<p>I was reading the "when will people realize their state flagship is better than the ivy league" thread (so many good comments) and I'm not sure what my state flagship school is. I'm in NY. SUNY Binghamton is often mentioned as the best SUNY, then I hear people say SUNY Stony Brook is really good. </p>
<p>As Mathmom pointed out, the state flagship may offer an excellent education, but not in the field you are focusing on.</p>
<p>So I'm asking NYers who view this thread -- what are our top "state flagship" schools? What majors are they strong in (and not so strong in)? Are there any state flagship schools that are not part of the SUNY system?</p>
<p>I'm trying to get ready for S (high school class of 2014) because it's too late for D (high school class of 2011). </p>
<p>Any and all insights and advice much appreciated.</p>
<p>New York doesn’t really have a flagship. Three years ago, then-Gov Spitzer argued that SUNY Buffalo and SUNY Stony Brook both should be built into flagships:</p>
<p>Wow – thanks for the post and article – I didn’t know Spitzer had created that initiative. So I guess a true flagship school is one that supported by dollars and media attention and widely viewed as “the” school the state is proud of. You’re right – I don’t think NY really has one.</p>
<p>You don’t have one. The SUNY system was designed that way, with its four major university centers (Buffalo, Stony Brook, Albany, and Binghamton).</p>
<p>Yes, usually states concentrate their resources and grad programs into a state flagship. So the reason the flagship is better is because it was designed to be that way. Some familiar state flagships include: </p>
<p>UVA (versus James Madison, Virginia Commonwealth or George Mason)
Univ of Texas, Austin (versus Texas A&M)</p>
<p>I think people use the term loosely. Some states have two or more very strong universities and sometimes each school has strengths in an area the other doesn’t. Michigan, California, Texas are a few more that come to mind. It could be said that the flagship is the “one” that people in other parts of the country recognize. In NJ’s case that would be Rutgers. Many times the “state” school is lesser than the “University of” but in Montana, there are programs that could be said are stronger at Montana State. So there is no “universal” description for a “flagship.”</p>
<p>William & Mary is an excellent liberal arts college but I’ve never heard of anyone refer to William and Mary as the state flagship. Flagships usually have a lot of grad programs, research and grants. In Virginia, I think UVA clearly holds that spot. That’s not to say W&M isn’t an excellent university-- just that the concentrated focus of grad programs and state money is at UVA. There are several states that have public liberal arts colleges and they might be quite strong, but none is a flagship that I know of.</p>
<p>Stony Brook seems to be making itself the “science and engineering school”, perhaps because of its proximity to Brookhaven National Labs. We went to an admitted students event there last year which included a tour of the lab. We also got tours of the Stony Brook supercomputer etc.</p>
<p>^^Not necessarily. Might depend on the major…sometimes University of XX doesn’t have a vet school or doesn’t have a journalism school or doesn’t etc. etc. in which case the “other” school would be the flagship. Flagship is really the school that has the strongest program that “you” want.</p>
<p>sevmom: So true lol. It obviously isn’t applicable for New York either. Makes me wonder how many states do actually have a clearcut flagship. And, if they do, whether out-of-staters would realize that is what it is.</p>
<p>I read a lot of references by posters on CC about other things that are true in their state but don’t hold true for my state, or references that I just don’t understand. And many, many letter-soup abbreviations for schools that are a complete mystery to me, but which the writer obviously thinks everyone will recognize. We all come with our own blinders on, I guess.</p>
<p>Penn State University is not even a “state” school. It is a “state-affiliated” school, meaning it gets some taxpayer support and state residents have lower tuition. Pitt, Temple, and Lincoln are in the same category. The true state schools (with the lowest in-state tuition) are Bloomsburgh, West-Chester, IUP, East Stoudsburg, etc.</p>
<p>“Flagship is really the school that has the strongest program that “you” want.”</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that. There are a lot of states where the top engineering (or med) programs are in a separate school and those schools are never considered the flagship. You could even have a school with higher SATs than the state flagship but that wouldn’t make it one. (I think at one point-- don’t know if it’s still true-- New College in FL had higher SATs than UFlorida but UFl is the flagship.)</p>
<p>A state flagship is usually a flagship because the state has decided to concentrate its $ and resources there. In some states like NY, that’s just not true.</p>