<p>I think we have a very good mix of colleges here in PA. At our HS (graduating class of 260), there are a handful of kids that get into ivy league schools, probably 4 dozen go to private LAC's and the rest go to state colleges or local CC. The CC's here are fairly popular because they are hooked to other four year universities. You can do two years locally and then transfer out with all your classes and credits intact.</p>
<p>One thing to remember, too, is that it may be that the kids at your children's schools who go to state schools for financial reasons may be kvetching and moaning over that issue as much as the ones on these forums do (threads like "I got into _____ but can't afford it!" or "My parents are rich but won't pay for ___, they're making me to go StateU"), but IRL you just don't hear about it, and everyone puts on their "game face" when talking about where they're going. In those households, it may not be so different than it is on CC!</p>
<p>Our family lives in a fairly affluent area, and there are certainly cases where the ability to pay "full fare" has enabled a student to attend a pricey lower-tier private. But like Chedva (and others) have suggested, M-O-N-E-Y has an enormous influence on where MOST kids around here end up. </p>
<p>That said, I believe that most parents on CC are merely trying to keep educational options open for their children. Is there a better place for learning how to do that?</p>
<p>I'm starting to think about the connection between being in the Newsweek Top 100 and where our HS kids end up in school. Maybe our district's addiction to AP courses makes a lot of sense-the students tend to go to schools where they actually DO receive college credit for those AP scores.</p>
<p>Our area is expensive- about 1/4 to 1/3 attend private schools ( and the rest flee to the outer suburbs- don't know how many homeschool)- our Ds high school is in top 22% on Newsweek list apparently- although I think that while that is a * measure* I don't think schools should be judged by how many kids can afford to pay $80 a test to college board.</p>
<p>I know so much more now, than when I did when her sister graduated from high school eight years ago.
I don't think I even knew how competitive the Ivies were or how competitive it was to attend an OOS school, in CA for instance.</p>
<p>Good thing ;)</p>
<p>State schools & affordability have risen in my estimation, I see many families who could well afford to send their kids to full price privates, opting to go public instead & not because they are cheap, but because they had decided that the cost differential wasn't worth it.</p>
<p>One thing that I learned a few years ago is that there are big cost differences between the northeast and west. In MA and NH, community college typically runs about $125 per credit hour. I've heard that it's about a quarter of that in California.</p>
<p>Just checked - our county cc is $50 per credit hour for residents of the county; $73 for out of county state residents.</p>
<p>I went to an affluent high school in Texas and many, many of my class went to the local cc and most others to state schools. I lived near Baylor, so there were quite a few going there too. </p>
<p>I now live in Michigan and my S just graduated (class of 262 kids) and is going to a private school. His graduating class had a list of where eveyone is going. Very few were planning on cc. Of the remainder, a little less than 2/3 go to state schools and a little more than 1/3 to private.</p>
<p>Our local public high school follows the pattern mathmom described fairly closely (and is not too far away :)). </p>
<p>I had an interesting experience recently, at a let's-play-admissions-committee workshop at a certain top school. The admissions people gave us some made-up student profiles and had us discuss them and then decide whom we'd admit to their mythical made-up school, for which they gave some stats and some "facts," such as what particular initiatives the school was working on, its new athletic facilities and goals, etc.. </p>
<p>The profiles (much to my private amusement) could have been put together from any of a dozen "CHANCE ME! LOL101z0rz" threads here on CC - great scores, national science awards, state athletic achievements, the usual. Not all were ISEF Grands or State Wrestling champions, but they all were very attractive applicants. </p>
<p>Anyway, for one thing, it was kind of flabbergasting how many of these parents - who were there presumably because their kids were interested in this school, which admits fewer than 20% of its applicants - seemed to have only vague ideas about the different ways to look at the putative applicants and what they might bring to the school. "But they all have good scores!" I heard more than one person say. </p>
