<p>I'm just curious. UMass Amherst is no Berkeley, Michigan, or North Carolina...so I'm applying to a lot of private schools as well as other states' flagships (UMich and UNC). For kids who actually live in these states, tuition is about half that of a private school. </p>
<p>So what drives top students from those states to attend private schools? </p>
<p>NOTE: I'm NOT talking about kids from ridiculously wealthy families with unlimited cash flow. Nor am I talking about kids who pay less to go to Harvard than to go to their flagship due to Harvard's amazing financial aid. I'm talking about kids who don't qualify for financial aid (e.g. someone paying $55k for a private school vs. $25k for a public), but who aren't filthy rich. </p>
<p>This is out of curiosity because I don't live in one of those states.</p>
<p>Some people just want to experience someplace new. They want to get away from people they’ve known for 17 or so years and broaden their horizons a little. Also, some people that are in states with amazing flagships choose to go to private schools because the education and opportunies are better there.</p>
<p>the reputation of the flagships is earned by the reputation of the faculty, often the leaders in their field. However the main mission of a top school is scholarship and research, not undergrad teaching. The experience of being an anonymous student in large classes with little personal attention (unless you seek it out) is not for everyone, although some do thrive in that atmosphere. I clipped an article a while back about Cal; take a read and see if you still think its an amazing place. See [UC</a> Berkeley’s lack of services leaves many undergrads to sink or swim](<a href=“http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/05/06/MN176023.DTL]UC”>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/05/06/MN176023.DTL)</p>
<p>State flagships are numbers-driven for admissions. Private schools are holistic. If a student tests badly, or goes to an especially rigorous grade-deflating school, they might not get into the state flagship.</p>
<p>For me our excellent flagships are UVA and W&M. Neither are my top choices because I want to get away, lol. Both are 1 hour from my house.
Otherwise, their programs arent that strong in what I want to do, and sometimes (with need based FA- schools that meet full need) it is just as cheap to go to an excellent private.</p>
<p>To not go to college with everyone they’ve taken classes with in high school for the past four years. And in middle school. To not be close to home. To experience something new and different. To go to a smaller school (in my case). To do more than is expected of people from where I’m from. To get the heck out. Any number of reasons.</p>
<p>“To not go to college with everyone they’ve taken classes with in high school for the past four years.”</p>
<p>I always kind of laugh when I read a remark like the one above when it comes to a school like Michigan. You have over 40,000 students on campus and the odds of constantly running into the few dozen you actually know are not that great. The odds of meeting hundreds that you never would have met before are much higher.</p>
<p>We live in Madison, WI, about 3 miles from the UW campus. Hubby works at UW. Essentially my children grew up on the UW campus. They attended summer classes, campus events, etc. from a very young age. They needed to spread their wings and experience something different. A lot of Madison students do choose to attend UW, but it is not the right choice for everyone.</p>
<p>My son was admitted to 4 UCs, including Berkeley, but decided to go to a small well regarded LAC that offered him some scholarship money. Any of the UCs would have been significantly less money per year because of the aid packages they offered, but he realized that the cuts to the UC system’s budget would mean difficulty getting needed classes. Some of his older friends are taking 5, even 6 years to graduate. When you look at cost from that perspective, the LAC is cheaper. He also liked the smaller community and the chance to actually know his teachers. He’s having a wonderful college experience. </p>
<p>Having just reread your post, I see money doesn’t matter to you. So the reasons to go to a private school tend to be smaller classes, closer social atmosphere, more personal attention from faculty, and more undergrad research possibilities because of personal connections to instructors.</p>
<p>Public flagships have missions to serve the populations of the states in which they’re located. They indeed attract some students who are amazing - as well as many who are just above average. A student can go to a public flagship and find amazing peers, but their passion and inquisitiveness may not characterize the cultural norm of the campus. Highly-selective private schools have the opportunity to create student bodies in which nearly everyone manifests those characteristics (or at least convinced the adcoms that they did), which can develop a distinctive campus culture.</p>
<p>Imagine being a serious cellist at UMass, where there may be a couple outstanding cello professors and a few other equally serious cellists. You practice your art, develop your skills, get affirmation and feedback from the other small group of serious musicians and then go out onto the larger campus where the vast majority of students aren’t aware or particularly appreciative of your musical accomplishments. But imagine that same experience at Juilliard - the motivation and inspiration you’d receive from the enthusiasm, dedication, and appreciation of your peers would inspire you on a daily basis. Maybe that’s a particularly dramatic example, but that same dynamic is what drives many highly-motivated students to seek settings with equally-motivated peers.</p>
<p>“Why do top students from states with AMAZING flagships go to private schools?”</p>
<p>I live in a state with a good state flagship (U of Illinois). I would not send either of my children there because</p>
<p>A) I want them to experience a college experience NOT at a university that size;
B) I think they’d get lost in the masses;
C) The idea of going to the same college as half their high school class is unappealing to both me and them;
D) The idea of going to a college that predominantly draws from this state is unappealing to both me and them;
E) I think they can do better – and they did, when it came to their acceptances.</p>
<p>None of which is to say that U of Illinois isn’t a fine choice – for other families.</p>
<p>I feel like many students don’t realize how lucky they are. A few of my friends got into Berkeley and UCLA and passed those schools to go to LAC’s out of state. Guess what? Years later they’re the kids still paying back loans and when people are talking about schools it’s Berkeley and UCLA that impresses everyone…no one really cares much about a LAC…reactions are like “Oh you went to Carleton? I heard that’s a good school” end of conversation…but the converstions about UCLA go on and on…</p>
<p>"Guess what? Years later they’re the kids still paying back loans and when people are talking about schools it’s Berkeley and UCLA that impresses everyone…no one really cares much about a LAC…reactions are like “Oh you went to Carleton? I heard that’s a good school” end of conversation…but the converstions about UCLA go on and on… "</p>
<p>No, THESE people don’t care much about an LAC. There are plenty of people who know better who do. I’d send my kids to Carleton in a heartbeat over UCLA. Without a minute’s hesitation.</p>
<p>I live in MI and I’m not quite sure if I want to go there, but I know it’s a great option if I don’t get into any other top schools. I know that a lot of my high school class is going to end up there and I feel like I have worked too hard to go to a place where so many of my less-motivated classmates are going (not to sound arrogant)</p>
<p>To each their own. I have a very good friend who went to UCLA for undergrad and graduate school. When my son was going through the college application process I asked her how she’d liked going to school there. She smiled and said she’d hated it. Interesting. Everybody’s always impressed that she went there, but what a way to spend 6 years.</p>
<p>I live in Ohio. I applied to three public schools, including OSU, and five selective private schools. I like the public ones, but the private ones are the ones I really want to attend, assuming I get in and get good financial aid from at least one. I’d prefer to go to a private one for the smaller class sizes and personal attention from professors. I feel like I’d get lost in the crowd at a larger university and lose that sense of academic efficacy that one needs to keep going through the four (or five!) undergrad years. Also, for me, a private university that meets financial need will be as cheap as or cheaper than a public one.</p>
<p>@Pizzagirl - I hear ya! I’m impressed by the top LAC’s, but most of my friends aren’t like me even though they have great jobs…actually I probably make the least out of my group of friends… Those that hold VP positions or are professors are most impressed by the big named schools.</p>
<p>@bopambo - I know at least 10 UCLA grads and all of them loved it. But, I agree, everyone is different. I’m sure there are a few that really would have enjoyed a smaller school more.</p>