A problem in NY is that it has 64 campuses with no flagship and really very little that distinguished each from the other. Yes there are only 4 universities but even they fail to collaborate to help each campus carve out specialty areas and reduce redundancy. If you know the history of the SUNY system you know it has been severely damaged by NY’s political climate. So, NY tax payers support 64 English Department, 64 sociology departments, etc. The recent focus on STEM may help but this seems a little too little too late. Its also been strangled by the NY legislators who have withheld funding even in the best economic times. So, even the 4 centers are decades behind flagships in other areas-in terms of academic resources, staff, etc.
- California
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- Michigan
- Georgia
- Ohio
- Texas
- Florida
- Arizona
Honorable Mentions(No particular order)
Illinois
Pennsylvania
New York
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Washington
Oregon
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Maryland
Iowa
Alabama
Louisiana
South Carolina
What states did I forget or do you think deserve an honorable mention?(Has to have at least 5 varying state schools)
@ASJackson923 what’s your rationale for putting Arizona ahead of Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin, and Maryland? I agree with you on everything else, though.
Interesting to see U Mass on your honorable mention list. It’s flagship (Amherst) certainly has its challenges. And the others are worse. Just the other day, an article in the Boston Globe “UMass can’t win”, describes how Marty Meehan is trying to improve it and is dealing with some heavy criticism.
@Momofmrb ooh, sounds enticing. Link?
I don’t think we’re allowed to link. But if you google the quoted title and “Boston Globe”, it’ll get you there. 
@Momofmrb interesting read. I always thought (or rather, knew) that UMass Amherst was the only good/respectable UMass school. But I don’t like that school at all so the UMass system is poor in my eyes. I’m SO much better off where I am anyways. If it came down to it in the end, my school would totally win.
@LBad96 win what?
I just put it there tbh.
@Momofmrb the LBad Cup final, lol. I’m saying if I had the opportunity, I would have picked my current school over UMass.
No idea why PA gets honorable mention. Penn State is mostly known for its football, Pitt has what I consider to be a really ugly campus, and neither those nor their community-college-esque branches are affordable to many people in the state.
No idea why NJ gets an honorable mention, either.
@LBad96 ah… I see. UNCW is a great school, so I understand.
@Momofmrb that it is!! We’re at least on par with them tbh
What combination of criteria do you see as being important in the state’s public universities (and feeder schools like community colleges, if applicable)?
A. In-state affordability, including for those from low income families.
B. Admission accessibility, including for those from low income families.
C. Good range of academic programs and majors across the admission selectivity spectrum.
D. Sufficient space in various majors so that there is not an artificially high admission barrier to particular majors due to capacity limitations.
E. Academic programs and majors that are offered (across the admission selectivity spectrum) are good quality for preparation for post-graduation destinations (including both employment and graduate study).
-Penn State is good
-UPitt’s campus is debatable, I’m not going to lower a school’s ranking because of its campus. It’s campus isn’t terrible.
-Temple is good
-Penn State Altoona & Behrend are decent, although I agree the other branch campuses aren’t the great.
The Cal Poly’s of the CSU are pretty good.