Which states have the worst state schools?

Student Lounge College Life
21

I think the tendency is to look down upon schools from smaller states and, often, the state from which you live (especially among students).

Most state flagships are actually pretty good schools. South Dakota State is one of the top schools in some fields, but it will never show up against bigger, more expensive schools on the rankings because it is in a less-expensive state that is not attractive to people who are from hot climates. When you account for value, for example, SDSU is 2nd for Nursing in the US.

As long as the major ranking systems (I’m talking to you USNWR) continue to take meaningless information into their rankings that serve to over-rank expensive areas and spending in general over results and cost, you will see distorted results that make state schools in general and small-state schools specifically look much worse than they are.

Look at specific program types. In Pharmacy, almost all of the top ranked programs are state schools.

22

@Dustyfeathers I would take so many of those out. So many. Lol

@Spaceship I wasn’t referring to Texas at all…

@lostaccount spot on.

23

@intparent

No, they just didn’t cross my mind. Wasn’t really trying to make a serious critique

24

I have personal experience with SUNY, and personal experience with an outstanding OOS flagship. Here are my thoughts:

SUNY: I have several family members who either currently attend Binghamton or who have recently graduated. They all ( 5 total) love the school. Two will soon be attending grad school, one works in the city, and two are there now- one in the business school and one is pre-health (PT). I say this all the time- Binghamton is hard to get into if you live in NY. If you don’t have at least a 3.8-3.9 with reasonably high test scores, you won’t get in right away. The students at Binghamton are not slackers. One family member had an unweighted 4.0 and a high rank coming out of a strong NYC HS and started out as pre-med. He dropped it because of the difficulty- and he is a smart kid. The dorms at Binghamton are beautiful, as are the off campus apartments. So… What’s the problem? First of all, Bing can feel like 13th grade to some ( not all) of the students who are there ( this can be true at other state schools as well). I am sure that kids do internships, but I have never met a student at Bing who did one- and I know a lot of kids there. I asked my friends daughter who was there if she knew of any kids engaged in undergraduate research, and she said no. Then she called me back the following week and told me that she asked around and found nobody who was involved in undergraduate research. These things seem odd to me considering it is supposed to be a flagship-type school. Most flagships or flagship-like schools are busting at the seams with internships and research opportunities. Binghamton sent emails to this year’s upcoming freshmen class inviting some to do research- I am curious to hear how that pans out.

We visited Binghamton 3 times with my younger daughter. All 3 times I walked away thinking that the academic buildings were in serious need of updates. We were told that they had a brand new engineering building, yet that building was not included on the tours. The school lacks diversity- as do many state schools. Most of the kids are from Long Island.

I am confident that Binghamton provides a good education and preparation for grad school or the work force, but it can’t compare to some other state schools. There are state schools out there with a " wow" factor, one that really makes you feel like you are part of something huge. I do not get that from Binghamton.

I have a daughter at one of the smaller SUNY schools. She loves her school. Her school is mainly for education and health majors. It’s a beautiful school with lots of updates as well as professors who are actively involved- presenting at national conferences, etc. The smaller SUNY schools can’t compare to many out of state schools, yet at the same time they are not as bad as @LBad96 leads you to believe in some of his posts. My daughter has a friend who got a job with a diabetes organization, while another friend received an award for the teaching she just completed abroad. Another friend is off to PT school and another was accepted to a masters program in nursing. You can certainly achieve success at these small SUNY schools. Are they like some of the other well known public schools? No- but they can certainly lead to careers or grad school. As far as diversity goes- there is none. The kids are mostly white (97%?) and from Long Island.

My other daughter is at an outstanding OOS flagship, and every single day I need to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming. This school cannot be compared to SUNY. The opportunities are amazing and they are abundant. My daughter, as a freshman, was offered an internship and two research positions. She did not have to search hard- she simply expressed an interest and was invited. She was also asked to be an SI instructor ( kind of like extra help). The campus is gorgeous and the facilities are all up-to-date. The professors are actively engaged in research to help them learn how college students learn best. This school has a lot of diversity. Suffice it to say that I count my blessings every single day that she attends this school.

I am not in love with the title of this thread. Some students have to stay in state due to cost or other factors. It does not help to say that their state system is one of the “worst.” I do not feel SUNY is bad at all, but I do not think the SUNY system can be compared to many others, and I feel equipped to make that statement having kids at both. Lastly, one may ask how one of my kids ended up at a small in state SUNY while the other one ended up at a top OOS flagship. I have two words for that- different kids.

25

Why don’t you name names and give references to specific incidents, rather than giving vague descriptions of problems at unnamed state universities? What is your professional experience?

As a practical matter, the gradual defunding of state universities in almost every state means that almost every state university is feeling the money squeeze, resulting in one or more of higher tuition, worse student experience (no money to expand popular majors that are full), more tendency to prioritize looking for money (out-of-state and international undergraduates paying high tuition), deprioritizing undergraduates (in-state ones must be subsidized) in favor of research (which brings in money), etc…

26

@twogirls of course they can lead to grad schools and jobs - I never said otherwise. Some excellent students go to SUNY schools. I just don’t think the overall quality of education is at all good outside of that top five.

