State Uni.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>For those who made the decision to go to State Uni. (or Uni. of State), please tell me what encouraged you to make that decision.</p>

<p>Also, please tell me (from experience, or opinion) why you enjoy/ enjoyed/ prefer a state school. What are the benefits and what are the disadvantages? </p>

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<p>My main concern is graduate school. Most grads from my state uni. goes to schools in the midwest, but I WANT TO GET OUT (and go to a more prestigious grad school). </p>

<p>I'm vacilliating between three schools right now (all admitted, will recieve decent scholarships from all). This state uni is not the 'first school' in my other thread, although I should probably combine the two BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO.</p>

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<p>I went to a flagship state public in a great plains state. There were a number of reasons why I chose it:</p>

<p>1) It was out of state, but close - only about 3 hours from home which was perfect. I didn’t have to deal with the people from HS, but if I needed to go home for a weekend it wasn’t a big deal. </p>

<p>2) I got a scholarship so that I only paid instate tuition. This was key to getting my parents to pay for my college expenses so I had no debt from undergrad.</p>

<p>3) The size was big. I graduated from one of the larger HS in my home state (with about 440 students) and in a major metropolitan area, so I wasn’t intimidated by size but didn’t think that I would be interested in a smaller school. </p>

<p>4) My parents are both alumni of the same school, so I grew up supporting the athletic programs of the school. Division I sports were important for me coming out of HS and I wanted a place where the students were enthusiastic about supporting the team. </p>

<p>5) I got into the honors program. I didn’t keep my grades high enough to stay in (a little too much partying freshman year) but in the end it wasn’t like being in the honors program would have really affected my education - my HS performance had been good enough to get invited by a number of departments to take honors sections if interested. </p>

<p>6) I didn’t realize it at the time, but after graduating, I’m glad the school had a great Fraternity/Sorority system - definitely impacted my undergrad experience in the most positive way imagination.</p>

<p>7) At the time, coming out of HS there was a girl…but we only lasted together for about 6 weeks. Luckily there were other positive aspects that were more than enough to make my choice worth it.</p>

<p>In the end, I graduated in four years and commencement was the saddest day of my life. I was accepted to two medical schools and have continued my education at the College of Medicine in the same state as my undergrad university. I should note that the nature of med school admissions severely favors in-state applicants and so the fact that I stayed in the midwest shouldn’t be an indictment that my education limited me and my opportunities.</p>

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<p>Well my “state school” is awesome. Ivy caliber programs for a bargain in-state price…Note, I went to school before Ivies and other top privates started lowering/eliminating tuition.</p>

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<p>I think the worst thing a student can do is “default” to State U. They do this because it’s a state school, it’s close to home, all their friends go there, they’re familiar with the school from seeing the sports teams play on tv, etc. Unfortunately, those are all reason NOT to pick a college. </p>

<p>“Fit” and comfort level should be paramount, along with making sure the school has the major(s) you’re interested in, and makes senses financially. </p>

<p>I can’t stress the major thing enough. We see students all the time at my university who are transfering because their current school doesn’t offer the program they are interested in. If a school doesn’t have your major, or the major(s) you’re considering, don’t go there. You could end up having to transfer, and lose credits.</p>

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<p>Er, and proximity to home and friends don’t factor into “comfort level”?</p>

<p>And in fact, often students are discouraged from eliminating schools based on major, simply because they’re likely to change their major anyway. So it’d be best to choose a school that’s very well-rounded. State Us often fit this perfectly, since they’re usually large and thus have higher demand for majors that normally wouldn’t exist at small universities/college (linguistics, for example).</p>

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<p>While I agree that “defaulting” to a school isn’t necessarily a good thing, that doesn’t mean that State U’s aren’t the right choice for a significant portion of students. The right school is the right school whether it’s an LAC or a State U.</p>

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<p>I would follow that up by saying if a student is not completely sure about their major, they should make sure the college they attend has all the programs they THINK they might be interested in. This serves two purposes: It let them take classes in a discipline to see if, in fact, they want to major in it; and, when they do settle on a major, they won’t have to transfer.</p>

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<p>It’s nice to read your comments/insight about UNL, Bigred, because it looks like I might be attending there next year. To be honest with you, I wanted to get out of NE more than anything, but it doesn’t look financially feasible, so I’m trying to find ways to make the most of my college experience.</p>

<p>Any recommendations on what frat to pledge?</p>

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<p>Walt99 - I’ll send you a PM tonight.</p>

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<p>I prefer state universities because of all of the different opportunities they can present. I enjoy being very active in various student and community organizations and also like the mass amount of pride in Division I sports. Plus, accredited schools for my intended major tend to fall in the larger schools.</p>

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<p>Thanks bigred, I appreciate it!</p>