<p>The difficult moment, though, was when one mother raised her hand and said to the admissions officer, in essence, that she thought it was really bad that they were using these made-up profiles, because they were so ridiculous - there could not possibly be any real kids like this, and the school was just heaping more pressure on high school kids. </p>
<p>The admissions person managed not to say, "You have got to be kidding," or anything like that. She agreed that parents absolutely needed to be on the lookout for overstressed kids, and emphasized that kids should choose to do things for the right reasons, not because of what their applications would look like. Then she took a deep breath and said something along the lines of, not every application looks just like one of these, but they're really quite representative of what we and other schools see.</p>
<p>It sure made me think. Obviously, the first thought I had for that mom was, "you're in for a rude awakening, and I'm sorry." It's hard to figure out what she was doing there, if she didn't have any sense that not only ARE there real kids like those, but that less selective schools than the one she was visiting are turning away real kids with profiles just like the made-up ones, by the dozens. </p>
<p>I doubt many of the parents in the room had kids quite as shiny as the ones in those profiles - I certainly don't - but I want to stress that she wasn't reacting in a way that suggested that she thought they were exaggerated for effect. Her reaction suggested that she had never in her life heard of high school kids like this.</p>
<p>Do you think this is common, outside our ether-ivory tower here?</p>
<p>I just checked too... the closest community Tech College to me is $175.00 per credit hour for in-state, $400.00 per credit hour for out-of-state. If you want to live there, room and board for 07-08 was $7340.00. So for two semesters, four four-credit classes each semester, you'd pay $5,600.00. If you live on-campus, it's almost $13,000.00.</p>
<p>Yes! I have talked with friends and sent some this way to read things. All laugh and say CC isn't real. It's like the dichotomy I see at our HS...the high achievers know what to expect but the average student and their family does not. But then again many are very happy at the smaller state schools.</p>
<p>Funny, I tend to think that CC is a pretty accurate reflection of our area. Not that that's good news. I think if I drove about a half hour further outside the city, I'm sure I'd find a different scene.
Around here...
Private universities are the top choice for many students. The top kids go to Ivies or one level below (well over 50). Lots go to privates like GW, Syracuse, Boston University, Lehigh, - many at full cost. Even if they can't afford it (loans). The pressure to go to a "name" private is pretty strong. Lots of kids around here insist on it. It's actually pretty comical.<br>
Out of about 400 kids, about 40 or so go to the main campus of our flagship state U. This is not a cheap option either but still cheaper than privates. A few top students are attracted to the honors college. Overall, though, going to our big state U is looked down upon. And it's a top 50 school! Standards and expectations are crazy high around here.<br>
We have just a handful of community college students.
yes, it's a top 100 public school. and yes, it's in a wealthy "old money" area. There ARE some good things about this high school. The quality of education is excellent. Teachers are fabulous. My s walked out of that place with top-notch preparation for college. Just wish it wasn't so crazy competitive.</p>
<p>my CC is $74.50 per credit hour for instate, it's going up for fall ( plus all the fees & several classes have " tech" fees of $35 or so- for what I am not sure)</p>
<p>Which isn't bad- although most of my classes are only about 1 or 2 credits, but they are 4 or 5 hours of class time.
Saves me money I guess, but to keep financial aid going, I have to take 6-8 credits at least so that is a greater outlay of time than I would like.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Funny, I tend to think that CC is a pretty accurate reflection of our area. Not that that's good news. I think if I drove about a half hour further outside the city, I'm sure I'd find a different scene.
Around here...
Private universities are the top choice for many students. The top kids go to Ivies or one level below (well over 50). Lots go to privates like GW, Syracuse, Boston University, Lehigh, - many at full cost. Even if they can't afford it (loans). The pressure to go to a "name" private is pretty strong. Lots of kids around here insist on it. It's actually pretty comical.
Out of about 400 kids, about 40 or so go to the main campus of our flagship state U. This is not a cheap option either but still cheaper than privates. A few top students are attracted to the honors college. Overall, though, going to our big state U is looked down upon. And it's a top 50 school! Standards and expectations are crazy high around here.
We have just a handful of community college students.
