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<p>The parents have more money than sense.>></p>
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<p>I have not read this whole thread. But this particular comment (granted, taken out of context) offends me. Both of my kids did NOT go to our in state public universities. I believe I have good sense, and I do not have a bottomless pit of money. Nevertheless...the decision for both kids was one that was the right one for OUR FAMILY ND KIDS...and I think that is the key. Let's start with DS...he is a music performanc major. Our state U has a pathetic program in this major, and no private instrument teachers on son's instrument to be considered for private study. Plus, the need for a quality string program (for a quality orchestra), need to be close to both listening and performing opportunities, and the need for very extensive opportunities for performance within the program led him and us AWAY from the state u which is located in a rural area, had so so ensembles, and is not near a cultural place with the opportunities listed above. Thus...all schools (conservatories and conservatory programs in universities) he applied to were in urban areas with applied faculty on the instrument who were highly regarded. Now...DD...we live in a rural area. HS is small. State U is HUGE...and in a rural area. DD wanted a smaller college environment (we agreed) and a more urban setting (we agreed). She wante access to her professors, no teaching assistants (we agreed), and high rate of graduation in 4 years (we agreed...and this is NOT the case at our state u). She wanted personal advising (yes, there are advisors at the state u but they barely know the kids' names). She is at a private school also, and it is exactly what she needs. </p>
<p>For some students, the state university is the perfect choice, and for some families this is a good choice as well. But for some, it's not. This is a very personal FAMILY decision and has nothing whatsoever to do with having "more money than sense".</p>
<p>No need for this thread at all. It turns out that education is a commodity, and no one does it better than anyone else. You buy pork bellies. You buy a college education.</p>
<p>If we didn't have this thread we might have to do something that we don't want do. I know bethievt would probably have to fold laundry. </p>
<p>Tarhunt</p>
<p>I don't buy pork bellies, they are not politically correct :). I heard that a school in Great Britain is changing the name of the 3 little pigs story to the 3 little puppies so as not to "offend" anyone.</p>
<p>Yeah, but the name brand pork bellies or the generic? The calories are the same, and the nutritional value (or lack thereof), but does taste matter? What determines quality anyway? And does your opinion mean it's right for me, too? ;)</p>
<p>mathmom, Two kids I know are graduates of an inner city mediocre hs. Both kids had access to honors and AP classes in areas of their strengths and in regular classes where they were not as strong. They both had the benefit of free SAT tutoring on Saturdays, and free SAT II tutoring and AP review sessions on weekends as well. None of those services are offered in our local top public hs. Their gpas were higher than my kid's. Our hs does not rank, but their hs does rank. 1/3 of their hs does not continue on to college. One of these students had the same SAT scores as my kid, and the other had a substantially lower SAT score than my kid. Neither student was a URM. They both ended up with a better situation regarding merit aid than my kid did. Both are doing very well in 2 different private colleges without needing a remedial classes. My kid applied to one of those colleges and could not attend b/c he could not get any merit money there. I think that they really benefited a lot by attending this "mediocre" hs.</p>
<p>Tarhunt, as a math student, can I get as good an education in math at a school ranked 9th for math as a school ranked 3rd?</p>
<p>If I am a math major, and I go to a school ranked 50th overall, am I more likely to have a better math education than somebody that majors in psychology at the number 1 school?</p>
<p>In philosophy, the University of Pittsburgh is ranked number one I believe (or something close to it). If I want to major in philososphy, should I go there or to a school which is stronger in more areas, but not in philososphy, if I want to major in philosophy? </p>
<p>I'm not going to mouth off. What's your thinking?</p>
<p>Actually, you don't need to go to school at all. Since the quality of education is totally dependent on the student, all you need is just about any library. Go read the math books. Do some problem sets. </p>
<p>chedva, what you fail to understand is that education choices are hardly ever made at two extremes, Beverly Hills vs Compton or Columbia vs the local community college. Students who take on a challenging academic program at a public flagship university will have the many opportunities to associate with likeminded students and catch the attention of the faculty.</p>
<p>The key for any student is to take full advantage of all that the university offers. For me the OSU course catalogue sent to me the summer before frosh year was a revelation. I scoured it from cover to cover and ended up taking courses as diverse as metallurgy of ferrous compounds, to Serbo-Croatian literature to social cybernetics. My fellow students in these courses were likewise interesting. And I don't recall having to fight for anything other than the elusive A's in freshman calc, chemistry and physics.</p>
<p>Tarhunt, what do you mean I wore you down? What are you talking about?</p>
<p>I'm asking you your opinion. </p>
<p>If you just want to give your opinions and not discuss them with me that's fine.</p>
<p>I won't discuss them with you.</p>
<p>You're a professor in a classroom and you have different experiences than I do so I was curious.</p>
<p>The questions really deal with what is an education and where should you get it.</p>
<p>If I go to the Univ of Washington and study math, and somebody goes to Harvard and studies psychology, isn't the student who goes to Wash, more educated in math and the person who goes to Harvard more educated in psychology?</p>