27

I was surprised to learn that my own state flagship (UNM), while not commonly considered strong in the majority of programs (most good high school students who can’t go OOS end up at NMT), only has a 50% acceptance rate.

28

@LBad96 I enjoy having these discussions with you, even though we sometimes disagree. My daughter had an excellent education at her school, despite it not being one of the “top 5” SUNY schools that you mentioned. She recently went on two graduate school interviews (not at a SUNY) and was told by the professors who interviewed her that she is coming out of college very well prepared. I might add that her major is in a field leading to a license, and all of her teachers were licensed, certified, and current in the field. Perhaps the choice of major makes a difference.

My younger child would never attend her sister’s school. She would be miserable. Again- different kids.

29

@twogirls thank you very much, and I feel the same way. I appreciate that you and I are able to have respectful disagreements. I agree that if does depend on major choice. One would be forgiven for picking Stony Brook, for example, over UNC Wilmington for pre-med, particularly if that student is in-state for the former. However, if we’re talking about being a business or creative writing major, then it’s UNCW all the way, for more than just the weather.

30

@Lbad96 my daughter’s school does not have business or engineering. I think if you want engineering there is a 3+3 program set up with some non-SUNY schools. There is an economics major but no business school. Like I said it is mostly education and health sciences. I am not suggesting that SUNY is not without its share of issues- I pointed out a few in my earlier post, and there are certainly more. I do think, however, that my daughter did well there. It was not my first choice for her but she loved it and fit in from day 1, and that is what is important. Her sister took one look at the school during freshman year and said, “I will never go to school in an area that looks like this,” and she does not. Again- different kids. :slight_smile:

I want to add that the SUNY kid played 3 varsity sports in HS- she is athletic but never went the route of trying to get recruited. She was, however, interested in finding a school where she could easily play sports for fun, and she found one. That was important to her.

31

New Hampshire, Vermont, and Pennsylvania have all failed spectacularly in providing students with a low cost option. Given the purpose of state schools, at least as defined by Kerr’s Master Plan, this makes them some of the worst in the nation.

32

@twogirls now that you mention it, my school doesn’t even have engineering. That’s why it ranks below a lot of Northern schools (even some that we’re academically much better than) in terms of PG salary. We have 2+2 and 3+2 programs with NC State. I’m thinking to myself, why don’t we just get engineering here instead of having students contribute to the transfer-out rate? Plus, we have the beach ten minutes away, a great basketball team (just had our first NCAA tournament appearance in ten years), and some damn beautiful people inside and out. I have a hard time figuring out why anyone would leave, and yet our freshman retention rate is only 85% (forgive me if that’s considered a high number, I just wish it was higher).

One of my main motivating factors to greatness is to one day see UNCW among the very best universities in the entire country. We’re already terrific, but highly underrated IMO. I don’t really like how we’re so “regional”; I’m always asked how I heard about the school by in-state students. I want to be counted among the notable alumni. I want to see this school on par with, and perhaps even surpass, the likes of Chapel Hill. We’re great, but we could be even greater. I’d hate to see the likes of the current governor (if he for some reason isn’t voted out in November) and the new UNC system president (look her up) make such drastic budget cuts that hold the school back. In any case, I’m excited to say that I entered the school at the same time as Chancellor Sartarelli, and I think he has an amazing vision for this university’s future. It helps that he’s seemingly a long-term Chancellor. :slight_smile:

sorry for going off topic. Very happy that your daughters, however different they may be, love both of their respective universities. And that’s really the most important thing. :slight_smile:

33

Perhaps a certain presidential candidate talking about free college should focus on his home state… or maybe his home state’s situation was the reason for such talk.

34

Thank you @LBad96, and good luck to you - the UNC system is great.

35

We don’t all want to pursue the best. Some of us, with lower standards, just want to avoid the worst. For that, obviously, we need to know what they are.

People have moved to other states for stranger reasons than trying to get a good, inexpensive education.

36

@MYOS1634 what makes Nevada the worst flagship? I thought that title would go to Alaska, Kentucky, Idaho, Mississippi etc.

Personally, I think the public offerings in my home state of New Jersey are very weak (outside of the usual suspects + Rowan). Below-par academics and poor in-state ROI value is one of the many reasons so many of us leave each year. Not to mention that NJ publics can’t attract good OOSers to save their lives.

37

@Dustyfeathers Arizona in general just has really bad funding for education, but U of A and ASU have some really great programs. Online isn’t really that popular here, although it is an option. NAU is overshadowed by the other two but it’s not the worst.

38

Worst, like best, is subjective. What’s important to you and your kid?

And the biggest reason state schools in the northeast don’t make most “best” lists? Cost. As a group, we’ve got the highest in-state COA in the nation.

39

@Pheebers and most Northeast publics aren’t worth nearly as much as they charge.

40

If I could pick any state where my child could have in-state tuition, it would probably be California (he’s into computer science). I’d also like Washington and Virginia (VT or UVA).

That being said, I think Florida does a very good job with higher education and we’re grateful to have so many options. We also have a strong community college network and fantastic dual enrollment options. Happy to be a Floridian in that regard (and when it comes to the weather LOL).

Last but not least, NC would be nice too. Would love UNC.