"I guess that’s why many people around here (in IL) don’t think it’s academic suicide to go to a directional - UIUC is fairly selective and it has the more expensive price tag, even for in-state, to go with it. So we already understand why many bright kids choose the directionals instead of the flagship.
It is around 16k just for tuition and fees for UIUC’s LAS. It’s about 4k more for STEM programs, I believe.
Or a student could just go to Northern, Western, or one of the Southern IL campuses, and tuition/fees is about 4k cheaper. For some families, that is a significant difference."
That’s exactly it. $4K cheaper x 4 years = $16K, times a couple of kids.
@LBad96 and @FallGirl : the NJ directionals vary quite a bit in their reputation/selectivity - much more so than the VA universities; we have our regional NJ politics to “thank” for that. Some superstar kids at our well-off suburb in NJ have gone to the The College of New Jersey or to Rowan Engineering.
Here obviously our flagship is Ohio State. But it’s rough for me to think of U Cincinnati, Miami U, Ohio U (top kids in our area often choose those other 3 for various reasons) as “directionals” if that’s a negative thing. We have 14 universities altogether…and then a ton of regional campuses of those Us, and then a bunch of community colleges.
Is there a line drawn between flagships and directionals, and on what basis is the line drawn?
Temple U a PA “directional” is stealing many top students (even ivy) with their full tuition scholarship and many outstanding programs ranked in the top 20 -for instance music degrees, risk management, actuarial science, management info tech, international business…
Many Temple undergrads are getting into TOP grad schools and Ivys… to save on the cost of undergrad for a more competitive grad school is becoming a smart choice.
Also many “Top” schools have become need based only w regards to scholarship $$ so 250$K just isn’t viable for many families…
See, that’s the misconception - that a regional school is where nothing but C students go.
Well, sometimes, that is the case. But often, it is not true.
There are schools like Temple, Ohio U, Miami U, Ball State in Indiana, U Wisconsin-Eau Claire and UW-LaCrosse, etc - there is probably at least one in each state - that are known for attracting some top students because they are affordable, give merit scholarships, have smaller class sizes - they’re a nice medium between the huge giant bureaucracy of a flagship university, and a tiny LAC, tinier than some kids’ high schools.
“Directional” seems to be a generic term commonly used to describe a public school which the writer considers or believes others consider low in prestige or quality, and is not the state flagship. Whether that opinion of the school is shared by others can only be known if the school is named.
Good for this kid, I hope she is happy with her decision.
One reason I thought perhaps might be part of her decision, I don’t think I have seen mentioned so far, is young love. Perhaps there is another young man/woman she is involved with who is also attending said directional school.
Many of us forget how powerful emotions can be, especially as we get farther away from that tender age.
I applaud all who simply offer her congratulations, but confess I have been interested enough in this topic to read through this entire thread. I guess that makes me curious as to her decision process - not sure I would go so far as to say my jaw is on the floor about it.
You cite good reasons for choosing Towson. Perhaps if I had known you at the time you made the decision, I would have been curious about why you did so.
@3puppies@Mom2aphysicsgeek
Good point(s). I know of at least two cases like that.
One of them attended the state flagship for a year but transferred to local univ for that reason.
The other graduated with full honors and went to a Texas public med school.
@mathprof63 I mentioned Rider, temporarily forgetting that it was a private university. One terrible school I forgot to mention was William Paterson U; I’d have been pretty critical of any superstar student who decided to go there for reasons other than financial. Really, the same can be said for any good student who decides to attend any NJ school, public or private, outside the top five (Princeton, TCNJ, Stevens, Rutgers, Rowan; six if you count NJIT, which is respectable in my mind).
She has her whole life to decide whether she is happy with her parents “provincial” small town attitudes or wants to go out in the bright lights, big city. People are different and she has a right to lead her own life where and how she would like. Seems like you are sort of judgmental, so I would guess you have no influence on this choice.
She also has a very good chance of being able to transfer from the school you dislike to the flagship with a high GPA - if that is what she decides. Or if she finds the campus too limiting or the majors don’t match her interest or she misses the intellectual stimulation of her high school. Or she may enjoy her 4 years and gosh darn, marry a guy from her hometown, attend her parent’s church, have many children, and be happy. Or get her PhD from MIT. Or lead a normal average life like most people whether the high school rock star or the high school slacker … many of these people on both sides will surprise you with their future path …
Jaw on the floor is an expression. I am surprised because you could just tell she was going places for years and I was so curious to hear how she did with Ivies or super selective liberal arts. Turns out that place is 30 miles away and her classmates with 2.5 GPAs can join her.
NPR, I’m a PhD student at one of the best uni’s in the country (according CC). I went to a non-flagship and many of my fellow PhD students here went to what you would call directionals.
Students who are destined to do well will do well anywhere.
It does seem odd that a rock star student would choose that type of school, however she has her reasons and if she is happy that is all that matters. We may never know why she did what she did.
We were out to dinner last spring and the waiter was a boy graduating HS with my daughter (2015). My daughter commented that she was so happy for him because he just told her that he was going to be attending one of our state schools (considered a very good state school but not by CC standards). A few days prior he mentioned to her that his family did not have the money for college. He currently works two jobs. The boy came to our table with a huge smile on his face and you could tell he was just so so happy- I actually became teary eyed. His family lives in low income apartments and for a few minutes I wondered where else he applied, if he could have gotten FA or merit to a “better” school (my daughter told me he is very smart) etc…but then I stopped myself. He was accepted and permitted to attend a very good, solid state school and was happy. I know he will be fine.
A kid from my son’s very pricey independent school went to the local State-U, instead of the more celebrated U-State, and it made for talk among many of the parents, each of whom was aghast at the idea of the change in the academic and social environment said kid would now be faced with.
The story of the reasons why (as he had a sibling a year earlier who had also attended the school but went on to a private out of state) fell victim to “the telephone game,” where the story ballooned out of control until it took on the spin of “It was either that or some sort of military-style training program.” No way. The kid was a wonderful, respectful soul from a very traditional family.
I was told the story last by a good friend whose own family had gone through tremendous ups and downs when she was growing up, from owning acres and acres of ranch property to just below drinking champagne for breakfast, and then to a financial state such that she went to a local school with the local rough kids. She was so level-headed and nonjudgmental that her final words on the matter of this boy who attended school with both our kids were, “I’m sure his mother knows what is best, and what she is doing.”
What school is this? It’s an accredited college, right? I could understand the concern if it was a for profit or something, but it sounds like a legitimate school.
I don’t know what you mean by “going places.” The vast majority of high school valedictorians / “rock stars” live perfectly fine average lives. They go to work, come home, kiss the kids, mow the lawn and watch TV like the rest of us. They’re not curing cancer or fostering world peace.