yes, it's a top 100 public school. and yes, it's in a wealthy "old money" area. There ARE some good things about this high school. The quality of education is excellent. Teachers are fabulous. My s walked out of that place with top-notch preparation for college. Just wish it wasn't so crazy competitive.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You could have been talking about our high school in Chicago. Most of my d's friends didn't even bother to apply for any kind of scholarship or assistance, but look down on the state U. My d insisted on attending a "small eastern college". I didn't support her and told her unless she gave a compelling reason why she had to go OOS she has to pay for the difference in costs, through assistance or scholarships.</p>
<p>I just went to City College of San Francisco and saw that their enrollment fee is $20/credit hour for in state. It's $199 for non-residents. So that's about $300 per semester (not including other stuff that isn't charge by credit hour) for a semester vs $1,850 in New Hampshire. CC is obviously a much more attractive choice (financially) in CA than in NH and MA.</p>
<p>I just put this in a PM to someone, but it was so interesting that I thought I'd share it.</p>
<p>Tuition and room/board for Stephen F. Austin SU (one of the lesser known Texas 4 yrs) is in the $9000 a year range. My husband and his siblings put themselves through state schools (back in the 70s) using the money they had made working during the school years and over the summer. (They were involved in ECs, so they weren't working a lot of hours during school.) It would be pretty hard for a kid now to save $36,000 from school year and summer jobs...I did the math, and a kid would have to work about 27 hours a week all year (at a typical low wage job) just to make $9000.</p>
<p>Our state makes it very enticing for students to remain instate for college through our lottery success scholarship (To be eligible, students must enroll full-time at the university, earn a grade point average of 2.5 or better during the first regular semester after high school graduation and complete at least 12 graded credit hours. Thereafter, as long as students maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point average and complete at least 12 graded credit hours per semester, the tuition portion will be paid for by the scholarship for eight consecutive semesters of enrollment beginning with their second semester in college.) Students with GPAs over 3.0 and ACT scores over 21 are eligible for a variety of other scholarships that start the first semester and even pay students ($250 - $1750 per semester). Coupled with a very close knit community, very few kids opt to even look out of state at schools, and those who do seldom venture farther than the immediate surrounding states. Still, we do get a small handful to look elsewhere and that is usually met with great success. Our community is far from wealthy and many of our kids qualify for great financial aid. Plus our geographic location makes them another bonus.</p>
<p>A good reference for community college costs How</a> States Make Use (or Not) of Community Colleges :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, Views and Jobs</p>
<p>I live in Wisconsin. In our state 85% of college bound students attend either a Wisconsin or Minnesota state school (we have tuition reciprocity with MN). It seems that a lot of top kids choose to remain in state. Of the remaining 15%, half attend an instate private. So for our state, only about 7-8% of students choose to leave the state. </p>
<p>UW-Madison in state tuition is 2nd lowest in the Big Ten. However, the state also has another option that allows students to attend their local technical college or 2 year college in the university transfer program. Students who successfully complete the program can get their first 2 years out of the way at much less cost. </p>
<p>I know that when I have talked about sending my kids to out of state schools, many folks don't get why we would spend that kind of money when we have excellent state options. However, it also means that I think our kids have had much more relaxed high school experiences. They have always been able to pursue things because they wanted to, not because they felt they had to to get into some college. Grades are not weighted. There are AP classes, but not as many as other schools because teachers don't want to be tied to the specific AP curriculum. Still, kids who usually desire to go to top schools are reasonably successful in gaining admissions. I am glad my kids did not have to attend a pressure cooker high school and, yet, they still all got into the schools they wanted for the most part.</p>
<p>S goes to a private college in Boston. We have been able to pay for his two first years of college without any help. As for this coming year things are different, the economic situation is starting to hit our home. We have used the money we saved for him to go to a plublic school and we knew it was going to be hard to pay for private school. He will be applying for a student loan which we will help him pay in the future. This is only our situation, for most of his friends went to private schools for we live in a very wealthy community.</p>
<p>We live in the Southeast in an upper middle class suburb. Our fairly new (7 yrs. old) high school is very diverse with a good portion of the students coming from the large city just south of us. In it's 7 year history only two student has gone to an Ivy. A few have gone to Service academies. A large percentage go to the local community college. It is very easy to transfer to a state u. from our state's CC's if a student does well there. </p>
<p>Of those attending four year schools, I would guess 85% or more go to instate publics (with a handful attending the state u. in the next state). Those who go to privates(mostly athletes who got scholarship money ) usually stay instate too. There are a few who venture off to far away states but it is a small number.</p>
<p>Most of the people I know consider our state schools to offer a fine education (as do I) and don't really have the funds or see the need for privates.<br>
Unlike some other states, kids here grow up wanting to attend one of our state u's. There is no let down that "I only got in state u." except in the case that they didn't get in the state u. they had dreamed about (yes, they dream about state u's,lol) and end up at a different state u. Both of my S's only applied to instate publics as did all of their friends.</p>
<p>When I tell people about the things I read on CC, they act as if I'm speaking a foreign language!</p>