Industrial Labor Relations are superior.</p>
<p>university of vermont. it's up there with uw i'd say</p>
<p>There are many amazing state schools -- UCB, Michigan, UVA, and UNC are always mentioned. Wisconsin is outstanding and getting better all the time. And, as an alum, I've got to mention Illinois (there is not a single U of I alum who refers to the school as UIUC). Illinois is a simply amazing school in many departments and a darn fine school across the board. If you're into engineering, you owe it to yourself to check out Illinois -- their engineering campus and facilities take a backseat to no one. Very impressive stuff. Strength across pretty much all the engineering disciplines, although just getting started in the BME game (probably due to no medical school on campus and the traditional engineering powerhouse disciplines likely not viewing BME as true engineering).</p>
<p>To avoid controversy, here are my top 8 in alphabetical order:</p>
<p>University of California-Berkeley
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Texas-Austin
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin-Madison</p>
<p>Other very good state schools:
College of William and Mary
Georgia Institute of Technology
Indiana University-Bloomington
Miami University
Michigan State University
Ohio State University
Pennsylvania State University
Purdue University-West Lafayette
Texas A&M-College Station
University of Arizona
University of California-Davis
University of California-Irvine
University of California-San Diego
University of California-Santa Barbara
University of Colorado
University of Florida
University of Iowa
University of Maryland-College Park
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
University of Washington</p>
<p>In New Jersey: TCNJ (The College of NJ)</p>
<p>Virtually unknown outside NJ, it was named one of the nation's top schools in the 2005 edition of Barron's Profiles of American Colleges ("Most Competetive" category).</p>
<p>"The College of New Jersey and Princeton University are the only New Jersey schools to garner this distinction from Barron's , and TCNJ is the sole public institution from the Northeast, including New England, to be classified as Most Competitive. Just seven public institutions nationallyTCNJ, the University of North Carolina, the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Floridamade the publication's top tier." </p>
<p>In NJ its known for its competetive admissions, high caliber education & affordable tuition.</p>
<p>If you want the best social/academic mix I guess Michigan, Wisconsin, UCLA.... </p>
<p>One thing people need to realize is that tough admission standards are not always the best indicator of a school being excellent academically.</p>
<p>UCB
UCLA
Michigan
Virginia
UNC</p>