<p>^ no, I happen to agree with him. Aside from a few state universities, many of them offer education that is not nearly up to the same standards of a private school (e.g. Harvard). People don't necessarily "look down" upon state universities, but rather they feel that these universities do not provide the same opportunities as other, better universities.</p>
<p>I've got to say that you certainly aren't going to get the same education at LSU vs. some tip top school (lets go with Harvard like jets91). Even in the honors college. And no matter your drive.
It has a lot to do with the quality of the students.</p>
<p>For the record: the average ACT at LSU is 24, or the 76th percentile.</p>
<p>And that's not to say you're not going to get a good education there, but it won't be as great as some other places.</p>
<p>I think it all depends on what you make of it. Sure, you might fall into some skull-numbing classes at State U that you wouldn't find at an elite, but that shouldn't limit you-- it's up to you to take the hardest classes you can.</p>
<p>^ that's true. it's also why people look down on state universities (at least why I do). you have to work/look so much harder to find good opportunities and make the best of your education.</p>
<p>first of all, there are Many, Many bad private universities as well (and very expensive!!). also, I completely disagree with the notion that publics cannot provide the same education as the most elite universities. U of Michigan has 90% of its programs ranked in the top 20 and 70% in the top 10. How many schools can top that? Michigan has a top 10 Business, Medical, and Law School. The reason the elite privates are more regarded is because of prestige. Heck, Notre Dame may be more prestigious than Michigan. Does it have better academics? Not in its wildest dreams.</p>
<p>I don't look down I state schools, but I'd prefer not to be in them. My state school is good, but it's not very hard to get into if you're in-state. There are smart people there and extremely stupid people there (IMO). </p>
<p>I'd prefer to go to a schools where I know I'll be surrounded by smart people. </p>
<p>ex. top 20 USNWR schools</p>
<p>
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I completely disagree with the notion that publics cannot provide the same education as the most elite universities.
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</p>
<p>No one is denying that- what I said was that a good chunk of state schools cannot. That does not mean all.</p>
<p>And can you give an example of a bad private school?</p>
<p>you can't prove a public school's mediocrity by comparing it to harvard! is jason kidd mediocre because he doesn't compare to michael jordan? mj would've made kidd look like a school boy, but the fact is jason kidd's better than 99.999999% of the world's population.</p>
<p>just because a kid isn't getting the same education at a public that he would've at harvard, doesn't mean he's not still getting a great education.</p>
<p>I agree with el duque, but it still means that Podunk U (while it may provide a great education) does not provide as good an education as, say, Harvard.</p>
<p>UDelaware has a great honors program and is highly regarded. I'm from NY state and I'm going to apply to their honors program along with SUNY Binghamton and Geneseo as my instate safeties. They are all great schools and wouldn't mind attending any one of them (that might happen in the end depending on money). But there are lots of random, shadowed state universities from other states that might not have that great of programs/name but still offer good educations. It's not the end of the world if you end up going to State U. IMO.</p>
<p>^ I'm 99% certain that UDel is private (but with some state fianancing...).
It's not a typical stateu.</p>
<p>oh yeah sorry my bad Johnson181 I didn't realize that. I assumed with the name and significantly cheaper tuition than most schools that it was public. But now I see that it is private with partial state funding.</p>
<p>(I thought that too, until my mom, who went there for her doctorate, chewed me out over the difference... she's not anti state u's though for the record, she would be thrilled for me to go to a suny.)</p>
<p>Interesting - I never knew that about UDel, either. From the wikipedia page:
"Although UD receives public funding for being a land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant and urban-grant state-supported research institution, it is also privately chartered." So basically it is a private university that the state decided to assist with funding and make their "flagship" for in-state students.</p>
<p>is this conversation for real?</p>
<p>let me get this straight, 1max makes a comment like "derrrrr Penn State n' dem folk at Cheeseconsin University ain't good like them harvard folks." and all of a sudden state schools all suck.</p>
<p>Um back to reality, when comparing practically any school to harvard, you're going to come out saying "well gee wiz harvard is better." You're comparing schools for above average students to schools for the very brightest. I'm sure the "pinnacle of mediocrity" students at Penn State and Wisconsin would tremble at the feet ofprivate school students at such prestigious private schools such as Edgewood College and North Park University. God knows those schools have put out rhodes scholars. And don't get me started on the reknowned Howard Payne University. God forbid if a Wisconsin or Penn State grad runs into a graduate of Alice Lloyd College on Jeopardy.</p>
<p>The truth is, there are plenty of "mediocre" colleges out there--public AND private. Are there more "top" privates than "top" publics? Definately yes--for example maybe 7 or 8 publics compete against the top 25 or so privates. But there are also plenty of middle of the road privates and bottom of the barrel privates that when objectively looked at are worse options than the state schools of similar caliber.</p>
<p>And next time someone goes off on a tangent about how private schools are far and away superior to public schools, and that public schools are for stupid people, etc., I shall just mention a few other private institutions of unparalled academic gravitas that you may have heard of. There's the Gibb School. There's ITT Technical Institute. And let us not forget, Devry.</p>
<p>Well said jags.</p>
<p>
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God forbid if a Wisconsin or Penn State grad runs into a graduate of Alice Lloyd College on Jeopardy.
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lmao.</p>